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Help...Low tech with EI dosing and the new IFC calculator

drjack

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HI, looking for some guidance on the best approach to using the new IFC calculator, it looks fantastic. My tank is a Juwel Vision 180L. Lighting: Juwel MultiLux LED Light Unit with Day 19W - 2185 Lumens and Nature 19W - 2185 Lumens. Substrate: Caribsea Eco-Complete. Filtration: Juwel supplied Bioflow 3 internal (1000 lph) plus Eheim Ecco Pro 300 external (750 lph). I use APFUK fert solutions in a 500ml dosing 20ml/week . I do not use CO2 gas or liquid.
When I had to replace the T5 Juwel lighting I had to purchase the Multilux LED product. So now I cannot use the watts/gallon guide. I tried asking Juwel what the PAR was for their tubes but all they could tell me was "The luminaire has a PAR value of 220 + at a distance of 20 cm. We only have this one PAR value at the distance." But my plants are about 40cm from the lights. Can I extrapolate in any way from this information?
My questions with the IFC are around what my target ought to be. So what I would appreciate some guidance on with respect to the new IFC Target calculator is, given my tank:
1. What do you think my light level with the LEDs now is, when I had T5s it was LOW but all I can find our now apart from the answer from Juwel is that Tropica rate 4370 lumens/180 litres = 24 lumens/litre = Medium level plants.
2. In the IFC TargetCalculator tab, what should I use for "X dose by?" Is it 1, 1/2, 1/3 ....?
2. In the IFC TargetCalculator tab, what EI dose should I realistically "COMPARE TO"? EI dosing Full , Low or Medium (I assume my LEDs influence this?)
I am hoping if I can start in the right ballpark with the dosing recommendations from the calculator I can increase my chances of achieving an optimal dosing regime.

Any and all advice really welcomed.
All the best, David
 
We only have this one PAR value at the distance." But my plants are about 40cm from the lights. Can I extrapolate in any way from this information?
Yes. Light energy dissipation follows the inverse square rule. Therefore at double the distance the PAR is at 1/4th the value.
Roughly speaking, in air and in the absence of any other factor, if PAR is 220 micromoles at 20cm then it is approximately 220/4=55 micromoles at 40 cm, 220/9=24 micromoles at 60cm and so forth.
In a tank however, this is only a very rough estimate as there are reflections from the surrounding objects such as sediment, rocks and so forth, as well as reflections from underneath the water's surface.

Cheers,
 
HI, looking for some guidance on the best approach to using the new IFC calculator, it looks fantastic

Thank you for you kind words :)

The Calculator is design for folk with a decent level of understanding of ferts they can get the most of it, for them it should be self explanatory. But with a little help most folk should be able to use it as well - if unsure ask ;)

1. What do you think my light level with the LEDs now is, when I had T5s it was LOW but all I can find our now apart from the answer from Juwel is that Tropica rate 4370 lumens/180 litres = 24 lumens/litre = Medium level plants.

Your going down the low tech route - No CO2 so you should aim for light that isn't too intense or that's dimmable, although there are easy ways of reducing non dimmable lights if the T5 work out too intense.

In the IFC TargetCalculator tab, what should I use for "X dose by?" Is it 1, 1/2, 1/3 ....?

This is for using multiples of fractions of the dosing regimes - leave it at 'x1'

In the IFC TargetCalculator tab, what EI dose should I realistically "COMPARE TO"? EI dosing Full , Low or Medium (I assume my LEDs influence this?)

for low tech I would suggest 'low' or even 'medium' 'EI' dosing to start with or 'APFUK' regime, then their will be an abundance of nutrients for the plants, once everything is going well you can always dial back a bit of the ferts- 'slowly' it takes four to six weeks for the plants to show any issues
 
Hi Clive and Zeus, thank you for the replies, I think I understand what I am doing now...... until the next time :)
All the best, David
 
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