Hi all,
I think I may need a bit of a hand with my EI dosing schedule. I was previously using the formula listed on the Aquariumplantfood website. However I was seeing some deficiencies which 'i believe' are nutrient based. I have calculated (perhaps incorrectly) that litre for litre the aquarium plant food dosage is actually some way short or Ceg's recommendations in his EI article. I'm a bit confused. I know that it's all estimative and that we are oversupplying nutrients to overcome shortfall, however I I am using very high light so the difference might be important.
Can somebody please confirm if my new increased strength formula is on the right track?
First a bit of background:
- My water report is here
- My tank is 70 liters with an 8 litre capacity external filter.
- I use pressurised CO2
- For light I am using a daylight reading lamp. It is supposed to be 11w which the manufacturer claims is the equivalent of between 60w and 70w. Now, I was told (by Ceg no less) that the 60-70w rating is nonsense. However over the first 6 months of the tank's life I have had all sorts of melting problems with 'easy' plants such as crypts, hairgrass and vallis. I now have my CO2 cranked right up, am limited to a 6 hour light period and have the light 21 inches(!!!) above the top of the tank. It might not be 70w but it's certainly more than 11w. So I'm leaning towards believing the manufacturer on this one which would put the wpg at somewhere between 3.5-4 wpg.
With that in mind I went on Jame's planted tank dosing calculator to try and develop a macro mixture based on the aquarium plant food recipe but adjusted to hit the levels listed in Ceg's document and using Jame's calculator. I got the following:
The dose is 20ml, 3x per week.
- 7 tsp potassium nitrate
- 1 tsp Potassium Phosphate
- 12 tsp Magnesium Sulphate
- 500ml water
a) Does this sound right?
b) What would the recipe for corresponding recipe be for the micros?
Thanks in advance
CD
I think I may need a bit of a hand with my EI dosing schedule. I was previously using the formula listed on the Aquariumplantfood website. However I was seeing some deficiencies which 'i believe' are nutrient based. I have calculated (perhaps incorrectly) that litre for litre the aquarium plant food dosage is actually some way short or Ceg's recommendations in his EI article. I'm a bit confused. I know that it's all estimative and that we are oversupplying nutrients to overcome shortfall, however I I am using very high light so the difference might be important.
Can somebody please confirm if my new increased strength formula is on the right track?
First a bit of background:
- My water report is here
- My tank is 70 liters with an 8 litre capacity external filter.
- I use pressurised CO2
- For light I am using a daylight reading lamp. It is supposed to be 11w which the manufacturer claims is the equivalent of between 60w and 70w. Now, I was told (by Ceg no less) that the 60-70w rating is nonsense. However over the first 6 months of the tank's life I have had all sorts of melting problems with 'easy' plants such as crypts, hairgrass and vallis. I now have my CO2 cranked right up, am limited to a 6 hour light period and have the light 21 inches(!!!) above the top of the tank. It might not be 70w but it's certainly more than 11w. So I'm leaning towards believing the manufacturer on this one which would put the wpg at somewhere between 3.5-4 wpg.
With that in mind I went on Jame's planted tank dosing calculator to try and develop a macro mixture based on the aquarium plant food recipe but adjusted to hit the levels listed in Ceg's document and using Jame's calculator. I got the following:
The dose is 20ml, 3x per week.
- 7 tsp potassium nitrate
- 1 tsp Potassium Phosphate
- 12 tsp Magnesium Sulphate
- 500ml water
a) Does this sound right?
b) What would the recipe for corresponding recipe be for the micros?
Thanks in advance
CD