Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination

[Happi]

Hi, me again. Sorry. So, my plants are arriving this afternoon and I am planting up tomorrow morning. I will mix up as described and happy to try it as one bottle to start with for @Happi 's experiment. My tank is likely to have around 75 gallons with hardscape etc, so I have calculated that I would dose 3 x 30ml for a weekly total of N3 for EI method. Some additional questions for anyone, please:

- If I go for 3 x 30ml doses, what day and time of day is optimal to dose? If I water change on a Sunday, might it be Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the morning? I work, so option of first thing or early evening only. This would leave a two day window where nutrient levels would be lower, perhaps - is that an issue? Or is the theory that the accumulated levels will be greater prior to water change, so less requirement to add more?
- Or is there a benefit in splitting this into 6 x daily doses of 15ml i.e. a more steady supply of nutrients? Monday to Saturday, water change Sunday?

Thanks

Mark

Dosing total of 3 ppm N weekly shouldn't be a problem weather you dose it 3x week or 6x week, Long as you have lots of plants. I suggest posting some pictures whenever you have the tank fully setup so it would give me a better idea how much you should dose. I would recommend dosing a little less when the tank is newly setup. I believe I have already previously recommended what might be the appropriate dose.

It is always best to dose the tank after the lights and co2 has been on for the first few hours when plant are photosynthesizing.

 

[Karacticus]

Dosing total of 3 ppm N weekly shouldn't be a problem weather you dose it 3x week or 6x week, Long as you have lots of plants. I suggest posting some pictures whenever you have the tank fully setup so it would give me a better idea how much you should dose. I would recommend dosing a little less when the tank is newly setup. I believe I have already previously recommended what might be the appropriate dose.

It is always best to dose the tank after the lights and co2 has been on for the first few hours when plant are photosynthesizing.

Just finished set-up this morning. Photos and plant list on my journal - Jungle aquascape.

I plan to dose 6 x a week, but can only do it in the morning (before lights come on) or early evening (just before they go off). Might eventually invest in an auto-doser, though.

 

[John q]

, but can only do it in the morning (before lights come on)

I dose micros at 6.30 am, lights come on at 12.30pm, If a regime requires such accuracy, my advice would be ditch the regime 😁

Edit: I think fertiliser dosing can be quite flexible.

 

[Happi]

but can only do it in the morning (before lights come on) or early evening (just before they go off).

as suggested earlier, it is always best to dose the tank after the lights and co2 has been on for the first few hours when plant are photosynthesizing. the main reason is:
plant have lot of energy during this time and they absorb nutrients at much faster and efficient rate. some nutrients are lost/precipitated/oxidized in their early stages when you dose them and plant might not able to get the most out of them.
other than that there is nothing wrong with dosing when lights and CO2 are off. but, there are some nutrients that produce better results when dosed during photosynthesis, such as NH4, Fe and many more.

 

[Zeus.]

it is always best to dose the tank after the lights and co2 has been on for the first few hours when plant are photosynthesizing.

and can also the optimum time to dose the traces elements especially if you have hard water, as with very hard water it may be the only time that pH of the water is low enough for Fe EDTA to be available for uptake to the plants.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

and can also the optimum time to dose the traces elements especially if you have hard water, as with very hard water it may be the only time that pH of the water is low enough for Fe EDTA to be available for uptake to the plants.

Strangely it is the other way around for low-tech, where the pH is likely to be highest during photosynthesis, when the CO2 is depleted and dissolved oxygen at its highest level. An extreme version was the pond in <"Canford Park">, but you get these <"diel pH variations"> in most water bodies.

cheers Darrel

 

[Richardod]

Thanks @Happi this looks great
I have attached water report - I have a 190 l tank and was going to make a 1000l bottle
63g of Soulfeed 2:1:4 high K
12 g of Soulfeed Sodium free TEC
Dose 20ml three times a week , I do a water change on a Sunday ( about 30% ) so was going to do straight after water change Sun , Thur , Fri
In your opinion would this work bearing in mind my water report
Thanks for any advice

 

[hypnogogia]

Dose 20ml three times a week , I do a water change on a Sunday ( about 30% ) so was going to do straight after water change Sun , Thur , Fri

You’ll want to spread your dosing out more Evenly, so Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, for example.

 

[Richardod]

You’ll want to spread your dosing out more Evenly, so Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, for example.

Sorry typo I dose Sunday Wednesday Friday

 

[Happi]

Thanks @Happi this looks great
I have attached water report - I have a 190 l tank and was going to make a 1000l bottle
63g of Soulfeed 2:1:4 high K
12 g of Soulfeed Sodium free TEC
Dose 20ml three times a week , I do a water change on a Sunday ( about 30% ) so was going to do straight after water change Sun , Thur , Fri
In your opinion would this work bearing in mind my water report
Thanks for any advice

water is quite Hard with rich CO3 levels, also rich in several minerals and Traces. the above recipe should work as a standard recipe, especially if you want to avoid going too much into the DIY. this threads main goal is to keep it simple as possible. But, I strongly believe you could benefit from this below if you want to go more into DIY:

Soulfeed 2:1:4 high K
DTPA Fe
Mn EDTA
Zn EDTA

and skip the Soulfeed Sodium free TEC entirely. if you were to combine those four listed things, you can reduce several other traces that are already present in the tap water. I did not see any report on Zn in that water report, in case if i missed something please correct me.

 

[Richardod]

main goal is to keep it simple as possible

Suits me 🙂

I did not see any report on Zn in that water report, in case if i missed something please correct me.

To be perfectly honest I would not know what I was lookng for

Soulfeed 2:1:4 high K
DTPA Fe
Mn EDTA
Zn EDTA

Thanks @Happi this will hopefully now be easy for me, I have already got some Solufeed FE 13.2 % EDTA and I can get some 13% Mn EDTA & 15% Zn EDTA from Aqua plant care
The only question I have now I think is how much 13% Mn EDTA & 15% Zn EDTA would I need to add to the 63g of Soulfeed 2:1:4 high K in a 1000 ml bottle ( what type of water is best to mix solution in distilled,boiled or de-ionised )
Which I will dose to my 190l tank at the rate of 20 ml Sunday ( after water change ) Wednesday & Friday
I take it hopefully this will be all the Ferts required .
Thanks again for your help and advice much appreciated

 

[Happi]

Suits me 🙂


To be perfectly honest I would not know what I was lookng for


Thanks @Happi this will hopefully now be easy for me, I have already got some Solufeed FE 13.2 % EDTA and I can get some 13% Mn EDTA & 15% Zn EDTA from Aqua plant care
The only question I have now I think is how much 13% Mn EDTA & 15% Zn EDTA would I need to add to the 63g of Soulfeed 2:1:4 high K in a 1000 ml bottle ( what type of water is best to mix solution in distilled,boiled or de-ionised )
Which I will dose to my 190l tank at the rate of 20 ml Sunday ( after water change ) Wednesday & Friday
I take it hopefully this will be all the Ferts required .
Thanks again for your help and advice much appreciated

Option #1

1000 ml solution, 20 ml per 190 liters

63.34 gram Solufeed 2:1:4

8.64 gram Fe DTPA 11%

3.65 gram Mn EDTA 13%

0.63 gram Zn EDTA 15%


N 1 (Urea-N 0.466 ppm, NO3-N 0.54 ppm) this adds about 2.4 ppm NO3, Rest of the N is from Urea
P 0.2
K 1.766
Fe 0.11
Mn 0.054
Cu 0.000666
B 0.0014
Zn 0.015
Mo 0.0003333
Mg 0.12666



Option #2

1000 ml solution, 20 ml per 190 liters

8.64 gram Fe DTPA 11%

3.65 gram Mn EDTA 13%

0.63 gram Zn EDTA 15%

31.76 gram K2SO4

Fe 0.1
Mn 0.05
Zn 0.01
K 1.5

Option #2 is more focused based on your water report. add about 3-5 ppm Mg at water changes to the water that is being added.

P and Zn are present in the water, but listed as "No Standard" usually P is almost always present in the tap water. Zn is also present but the number is unknown, so i have added it in the above mix just in case.

 

[Richardod]

31.76 gram K2SO4

Thanks @Happi my tap water is extremly high in Phosphate so can I exclude the K2SO4 ?

 

[Happi]

Thanks @Happi my tap water is extremly high in Phosphate so can I exclude the K2SO4 ?

K2SO4 is potassium sulfate, I think you are confusing it with KH2PO4 which is potassium phosphate.

 

[Richardod]

K2SO4 is potassium sulfate, I think you are confusing it with KH2PO4 which is potassium phosphate.

Sorry yes I was
Thanks - All five now ordered Soulfeed 2:1:4 high K , FE 13.2 % EDTA , Mn EDTA , Zn EDTA, K2SO4
Help and advice much appreciated

 

[Happi]

FE 13.2 % EDTA

I would suggest getting DTPA Fe 11% if you havent.

 

[Richardod]

I would suggest getting DTPA Fe 11% if you havent.

I already have the DTPA Fe 13.2 % does it make much difference if I use that?
I can get the 11% one if it makes a lot of difference.
What is the actual difference between the two as a matter of interest

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I already have the DTPA Fe 13.2 % does it make much difference if I use that? What is the actual difference between the two as a matter of interest

No different, it just has slightly more iron (Fe) content. These large molecules are a <"lot more complicated than a simple salt">, and may contain more than one chelated cation.

cheers Darrel

 

[Happi]

I already have the DTPA Fe 13.2 % does it make much difference if I use that?

What is the actual difference between the two as a matter of interest

I have never seen DTPA Fe 13.2 %, at least not in the USA. but i have seen EDTA Fe 13.2% and they are both different from each others as they are chelated differently and DTPA is much more stable at higher PH. I believe you are getting bit confused with some of the listed chemicals as seen in the previous post.

unless you have this ? there are other Micros that are also DTPA Chelated, something we don't see here in the USA. if you got the budget to play around with the chemicals, feel free to get those DTPA Micros.

feel free to post the pictures of your chemicals/Label that you have.

 

[Richardod]

I believe you are getting bit confused with some of the listed chemicals as seen in the previous post.

Yes you are right - this is so confusing - I indeed do have EDTA Fe 13.2% I will order some DTPA Fe 11%
Thanks again

on another note I'm assuming I could dose the mix at the rate of 10ml per day Sunday to Friday as opposed to 20 ml Sunday ,Wednesday , Friday