Just finished your journal. Thanks Burr, I have nothing more to say.

You, Vin, Gregg and etc should work together for making a book. Invaluable resources for free.

 

Just finished reading all 97 pages. Some of them multiple times. So much good info in here! Thank you Burr, for taking us all along on your journey!

Are you still dosing 25/9/35 NO3/PO4/K plus 5 Mg all front loaded after 75-90% WC? and micros @ .17 Fe 3X weekly?
Are you using KNO3 and KH2PO4 for macros or are you also using K2SO4?

My micro mix and bottle should be here on Tuesday.

Thank you @burr740

 

Just finished reading all 97 pages. Some of them multiple times. So much good info in here! Thank you Burr, for taking us all along on your journey!

Are you still dosing 25/9/35 NO3/PO4/K plus 5 Mg all front loaded after 75-90% WC? and micros @ .17 Fe 3X weekly?
Are you using KNO3 and KH2PO4 for macros or are you also using K2SO4?

My micro mix and bottle should be here on Tuesday.

Thank you @burr740

Thanks Tim! A few months ago I went back to 50% water changes. Initially just to save time and ferts because with 10 big tanks it really adds up, lol

But having done it for a few months again now I feel like its a little easier to keep things stable. Not a huge difference either way but everything in general just seems better

No longer front loading macros with 50% WCs. My macro mix adds 4.5/1.5/7 per dose. I do two doses after the WC and then two more through the week, skipping a day between in typical 3x per week fashion

I use KNO3, KH2PO4, and KCL (KCL because it dissolves easier than K2SO4)

Micros are the custom blend at .15 ppm Fe per dose (same thing youre getting) I do that 3x week beginning the day after the WC

Totals for the week - 18/6/28 and .45 Fe combined with 50% water changes

My tap comes with 30-35 Ca and 5 Mg. Lately Im not adding any additional Mg and cant tell any difference really. Although on paper an extra 5 or so would be ideal. Honestly Ive never seen a concrete difference between adding 5, 10 or even 15 extra Mg. And Ive spent good amounts of time doing all those

Keep me posted how the micros work out


Obligatory pic here's a 75 gal that needs a trim

 

One more question... For low light, low tech, what would you dose for weekly macros? Thanks Joe!

 

It would totally depend on the set up, substrate, type of plants, light, fish load etc

Fresh aquasoil/other rich sub may not need anything but a little K and Fe (API Leaf Zone, Tetra Flora-whatever, available anywhere)

Heavy fish load with a less rich sub, same

Root tabs can help a lot, but generally wont carry the load entirely. Plants do best when they can pull K and Fe from the water column (low or high-tech) A rich sub can often cover everything else esp with low tech

Moving into higher light and/or inert subs I would go with something like 5/2/10 and .1 Fe, once or twice a week. 25-30% water changes

Speaking of low-tech, by that I mean no additional co2, a common myth is that light needs to be kept low. Thats not true. Just like high-tech tanks too much light does not cause algae. Unhappy plants and/or dirty conditions is what causes algae. So keeping the goal of happy plants in mind, just like ferts you want as much light as the plants can use

Idk if any of you guys know Sudipta Shaw or have seen his tanks on social media, guy is an absolute wizard when it comes to growing plants without co2 injection. He's single handedly changed a lot of the dogma surrounding what a low tech set up can achieve

Here's one of his tanks, except for whats on the log these arent rookie plants for any set up

Big light (150 PAR at the sub!!) moderately rich sub, low-moderate ferts, low KH and lower temp

He actually has a brief journal here on tpt if you wanna read more about his methods. No matter what kind of tank you run we can all learn a lot from this man. I have

Like I said absolute wizard - sudiorca

 

Thanks Burr, your tips and advice are gold. Thanks Joe! I'll definitely check out that water testing thing you mentioned.