what is pmdd????

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

.......

[djlen]

And not the wise way to go for a newbie. You have to have a lot of knowledge of your tank to make up a quantity of fertilizers to dose on a regular basis. Until you learn your tank, the wisest way to go, IMO is on an "as needed" basis. PMDD is sort of becoming old fashioned now-a-days, again IMO.
Len

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

did i ask for your opinion? wait, i guess i did :p .... well if i test for everything in my tank and start out with small doses, do you think it would be ok to try?? i looked up pmdd in the search right after i posted (i always forget about the search)...

[djlen]

Ok, IMO:p
Len

[Avonlea,PA]

Originally posted by djlen
PMDD is sort of becoming old fashioned now-a-days, again IMO.
Len

If it's getting old fashioned, than what do you do/use?

[djlen]

I dose individually and adjust as I see a need for one thing or another. I test PO4 and N levels twice a week and add only when they are needed.
PMDD is ok for a well established tank and for an aquarist who knows that tank. For me, it wouldn't make sense to mix up a bunch of stuff and throw a quantity of it into my tank every week.
At least until I can make an educated formula of ferts up based on months of observation. That's just my belief.
I listen to what people like Tom Barr recommend and then tinker from there. He's got years and years of experience. I'm a rank amatuer.
Len

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

hey djlen, didnt you have 1k posts ealier?? now it says 800 something.... well anyways, where could i get test kits for evrything i might want to try dosing?? and what are the most impertant things i should get for my plants??

[djlen]

Get a Master Test Kit. It will have pH, gH, kH,ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites in it and will cost around $22. If you buy separately they will cost about $9 each. Then the only kit you need is PO4.
Len

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

i already have all of those ones... where could i get the po4 then? and how is that all i need?? isnt there way mmore stuff than that???

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

i already have all of those ones... where could i get the po4 then? and how is that all i need?? isnt there way mmore stuff than that???

[djlen]

There are more, but (here we go again) IMO those plus PO4 are all you need. Basically the main ones you'll use after your tank is established are pH, nitrates, and PO4. Occasionally testing kH if you have CO2.
Good Night Folks!
Len

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

thanks for your opinion

[inxs]

PMDD - poor mans dupla drops.

It is a good and inexpensive fertilizer for fastergrowing tanks. Generally you are looking at PMDD when you are running 2.5+wpg and CO2.

Your tank can get depleted very quickly if you run CF lights at say 3+wpg with CO2. The plants will just suck the nutrients out of the water and at times I found myself feeding the plants more than the fish.

djlen is absolutley correct in that it takes a while to get used to dosing . You will end up tinkering back and forth with the dosing of different elements so I wouldn't mix the PMDD up into one batch rather keep the chemicals mixed up separatly and work with them to figure out what the ideal dosing is.

Testin is good but the general health of the tank will also tell you a great deal.

The tests I found useful for dosing were:
PH & KH for determining the CO2 level - very important when you are setting your CO2 bubbling rate.
NO3 (nitrate) you need a good lowrange testkit (saliferts @ $14-20) and you need to test a fair amount as I found this is the element most quickly used up by the plants. My tank used to go through 5-10ppm/day!
PO4 is important when the other (nitrate (N) and potassium(K)) are at optimal levels you will need to add it - when growth isn't at optimum high levels (can be present in your watersupply) can be detrimental and lead to algae problems.

To sum it up; if you are going for a fast growthrate/high tech then it is definitly worth to study up on the uses of PMDD as it will be very useful to you , but if you are growing at lower or normal rates you may be better off with some commercial fertilizer.

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

ok, which commercial ferts would you recomend?? i have flourish trace and flourish tabs now.... what else should i get???

[inxs]

It's a personal preferance but I like the Flourish line and my favorite is TMG (Tropica Master Grow)