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Dry dosing for a 135gal

902 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  fxie, 
F
After reading through the stickied dosing regime thread, as well as Rex's and Tom's guides, I have come up with the following dosing regime for my 1.6w/gal, DIY co2, 135gal planted tank.

I was wondering if someone could critique this schedule for me and see if it falls within acceptable parameters:

1 tsp KNO3 x3 weekly
2 tsp K2SO4 x3 weekly
1/10 tsp KH2PO4 x3 weekly

Given those amounts, I would be adding (per dose) approximately:
6ppm of KNO3
30ppm of K
0.7ppm of PO4

I have yet to add the co2, as I am still waiting for the 2 diffusers I ordered to come in. What would be an appropriate co2 level for this size of tank? Also, could someone suggest a suitable amount of Fe to add as well?

Thanks very much!
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evercl92
How many 2L bottles do you plan on using for this tank?
It would seem to me that you would be better off and cheaper to go with pressurized. I personally think that's a lot of phos for a low-light setup. Fe usage is based on plant growth/need. Have a lot of swords? Use more iron.

For my 120g, I add:

1/2 tsp CSM+B 2x week
1/2 tsp K2SO4 2x week
I test for nitrate, and dose KNO3 to reach 30ppm
I test for phos, and dose KH2PO4 to reach 1 - 2 ppm

I have 390wt of CF lighting, pressurized CO2, and 85% of the surface area covered with plants. This has been working quite well for me for a while now.
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F
I am planning on using 3 2L bottles for the 135gal, with two glass diffusers (one on each end of the tank).

The current plants we have in the tank are Java Fern, Anubias nana, Cryptocoryne petchii, 2 medium and 1 large (the leaves of the large reach to within 3" of the top of the tank) Echinodorus "Rubin", and 1 VERY large (diameter of leaves approximately 3", with total length reaching to the very top of the 24" deep tank) Echinodorus 'Rose'. I have been noticing some of the leaves of the Echinodorus "Rubin" turning transparent, which I will assume is from lack of iron. I have been dosing liquid ferts in the past, but as I have just recently added a large number of crypts and will soon be adding even more plants, nutrients will definitely be lacking.

Since you mention the amount of phosphorous may be too high for my tank, what level would you recommend?
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tazcrash69
FWIW, it seems like you are going to be dosing very, very heavy for a low light, low CO2 tank with relatively slow growers.
You mention adding more plants but if they are more Rhizome, and rosette plants they will still be slow growers, and not consume as much.

Hopefully someone with more experience and knowledge dosing can chime in.
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F
Yeah, I wasn't sure if my dosing regime was appropriate or not, thats why I decided to post and ask questions first :)

Btw, if anyone else has any other suggestions, that would be great too. Still trying to figure out an appropriate dosage amount!
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