[Siddhartha Saive]

Hey guys
I have a 8' x 3' x 3.5' tank ~ 630 gallons with a 120 gallon sump (together holding 600 gallons of water).
A link to my tank journal
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=486449

Using pressurised CO2 with a reactor, solenoid turned on and off along with the lights.
Water is tap with 300 tds.
The plants are anubias, ferns mostly and moss, water lillies. Have a few plants in my sump refugium too.
Lightning is T5HO. 54Wx6 and 54Wx2 + 39Wx4. Photoperiod is anywhere between 6 to 12 hrs.



Need help with EI dosing for my tank
I'm currently dosing with KNO3, KH2PO4, KCl, MgSO4 and Micro mix since 2 weeks.

Dry dosing with a teaspoon according to the website
https://www.thenutrientcompany.com/aquarium/calculators/ei_calculator/

I calculated for 1/3rd of my tank size(200 gallons) since I have slow growing plants and low-medium light and since my tank is not heavily planted. And dosing less MgSO4 than recommended since my water is hard.

My current schedule -
Day 1 Sunday - 50% water change and Macros KNO3 2 tsp, KH2PO4 1 tsp, KCl 1 tsp, MgSO4 2 tsp
Mon - 1/2 tsp micro
Tue - macros same as on Sunday
Wed - micros same
Thu - macros
Fri - micros
Sat - rest

Is this fine? Or should I dose lesser?

Can you guys suggest me a schedule with 25% water changes, twice a week maybe?

(25% easier for me.. takes just 15 mins. Have to keep wetting the plants to prevent them from drying out during larger water changes. )

 

[aubtruck2]

you really change 300 gallon of water a week?

 

[Siddhartha Saive]

you really change 300 gallon of water a week?

Yes. Bcoz I can and I'll be adding discus soon anyway.
I used to change 80% once a month earlier.. with all RO
I got permanent plumbing installed to and from the tank. So I can do water changes just by turning on valves .. Using tap water now

 

[Kathyy]

The amount on that website is just about what I give my 200 gallon system, it is fine to triple it although you might be just fine as your tank is mostly slower growing plants. I dose 2 tsp N+1tspP alternating with 1tsp micros+1/4tsp iron during the week then at water changes I dose 3tsp MgSO4+1tspKSO4+1tspCaCO4 as apparently my water is a bit softer than my plants like.

Since you are already dosing why not just increase one powder at a time? I know my plants really like more N, P and Mg and the snail health improved with that little bit of Ca but more micros and iron don't seem to matter much. K doesn't seem to matter much either, must not have any potassium hogs in the tank at the moment.

There is a calculator here to see what happens when you dose what and how nutrients accumulate over time.

Wow, that is a lot of water going fast! It takes my python a good hour to gravity drain 90 gallons to the garden and 1/2 hour to refill the tank.

 

[squatingdog]

definition of dedication to the planted tank hobby

 

[Siddhartha Saive]

The amount on that website is just about what I give my 200 gallon system, it is fine to triple it although you might be just fine as your tank is mostly slower growing plants. I dose 2 tsp N+1tspP alternating with 1tsp micros+1/4tsp iron during the week then at water changes I dose 3tsp MgSO4+1tspKSO4+1tspCaCO4 as apparently my water is a bit softer than my plants like.

Since you are already dosing why not just increase one powder at a time? I know my plants really like more N, P and Mg and the snail health improved with that little bit of Ca but more micros and iron don't seem to matter much. K doesn't seem to matter much either, must not have any potassium hogs in the tank at the moment.

There is a calculator here to see what happens when you dose what and how nutrients accumulate over time.

Wow, that is a lot of water going fast! It takes my python a good hour to gravity drain 90 gallons to the garden and 1/2 hour to refill the tank.

Thank you Kathyy
I looked into the rota.la website. So twice a week 25% water changes will maintain the nutrient ppms at pretty much the same levels.

The only thing is I'm not sure if I'm dosing higher or lower than necessary for my tank. I can't tell by looking at the plants so easily because they are slow growers. I guess I'll plant a few stem plants in my sump and then make changes slowly.

And Thank you squatingdog

 

[aubtruck2]

definition of dedication to the planted tank hobby

+1 to that! Very nice tank by the way.

 

[mysticalnet]

With your plants, I think EI is almost an overkill. I think definitely dose lower, if it was me I'll probably half it even.

 

[Siddhartha Saive]

With your plants, I think EI is almost an overkill. I think definitely dose lower, if it was me I'll probably half it even.

Half? I'm dosing at about 1/3rd EI. You mean to say I should dose less than this?

 

[Zorfox]

Your current dosing seems about right if you reduce water changes to 25% weekly. Here is what you're currently dosing every other day...

NO3 2.63 ppm
PO4 1.08 ppm
K 2.1 ppm
Mg 1.1 ppm

Fe 0.12 ppm

The reason I gave those numbers is so you can model the trends here. If you know the ranges for non-limiting nutrients you can see your dosing regime will be fine. If you don't know those numbers or are confused about non-limiting nutrients give this a read.

Can you reduce your current dosing? Probably. However, I'm not a big fan of approaching nutrient limitation to save a few cents worth of fertilizer. Makes no sense to me. The sweet spot is so large we should never think about reducing levels that low IMO. You're doing enough water changes to eliminate the guess work or testing requirements, hence the original conception of EI.

 

[Siddhartha Saive]

Your current dosing seems about right if you reduce water changes to 25% weekly. Here is what you're currently dosing every other day...

NO32.63 ppm
PO41.08 ppm
K2.1 ppm
Mg1.1 ppm

Fe0.12 ppm

The reason I gave those numbers is so you can model the trends here. If you know the ranges for non-limiting nutrients you can see your dosing regime will be fine. If you don't know those numbers or are confused about non-limiting nutrients give this a read.

Can you reduce your current dosing? Probably. However, I'm not a big fan of approaching nutrient limitation to save a few cents worth of fertilizer. Makes no sense to me. The sweet spot is so large we should never think about reducing levels that low IMO. You're doing enough water changes to eliminate the guess work or testing requirements, hence the original conception of EI.

Thank you Zorfox
That is very helpful. I didn't know the ppm of ferts I was dosing leading to my doubts. This makes it easier now
I've gone through your EI thread earlier. Very good info

I'll be adding 30 juvenile discus to my tank soon(may cull half when they grow a bit). That's part of the reason I opted for 25% twice a week water changes.
Since I'll be having a pretty heavy bioload, will my current dosing be enough with twice a week 25% water changes?