[mattcham]

Can somebody please explain why the maximum concentration reaches a plateau at day 36 of the graphical chart in the original post. Why doesn't the maximum concentration keep rising like the preceding 30 days?

Also I like how the OP used a barrel for the analogy. BARRel reminds me of Tom Barr. Heh heh.

 

[Zorfox]

Can somebody please explain why the maximum concentration reaches a plateau at day 36 of the graphical chart in the original post. Why doesn't the maximum concentration keep rising like the preceding 30 days?

Think of it as a bank account. Deposit the same amount every week and withdraw 50% of the balance once a week. Eventually your balance will be equal to what your weekly deposit is. You can't make money out of thin air.

Your plants would represent the bank fees. Your bank may deduct $1/week or $10/week. It all depends on the bank. Plants aren’t greedy like banks. The more they deduct from your account the more growth and health they return. Of course there is a limit to how much they can deduct. So as long as you keep your balance over that amount you’ll never see an “overdraft fee”.

Also I like how the OP used a barrel for the analogy. BARRel reminds me of Tom Barr. Heh heh.

That analogy is not mine. It's been used for years to explain that idea.

BARRel...lol

 

[mattcham]

Think of it as a bank account. Deposit the same amount every week and withdraw 50% of the balance once a week. Eventually your balance will be equal to what your weekly deposit is.

Interesting. Intuitively it makes no sense but mathematically maybe it's a fact. I'll need to dwell on this for a while...

Update: I just did the math. Makes perfect sense now. Thanks for explaining with the bank analogy!

 

[DavidZ]

Very nice!!!

 

[Zorfox]

Very nice!!!

Thanks. That's nice to hear!

The initial post was geared towards education. Hobbies are much like people IMO. We're all helpless infants from day one ( I certainly was :confused1. Then we have parents (mentors) explaining things rather than ordering behavior..."sit up", "don't chew with your mouth open, "hold that door open"...

When we understand why things work it seems to fall into place. It took me a while to get it. Once I did I didn't understand why people weren't explaining it in a way people can grasp. I don't know about you but I didn't get into the hobby to learn organic chemistry.

So that's what this thread was all about. "Teaching a man to fish rather than giving him a fish".

 

[Immortal1]

Thanks. That's nice to hear!

The initial post was geared towards education. Hobbies are much like people IMO. We're all helpless infants from day one ( I certainly was :confused1. Then we have parents (mentors) explaining things rather than ordering behavior..."sit up", "don't chew with your mouth open, "hold that door open"...

When we understand why things work it seems to fall into place. It took me a while to get it. Once I did I didn't understand why people weren't explaining it in a way people can grasp. I don't know about you but I didn't get into the hobby to learn organic chemistry.

So that's what this thread was all about. "Teaching a man to fish rather than giving him a fish".

Exactly what I have been trying to do for the last few months - learning how to fish. Your organic chemistry quote really hit the nail on the head - especially with all the alphabet soup tied to feeding my plants LOL.

Anyway, don't think I have thanked you (and likely several others) for helping me learn some of the art behind a good planted tank. I'm no plant whisperer, yet, but I have been known to have enough persistence to achieve my goals.

 

[nanomania]

Im using the PPS -PRO method, i have 130g and i cant do wc every week, i can do 50% wc every month or max every 3 weeks. Also i have 90% red plants. PPS suggest dosing micro and macro everyday. So should i add both together or macro before lights and micro after? Im confused. This is my 1 week old tank:

 

[Aquaticz]

Excellent post Zorfox. Folks like you bring some real value to these forums and the effort is much appreciated.

+1 buddy

 

[geektom]

Hey all, I am trying to dive in and understand the EI method, so I started with this thread, which I realize may now be superseded by other threads.

It was extremely helpful! THANK YOU to the OP and contributors.

Are there new links for the calculators somewhere? The ones on this thread are broke.

A few questions:

* Ok, please don't laugh, but what liquid medium do I mix the ferts in? Distilled water?

* How much impact does my starting tap water have on my dosing? Am I wasting time and water to create RO water?

Here is my city's last water report- what comes out of my tap seems to test very close to this (to the extent that the LFS test kit can show, anyway)

http://http://www.riversideca.gov/utilities/pdf/wqar/2014-Water-Quality-Annual-Report.pdf

I will be filling a 20g tank in two weeks and have 20g of RO water ready to go. My initial plan was to mix the RO and tap until I achieved the correct GH.

I have EI dosing ferts on order and they will arrive before I am ready to fill the tank.

I will be using injected CO2 and decent lighting (24" Finnex FugeRay Planted +)

I think the desire for me to be "given a fish" is strongest around this start-up period... having read the entire thread here, the weekly dosing and water changes make total sense. I just don't to screw up my start!

Thanks for any help.

 

[nothreat33]

Accumulation Calculator. The ppm of the nutrient you are dosing seems to level out after the 30 day mark but if you do not know how much nutrients your plants are consuming this graph will not be helpful to you. In fact, by incorrectly gauging how many ppm your plants are using you could end up over dosing or under dosing your plants by a very large degree.

 

[Greggz]

Accumulation Calculator. The ppm of the nutrient you are dosing seems to level out after the 30 day mark but if you do not know how much nutrients your plants are consuming this graph will not be helpful to you. In fact, by incorrectly gauging how many ppm your plants are using you could end up over dosing or under dosing your plants by a very large degree.

You do know you are responding to a question that was asked over two years ago..................right?:grin2: