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idiots guide for me please

hixy

Member
Joined
14 Nov 2007
Messages
232
Location
stourbridge west midlands
Hello folks have read loads about EI but still dont have a clue.could someone tell me if i was to order ferts this week what i would need to order.There seem to be so many different types surely i dont need all of them.my tank is 300 litres with pressurized co2 and 216 watts of light

Thanks hixy
 
216 watts of light?!?!

Are you joking?

That'd be like 2.7 WPG, not taking into account MH, T5s or what not.

Huge amount of light over that size tank.

I'm no expert of EI, but you certainly need it I think.
 
I dunno, that sounds about right to me... as long as you make sure you have a good substrate better co2 and fert's you'll be fine.
 
Luketendo said:
216 watts of light?!?!

Are you joking?

That'd be like 2.7 WPG, not taking into account MH, T5s or what not.

Huge amount of light over that size tank.

I'm no expert of EI, but you certainly need it I think.

the tank is a jewel 300 it comes as standard with 2 54 watt t5 nature bulbs so just bought another light unit now have 2 16 watts.i didnt think that was that much.the co2 unit is a bio plast regulator on a fire extinguisher.with in line reactor.

any idea on ferts need to buy please
 
The usual, trace, kno3 and k2po4.
Or an all in one off the shelf product, tropica tpn+ or similar.
 
when you order mate get a couple of the containers from them and mark on them what they are, and when and how much to dose .made my life so much easier when i started ei last month ,
 
216 watts is quite a lot on that tank but with an EI regime you should be great.

I'd expect super fast growth.
 
Hi,
Gandalf's magic calculator reveals the following dosing scheme:

3X per week 1 teaspoon KNO3
3X per week 1/4 teaspoon KH2PO4
1X per week (on water changes day) 2 or 3 teaspoons MgSO4 (Epsom Salts)
2X per week 1/4 teaspoon Trace Element Mix or 20 ml TPN

Water change should be at least 50% (150 L). For the next 6-8 weeks of tank operation it would help to perform the water change twice per week. Always dose immediately after the water change.

Poor CO2 is inevitably the downfall of any dosing regimen in a high light tank. Failure to inject properly always stresses the plants tremendously and induces algae formation, which is particularly ugly in the case of EI because of the high nutrient levels present on which the algae will then feed.

Ensure that your CO2 goes on an hour or so before the lights go on and ensure a high enough injection rate without killing your fish.

Be sure to study "CO2 For Dummies"-> http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=467 :lol:

Cheers,
 
Heres a .link that has help me, for making up solutions of dry ferts i always feel abit more comfortable dosing a solution than a teaspoon of this half a teaspoon of that.

As cag4048 said effective and consistant co2 dosing i very important and is where i fell down on my first attempt at EI.
 
Hi,
Start with a half-to-full kilo of KNO3, and 1/4 kilo each of the rest. Should last you a couple/three months but see what your consumption is before reordering. Obviously, you'll use 4 times as much NO3 as PO4/Traces so keep that in mind.

By the way George gave us this link for cheapest dry powder prices found so far: http://www.gardendirect.co.uk/

Cheers,
 
Excel is a benefit more when you don't use CO2 so I'd not bother.
 
nry said:
Excel is a benefit more when you don't use CO2 so I'd not bother.

Not necessarily. That statement would be true if you have unlimited CO2 reaching the plants, which almost certainly never happens. Excel/Easycarbo supplementation is always useful. Due to cost it may seem wise to delete it's addition but you could simply use less of it. This gives you more margin of error in CO2 injection.

In the the first paragraph of the first of the idiots guide there would be the statement in bold font size 36: "Never underestimate the importance of Carbon." :D

Cheers,
 
ceg4048 said:
nry said:
Excel is a benefit more when you don't use CO2 so I'd not bother.

Not necessarily. That statement would be true if you have unlimited CO2 reaching the plants, which almost certainly never happens. Excel/Easycarbo supplementation is always useful. Due to cost it may seem wise to delete it's addition but you could simply use less of it use less of it. This gives you more margin of error in CO2 injection.

Cheers,

I agree with Clive. I used Easycarbo daily with above 30ppm CO2 when I first set up my tank to make sure algae never got a foothold and it certainly didn't do any harm (except to my wallet maybe! :lol: ). I still add doses after water changes and after trimming/removing plants in case disturbing the substrate liberates NH3 or the trimming affects the plant uptake of nutrients in anyway; basically an insurance policy. Probably unneccesary but it can't hurt.
 
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