So what exactly do I need from Greg?

V

valleyvampiress

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Feb 28, 2005
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So I finally figured out what I need for plants:

Nitrogen=ammonia, nitrates, (what about nitrites?)=N03(nitrates)
Potassium=K+ (any other names this can fall under?)
phosphates=P04 (any other names?)

I'm confused about what KN03/KN04/N04/K2SO4/KH2PO4 is.

Then there's the C02, micro-nutrients, and light which is simple enough.

So now what exactly am I looking for from gregwatson.com?
 
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You need N,K and P = Macros.
You need trace elements = Micros.
HOWEVER you need the above in quantity only if you intend to maintain a medium to high tech. tank. This means lighting of 3 wpg and up, and CO2 injection.
At 2 - 3 wpg you will still use them, only not as quickly or heavily, so a pound of each will last you longer. The elements are so inexpensive from the Watson site that I suggest buying atleast a pound of each.
For K and N in a light to moderately stocked (with fish) tank you can get all you'll need of each from KNO3. Buy one pound.
If you have a heavily stocked tank you will not want to dose as heavily with KNO3 and so will be getting less K in the mix. In that case you might want to pick up some K2SO4(potassium sulfate) for some K+. Buy one pound if you think it'll be necessary.
For Traces (micro nutrients) buy a pound of Plantex + B(boron added).
For P, I suggest that you buy it in the form of Fleets Enema at your local pharmacy. It's cheaper to buy and easier to dose in that form(liquid), IMO.
For Mg (magnesium) when you're at the pharmacy pick up a carton of Epsom Salts for less than $2 which will last you a long time:).
That's all you'll probably ever need unless you have low gH in which case you may need some Ca (calcium). If you have a gH of 5 - 6 or above I wouldn't worry about that element at this time.
Once you have the above, or even before if you are curious about dosages, reply with your tank's size, parameters, fish load, plant load etc. and we will make suggestions as to how much of each to dose. I suggest that you put those parameters etc. in the signature area so that it will appear automatically each time you post and you won't have to re-write it every time.
If you have access to a digital camera, take an overall picture or two of your tank. I find this very helpful when making suggestions on dosages or analyzing other issues.
Dosing ferts. becomes quite easy once you understand the needs of your tank. It's not as complicated as you might think.
Hope this simplifies things a bit for you.

Len
 
So this is where I'm at:

Nitrogen = ammonia (NH3), ammonium (NH4), nitrites (NO2-), nitrates (N03), potassium nitrates (KN03)
Potassium (K+) = potassium sulfate (K2SO4), potassium chloride (KCl)
phosphates (PO4/PO43-) = potassium phosphate (KH2PO4)

KN04, N04?
 
Here are a few terms you might find useful:
KNO3 = POTASSIUM NITRATE F-1 = FLOURIDE
K2SO4 = POTASSIUM SULFATE S = SULFUR
KH2PO4 = SODIUM PHOSPHATE Ca = CALCIUM
KCl = POTASSIUM CHLORIDE Br = BROMINE
P = PHOSPHORUS Cl = CLORINE
N = Nitrogen
PO4 = PHOSPHATE Co = COBALT
Ni = NICKEL I = IODINE
Fe = IRON Mo = MOLYBDENUM
Mg = MAGNESIUM Sn = TIN
Mn = MANGANESE NH3 = AMMONIA
Cu = COPPER NH4 = AMMONIUM ION
Zn = ZINC MgSO4 = EPSOM SALT
B = BORON CaCO3 = CALCIUM CARBONATE
Na = SODIUM H2CO3 = CARBONIC ACID
Na2CO3 = SODIUM CARBONATE SO4 = SULFATE ION
NaHCO3 = SODIUM BICARBONATE
(BAKING SODA)
 
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NH3 amonia- fish waste, don't add to planted tank as it induces algae
NO2 nitrite- result of oxidation of above, also harmfull to fish
N03 Nitrate- plant food, nitrogen source final product in N chain from amonia

KNO3-potassium nitrate, fertilizer as available to feed plants, source of N and K. If your fish load is low there is enough K added with the N to balance.

K2SO4- potassium sulfate- K source to add if your fish are supplying lots of NO3
KH2PO4- monopotassium phosphate, used primarily for the phosphate

those are your macronutrients, well along with carbon.


Edit: geesh I'm slow on the draw ;)
 
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djlen said:
You need N,K and P = Macros.
You need trace elements = Micros.
HOWEVER you need the above in quantity only if you intend to maintain a medium to high tech. tank. This means lighting of 3 wpg and up, and CO2 injection.
At 2 - 3 wpg you will still use them, only not as quickly or heavily, so a pound of each will last you longer. The elements are so inexpensive from the Watson site that I suggest buying atleast a pound of each.
For K and N in a light to moderately stocked (with fish) tank you can get all you'll need of each from KNO3. Buy one pound.
If you have a heavily stocked tank you will not want to dose as heavily with KNO3 and so will be getting less K in the mix. In that case you might want to pick up some K2SO4(potassium sulfate) for some K+. Buy one pound if you think it'll be necessary.
For Traces (micro nutrients) buy a pound of Plantex + B(boron added).
For P, I suggest that you buy it in the form of Fleets Enema at your local pharmacy. It's cheaper to buy and easier to dose in that form(liquid), IMO.
For Mg (magnesium) when you're at the pharmacy pick up a carton of Epsom Salts for less than $2 which will last you a long time:).
That's all you'll probably ever need unless you have low gH in which case you may need some Ca (calcium). If you have a gH of 5 - 6 or above I wouldn't worry about that element at this time.
Once you have the above, or even before if you are curious about dosages, reply with your tank's size, parameters, fish load, plant load etc. and we will make suggestions as to how much of each to dose. I suggest that you put those parameters etc. in the signature area so that it will appear automatically each time you post and you won't have to re-write it every time.
If you have access to a digital camera, take an overall picture or two of your tank. I find this very helpful when making suggestions on dosages or analyzing other issues.
Dosing ferts. becomes quite easy once you understand the needs of your tank. It's not as complicated as you might think.
Hope this simplifies things a bit for you.

Len
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot djlen. Last time I checked, my GH was at 10-12. I can't remember exactly. I have hard water at a PH of 8.0ppm so I don't think I'll be needing the calcium any time soon.

After I have everything I need, I will definitely ask about dosing. I just needed to figure out what everything (abbreviations and all) was, and what I was looking for exactly before I just blindly bought something.

Is Plantex bad for shrimp? I have 3 ghost shrimp in a 20g L. I also have 2 pristella tetras, 2 honey gouramis and a lone white cloud who had to be seperated from the other two. Do you think I need K+? I should probably get it anyway, huh.
 
djlen, and SnakeIce, that's exactly what I was looking for; a guide to abbreviations. I know this may be simple info, but it definitely helps me out a lot. When I first started reading about taking care of plants, those abbreviations confused the heck outta me. Thanks for the info.
 
I would just add test your tap water before you dose P. Mine is already 2-3ppm right out of the tap. Dosing more of this at these levels will cause algae problems.
 
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