Easternlethal
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How do you all dose
- Thread starter robert2191
- Start date
xim
Member
- Joined
- 19 Mar 2010
- Messages
- 499
Because I can dose all NPK in one go. And KH2PO4 dust makes my skin rash.
Easternlethal
Member
then y not just premix them all dry and sprinkle in with a spoon?
xim
Member
- Joined
- 19 Mar 2010
- Messages
- 499
The effort needed to mix different kinds of powder to get a good consistent mix is not much different from mixing them with water. (edit: well I think it's quite hard to make it consistent and you have no easy way to verify it)
It kind of breaks the benefit of dry dosing in the first place.
It kind of breaks the benefit of dry dosing in the first place.
Easternlethal
Member
so if i dose directly that's bad because i can't dose npk in one go. and if I premix that's bad because it 'breaks the benefit' of dry dosing.
er.. ok.
er.. ok.
xim
Member
- Joined
- 19 Mar 2010
- Messages
- 499
I mean if you have to mix the dry powder then it's not very different from
having to mix your solution: you gain the benefit of being able to dose all NPK in one go
at the expense of having to spend time and energy to mix them first.
The benefit of the "classic way" of dry dosing (open the lid, scoop it, dump, one by one) is
you don't have to mix it but you have to scoop and dump it several times.
Anyway I still prefer liquid dosing because of the KH2PO4 dust issue.
having to mix your solution: you gain the benefit of being able to dose all NPK in one go
at the expense of having to spend time and energy to mix them first.
The benefit of the "classic way" of dry dosing (open the lid, scoop it, dump, one by one) is
you don't have to mix it but you have to scoop and dump it several times.
Anyway I still prefer liquid dosing because of the KH2PO4 dust issue.
Easternlethal
Member
here's my thinking expressed in more detail. firstly I need to create the mixture, whether dry or wet. either way I have to measure the components and in terms of getting their ratios right, water doesn't help me there. then i need to make sure i know how much of the mixture to add to the tank, so at this point I have to measure out how much mixture to administer. again, whether there is water there or not does not help. so i never understood how water can somehow give you more control on your dosing. i mean if need to add 2 solvents together precisely, how does also adding water somehow make it more accurate?
another argument i heard is that it can help control the concentration of the mixture. but again you can just as easily achieve the same result by dosing less. so why even bother diluting? if i need to add two solvents together in a certain concentration, why would i add more and then dilute it back down with water? and anyway, i would also argue it's a bit pointless to be trying to exert that much control over your mixture because a) one can't measure plant intakes accurately to be able to predict with any certainty how much ferts should be used and b) ei is all about not worrying about this sort of thing anyway. i do find it a bit amusing that hobbyists adopt ei but spend all their time measuring out exact ratios and ppm to exactly target 25 or 30 ppm or whatvever arbitrary number they got from the web and using an autodoser to get even more precision.
the other arguments i have heard is that they harm the fish. well. the tank has water in it so it will be mixed in. okay, but perhaps some fish will eat some before it dissolves? well i've seen fish eat fresh poop and spit it out. poop has urea which i would argue is more harmful than kno3. in any case i have not read about fish falling sick because they happened to swallow some fert powder. there's lots about fish falling sick from too high nitrates or whatever in the water but that would happen whether you administer dry or wet. my own fish certainly don't seem to care what they put in their mouths.
another thing i heard is that autodosing is necessary if you go away, and that needs a solution. well, here's another secret. why not just add powder to your autofeeder? i tried this once - adding ferts with fish food in a feeder thinking it was a bad idea but the fish did not care at all and i have been doing it since. in fact now i always just use my feeder to autodose my ferts. that cost me just $10.
another argument i heard is that it can help control the concentration of the mixture. but again you can just as easily achieve the same result by dosing less. so why even bother diluting? if i need to add two solvents together in a certain concentration, why would i add more and then dilute it back down with water? and anyway, i would also argue it's a bit pointless to be trying to exert that much control over your mixture because a) one can't measure plant intakes accurately to be able to predict with any certainty how much ferts should be used and b) ei is all about not worrying about this sort of thing anyway. i do find it a bit amusing that hobbyists adopt ei but spend all their time measuring out exact ratios and ppm to exactly target 25 or 30 ppm or whatvever arbitrary number they got from the web and using an autodoser to get even more precision.
the other arguments i have heard is that they harm the fish. well. the tank has water in it so it will be mixed in. okay, but perhaps some fish will eat some before it dissolves? well i've seen fish eat fresh poop and spit it out. poop has urea which i would argue is more harmful than kno3. in any case i have not read about fish falling sick because they happened to swallow some fert powder. there's lots about fish falling sick from too high nitrates or whatever in the water but that would happen whether you administer dry or wet. my own fish certainly don't seem to care what they put in their mouths.
another thing i heard is that autodosing is necessary if you go away, and that needs a solution. well, here's another secret. why not just add powder to your autofeeder? i tried this once - adding ferts with fish food in a feeder thinking it was a bad idea but the fish did not care at all and i have been doing it since. in fact now i always just use my feeder to autodose my ferts. that cost me just $10.
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Easternlethal
Member
same way it is done in the kitchen.
https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/convert/measurements.html
with measuring spoons.
and a dry dose calculator like rotalabutterfly.com
https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/convert/measurements.html
with measuring spoons.
and a dry dose calculator like rotalabutterfly.com
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