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Can someone please break this down for me?

1166 Views 8 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  SleepyOwl
I keep reading and reading, including the dosing regime's sticky, and I still just don't fully "get it".

I understand that I need Macros and Micros. Do I need a KH booster if my KH is already through the roof?

Will buying this set be all that I need? http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/micro-macro-fertilizers.html

How important is it to dose a bit every day? Can I just dose once a week along with my water change?

I have a 55 gallon tank with and AHS supply 2x55 watt light, diy CO2 med-heavy fish load. I have hard water with high KH. (And that is after cutting it with RO water.)

I don't want to make this tank super high tech. I just want to have healthy plants (not looking for super fast growth or anything, just health.) I would also rather underdose than over dose, because I have no algae problems, and don't want to start now.

Thank you for your time and patience with this fert noob.

:redface:

Laura
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Ok, so the set I posted has K2SO4, and the dosing regime sticky does not include that. I take it to mean that it isn't needed?

What if i got
KNO3
KH2PO4
Miller Microplex

Would those cover the basics?

Thanks
Laura
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I've never used Miller Microplex so I cannot comment on that product one way or the other.

KNO3, KH2PO4, and Plantex CSM+B are what I use. I also dose a little Seachem Equilibrium after a big water change and I dose Fe every other day, 3 ml per 50 gallons.

The Equilibrium and Fe are what I have added based on trial and observation. They may not be needed by everyone. I have no test kits and no idea what any of my levels are. I just watch the plants. The KNO3, KH2PO4, and some micronutrient mixture are the basic building blocks of the fert routine, and those three are what you need.

The set you linked to is exactly the macro and micromix I use, except it has K2SO4 which I do not use.

Yes...those three would cover the basics.

As far as when to dose, the EI method is a general method. It isn't written in stone and can be adapted to specific needs. If using EI, you start off dosing macro every "even" day and micro every "odd" day, then go from there. By dosing something each day, you develop a routine and are less likely to forget to dose, or get confused.

I have a high light, pressured CO2 tank. I dose Equilibrium right after a water change. I dose both macro powders and the micromix powder directly into the tank on even days and I dose Fe on off days. This works for my particular setup. You want to have consistent nutrient levels. You don't want them to ever drop too low. Regular dosing prevents "bottoming out" of anything.

Underdosing is more dangerous to plant health than overdosing. You want to overdose, slightly. This way, you are sure there are no low levels of any particular nutrient - this prevents the plants from having a limiting factor that stops or reduces their growth. You want the plants to have the fuel to use up all the light and carbon you are giving them. If something stops the plants from doing this, it opens the door for algae to set up shop.

My advice is use the ferts you were looking at getting, dose using the EI method and recommended levels, and then watch the plants. You can tweak something here or there as needed as you get to know your plants better. If you want to limit the speed of the plant growth, do it by reducing the light, not the Co2 or nutrients. The light is the engine.

I don't have experience with the AH Supply kits or much recent experience with DIY CO2 (many years ago), so I cannot be sure if you will have issues with too much light for DIY CO2 to keep up with. Someone with more experience with setups similar to yours can comment on that. No matter what nutrients you dose, if the light is too far ahead of the CO2, you will get algae. I'm not saying that is the case with your setup, but you should ask.
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Thank you, that helps.

I am not worried about not having enough C02 for my light, unless adding ferts will be a problem.
I have had that light over the tank for almost 3 years, with no co2, and have no algae problems, and even had decent plant growth until the last 6 months or so. (I think my tank didn't have enough fish to provide enough nutrients.)
I just added the diy co2.
I would like to be able to grow more plants, and not have to rely on fish alone for nutrients.

So there will be no problem with algae if I have more overall nutrients than the plants will be able to use because of less light and co2?

Should I also buy root tabs for my rooted plants?
A 2 x 55 watt AH Supply light kit gives you low medium light, so you only need to dose once a week or so, and you can very likely dose about half of what that table in the sticky lists, or even less. With that light level fertilizing isn't at all critical. As long as the plants continue to grow they have enough of what they need. If they seem to slow down in growth, you can then dose lightly. If you aren't that careful in observing the growth rates, just dosing weekly with low doses should work fine.
SleepyOwl,

I'd take Hoppy's advice. I wasn't sure how your AHS lighting worked out and my experience is with high light. As I recall, Hoppy has tested a bunch of different light sources and has better judgment on what kind of light you are getting. It sounds like you and I are in different light classes, thus our dosing should be different.
Thanks for the help you guys! I will try that out, Hoppy.

I am a bit frustrated with my light though. When I got it, I did a bunch of research first, and people that had tested it (I am sure it was here) had said it was better than it is turning out to be. I knew it wasn't high light, but I didn't want to be low either. I wanted a good solid med or med-high. Ah well, I added the DIY co2 and will see if that helps, and I think my next big purchase will be a pressurized co2 (or an R/O filter, I keep changing my mind which is more important.) If I still need to add more light after that... I guess I will cross that bridge when I get there.

Thanks again for your advice!
A 2 x 55 watt AH Supply light kit gives you low medium light, so you only need to dose once a week or so, and you can very likely dose about half of what that table in the sticky lists, or even less. With that light level fertilizing isn't at all critical. As long as the plants continue to grow they have enough of what they need. If they seem to slow down in growth, you can then dose lightly. If you aren't that careful in observing the growth rates, just dosing weekly with low doses should work fine.
hoppy is completely right.. i found this out the hard way and dosed EI for about 2 months.. i had the worst algae outbreak in the world... i have low to med light with injected co2..
hoppy is completely right.. i found this out the hard way and dosed EI for about 2 months.. i had the worst algae outbreak in the world... i have low to med light with injected co2..
How often and how much are you dosing now? How is your plant growth?
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