help with test results and dosing

[hmt321]

ok been haveing trouble with my 40 gal planted
see here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78029

and herehttp://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79703

Long story short i have an algea bloom because I screwed up my fert doseing

ok I realize that i was not doseing enough florish excell (my carbon b/c of low kh) so i bumped that up to 4 ml per day

(I have done so for the last 3 days and the algea has been about 40% better)

my nitrate tested at 15 ppm today so i think my kno3 is ok,

my Phosphate did not read, it was .25 or lower the other day, i think i should add fleet untill it gets up to 1.5 ppm

My calcium tested at 40 or 2 drops
according to this calculaterhttp://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilator.php? my calcium should be between 10 and 30 ppm, I do have some crushed coral in my filter, would that cause my Ca to be high?

how do i calculate my MG? i know it has something to do with kh and gh

ok so my questions are:

1. Will fleets enema up my PO4???
2. Am i doseing enough Flourish excell, 4ml per day???
3. how do i calculate MG????

thanks

[hmt321]

anyone?

[IceH2O]

I'm going to use my 55 gallon tank for reference since its closer to your size.

I use fleet for my PO4. I dose 1ml twice a week in my 55 gallon so if I were you I'd dose .75 ml twice a week.

For Excel I dose 10 ml a day. I actually do this in both tanks.

Do you dose trace ferts? I use Flourish for my traces. 5ml every other day or 3 times a week ( S,Tu,Th ).

Ca will climb from CC. 40 ppm isn't bad, some of these guys run theres near 100 ppm. I can't remember the equation to caculate Mg from your GH, but it has something to do with Ca also.

Have you tested your tapwater? It'll help you with your dosing to know what you're putting in when you do a water change.

[plah831]

I can't remember the equation to caculate Mg from your GH, but it has something to do with Ca also.
Subtract KH (carbonate hardness) from GH (general hardness) to get permanent hardness. This number represents how much calcium and magnesium, primarily, is in your water. to get magnesium concentration, you need to perform a calcium test and subtract Ca from the permanent hardness. this last number is the amount of magnesium in your water.

[hmt321]

I had a feeling that my fleets dose was 2 low, i added 4 drops and an hour later it tested at .25 ppm so 16 drops (which = 1 ml) should up it to 1 ppm which i have heard is a good range.

I have been doseing excell 4 ml per day and i have seen less algea so i will bump it up to 8 ml per day and see if i have any new growth,

kh = 30
gh = 100

so perm hardness = 70

ca = 40

so mg = 30

?????

this cant be PPM

ok i would guess this would be my MG hardness


thank you for your advise, plants seem to be much more complex than just fish.

[plah831]

this cant be PPM

thank you for your advise, plants seem to be much more complex than just fish.

i'm pretty sure it is ppm (parts per million). ppm also equals mg/L, assuming a density of 1.00 mg/mL (i.e. water).

Word on the statement about plants being more complex than fish! That's why I usually advise newbies to get confident on their fish-keeping skills before tackling plants. I don't even bother with the EI dosing, just follow the directions on the Flourish labels :duh:
Maybe one of these days...