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Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination

Happi

Member
Joined
15 Jan 2012
Messages
775
Location
UTAH, USA
Dear UKAPS Members,

Looks like most of you are looking for an alternative to several premixed fertilizer, which are either no longer available or has become hard to find in the UK. it appear as Solufeed brand has been quite the new trend for some of the members and it certainly looks promising, even better than what Miracle Grow has to offer. I hope to see Solufeed brand here in the USA, but apparently its not available. am looking for a candidates who could test these two products in combination. the goal here is to test it, validate it, modify it, make changes as needed (even though the current recipe/plan should be sufficient and effective). #89

you will need these two products:
Solufeed 2:1:4
Solufeed Sodium Free TEC

these two seems like a good candidate when combined together. Most of you are probably worried about the Urea-N, but this is a much safer candidate compared to NH4-N. most of you might not know this, but most high-end brand use Urea as their main source of Nitrogen, those brands include ADA, Seachem etc.


this approach is much different from traditional EI dosing, such as including Urea and K being bit on the low side. From my perspective 5.3 K is plenty for a weekly dose, we can adjust this if someone really want to add more. This dosing can be used in low or high tech setups just like EI style dosing. It is my advice to maintain lower PH less than 7.0 just to be safe while using a fertilizer that usually contain Urea or NH4. I use to dose Urea in PH above 7.0 water without any issue, but with extra precaution.

The recipe below is based on 50-gallon (189.27 liter) aquarium and you can adjust the dosing to your own tank if needed.

500 ml solution, 20 ml per 50 gallon

Step #1
start with 450 ml Distilled water

Step #2
Add 0.25 gram potassium sorbate and mix till fully
dissolve

Step #3 (Pick one from the list below, White Vinegar is Preferred) and mix till fully dissolve
Add 0.25 gram sodium benzoate
Add 0.5 gram Ascorbic acid
Add 5-10 ml White Vinegar

Step #4
Add 31.545 gram Solufeed 2:1:4 and mix till fully dissolve
Add 5.721 gram
Solufeed Sodium Free TEC and mix till fully dissolve

Step #5
after mixing all the chemicals, add distilled water to reach the 500 ml solution

20 ml per 50 gallon (189.3 Liter) dose will add the following:


N 1 (Urea-N 0.466 ppm, NO3-N 0.54 ppm) this adds about 2.4 ppm NO3, Rest of the N is from Urea
P 0.2
K 1.766
Fe 0.11166
Mn 0.02818
Cu 0.003446
B 0.0125
Zn 0.019
Mo 0.002146
Mg 0.1266

EI style 3x a week dose:

N 3 (1.4 Urea-N, 1.62 NO3-N) this will add 7.18 ppm NO3, Rest of the N from Urea
P 0.6
K 5.3
Fe 0.335
Mn 0.08454
Cu 0.01
B 0.0375
Zn 0.057
Mo 0.006438
Mg 0.38


For those who want to use the Solufeed Coir TEC version:

The recipe below is based on 50-gallon (189.27 liter) aquarium and you can adjust the dosing to your own tank if needed.

500 ml solution, 20 ml per 50 gallon

Step #1
start with 450 ml Distilled water

Step #2
Add 0.25 gram potassium sorbate and mix till fully dissolve

Step #3 (Pick one from the list below, White Vinegar is Preferred) and mix till fully dissolve
Add 0.25 gram sodium benzoate
Add 0.5 gram Ascorbic acid
Add 5-10 ml White Vinegar

Step #4
Add 31.545 gram Solufeed 2:1:4 and mix till fully dissolve
Add 7.2684 gram
Solufeed Coir TEC and mix till fully dissolve

Step #5
after mixing all the chemicals, add distilled water to reach the 500 ml solution
20 ml per 50 gallon (189.3 Liter) dose will add the following:

N 1 (Urea-N 0.466 ppm, NO3-N 0.54 ppm) this adds about 2.4 ppm NO3, Rest of the N is from Urea
P 0.2
K 1.766
Fe 0.11166
Mn 0.0467
Cu 0.0042
B 0.007
Zn 0.0365
Mo 0.003
Mg 0.12666

EI style 3x a week dose:

N 3 (1.4 Urea-N, 1.62 NO3-N) this will add 7.18 ppm NO3, Rest of the N from Urea
P 0.6
K 5.3
Fe 0.335
Mn 0.14
Cu 0.0126
B 0.021
Zn 0.11
Mo 0.009
Mg 0.38

It would be nice for some of the UKAPS members to give this a trial and report back. I am fully confident that this is a perfect recipe for those who like EI style dosing with their 50% water changes. If anything needs to be changed, we can do that so we could further improve/adjust or modify the recipe without going too much into DIY, as the main goal is to try to keep it simple as possible. Dont let the Urea scare you

This is going to be the standard version, If i feel that we can further modify this, it will be discussed on a separate thread.
 
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Thanks, @Happi. I think this is what I have been looking for! I am in the process of setting up a large-ish high-tech tank and have been worrying most about the fertiliser route having seen how much liquid ferts would cost me long-term and blowing my mind with EI calculator. Was planning to get some TNC as a starting point, but if I mixed up the above as per your instruction would that serve me just as well? Would there be any risk for a noob?

Not sure I'm positioned to comment too much on how good it will be being new to the hobby and having no reference point - plus I'm still purchasing bits and bobs - but I hope to be up and running within the next month or so.

My set up is a 300l, with Chihiros WRGB2 Pro and will have CO2. Oase 850 filter.

Either way, this is a really useful post for me, so thanks! Loving this site so far.
 
Thanks, @Happi. I think this is what I have been looking for! I am in the process of setting up a large-ish high-tech tank and have been worrying most about the fertiliser route having seen how much liquid ferts would cost me long-term and blowing my mind with EI calculator. Was planning to get some TNC as a starting point, but if I mixed up the above as per your instruction would that serve me just as well? Would there be any risk for a noob?

Not sure I'm positioned to comment too much on how good it will be being new to the hobby and having no reference point - plus I'm still purchasing bits and bobs - but I hope to be up and running within the next month or so.

My set up is a 300l, with Chihiros WRGB2 Pro and will have CO2. Oase 850 filter.

Either way, this is a really useful post for me, so thanks! Loving this site so far.
I am not aware of the water in Bristol,but if you could provide a water report, happi or I could comment on urea safety and how much you should be dosing. I have been using methods similar to this for a fair amount of time now .
 
Dear UKAPS Members,

Looks like most of you are looking for an alternative to several premixed fertilizer, which are either no longer available or has become hard to find in the UK. it appear as Solufeed brand has been quite the new trend for some of the members and it certainly looks promising, even better than what Miracle Grow has to offer. I hope to see Solufeed brand here in the USA, but apparently its not available. am looking for a candidates who could test these two products in combination. the goal here is to test it, validate it, modify it, make changes as needed (even though the current recipe/plan should be sufficient and effective). #89

you will need these two products:
Solufeed 2:1:4
Solufeed Sodium Free TEC

these two seems like a good candidate when combined together. Most of you are probably worried about the Urea-N, but this is a much safer candidate compared to NH4-N. most of you might not know this, but most high-end brand use Urea as their main source of Nitrogen, those brands include ADA, Seachem etc.


this approach is much different from traditional EI dosing, such as including Urea and K being bit on the low side. From my perspective 5.3 K is plenty for a weekly dose, we can adjust this if someone really want to add more. This dosing can be used in low or high tech setups just like EI style dosing. It is my advice to maintain lower PH less than 7.0 just to be safe while using a fertilizer that usually contain Urea or NH4. I use to dose Urea in PH above 7.0 water without any issue, but with extra precaution.

The recipe below is based on 50-gallon (189.27 liter) aquarium and you can adjust the dosing to your own tank if needed.

500 ml solution, 20 ml per 50 gallon
Add 31.545 Gram Solufeed 2:1:4
Add 5.721 gram
Solufeed Sodium Free TEC

N 1 (Urea-N 0.466 ppm, NO3-N 0.54 ppm) this adds about 2.4 ppm NO3, Rest of the N is from Urea
P 0.2
K 1.766
Fe 0.11166
Mn 0.02818
Cu 0.003446
B 0.0125
Zn 0.019
Mo 0.002146
Mg 0.1266

EI style 3x a week dose:

N 3 (1.4 Urea-N, 1.62 NO3-N) this will add 7.18 ppm NO3, Rest of the N from Urea
P 0.6
K 5.3
Fe 0.335
Mn 0.08454
Cu 0.01
B 0.0375
Zn 0.057
Mo 0.006438
Mg 0.38

It would be nice for some of the UKAPS members to give this a trial and report back. I am fully confident that this is a perfect recipe for those who like EI style dosing with their 50% water changes. If anything needs to be changed, we can do that so we could further improve/adjust or modify the recipe without going too much into DIY, as the main goal is to try to keep it simple as possible. Dont let the Urea scare you
Is there a way to include this on the fabulous IFC calculator? @Zeus. @Hanuman
 
I am not aware of the water in Bristol,but if you could provide a water report, happi or I could comment on urea safety and how much you should be dosing. I have been using methods similar to this for a fair amount of time now .
Thanks, that is kind of you. I have attached the water report for my area. I will try to learn this stuff, but my head is spinning just trying to get what I need to get fully set up at the moment. The aquarium is 297 litres, but this is the total capacity before hardscape etc.

Thanks again!

Mark
 

Attachments

  • Water quality BS16.pdf
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Thanks, that is kind of you. I have attached the water report for my area. I will try to learn this stuff, but my head is spinning just trying to get what I need to get fully set up at the moment. The aquarium is 297 litres, but this is the total capacity before hardscape etc.

Thanks again!

Mark
Bristol has quite hard water and high NO3, so I would reduce nitrogen dosing. Other than that what happi outlined should work. @KirstyF will have experience with this.

If you do have issues with pale new growth I would experiment with alternative chelates for Fe
Try in this order:
Dtpa
Gluconate
Eddha
I believe Kirsty is experimenting on a combination of some of these.
 
Would there be any risk for a noob?
Non whatsoever, if the tanks hi tech ph should be below 7, so urea to nh3 shouldn't be a problem. @Happi suggestion will add about 10ppm of No3, add that to your 20ppm of nitrate in the tap water.... again harmless. Only thing you might have to do is add a bit more trace element, if that's the case this is also harmless.
 
Thanks, @Happi. I think this is what I have been looking for! I am in the process of setting up a large-ish high-tech tank and have been worrying most about the fertiliser route having seen how much liquid ferts would cost me long-term and blowing my mind with EI calculator. Was planning to get some TNC as a starting point, but if I mixed up the above as per your instruction would that serve me just as well? Would there be any risk for a noob?

Not sure I'm positioned to comment too much on how good it will be being new to the hobby and having no reference point - plus I'm still purchasing bits and bobs - but I hope to be up and running within the next month or so.

My set up is a 300l, with Chihiros WRGB2 Pro and will have CO2. Oase 850 filter.

Either way, this is a really useful post for me, so thanks! Loving this site so far.
if you ever used ADA or Seachem Nitrogen before without any issue then you are less likely to see any issue with the above recipe. as you can see if you were to target 1 ppm N, that will add about 0.466 N from Urea. that isn't a significant amount and it shouldn't pose any risk especially if the tank is fully planted. if the plant mass is quite low then i would advice to cut the doses in smaller amount. that 3 ppm N weekly dose is for those who have tank full of plants and are looking for max yield. some of us consider Urea to be safe even while using it in harder water because its not same as adding NH4, but the more Urea you add, the risk of NH4 conversion is increased, even though this conversion happens at slower rate, by that time plant should quickly absorb most of that NH4. you are less likely to ever see any sign of NH4/NH3 on your test kits unless you really start adding lot of urea


Thanks, that is kind of you. I have attached the water report for my area. I will try to learn this stuff, but my head is spinning just trying to get what I need to get fully set up at the moment. The aquarium is 297 litres, but this is the total capacity before hardscape etc.

Thanks again!

Mark
looks like your PH is above the 7.0 mark within around 20 ppm NO3 mark. in case of @KirstyF she doesn't add any N or any NO3 at all, she only add P, K for her Macros. you can make your recipe by adding K and P to the Micro recipe below if you like and you can totally skip on the Solufeed 2:1:4

for your 300 liter setup:

9.07 gram Solufeed Sodium Free TEC Mixed in 500 ml, 20 ml per 300 Liter (Micros/Fe)

Fe 0.1
Mn 0.02418
B 0.0111
Cu 0.00278
Zn 0.014
Mo 0.001813
 
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Bristol has quite hard water and high NO3, so I would reduce nitrogen dosing. Other than that what happi outlined should work. @KirstyF will have experience with this.

If you do have issues with pale new growth I would experiment with alternative chelates for Fe
Try in this order:
Dtpa
Gluconate
Eddha
I believe Kirsty is experimenting on a combination of some of these.
Thanks, @plantnoobdude. I might be being thick, but if I am using the above mix how would I reduce nitrogen? Do you mean just reduce that half of the mix and therefore reduce the potassium and other compounds? I'm not sure how I would reduce nitrogen on its own? And, sorry, but I have no idea what you mean ref. Dtpa, gluconate etc. Are these different compounds containing iron? I assume you can buy those separately and add to your mix?

Apologies, but best to assume I'm clueless when it comes to using salts. I only found it was a thing this weekend! :)
 
if you ever used ADA or Seachem Nitrogen before without any issue then you are less likely to see any issue with the above recipe. as you can see if you were to target 1 ppm N, that will add about 0.466 N from Urea. that isn't a significant amount and it shouldn't pose any risk especially if the tank is fully planted. if the plant mass is quite low then i would advice to cut the doses in smaller amount. that 3 ppm N weekly dose is for those who have tank full of plants and are looking for max yield. some of us consider Urea to be safe even while using it in harder water because its not same as adding NH4, but the more Urea you add, the risk of NH4 conversion is increased, even though this conversion happens at slower rate, by that time plant should quickly absorb most of that NH4. you are less likely to ever see any sign of NH4/NH3 on your test kits unless you really start adding lot of urea



looks like your PH is above the 7.0 mark within around 20 ppm NO3 mark. in case of @KirstyF she doesn't add any N or any NO3 at all, she only add P, K for her Macros. you can make your recipe by adding K and P to the Micro recipe below if you like and you can totally skip on the Solufeed 2:1:4

for your 300 liter setup:

9.07 gram Solufeed Sodium Free TEC Mixed in 500 ml, 20 ml per 300 Liter (Micros/Fe)

Fe 0.1
Mn 0.02418
B 0.0111
Cu 0.00278
Zn 0.014
Mo 0.001813
Thanks, @Happi. I think I am getting you - so I have high nitrates, so don't need to add any nitrogen. I get that. But how would I add P and K? What do I need to buy? And how much would I need to add to that solution, or would I need to make up separate solutions?

Just to clarify, this will be a brand new tank so I haven't used any fertilisers before. I kept an aquarium many years ago, but this is a new venture and I'm on a steep learning curve!
 
Thanks, @Happi. I think I am getting you - so I have high nitrates, so don't need to add any nitrogen. I get that. But how would I add P and K? What do I need to buy? And how much would I need to add to that solution, or would I need to make up separate solutions?

Just to clarify, this will be a brand new tank so I haven't used any fertilisers before. I kept an aquarium many years ago, but this is a new venture and I'm on a steep learning curve!
You will need potassium sulfate and potassium phosphate to cover both P and K. Since you are farily new to fertilizer, we will try to keep it simple as possible. Just get both of the listed Solufeed products for now, get KH2PO4 (potassium phosphate), K2SO4 (potassium sulfate) and KNO3 (potassium Nitrate). Potassium Nitrate just in case we decided to use it, so you would have it available.

If you were to combine the two listed Solufeed products together and dose 1 ppm N weekly split into smaller doses 3x week, which will add 0.33 N per dose, this would be a good starting point. Or you can dose daily, which will add about 0.142 N.

No need to worry about getting individual fertilizer such as Fe gluconate, DTPA Fe during this time, Unless we really have to. the goal of this thread is to keep it simple and basic as possible.
 
Is there a way to include this on the fabulous IFC calculator? @Zeus. @Hanuman
Well I looked at it, it could be done, however with it being the first AIO salt both me an @Hanuman feel it would make the IFC calculator even more complex/misleading, plus it would require two complete sheets being redone. So ATM it's not worth the effort.
I have added Solufeeds 2:1:4 to my copy and give a sheetshot of all the ppms for a given dry dose to any size tank. Just ask or pm.
I am still trying to think how else I can add it easily to use and intergrate into the IFC Calculator.
 
You will need potassium sulfate and potassium phosphate to cover both P and K. Since you are farily new to fertilizer, we will try to keep it simple as possible. Just get both of the listed Solufeed products for now, get KH2PO4 (potassium phosphate), K2SO4 (potassium sulfate) and KNO3 (potassium Nitrate). Potassium Nitrate just in case we decided to use it, so you would have it available.

If you were to combine the two listed Solufeed products together and dose 1 ppm N weekly split into smaller doses 3x week, which will add 0.33 N per dose, this would be a good starting point. Or you can dose daily, which will add about 0.142 N.

No need to worry about getting individual fertilizer such as Fe gluconate, DTPA Fe during this time, Unless we really have to. the goal of this thread is to keep it simple and basic as possible.
Thanks, @Happi. I'll do that. I might PM you if I have any questions, if that's okay - as I have probably taken up too much of this thread already! Really helpful, though! :) Once I'm set up and settled, I'll spend some more time trying to understand the chemistry better! Thanks again!
 
Edit- Do not front load Solufeed 2:1:4 as it contains urea, unless you are happy with risks or it has a low NO3 ppm dose
Original post follows-
What might be worth considering when using a Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC Combination. Is to front load the tank with Solufeeds 2:1:4 straight after the WC the Solufeeds 2:1:4 would give a easy mass which can be dry dosed to tank. The use Solufeed Sodium Free TEC made up in a solution and dose it a few times during the week, the mass of Solufeed Sodium Free TEC needed to dry dose would be small so it is easier(and more accurate) to dose from a solution.

This also may be an easier way for the Solufeed 2:1:4 AIO salt (and other AIO products) to be integrated into the IFC calculator as well. then the main sheets would need little changes and the nutrients added from font loading can feed into what we have already done from the existing WC nutrients added. So say front load 5g Solufeeds 2:1:4 after WC

1672655287423.png


Then any 'shortfalls' in nutrients can be easily account for and adjusted to your fert regime
 
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front load the tank with Solufeeds 2:1:4 straight after the WC the Solufeeds 2:1:4 would give a easy mass which can be dry dosed to tank.
the problem with this is that the user might end up adding way too much Urea while front loading this product. while NH3/NH4 wont suddenly show up on the test kits, but it will start to show up within few hours and for the next few days, usually in the low range 0.2 - 0.5 ppm NH3/NH4. But this too will depend on the tank, filtration and the plant mass. the 0.2 - 0.5 ppm NH3/NH4 conversion is just a good estimated number based on 3 ppm N from Urea if it were to be dosed, it will vary depending on individual tank. if someone really want to attempt the front loading with this product, start with 1 ppm N, this will only add about 0.466 ppm Urea-N which should be good start for the front loaders.

but, front loading is not a good option for those who would want to dose higher doses such as 2-4 ppm N in single doses with Urea/NH4 based fertilizer. KNO3, K2SO4, KH2PO4 etc. are better options for front loading and Trace/Fe dosed by Solufeed Sodium Free TEC from a solution.

IME it is good to feed the plants with smaller doses more often than trying to feed them at once with huge doses.
 
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