Do I have all of the ferts? HELP!!

[johnny313]

currently I am using KNO3 - potassium Nitrate. K2SO4-potassium sulfate
KH2PO4 - mono potassium phosphate and Plantex CSM+B

everything is growing very well, but am I missing anything?

i see there is also iron chelate, manganese sulfate, calcium nitrate, calcium sulfate... the list goes on and on

[Rainer]

Other than optional supplemental iron, you have standard EI there...

plus the potassium sulfate.

[johnny313]

yes. I bought the NPK CSM+B package. but i see many other ferts out there. should I be using calcium? manganese... whatever that is.... I do dose a liquid iron like once a week.

[Rainer]

Do you use/need GH Booster?

[johnny313]

Originally Posted by Rainer

Do you use/need GH Booster?

no. How does GH affect a tank? I have a 120g and change about 60 - 80 gallons every week.

[Rainer]

GH Booster contains magnesium and calcium sulfates, which provide nutrients and buffering against large PH swings when using CO2.

[darkoon]

if your tap water has GH of 3+, you're good, if not supplement with GH booster, or add Ca and Mg to raise your GH.

[Jeffww]

Originally Posted by Rainer

GH Booster contains magnesium and calcium sulfates, which provide nutrients and buffering against large PH swings when using CO2.

It doesn't contain any carbonate so it cannot prevent pH swing. You need something with HCO3- in order to do that (baking powder). All it does is buffer GH it has no effect on water's buffering capability against H2CO3.

I do suggest the GH booster though. It's a pretty brainless supplement. I grab a pinch and toss it in a day when I see any deficiency. I don't bother to measure it.

I also beg to differ with the GH of 3+ is okay thing. I have GH of about 6 and KH of about 3 or 4 and until I dose calcium I will get deficiencies. GH isn't a very good measurement since it includes Mg. What amount of Mg and Ca is actually in the water is still questionable. That said my tap actually comes out 4ppm mg and 30ppm Ca the "perfect ratio" and I still need supplemental Ca.

edit: Let me rephrase that last sentence. it "supposedly comes out at that measurement" I doubt its validity though.

[Rainer]

Oops, was thinking about calcium carbonate, not sulfate.

[johnny313]

where can I get GH booster in here?

[Capncrunch7]

Originally Posted by Jeffww

I also beg to differ with the GH of 3+ is okay thing. I have GH of about 6 and KH of about 3 or 4 and until I dose calcium I will get deficiencies.

Out of curiosity, what are the deficiencies that you notice? Qualitative like dead fish and plants, or quantitative like low test readings?

[jkan0228]

Originally Posted by johnny313

where can I get GH booster in here?

You can get some on GLA

[150EH]

I have used gH booster and see no difference and actually have backed off to a low dose of Plantex + CSM because it's all my plants require. If you have some plants that are showing signs of stress, not the right color, or are very demanding you might need to add some of these seperate micro nutrients but for the most part or plants Plantex fills the bill. If I use Plantex at the full recommended EI dose for my size tank I start to get thread algae, this could be due to nutrients in my tap water or something else I don't really know, but my point is to listen to your tank and don't just dump something in because it's available.

[Capncrunch7]

Originally Posted by jkan0228

You can get some on GLA

Just noticed your location. I assume you're in the Tualatin Water District too? Do you have the same 0kh 0gh water that I do? If so, have you experienced the need to tamper with your water parameters?

[jkan0228]

Originally Posted by Capncrunch7

Just noticed your location. I assume you're in the Tualatin Water District too? Do you have the same 0kh 0gh water that I do? If so, have you experienced the need to tamper with your water parameters?

I live close to Aloha High School if you know where that is. I live somewhat close to the intersection of Farmington and 185th. But yea when i test my water parameters they are pretty much 0gh and 0kh. So a few months ago I noticed that my MTS were dying due to soft waters and since I was dosing PPS-Pro, I only do water changes once a month. So I started dosing the GH booster and everything was good.