No problem. 😊
The reality is that there are almost as many ways to run a tank as there are tanks out there, but as that is a whole minefield for someone starting out, these are some basics that you can likely start out with, without running into too many issues:
NPK is your Macro - many folks split the weekly dose into 3 and dose 3 times pw.
1st dose after weekly water change - (day 1) and then on day 3 and 5 (I choose to front load and simply dose the full weekly dose straight after water change)
Mg - you can dose ‘dry’ once per week after WC.
The remainder of the nutrients are your Micro, and again, this is often split out and dosed on day 2, 4 and 6, so opposite days to the Macro to prevent any unwanted interactions. (I use this method for micro’s)
The calculator will tell you all of the measurements you need to meet ur target level.
There’s a bit of a debate on…..most things….on this forum 😂 but I don’t think I’d get too much flack if I say that the simple judgement for low tech vs high tech is whether or not you run injected Co2.
So that puts you in the low tech camp and you can adjust your ferts accordingly. If you wish to use EI as your base then just 1/3 to 1/2 EI level should be fine for your Macro.
For your micro, the IFC Calculator will give you some common micro recipe’s that you can clone and that might be a good place for you to start.
In the main, I use Aqua plants care for my ferts but not sure that they do a starter pack, so it can be a bit of an investment to get going, but the ferts will then last for a very long time.
Things are a bit more leisurely with a low tech, so don’t expect explosive growth… it’s a slower and steadier pace….so a little more patience is required.
If you stick to plants in the ‘easy’ category, you won’t go far wrong and there are lots of beauties to choose from.
You may find that the thing most likely to trip you up (bring on the algae) is running too much light, so in this instance, less is more. 😊
And your ‘big tank’ biggest challenge may be flow and distribution. It’s important to ensure that your nutrients, oxygen, Co2 (from surface level air) are all getting round the system.
If you decide to go for individual ferts and need any help with the IFC or deciding which dry ferts to purchase, come back to us.
Alternatively with the Solufeed solution mentioned by Darrel, you would just dose based on how much No3 you are wanting. I’m not personally familiar with the product but I believe it is an all in one that contains macro and micro 🤔
@dw1305 perhaps you can confirm? 😊
