[eser21]

Hi, so i have bought all my dry ferts for EI and had it in my head that i could premix the dry ferts with water in 500ml batches in a graduated dosing bottle and just dose from that as required.

Is this possible as now i read a bit more most people dose the dry ferts straight into the tank...
I figured this would just be easier and when im away my housemate can continue the regime..?

If it is OK to do this does it have to be mixed with distilled water or will boiled tap water be ok?

Do i need to mix the micros and macros in separate bottles or can i do a one bottle mix??

Also does anyone know where i can find a concentration recipe for doing this if it is possible?

sorry for yet another noob question...:iamwithst

 

[VeeSe]

Pre-mixing is fine. Mixing with distilled water is preferable so that you know exactly what you are putting in. Macros and micros should be mixed separately, as iron can react with phosphate to form ferrous phosphate, which is not soluble. Likewise, if you are mixing in iron chelate as one of your ingredients, that should be mixed with the micro solution and not with the phosphate. The concentration can be as you wish as long as you don't saturate the solution and try to dissolve too much in too little a quantity of water. You'll just have to dose a little more if you make the solution a little less concentrated.

 

[Hoppy]

Actually it makes no difference at all whether you use tap water or distilled water. Adding 10 ml of tap water, even the worst tap water, adds almost nothing but water. Fertilizing is a very approximate process, not one requiring precision.

 

[robbowal]

eser21
For my dry ferts I measure out what I need for the week in a 7 day pill container. and when its time to dose I pour the salts into a small jar with tank water swish it around a bit and then pour into the tank. when i do the 50% weekly water change i refill the pill box and am ready again for the week.
I can send you an info sheet if you need it for dosing levels.
For the dry salts i used fluidsensoronline cheap and quick delivery.
just pm me and i will email it to you.

 

[Crispino L Ramos]

Also does anyone know where i can find a concentration recipe for doing this if it is possible? sorry for yet another noob question...:iamwithst

You might be able to use this as a guide/recipe.

(taken from Tom Barre's article)

A Typical Tank
A typical routine for a high light tank with low fish load:
Volume 80 liters (20 gal high standard tank)
5.5 watts/ gal. - two 55watt 5000K/8800K lamps
CO2-25-30ppm (I turn my CO2 off at night)
Canister filter
Fluorite (any porous iron rich material will do) about 7-10cm depth

A Typical Dosing Routine
1/4 teaspoon of KNO3 3-4x a week (every other day)
1/16th-1/32nd teaspoon of KH2PO4 3-4x a week (every other day)
Traces added on off days as the macro nutrients, so 3x a week, 5mls each time.
SeaChem Equilibrium 1/8 teaspoon after water change.

 

[Sharkfood]

I still don't understand how making a dosing solution is a way of making things simpler. Adding extra steps means adding complexity in my way of thinking. Roughly measuring out 2 or 3 spoonfuls a day and tossing them in the aquarium only takes a few seconds.

I do make solution for micros however, just because the dosage for anything less than a very big tank is such a tiny amount.

I like using distilled water when mixing hydroponic fertilizer concentrates just because calcium salts dissolve better than in my hard, local water. They're always in a crystallized pentahydrate form which probably makes them less soluble.

Even hydro nutrients could be dosed dry, but I premix simply because I'm copying commercial hydroponic fertilizer mixes.

I dose all the macros dry in my aquariums so I can't really say I've tried salts like KNO3 in tap water. They dissolve pretty well in my aquarium though, so I'd think tap water should be fine.

I use distilled water for mixing CSM+B also, but honestly I've never tried tap water, so maybe it's just a waste of good distilled water.