Dry Dosing Questions: For people who dry dose

[xVitox]

Hey everyone. I have decided I would like to try dry dosing, at least in my big 55 gal tank. However, i have some sensitive critters (ottos, ghost shrimp i have grown attached to, and random snails.) and i worry that this could potentially be harmful to dry dose. Any thoughts?

My other tank is a 20 gal invert tank that is full of snails and shrimp. I have heard that plant ferts can really stress/kill shrimp and other inverts out a lot.

Let me know what everyone has to say!

 

[vito357si]

I dose heavy on my ferts in my 55g I have 20 fish, 5 nerite snails , 13crs and 15+ cherrys haven't seen a death yet.

 

[tyler79durdan]

I dose EI, but I pre-mix solutions of each compound! IMO, dry doing is least accurate. You can weigh on a gram scale, then dry dose that if you have to "dry" dose. You could just dose...

-Aaron

 

[xVitox]

I dose EI, but I pre-mix solutions of each compound! IMO, dry doing is least accurate. You can weigh on a gram scale, then dry dose that if you have to "dry" dose. You could just dose...

-Aaron

So you just make up your own liquid ferts? I like that idea! sounds good to me. And I have access to equipment that would make weighing out quite exact...i am a chem major ^_^

 

[JimL]

Mine's an 80, not a 55, but the answer is the same. I don't waste fertz on tanks that don't have plants.

 

[tyler79durdan]

So you just make up your own liquid ferts? I like that idea! sounds good to me. And I have access to equipment that would make weighing out quite exact...i am a chem major ^_^

Yeah you can get measurements from another forum if you follow this link, and you can prolly get the measurements here to, I just dont know where!

-Aaron

 

[xVitox]

so it wont hurt ottos to have raised nitrate levels from ferts?

 

[vito357si]

If you have a good amount of plant raising the nitrate is fine. I have ottos, sae, tetras they swim around fine. Here is a pic of mine I dose 4.5g kn03, 3.5g k2s04, and .9g kh2p04 trace 15ml and iron 7ml which is a lot for a 55g tank and everything is fine. But if you don't have a lot of plants in one of the tanks don't waste the ferts.

 

[tyler79durdan]

IMO, its the nitrite from nitro-bacter breaking down nitrate, that causes issues...

-Aaron

 

[xVitox]

If you have a good amount of plant raising the nitrate is fine. I have ottos, sae, tetras they swim around fine. Here is a pic of mine I dose 4.5g kn03, 3.5g k2s04, and .9g kh2p04 trace 15ml and iron 7ml which is a lot for a 55g tank and everything is fine so just do it .

What carpetting plant is that on the right?