ceg4048 said:
While Keymaker raises an interesting point, I'd have to say that I've never seen a difference when adding K2SO4.
I have.
It was not EI though.
It was TPN+ (low on K). I had to compensate with K2SO4 to get rid of deficiency - I was succesfull at that. I made no other changes. It was a cycled tank, proper CO2 dissolving and distribution, etc.
ceg4048 said:
A 13-23ppm K+ level should not cause any grief unless the lighting is absurdly high, in which case one is much more likely to see N and/or P starvation first. (...) I have no idea what "PPM Balance" is so I can't address that concept. If the concept is based on symmetry of mathematics in a spreadsheet then this is completely arbitrary.
I remember you told me once something like that the EI dosage quantities should not be accepted by the parliament.
🙂
I agree that 23ppm K level should be fine. "PPM Balance" is indeed something I personally came up with - when doing my excel calculation. It is absolutely NOT based - as you call it - "on the symmetry of mathematics". It is based on the knowledge that levels of each nutrient have to be calculated and considered separately, and plants can not substitute one nutrient with the other --- and algae can bloom even if all nutrient levels are OK - except one.
Additionally I must confess that I am not very good in this "art" thing when mixing and dosing according the EI method. Really --- to keep it simple I just decided that I will keep ALL levels at the top of the EI range, or a bit above, to be on the safe side. I have the knowledge and tools to have precise (to the exact PPM) levels of ALL nutrients together and it does not require additional effort from me to do it.
So I do it. I just get the powders and mix them... The K2SO4 does not even cost a beer's - something you also told me to go get for the money I was planning to spend on some unnecesary thing in the past
😀. Go for 30 ppm NO3 AND 30 ppm K instead of 23? Yepp, why not. Overly precise? Probably. But then it seems more simple for me to think this way. I just let them "go together" with the dosage - in balance. Oh, and also do not forget that I am using a self-made all-in-one solution.
But in general - the way one should view things and approach the EI - I would be certain to follow the "estimated" approach of things.
ceg4048 said:
99 times out of a 100 you'll find that the deficiency is actually CO2 or a flow/distribution issue. The OP seems to think there is a K+ deficiency, but what is this assessment based on :?: Adding complication just adds another round of ammunition for the EI haters out there.
Oh, yes, I completely agree. Most of the time it is CO2. And with proper KNO3 and KH2PO4 dosing you would indeed probably not need K2SO4. Unless you're like me, I'm just plain lazy to measure, think and re-check. So I keep ALL levels (including K with the addition of K2SO4) at the top. As easy as that.
I have another point in the MgSO4 dosing topic: do not forget, that some of the Micro trace chelates (the widely used EDTA for Fe in particular - it is sold in the UK) are known to have caused some Fe precipitation (reaction with P) in hard-water environments. Defdac from Sweden reported that for example. Hardening of the water to a higher point does no harm to the plants - but the filter toxication does affect the nitrification process and algae bloom.