Fertilizer dosing

[Ghostshrimp55]

Hi. I think I'm at the point where I need to start dosing with fertilizer. I have a 55g tank with 110watts of cf lighting. I have 2 amazon swords, some bunches of water sprite, some java fern mounted on a coconut shell, a bunch of jungle vals, some crypts, a couple of bunches of anacharis and an anubias nana. Im starting to see some signs of nutrient deficiency: slow growth, pale leaves, etc. Very little algae, though, so that's good. I have some flourite mixed in with the gravel. For the amazons I made these plastic rings with holes in them. I stuck them in the gravel, scooped out the gravel inside the ring and replaced it with flourite (It goes down about 3 inches). Then I placed the swords' roots on top, covered with more flourite and covered that with gravel.

Nitrates are barely registering in my tank. Ammonia and nitrite are zero. It's been up and running for over a year and is cycled. I don't know what my actual tap readings are for phosphorous and potassium. The county water authority reports that the tap water in my area contains, at most, 1.77ppm phosphate (.21ppm on avg) and 2.48ppm potassium (.88ppm on avg) and 9.42ppm nitrates (4.53ppm on avg, which is close to what my test kit reports).

My pH is 7.5 (which is close to the avg value of 7.3). My temp is at a relatively constant 75 F. I do not use CO2, mostly because I haven't had the time to put together a DIY unit. I leave the lights on for 12 hours a day and the tank doesn't get any direct sun light.

If I start dosing, can I get a general, all purpose aquatic plant fertilizer for my macro nutrients? Or, should I try to get some combination of individual containers of N, P, and K? Also, what kind of values should I be looking for for micronutrients and which ones? I can get the data on those, too, just don't know which ones to focus in on. Thanks a lot.

[Mgamer20o0]

well i would add co2 first. i got my ferts from http://www.gregwatson.com. PNK plus micros. one stop shopping.

[Ghostshrimp55]

I'm thinking about breaking down and getting a pressurized setup. Any info on that? It looks like a relatively small piece of equipment. It's in this picture:

http://www.wcf.com/co2iron/system.JPG

I'm guessing the CO2 would feed directly into the device, travel into what I'm guessing is a little gas separating unit and then up into the diffuser where the bubble will get munched up?

Would something like that be placed just above the gravel right underneath the outflow? I have a canister filter, btw, if you need to know that. I think my kh is in the 4 degree range. I guess I'll have to put crushed coral in the filter? Thanks for the help. I've actually asked about all this in the past but I can't seem to find the responses. I actually have a little bit of extra income to devote to this project so I can start to seriously think about a reasonable setup.

[phanmc]

In general, most of the macro nutrients aren't pre-mixed or only 2 of the 3 are mixed. I prefer to have them separated so I can control the input. Micro nutrients are usually premixed. Greg Watson is a great supplier for all of your fert needs and buying them dry will save you a ton of money. His site also has a how to section on what and how much to dose.

Pressurized CO2 is very worth it for a large tank. The pic you posted shows the regulator and a diffuser. You'll also need a needle valve and optional is a bubble counter. Here's an article that shows what you need and how it all works:

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/diy_co2rig.htm

As for as your kH, 4 is good and you probably don't need to worry about raising it.

[loaches r cool]

It seems in that link above they say they dont sell the regulator any longer, which is like the main part of the setup besides the bottle anyhow. Well here is pressured co2 in a nutshell: tank to hold high pressure co2 --> regulator with guages to show both tank pressure and regulated line pressure, regulator also drops tank pressure (1,000psi+) down to much lower pressures (usually pre-set) --> electric selenoid (opt) used to turn on/off gas flow, used in conjuction with lights or ph controllers --> needle valve, for reducing pressure down to a few bubbles per second or less --> bubble counter, so you can see how much co2 your dosing --> check valve, so water doesnt flow backwards through it --> airline (recommended to get specialized airline that is co2 resistant) --> diffusor or reactor. The diffusor or reactor is were you'll get alot of opinions. Some say just plug the co2 line right into the intake of your filter. Many have built thier own co2 reactors. There are several commercially available reacotrs and diffusers. I just position a micro-bubbler stone under a powerhead and it does a pretty good job of sending tiny bubbles thoughout my tank and maintains good levels.

Seems like the latest greatest thing in pressurized co2 is the paintball setups. If you want a lower profile setup and have a paintball field or somewhere you can fill paintball cylinders locally that might be a good option. Or you can calla round local welding gas suppliers. I got a 15# tank from a welding gas supplier locally for around $65 I think. I also pay around $22 / fill if memory serves. That is double the cost of welding grade co2 but I dont mind paying the extra $10 for food-grade co2 just to make sure I am not injecting poisinous gases :eek: into my tank. And I have yet to refill it and its been a year and a half. With s/h and all taxes and fees I figure i got around $200 in my co2 setup and that was buying stuff for about as cheap as I could get it.

[Mgamer20o0]

yes phanmc i should have said that. its best if you get each of them and not the premixed stuff. as time goes on you might want to change how much of each.

Traces CSM+B
Nitrate (N)
Phosphate (P)
Potassium (K)

[Ghostshrimp55]

Hmmmmm........I, ahem, "aquired" a large CO2 cylinder from the back of a restaraunt/catering hall many months ago (almost a year ago).....it's the kind soda suppliers give to restaraunts to add fizz to their fountain drinks. I'm guessing it's a little over 2 ft tall and about 10 inches in diameter. I think it came from the Coca Cola company. Think I could get a regulator that would fit it? I was going to use it for homebrewing purposes but I don't think I'll be starting that up for a while. I don't think it has any special type of connection...at least not as far as I can tell. Also, what types of places refill those? I think the article said that most places won't refill on site?

Thanks a lot for all of the advice.

[phanmc]

You can try calling an industrial welding shop to see if they'll service your kind of tank. Most places don't refill Co2 on the spot, they switch out your tank and provide you with a pre-filled one instead.

A better option may be to hunt down some local breweries to find out where they go to fill their CO2 tanks.