[Dempsey]

Hello all,

I looked though the treads but haven't seen this question asked. Is it true that you have to dose 5-7 times a week with pfertz? How does that work with EI method? I do plan on getting dry ferts and mixing my own but in the meantime I was looking at pfertz and hoping that they would bet me by for a while. With a pump per 10 gallons, 5-7 times a week, It doesn't seem that they would last me very long. I could understand if it was for a smaller tank. Maybe the bottles are bigger then I think and the pumps are smaller then I think? I was planning on using them on my 75 for a while. So i guess that would be 7-8 pumps? Any info on this would be great! Thanks again!

 

[Dempsey]

So I guess it's just the same as for EI?

 

[plantbrain]

One of posters has a DIY for Pfertz using the bottles.

Most liquids are dosed for CO2 enriched aquariums daily.
This is because they tend to be pretty dilute, or, a bottle of water, with a tiny bit of ferts in them. This works well for smaller aquariums (gives you more accuracy, not that it is that critical however.) but gets tiresome for say a 180 Gal tank.

EI can be modified to make your own DIY liquids however you chose. You can match commercial brands, or go richer, you can also dose 2-3x more every other day if you wish.

Simply because you use ferts diluted in water or not, or richer or leaner, does not imply a proprietary "method". These are choices humans make for management. They have little to do with a "brand".

Most add more/less than the suggestions and tweak to their liking, few follow them to the "letter of the rule":wink: That should not hurt, but tends to be on the much more conservative side for virtually all brands.

Since different light durations/intensity polays a massive role in the growth rates and thereby demand for CO2 and nutrients, you will get wide ranges of reactions and blame for nutrients being the blame of all things evil. Likewise, CO2 usage is rather poor , particularly among intermediate/newbies and even advanced folks time to time. This can affect nutrients uptake as well and have led many to blame nutrients for all that ails them.

In other words, it's not all about nutrients, they are rather easy and simple.
Add X amount to X amount of water by X amount of time.

That's it.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[plantbrain]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/f...ters/97211-pfertz-bottles-empty-now-what.html

If a daily dosing is better for you and you want a richer EI like dosing:
http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php?t=3209

Obviously, you can make this leaner(dose less) or dilute(add less ferts to the water).

This is just a slight modification of the PMDD method(adds PO4 and richer to account for higher light intensity).


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Dempsey]

Thank you, Tom! That explains allot!

 

[plantbrain]

Do not let the preamble freak you out.

It'd go something like this if you like liquids:

Bottom line is using something like the basic stuff, add say 60 grams of KNO3 to a 1 liter bottle etc. Or about 9 teaspoons(or 3 Table spoons of KNO3 to a 1 liter of water and then say 1.5 Tables spoons of KH2PO4 etc).

Traces, you can doctor to suit, say 1 Tablespoon per 1 liter of CMS+B, spike with a teaspoon extra of DTPA Fe. You could also add K2SO4, say 2 teaspoons to the trace mix if you want.

Really up to you.
Many that use brand name stuff do so due to feeling uneasy about names. Chem jargon. Learn it, it's not hard and once you bit the bullet and do it a couple of times, it becomes "old hat". Then it's much easier for folks to help you and tell you what to dose and to compare with other aquarist.

Still, light and CO2 are more important and should be the focus than nutrients. Rich sediments like ADA AS or soils/worm castings, osmocoat etc can be used and this stakes any strong demand off the water column dosing.

So using sediments, low light, good CO2/current, will make any dosing much easier. Use all the tools you have, not just one to make it easier. Keep the bottle and support them also. They try and support the hobby and the forums.

Still, the web has always been about DIY ferts, CO2, and lighting in the Planted aquarium hobby since the very inception of internet:icon_idea
Brand names have come and gone and still helped.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Dempsey]

Thanks again! I'm sure when I start doing it on a normal basis, I will become more comfortable.

Thanks,

 

[Dempsey]

Tom,

I tried to login to your page. I just can't see the six digit number to sign up.....

 

[plantbrain]

Might be the server's fault. Not sure, loaded fine for me.

Nothing I can do about it, honestly.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[khanzer22]

What browser are you using? Maybe the javascript is disabled...

Tom,

I tried to login to your page. I just can't see the six digit number to sign up.....

 

[plantbrain]

Greg was working on site maintenance there.
Should be available now.
OT, but relevant to the answer here.


Regards,
Tom Barr