fablau
Member
You are most welcome!
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Nutrient Dosing Calculator
- Thread starter LondonDragon
- Start date
You are most welcome!
fablau
Member
Yes, I have noticed that too. Most interesting is the potassium value vs the other macro elements.
Bradders
Member
Is that bad, then? Or just out of normal balance for pre-mixed ferts?
fablau
Member
Well, not bad per se, but I am surprised potassium (K) is so high compared to N. Phosphorus also is high compared to N. I am talking about APT Complete and APT EI. And it's strange that N is so low, considering it is the main macro element, which should be at least 2-3 times higher than phosphorus. If I had to use one of those fertilizers, I'd add some nitrogen from other sources (either from the substrate or other liquid fertilizer)
It's a proprietary formula, namely the "Capstone formula", whatever that means. Beyond this, it is well known that 2HrsAquarist fertilizers limit N in order to increase plant coloration. This is one of their selling arguments. It is assumed when using APT fertilizers you are also using a rich substrate wich contains enough N. Limiting N also potentially decreases algea development.
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@fablau
Looking at the 2hrs Aquarist website guaranteed analysis % values, they are being reported/expressed as oxydes: P2O5, K2O and MgO. This would require a convertion in order to obtain P, K and Mg. This is what we have done for all the fertilizers in the IFC Calculator whenever a manufacturer reported the values as oxydes. The idea being that we are as close as possible to what they say. This does not mean it is more accurate because the manufacturer could very well be intentionnaly misleading people in order to prevent/limit cloning of their products but we wanted to remove our bias from the calculations.
Anyway, this is what we get with no conversion. Same numbers as you:
APT0/1
APT3
APT EI
This is what we get with conversion of the oxydes:
APT0/1
APT3
APT EI
And these were the values we had from the time 2hrs Aquarist reported the content of its fertilizers in PPM rather than in %:
Looking at the 2hrs Aquarist website guaranteed analysis % values, they are being reported/expressed as oxydes: P2O5, K2O and MgO. This would require a convertion in order to obtain P, K and Mg. This is what we have done for all the fertilizers in the IFC Calculator whenever a manufacturer reported the values as oxydes. The idea being that we are as close as possible to what they say. This does not mean it is more accurate because the manufacturer could very well be intentionnaly misleading people in order to prevent/limit cloning of their products but we wanted to remove our bias from the calculations.
Anyway, this is what we get with no conversion. Same numbers as you:
APT0/1
APT3
APT EI
This is what we get with conversion of the oxydes:
APT0/1
APT3
APT EI
And these were the values we had from the time 2hrs Aquarist reported the content of its fertilizers in PPM rather than in %:
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fablau
Member
That's a BIG trap. Never limit nutrients. That's hard to handle, and you may easily end up creating the problem you were trying to avoid in the first place.
Better use balanced products like Thrive, which I always recommend to beginners:
NA Thrive All-in-One Liquid Aquarium Plant Fertilizer
Aquarium Thrive fertilizer Thrive aquatic plant fertilizer is an easy-to-dose supplement made of super concentrated materials. This liquid fertilizer for aquarium plants is based on an effective EI dosing method with all essential micro and macronutrients, designed to help aquatic plants truly...
nilocg.com
And for more advanced hobbyists, I'd recommend making your own fertilizers from raw elements. I have been doing that for years and never had algae issues ever since.
Bradders
Member
Not to enter into a fert debate, but there is no one-fit-all fert formula. They all have their pro & cons. Some people like to prioratize coloration over growth speed, and some other growth over coloration. I understand both approaches and have experienced boths. They both work fine and have different outcomes. The important thing with N-limiting ferts in the water column is that one needs to have a rich substrate and make sure you fertilize your substrate after a couple of months in order not to run into N deciciences, which yes can mess things up if you don't.
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Bradders
Member
This has been very, very insightful. Thanks once again.
fablau
Member
fablau
Member
Yes, of course, if you have a nitrogen-rich substrate, you can get away with that kind of fertilization. But in my experience, the EI system is the easiest one, mostly for beginners. It is cheap because you can use inert substrates such as sand or gravel, and you can make your own fertilizers from raw elements, adopting the EI regime by fertilizing just the water column, which is really a no-brainer and always gives excellent results. And that works for low-tech tanks as well, even cheaper (same proportions but 10x less fertilizer amount).
Hi all,
The difference between <"aquarium"> and commercial horticultural fertilisers is that horticultural fertilisers have to work.
In horticulture no one can get away with selling the <"World's most expensive water"> etc. If fertilisers didn't work, or weren't cost effective? No-one would buy them and the company making them would have gone out business. It is as simple as that.
cheers Darrel
I think they must have invented it. There is a "capstone course" one that allows students to demonstrate expertise in their subject area, so maybe it is meant to imply expertise in fertiliser formulation?
This gets a mention in <"What is the “Duckweed Index” all about?"> - <"How to make red root floaters (Phyllanthus fluitans) redder?">
It isn't an <"attempt to mislead">, agricultural fertiliser are legally required quote the values of potassium (K) etc. as their oxides. It is <"an historical artefact"> from when potassium fertilisers were derived from <"potash"> etc.
I'd just use @Happi 's <"Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination"> mix. This is what I do, but with the <"Duckweed Index">, rather than adding a set amount weekly.
The difference between <"aquarium"> and commercial horticultural fertilisers is that horticultural fertilisers have to work.
In horticulture no one can get away with selling the <"World's most expensive water"> etc. If fertilisers didn't work, or weren't cost effective? No-one would buy them and the company making them would have gone out business. It is as simple as that.
cheers Darrel
I think so too. It sounds neerdy so people get attracted by it!
I am aware of this, but while doing the IFC Calculator we have seen how in some instances some manufacturers sometime either are conveniently unaware of this or turned things in a way that is confusing to the user. In the case of 2hr Aquarist since they are now reporting the oxydes (P2O5, K2O and MgO) it is important to then convert them which is what I did.
Hi all,
cheers Darrel
I fully agree, it would make much more sense to quote everything as the elemental concentration, there is no ambiguity then.
cheers Darrel
