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Weekend trips with EI dosing

1K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Axelrodi202 
#1 ·
Sorry if this has been asked, but a Google search came up blank. Now that summer is upon us, it occurred to me that I may have an issue. I recently switched to EI dosing and love it, but I also own a boat, and will probably spend quite a few weekends away from home.

If I do my water changes on Wednesday, can I double dose Thursday and Friday (macros & micros respectively), and then miss Saturday and Sunday, or would that screw things up? If not, I need to get my hands on an auto doser right away.

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#2 ·
Autodosing is easy enough to set up. If you want to be fancy get a unit made for reefs like the GHL Doser 2.1.

That being said EI is not the best planted tank management method if you need to be able to go a few days without putting your hands in the tank...
 
#5 ·
I simply skip it. EI is based on having an overstock of nutrients so skipping is one simple way to cut the excess that we normally do in water changing. It is all very much an estimate at best so if you have a slight surplus, it may just set there, while a slight undershoot may simply slow the plants but one days growth is not going to rock things very much.
Since life does tend to vary the schedule, I keep a log where I note what happens. When I go out for a few days, I just do the EI as if nothing had been missed. I don't attempt to keep each item on a specific day but just in a certain rotation. I am driven by what the log says is next rather than a firm schedule which I can't keep. Logging is one way to look back and see what has changed when things are beginning to drift in some direction I don't like.
I then find it very easy to look back at all the small points and times which I would never attempt to try to remember. I like to know when I put an item into service so that I can look at actual facts on how long it worked before failing.
 
#7 ·
The problem is that this is going to be a fairly regular thing. Last year, my boat was in the water from memorial day through Columbus day, and spend 20 out of 24 Friday and Saturday nights on the boat. I have to go home after work on Fridays to get my dog so I can dose that day, and then I'm usually home by 5ish on Sunday.

I would be missing macros almost every week. The question is, is there any harm in double dosing macros on Thursday, missing Saturday, and dosing the normal amount on Monday?

Option 2 would be to dose micros on Friday am, macros Friday pm, and micros again sunday.

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#8 ·
I have gone away from my tank for a full month with no fertilizer dosing. I turned down the light period. Came back and the tank looks fine. Only noticed that the growth was less. Your plants/tank will just lean out. You can juice them back up when you get back. A week is no problem.
 
#9 ·
Skip it or add a little extra the day before. Either way it shouldn't be a problem. Plants are like people when overfed they get fat and can go a few days with nothing to eat. Really, if you're following what most people think of EI as, excess, the nutrients in the column aren't going to be depleted after missing a dose.
 
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