Fert Dosing on a low tech?

AlexW

AlexW

I'm a gremlin
Apr 21, 2008
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So I've been doing EI dosing on my two medium and high tech tanks, was at the LFS yesterday picking up more dry ferts and the plant lady there suggested using a smaller dose on my low tech tanks as well to help with algae control as well as growth... now all I have on these are about 1 wpg and they've got a mixture of java ferns, moss, anubias and crypts... is it really necessary or is it bad? I'm new to the whole ferts part, finally getting a hang of it on my med. and high tech ones...

Thanks!
Alex
 
I had a < 1 wpg tank with java fern, crypts, vals, anubias, etc. and I really didn't keep a schedule of dosing. All I did was use excel maybe 2-3x a week and a little flourish comprehensive here and there. Plants didn't really grow much but they stayed alive and looked fine....I wouldn't be so worried about NPK as much as some trace doses every once and a while.
 
AlexW said:
and the plant lady there suggested using a smaller dose on my low tech tanks as well to help with algae control <--(wrong) as well as growth...
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Excess nutrients do not cause algae, with the exception of Ammonia. Lots of people dose EI with no algae problems, and the basic idea behind EI is: provide more than the plants can use so that they are never limited by a particular nutrient.

That being said...no, you don't need to dose the same on a low-tech tank, but as long as you're still doing large waterchanges it should still be reset at the end of the week. EI is based on the absolute maximum uptake that a plant can ever have, no matter how much light you give it. Obviously a low light tank is going to use a lot less nutrients than a high-light one. Some people simply dose EI once per week on a low-tech tank, but play with it a bit to see what is best for you.
 
Thanks guys! I guess I'll start off dosing the recomended amount once a week for a few weeks and if I see anything does better than normal... if not I'll stop and save it for the tanks that need it lol

I'm already using a mix of flourite and root tabs under the crypts in one tank and just root tabs in another... but that does remind me that I need to restock lol
 
I do half EI dosing on my low tech tank. Full dosing gave me crazy algae but half works well. Now my crypts are growing fast and looking a lot better. I've always given them root tabs but the extra water column ferts are making a noticable difference.
 
Dr. Awkward said:
I do half EI dosing on my low tech tank. Full dosing gave me crazy algae but half works well. Now my crypts are growing fast and looking a lot better. I've always given them root tabs but the extra water column ferts are making a noticable difference.
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+1... that's a good starting point at least. should work well if you decide not to change it too.
 
Thanks for asking this question, just what I wanted to know also . Thanks for the responses :)
 
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