Fertilizers

[betty]

Hi!

Had horrible problems getting the plants going and the algae stopped but finally I think I made it and the plants are growing so fast I am pruning all the time. With the excel on a daily basis, the algae is alsmost non-existent.

This is what I do and don't really know if I am missing something.

I mix a two week supply and add daily when I feed the fish.

Flourish 10ml per week
Excel 40 ml per week
Iron 30 ml per week
Potassium 20 ml per week
Nitrogen 7 ml per week

I have a two pop bottle CO2 system that goes into a neat cylinder that a Rio pump smashes the bubbles. Does not lower the PH as much as I would like so I have been using more RO water as Florida water is high in PH and extrememly hard.

PH - 7.2 - 7.4
Nit 5
GH 120 - 140
KH 60 - 70
fe - 0
Phosphates .25 or less
CO2 , low range

I use mostly RO water and crushed coral in the sump for KH.

Do I need to add traces or Phosphorous?

Am I overfertilizing?

Fish: Angel Fish, Farlowellas, Clown Loaches, Queen Arabesque, Pearl Gouramis, Glowlight Danios, Black Neon tetras, Florida Flag fish, Golden Algae eater, Ottos.

Also, if anyone has a creative idea for dispensing the co2 in the sump area, would appreciate it. One less thing to clean.

[djlen]

The recommended N/P ratio is 10:1, but as they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Seems hard to believe that without balance, you will not eventually have problems in one way or another.
You are dosing traces with the Flourish. Also extra Fe. I would be very curious to know the size of the tank and the type and wattage of your lighting.

Len

[betty]

The tank is 65 gallon. I purchased a coralife 6700 compact fluorescent about 6 months ago. It is 2 - 96 watt 6700K compact fluorescent lamps. Puts out a lot of heat. betty

[djlen]

So you have roughly 3wpg over your 65. Nice lighting for that tank.

You say things are going well, so I would think that there is a P balance coming from somewhere in there. If there wasn't you'd have some sort of issue or other.

Your Fe dosing sounds high and your P sounds low, but if the plants are growing well and the tank is free of algae, I can't argue with that.

Two things: For that size tank, I would consider buying your ferts. dry rather than using Seachem products. They get really expensive.
Also, for that size tank, I think you're going to have a difficult time bringing your CO2 levels up to a more desirable area with DIY and Excel.
Consider pressurized.

What are you measuring Fe with? You say your levels are 0. Most test kits are inaccurate. Just curious as to what you're using.

[betty]

Hi!

I have bought three test kits, Red Sea and Hagen. They all show 0. I then decidied to just dose what the bottle says and hope it is correct. Who makes dry fertilizers? I buy the large bottles from big al's and they are not too expensive. I am terrified of pressurized co2 so that is why I continued the 2 pop bottle system with a rio pump. Possibly I will get pressurized some day. I will order some phosphorous. When I had algae problems, the phosphates in the tank were out of sight, now they are essentially 0. The hurricanes didn't help as the water got polluted and many fish died from all the power outages. Thanks for your help. Betty

[djlen]

If you don't consider it expensive to dose with Seachem products and are familiar with them, go for it!!!:)
You can buy dry nutrients here: www.gregwatson.com/
Many aquarists (myself included) get most of their fertilizer there. Much less expensive, especially for larger tanks.
If you start dosing phosphorus, start with 1/2 dosages recommended on the bottle and see how it goes. Most tanks thrive with a 10:1 ratio of N/P. Start light and see how it goes.
Phosphates, in and of themselves, do not cause algae issues. Poorly growing plants in unbalanced tanks do.
Make any changes slowly and gradually. Then observe your plant's reactions.

Len