Advice on dry ferts. please

I have always used Chuck's calculator to figure dosing. Using the newest version I see he has changed the numbers. Now when I plug in ½ teaspoon into the Magnesium sulfate calculator it shows 7.03 ppm. Working with Epsom salts is tricky because it can absorb a LOT of water which can change the weight in a hurry.

And you need to look at the percentage of change in the weight of those solids. A change from 4.8 grams to 6 grams might look minuscule because it's only 1.2 grams but it's actually a 25% difference which in any book is NOT minuscule I consider minuscule to be less than 5% in working with aquarium dosing. And there is not a SINGLE minuscule difference there. I can list the percentage differences if you wish.

Ok, so the numbers have changed. I will make the changes in my guide.

And what it actually says in the last part of the water chemistry area is:

0.79 grams of calcium chloride and 0.33 grams of Epsom salts will raise 10 gallons of water 1° of gH.
Click to expand...


Not the:

".33g epsom salts raises 10 gallons water by 1 degree GH"
Click to expand...
you keep stating. There is a bit of a difference there. But again the number is going to be off because Chuck's calculator has changed.

Tell ya what. You write a comprehensive Guide. I will take mine off line since it's so riddled with errors. I eagerly await your efforts.

By the way. You will want to spell check your Guide as you misspelled miniscule. It should be minuscule.
 
Laka,

The dry ferts you are adding that contain Cl may give you a problem long term with such small water changes. It will allow the Chloride levels to build gradually over time and possibly lead to an issue with plant growth.

There have been some interesting discussions on many sites about adding Cl to tanks and the issues it has caused. It probably wouldn't be too much of an issue if your water changes were larger, such as you would do when using an EI dosing scheme.

Also every tank is different and will require different amounts of ferts to achieve an end result. EI dosing takes this into account by purposly overdosing then resetting the clock with a large water change. With smaller infrequent changes liek you propose, the only way to achieve stability will be through constant testing.
 
Thanks for your replies esp. you Rex. Don't get me wrong in setting up my tank i am using a lot of your advice from your web site.. And no i do not have the time or knowledge to set up my own web page on planted tanks. I think we have exhausted this subject to the max and have settled the differences.
LAKA
 
Here, here.
Yes i saw the link and had a chuckle to myself.

It is a pity though as i was only trying to make a point. Having a science background with degrees in organic chemistry and the medical field i am taught to scrutinise and not to take everything at face value.

Unfortunately Rex became irritated and took my replies too personal for reasons beyond me and i decided to terminate the discussion rather than pursue it as i felt the discussion was no longer in the forum's interest. I was trying to be civil throughout but obviously to no avail.

LAKA
 
I think its best that if this cannot be kept on topic and discussing the actual point, rather than someone trying to prove a point, then not to post. This is a discussion that has had some good infomation stated and some valid points can be taken on board.

A point to note is that people are not stupid, people are only human, sitting behind a computer screen trying to discuss their point or problem, and should be talked too and treated as a human being. We dont come here to discuss infomation and find ourselves talked down to, we come here either to help, or to seek help and do it in a grown up fashion.

There are points and info that can be taken from all the post's on this thread, however, it should not be made in to a personal issue between people.

Thanks, and can we please keep this now on topic if it is going to be discussed further..

Niko
 
Instead of dwelling on how much each ingredient weighs, why don't you look into the Estimative Index type of dosing? It involves no testing (not all test kits, especially potassium, are not extremely accurate anyhow) and basically estimates for the maximum nutrient uptake for your plants, and then weekly resets the tank with a water change.

For me, it was easier to start with that, and then when my new 120g tank got stabilized to slowly modified it from there to fit my situation. It gets to be a lot of water to change weekly in a big tank otherwise. But, I do think that it helped my tank get stabilized and rid of problematic algae faster.

If you google "Estimative Index" you should come up with all sorts of info.
 
To date i have been using EI according to the Fertilator doses with very good results. But like the prevoius poster stated 50% water changes weekly can be very time consuming. Especially for my 180g tank.
I am looking into PPS-Pro at the moment which should reduce my maintenance regime.

My only concern is that the principle is based on lean nutrients and my tank is high light(3wpg) and 20-30ppm CO2. I am worried about algae. Many have tried with great success so i think i will give it a shot.

If it doesn't work i can always go back to EI.

LAKA
 
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