I've had a few more PMs recently with people asking me how much of this they should add to reach a certain phosphate level, or how much of that to add to reach a certain potassium level and thought I'd respond to it here.
IMO (and I think there are a number of "gurus" here that are far more knowledgable than I that will agree with me) if you're trying that hard, you're trying
TOO hard. Find a simple strategy, stick to it, and let nature do the rest. Granted there are some picky plants out there that have a little more unusual fert needs, but for 95% of the plants PT members keep, a simple, well devised and well implemented strategy will keep them happy and healthy.
I've said before that I NEVER test my water with the exception of pH and occasionally KH/GH (with the exception of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate during cycling). I have a phosphate test kit I've never opened. I have a potassium test kit I used once and decided it wasn't worth it. I do have an ammonia monitor to prevent any disasters, but that's it. By constantly trying to tweak things to their "optimum" conditions, you're probably doing more harm than good.
I've bred probably close to 100 CRS in a completely algae-free (and IMHO a pretty decent-looking) 3g nano, despite a bunch of people here telling me I wouldn't be able to do it. The tank was too small, it would be too hard to keep the water quality high enough, or the amount of light was out of balance...I heard it all. The key was, I kept it simple. I don't make the chemistry of my water fluctuate too much by changing things and monitoring things all the time. I found a basic strategy that works and I won't change it unless I have a specific reason to.
To paraphrase Scolley, buck the conventional wisdom. Don't assume that because somebody has posted it here, or another site, or created a whiz-bang calculator or even published it in a book, that it's right. There are too many people out there trying to do too much!
When I first got into planted tanks, it was as much about the science as it was anything else. I loved monitoring this, and checking that, and trying to figure out ways to automate it all. In the end, what works best for me it to provide nature with her building blocks and let her run with it. Don't over do it.
Now go forth and grow!
