is echinodorus purple aflame hard to grow?

[Oldguy]

DIY ferts. What I have found is the following:
Pot Nitrate & Pot Di-hydrogen Phosphate dissolved in 2litres of warm tap water. Stored in the dark, it lasts me 14 days, no issues - nothing sterilized.
Magnesium sulphate added to the replacement water following water change. No storage, no issues.
Chelated Iron & trace elements dissolved in rain water and stored in the dark. Nothing sterillized, last for months, no issues.
'Dry salts' stored in the dark last for years and years. Sell by dates are a con or perhaps to be charitable may refer to the packaging. but I doubt it.
I do not use 'all in one' ferts.

 

[sparkyweasel]

API leaf zone has no data sheets so we don't even have an idea of what levels of potassium or iron it has.

 

[Zeus.]

View attachment 198083

Nice one Sparky 👍 will get it processed and see what dose it gives per manufacturers dosing advice.

 

[anewbie]

NilocG Thrive have a great range of AIO ferts which give the cheapest way to fertilise you plants over any other commercial AIO ferts, plus you can get it in the USA which is a bonus.

Large batches of DIY ferts has its issues and I would strongly advise against it, unless you freeze it as Hanuman has already mentioned.

API leaf zone has no data sheets so we don't even have an idea of what levels of potassium or iron it has. So it wasn't added to the IFC Calculator.

@anewbie what size is your tank? if 100litres or less a commercial AIO doesn't work out too expensive esp with a product like 'NilocG Thrive' the larger the tank the cost can soon run away. Very large tanks are best dosed with dry salts IMO

My problem with nilocG is that nitrate was super high when i used it (over 40ppm); so I switched to apt zero and i am currently testing api leaf - i've not noticed any real difference between any of them (i was using thrive+ and later plain thrive). The tank is a 40B (36 wide 18 width 16 tall); i usually fill it to about 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch from the very top. I have a matten filter in the back corner and if i don't fill it high enough the water jetting out makes too much noise.

I am setting up a 550 soon (may); my problem with dry salt is it seems a lot of work unless i can mix a lot at one time but i can't per your comment. I do use thrive iron. The problem is i don't understand the science of this when it comes to fertilizer. I did notice the purple a flame double in size when i switched from thrive root tabs to api root tabs (at least I think that was the correlation) but as you said what is in these no one really knows.

I'm pretty saturated right now so i haven't read the links provided by Darrel above and i need to go back and try to process them. There has been a lot of argument if different types of nitrate are equally bad for fishes (with some knowledgeable folks insisting they are and others not - i need to read that link Darrel posted - when i say knowledgeable i mean folks who have read a lot of scientific papers and been in the field for at least 10 years - not just random posters digging out random links.
-
I guess when i setup the 550 i'm going to have to switch to salts (I will be buying reactors from nilgoc and i can get salts from him - but mixing them i would like to find an easier way so i don't have to constantly mix them). Also i have no clue how to test the water for all these minerals to see what is actually happening in the tank. The 550 will use a drip system and have a sump - water will drip into the bottom of the tank - teh overflows are at the top and the water overflows at the end of the sump into the drain. I will ahve 4 reactors on the 550.

I think i provided all the details let me know if you want more info on the 40B or 550.

 

[Zeus.]

Sorry took some time as I had taken PC down and doing it on laptop for me is a PITA (Ex-Gamer) so double screens FTW/ease 😉 So PC back in action
API Leaf Zone v TNC v DIY ferts(APFUK)



the cost per 5ml/38L is 12p when paying £10.39 for 437ml

For a DIY clone which would also be adding Mn, Zn. B and Cu



I haven't double/triple checked the figures and will be some time before it is added to the release version of the IFC calculator.
This is another clear example of paying a fortune for basically water

 

[anewbie]

Sorry took some time as I had taken PC down and doing it on laptop for me is a PITA (Ex-Gamer) so double screens FTW/ease 😉 So PC back in action
API Leaf Zone v TNC v DIY ferts(APFUK)

View attachment 198482

the cost per 5ml/38L is 12p when paying £10.39 for 437ml

For a DIY clone which would also be adding Mn, Zn. B and Cu

View attachment 198483

I haven't double/triple checked the figures and will be some time before it is added to the release version of the IFC calculator.
This is another clear example for paying a fortune for basically water

How do i convert this into something that i can use. Let me explain the question. I buy salt. i have a teaspoon thingy that include 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, ... I have a measuring device. I put 16oz ro water into a container. How much of these salts do i need to dissolve into my 16oz of water to pour into a 100 gallon aquarium and how many times a week do i need to repeat if I do 50% water change once a week ?

 

[hypnogogia]

Have you tried the excellent calculator to help work all this out, available here on the forum?

 

[anewbie]

Have you tried the excellent calculator to help work all this out, available here on the forum?

Ok this is a really stupid question but where do i find it ? Wait i think i found it - but it is an excel xls? I don't have access to excel and even if i did i've never used excel.

 

[Hanuman]

Or in @Zeus.'s or my signature.