Few basic questions:
- Can I assume that I have enough Mg if my GH is extremely high?
- If so, do I still need to add MgSO4 in the PMDD?
- Is is safe to use Nu-salt (Potassium Chloride) as the source of Potassium?
Not to hijack the thread but on the question of Magnesium..
I looked at the report for my area online and there doesn't seem to be any magnesium listed? Only Manganese (Mn)? Is the report just incomplete possibly?
I have 3 tanks 55, 20 and 10. They all have similar water parameters. So just help me with the 10 and I can calculate from there.
pH tap : 7.8
pH tank : 6.9 after CO2 injection
KH : 6.7
GH :300 ppm
PO4 : less than 0.1
Nitrate : 3ppm
Magnesium : 26ppm (from tap water report)
Iron : My test kit expired. Gonna have new one soon.
Substrate : Onyx sand
Densely planted. So far there is no sign of nutrient deficiency. Every time I tried to add Flourish, I have algae problem, especially hair algae. The weird thing is that I even dose it less than half of what on the direction. I haven't dosed anything for the last 3 weeks and the plants still look good.
What do I need to dose, how much and what shouldn't I dose now??? Also, please tell me how to dose it properly before and after the targets are hit.
Oops, I forgot to mention about the lighting. It's 2x15 watts ODNO. Looks like equivalent to 5watts/gl. Because it's still slightly brighter than using 3x15watts NO.
But does your tank have high-lighting, and C02? The problem is the original formula limits PO4, but with high-lighting PO4 needs to be added sometimes. Unless you have a really big bioload and heavy feedings, PO4 still needs to be added seperatley from the PMDD.
Thanks Otherwise I bought my stuff from GregWatson except that I use fleet enema to dose my PO4. Ok, I have my Nitrate up to 9ppm and PO4 only to 0.5ppm-0.75ppm. I saw less algae so far. Do you think I would have algae problem if I raise the PO4? I'm kind of worry since every time I dose a bit micro (even just 2 drops), I get a lot of hair algae. They don't grow if I don't add micro. I do have a lot of fast growing stem plants in there. All the plants are growing nicely and don't show any type of defficiency. Just those few hair algae on top of the plants close to the light.
Oh, there is no greenspot or other algae at all in the tank. Even the brush algae is gone. Only some hair algae. Is it caused by too much light?
The S&C paper produced a method for people to see how to create a recipe for their tanks thjrough trial and error. We all call that result PMDD. However the recipe is supposed to be dependent on what your tank needs. Don't just use the recipe that S&C came up with for their tanks, it will probably fall short someplace for you because you probably don't have the same tap water, or substrate, or plant community, or fish community, or fish feeding regime, or lighting....... ad infinatum.
Use the paper to follow a method to make a PMDD that works for you. And then read a little more and find out you don't want to make a single fertilizer mix, you really want all these things in seperate bottles so you can dose what is needed, when it is needed, withough dosing things that are in proper balance. Or you may want to measure out the ferts dry and not mix up a liquid at all.
You have to laugh at how a paper that was meant to 'liberate' people from the cost and constriction of a commercial product has 'bound' so many people.
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