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testing micro macro amounts

Chris Tinker

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Joined
25 Jun 2019
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231
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leeds
so the whole point of EI is to add too much, and have a excess.

based on what i have bought i know how much to add per a litre.

does anyone actually measure their micro macro? do you tweek it?

once i start with EI, HOw many weeks before i add additional (eg) magnesium because my plants still look like they need more?

im rather excited :)
 
The EI amount was derived at, by determining the maximum amount of ferts plants could/would ever use under mega lighting and optimal conditions. It was found adding more light and ferts beyond these maximal levels produced no further plant growth.

Thus for a normal persons tank with sensible high levels of light and good CO2 flow and distribution, EI levels are way way more then adequate. Using EI levels means that you will never deprive the plants of ferts and never need to test, as levels will always be enough.

Weekly 50% water changes are required to reset the ferts levels to known levels as well as prevent build up of excess ferts and more importantly remove algae inducing organic waste.

The known levels after a 50% water change are, either 1/2 EI dose levels (you diluted 50% fresh water), if plants have scoffed nothing, or 0% if all very unlikely they scoffed the lot. Therefore no need to test, at all, as after water change levels will be between 0% and 50% which in scheme of things is absolutely fine.

On a side note, slightly contradicting above info, if your tank is very very very very overgrown then adding a 1 1/2 EI dose (or more) could be done.

Why are you needing to dose extra magnesium, the magnesium in EI dosing is always more than enough ?
 
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Why are you needing to dose extra magnesium, the magnesium in EI dosing is always more than enough ?

i was not fully aware of how over it was.

huge explanation in simple short terms so thank youuuuuu!

so the other side is say i do 4 tbl spoons but my plants use 1... is it worth measuring on day 7 before a water change to minimise waste.

in this example 3 tbls is too much but 2 would be perfectly extra..

or are the test of kits extortionate/ not accurate enough.

this is now just curiosity and northern tightness coming in to play haha
 
Magnesium sulphate the is cheapest EI ingredient, about £15 for 25kg so just add it and stop being tight a*rse. o_O This means no plant worries.

See here about the usefulness of hobby grade test kits.
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/what-about-test-kits.52487/

Magnesium, when not as magnesium carbonate is a hard one to test for, this might do.
https://uk.hach.com/hardness-total-...ha-4p-mg-l/product?id=25114234045&callback=pf

But at £125 + VAT -> £150 would get you 250Kg (1/4 of a tonne) of magnesium sulphate, which I am sure will be enough for all your tanks, bath soaks, foot soaks and other nefarious uses you could come up with.
 
Hi all,
Magnesium sulphate the is cheapest EI ingredient, about £15 for 25kg so just add it
There isn't really a downside to adding magnesium, so having a bit more than the plants require is absolutely fine, and as @ian_m says it is as cheap as chips.
this is now just curiosity and northern tightness coming in to play
If you don't mind a bit of initial outlay then a <"conductivity"> (TDS) meter would be useful to you.

It doesn't tell you what nutrients you have left, but it tells you if fertilisers are accumulating in your tank water. @parotet, @Parablennius and I use a conductivity meter as the only testing we do.

From <"TMC Sig 600.....">
I would use the TDS meter, instead of a pH meter. Record what the TDS is out of the tap, see what happens in the tank. If the fish and plants look OK record the tank water TDS and then just keep the TDS value in a range of ~35 ppm TDS either side of the datum value.
cheers Darrel
 
Magnesium sulphate the is cheapest EI ingredient, about £15 for 25kg so just add it and stop being tight a*rse. o_O This means no plant worries.

See here about the usefulness of hobby grade test kits.
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/what-about-test-kits.52487/

Magnesium, when not as magnesium carbonate is a hard one to test for, this might do.
https://uk.hach.com/hardness-total-...ha-4p-mg-l/product?id=25114234045&callback=pf

But at £125 + VAT -> £150 would get you 250Kg (1/4 of a tonne) of magnesium sulphate, which I am sure will be enough for all your tanks, bath soaks, foot soaks and other nefarious uses you could come up with.

thank you i have had a good laugh. i will follow the instructions lol
 
If you don't mind a bit of initial outlay then a <"conductivity"> (TDS) meter would be useful to you.

It doesn't tell you what nutrients you have left, but it tells you if fertilisers are accumulating in your tank water. @parotet, @Parablennius and I use a conductivity meter as the only testing we do.

From <"TMC Sig 600.....">

I have a TDS meter/s and I dont use them, just do the WC as part of the EI regime ;) TDS meter better for the Eco-Sustainability user (or as Darrel says lazy and tight as well) as being low tech gives a nice way to see if a WC is needed. But with EI there should be no need to check due to weekly WC- so I dont :)
 
I test for iron and nitrates and work out my ratios for micro and macros from there personally. I use pre mixed complete and micro fertilisers though... so just looking to get proportions of each right.
 
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