micros and macros testing and dosing and others

W

wannabefishguru

learning to be the best
Jun 29, 2005
363
0
0
somewhere by the grain elevator, iowa
i am about down figuring out all this micro, macro stuff and would like a base absumption of paramets and how to test and what to dose to adjust it

Item/ testing/ dosing/ parameters

ammonia/ ammonia test kit/ dosing none/ 0ppm

nitrite/ nitrite test kit/ dosing none/ 0ppm

nitrate/ nitrate thes kit/ dosing Flourish nitrogen (correct stuff right?)/ 5-20ppm

PH/ ph high low test kit/no dosing/ ?ppm

phosphate/ phosphate test kit/ flourish phosphorus/ .4-1ppm

pottasium/ no testing/ Flourish pottasium or no-salt of how much?/ 30-120ppm

magnesium/ unknown/epsom salt how much?/ 8-20ppm

iron/ iron test kit/ flourish iron/ ?pmm

CO2/ ph and kh test kit cross referenced/ pressurized or flouris excel/ 15-30ppm

GH/ gh test kit/ ?/ ?ppm

KH/ kh test kit/ ?/ ?ppm

Ca/ ?/ ?/ 15-30ppm?

what is these used for:
Seachem Flourish? micros?
Seachem Flourish Trace? macros?
Seachem Flourish Nitrogen? nitrate?
Seachem Flourish Equilibrium?

Elements that correct stuff:

CO2 lower ph and kh
Baking soda rises kh
flourish equilibrium raish gh
epsom salt raised magnesium
any other solutions for fixing the parameters in a planted tank?

using buffers like black water, ph up-down mess with the C02 readings?

am i forgetting anything?

thanks for helping
 
Last edited:
Flourish Nitrogen (or whatever Seachems calling it) will work, potassium nitrate (stump remover) is cheaper.

Hopefully your pH is o.k. 6-9 should work, if it's different, post back.

Phosphate and nitrate in a 1:10 ratio. So if phosphate is 1ppm, nitrate should be 10ppm.

Potassium about 40ppm per week (as long as you're doing 50%weekly water changes).

Depending on your GH, you may have enough Magnesium(Mg).

iron to .1ppm

GH, as long as you're not using RO or distilled water, you're probably o.k..
KH, anything over 3

Ca, there are test kits (necessity is of debate), can use Calcium Chloride, 4:1 ratio with Mg.

Flourish is for micros, Flourish trace is just watered down flourish.
Equilibrium is for those that have very soft water or us RO/distilled water.

Sounds like you've got the gist of it. Get your parameters first (pH, GH, KH) then we'll see if you need to mess with 'em.

-Bill
 
i know you use epsom salt to raise magnesium but how much epsom salt do you use and without having or finding a test kit how do i know if i need to dose?

just go with GH readings to predict or what?
 
There are 'master test kits' available which will supply you with most of the basic kits all in one box at a much more friendly price than buying them individually.
These kits contain pH,gH,kH,nitrItes,nitrAtes, and usually ammonia tests. There are those that believe that testing is unnecessary, but is the opinion of others that it is a good idea to know the parameters of your water, especially out of the tap so that you know what you're getting when you do your water changes.
Water changes and heavy planting make up for a multitude of possible mistakes one can make during the week, but I still believe in knowing what your getting from the tap and what you're using (N & P mostly) during the week. Knowing the usage of these two elements along with the over all appearance of your plants tell you how you're doing from a dosing perspective.
If your tank is in the 5 - 30 gallon range the Seachem products might be considered but over the long haul and for larger tanks the raw elements are much more cost effective.
What and how much to dose depends largely on the amount of light you are going to supply. So......what type and wattage will you be using?

Len
 
wannabefishguru said:
i know you use epsom salt to raise magnesium but how much epsom salt do you use and without having or finding a test kit how do i know if i need to dose?

just go with GH readings to predict or what?
Click to expand...

If you are on a municiple water supply, the supplier may (should) have an annual report that would be helpful. Call or email them to find out. Otherwise, test GH, watch for symptoms of deficiency and dose the suspected deficient element. If things improve, you stick with what you're doing (or possibly increase that dose), if not, you try something else.

For what it's worth, I like the nutrafin master test kit. It has everything including Ca test and it explains how to derive Mg from GH once you know the Ca. Whatever you get, check the expiration date and if things don't seem right, check the tests against a known solution.
 
beviking said:
For what it's worth, I like the nutrafin master test kit. It has everything including Ca test and it explains how to derive Mg from GH once you know the Ca. Whatever you get, check the expiration date and if things don't seem right, check the tests against a known solution.
Click to expand...
Can you explain the formula for Mg from Ca and GH here, beviking?

Thanks
Roan
 
where can i get a nutrafin test kit online and i am going to get a 29 gallon tank and have 4.48wpg and from there i know i will have to use co2 so i plan on using a pressurized system and those leading me to more nutrients so i am trying to find out dosing in a better perspective those leading me to testing.
 
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