Ei recipe/tap water report

[island lad77]

Hi guys. well my Ei starter kit has arrived for my 125L tank and initially I was going to dose 100%. (Large water change yesterday). A few weeks ago i decided to change from gravel only to cat litter substrate, which has done my plants no end of good. Im also dosing 2x easycarbo a day, and growing under 2x20w T8's for 9 hours. So far although growth is slow, overall plant health is really good at the moment. So my question for the ei experts (clive etc) is this. Looking at my tap water report below, do you think dosing 100% ei is still required or would a few adjustments be the way to go? Many thanks in advance for any reply's.

ALUMINIUM ugAl/l 200 8 < 4. < 5.775 15.
AMMONIUM (AMMONIA AND AMMONIUM IONS) mgNH4/l 0.5 12 < 0.065 < 0.065 < 0.065
ANTIMONY ugSb/l 5 8 < 0.4 < 0.4 < 0.4
ARSENIC ugAs/l 10 8 < 0.5 < 0.504 0.53
BENZENE ug/l 1 8 < 0.07 < 0.07 < 0.07
BENZO A PYRENE ug/l 0.01 8 < 0.001 < 0.001 < 0.001
BORON mgB/l 1 8 < 0.02 < 0.023 0.03
BROMATE ugBrO3/l 10 8 < 0.5 < 0.819 1.1
CADMIUM ugCd/l 5 8 < 0.2 < 0.224 0.39
TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON mgC/l No abnormal change 8 0.3 0.453 0.6
TETRACHLOROMETHANE ug/l 3 8 < 0.07 < 0.07 < 0.07
CHLORIDE mgCl/l 250 8 34.2 35.9 38.
FREE CHLORINE mg/l as Cl2 49 0.14 0.405 0.64
TOTAL CHLORINE mg/l as Cl2 49 0.21 0.446 0.72
CHROMIUM ugCr/l 50 8 < 0.4 < 0.488 < 1.
COLIFORM BACTERIA Number/100ml 0 48 0 0 0
COLOUR mg/l Pt/Co 20 12 < 0.9 < 1.2 4.5
CONDUCTIVITY uS/cm 2500 12 485. 521.083 541.
COPPER mgCu/l 2 8 0.018 0.212 0.7
CYANIDE ugCN/l 50 8 < 1.2 < 1.2 < 1.2
1,2 DICHLOROETHANE ug/l 3 8 < 0.12 < 0.12 < 0.12
NITRITE/NITRATE FORMULA Number 1 8 0.681 0.726 0.787
ENTEROCOCCI Number/100ml 0 8 0 0 0
E.COLI Number/100ml 0 48 0 0 0
FLUORIDE mgF/l 1.5 8 0.037 0.099 0.15
IRON ugFe/l 200 8 < 6. < 52.75 380.
LEAD ugPb/l 25 8 < 0.4 < 0.579 0.9
MANGANESE ugMn/l 50 8 < 1. < 3.525 20.
MERCURY ugHg/l 1 8 < 0.002 < 0.003 0.011
NICKEL ugNi/l 20 8 < 0.5 < 1.244 3.3
NITRATE mgNO3/l 50 8 34.067 36.315 39.338
NITRITE mgNO2/l 0.5 8 < 0.007 < 0.007 < 0.007
ODOUR Diln. No. No abnormal change 12 0 0 0
HYDROGEN ION (pH) pH value 6.5 - 9.5 12 7.11 7.437 7.94
PAH - Sum Of 4 Substances ug/l 0.1 8 0 0.000 0.001
SELENIUM ugSe/l 10 8 0.42 0.523 0.69
SODIUM mgNa/l 200 8 18. 21.5 37.
SULPHATE mgSO4/l 250 8 14.8 16.763 19.9
TASTE Diln. No. No abnormal change 12 0 0 0
TERACHLOROETHENE/TRICHLOROETHENE
SUM
ug/l 10 7 0 0 0
COLONY COUNT @ 37 C Number/1ml No abnormal change 24 0 10.167 242.
COLONY COUNT @ 22 C Number/1ml No abnormal change 24 0 0.375 5.
TOTAL TRIHALOMETHANES ug/l 100 8 8.07 14.774 38.5
TURBIDITY NTU 4 12 < 0.08 < 0.118 0.19

 

[ian_m]

Water report means nothing as far as EI goes, just does EI & 50% weekly water changes, job done. Worry more about CO2 and CO2 distribution.

 

[island lad77]

ok thanks Ian. Im new to all this Ei stuff. Im only running one tetratec ex700 with spray bar and the standard internal filter at the moment. Funds are abit short for a second external at the moment so any suggestions on products that would help with more flow, or is what im running enough for a 125L ?

 

[ceg4048]

Hello,
The best policy is to ignore the data in the report and to dose according to the instructions. There is no benefit whatsoever in using the report to determine dosing.

The way to make adjustment to the dosing is to start with the standard amounts and to slowly reduce the amounts by some arbitrary increment such as 10%. Then to wait a few weeks to observe the tank prior to making another downward adjustment.

In fact i see no reason at all to make a downward adjustment because as plants grow they need more nutrients to maintain the growth rates, not less.

Cheers,

 

[island lad]

OK. Thank you. I will add more to this thread over the next few weeks to show progress.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I can't help with EI, if you are only interested in plant growth you can basically dose as much as you like. After that it really depends on what fish you want to keep, and more importantly breed. The report tells you that your water is slightly "salty" (521 microS) and has lots of nitrates in it. You probably have a separate report for hardness? but I would imagine the water is quite hard as well.

NITRATE mgNO3/l 50 8 34.067 36.315 39.338

"mgNo3/l" is the unit of measurement, and mg/l is the same as ppm. The first value is the EU limit for that parameter, "50 mg /l". The next is the number of samples tested "8", and the next 3 values the minimum "34ppm", mean "36.3ppm" and maximum "39.4ppm".
Because you have a lot of NO3, you probably have some K and PO4 as well,

The way to make adjustment to the dosing is to start with the standard amounts and to slowly reduce the amounts by some arbitrary increment such as 10%. Then to wait a few weeks to observe the tank prior to making another downward adjustment.

which makes this a viable option.

I use another approach where I don't add carbon and I'm not aiming for maximal growth, in this case your tap water is already a weak dose of liquid fertiliser, and you may find that water changes will keep your plants growing happily.

cheers Darrel

 

[island lad]

Darrel that's definitely food for thought. Although I'm a bit hesitant to stop the liquid carbon, mainly due to the fact that I had really bad algae problems before I changed the substrate and upped the carbon dosing from standard to x2. The tank isn't in direct sunlight but since summer has progressed we do get a lot of direct sunlight in our living room from mid afternoon onwards. So I guess its just a case of finding a balance between natural light/tank light and timing/ferts/flow(which I may have to increase as the tank fills out) and strict dosing and water changes. And yes the water is rated hard. I'd like to look into options of softening the water but at the moment that's just another think toworry about. 4 water butts in my garden maybe an option in the future.

 

[island lad]

By the way, I'm changing 50% water weekly anyway.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all

had really bad algae problems before I changed the substrate and upped the carbon dosing from standard to x2......the tank isn't in direct sunlight but since summer has progressed we do get a lot of direct sunlight in our living room from mid afternoon onwards

Quite likely a light issue, the sun is incredibly bright compared to any artificial light source.

And yes the water is rated hard. I'd like to look into options of softening the water but at the moment that's just another think toworry about. 4 water butts in my garden maybe an option in the future

In planted tanks initial water quality is less of a problem than in non-planted ones, because the plants act as a very efficient filter and nutrient sink. Same with water hardness, it is only really an issue if you want to breed soft water fish.

I've used rain-water since the 1970's without any problem and I think it is a viable option. Have a look at this thread <If it's yellow, let it mellow and RO is the devil | UK Aquatic Plant Society>.

cheers Darrel

 

[island lad77]

yeah ive certainly given rain water alot of concideration. the only real issue i have is the fact that tap water can be adjusted to the right temperature straight away. Where as rain water cant, which may pose a problem with 50 % changes weekly. Allthough im sure with some containers and a heater left in overnight would sort that out.

 

[ceg4048]

People, you really need to forget about rain water, hard water and sunlight. If you have issues in your tank, the cause cannot be attributed to any of these factors. The cause is always due to a fundamental failure in plant husbandry. While you exhaust your time and energy worrying about hard water and sunlight, the real causes of your problems will go unattended.

Please focus on nutrition, CO2 dissolution, cleanliness, flow distribution and avoid using too much light, especially when the tank is initially set up. Nothing else really matters.

Cheers,