I've suggested many methods and dosings over a long time to folks.
Most new folks really end up more confused at the end of large threads.
So what is it that they, like most of us when we where "new", want?
Something simple, easy, no chemistry lessons or test kits involved.
What else do they want? A nice looking planted tank. Most have some idea about keeping fish tanks.
You do this and avoid most of the dosing stuff by doing a non CO2 planted aquarium. There's soem trade offs there and caveats. But that's another thread.
1. They can do things like water changes pretty easy, no hard concepts there.
2. They can use things like teaspoons/mls volume measures
3. They can buy the cheap ferts rather than buy the vendor brands at 1000X more $
4. They can "garden" some(prune, preen leaves, trim etc).
Most can do this pretty easily. No background in chemistry is needed. No testing NO3/PO4/Fe, calibrating test kits, and spending lots of $ on name brand stuff.
Folks did not get into this hobby to do this. I do not care what anyone wants to say about advice, not one person I've met in well over 30 years has ever gotten in to this hobby to test water and learn chemistry. They get into it because they like the look of plants, like them when they see them grow, want a more natural look than plastic plants etc, mop up nutrients etc.
Taking a big step back and looking at the
social issues why and what folks want, what their goals are is
critical. From there, now you can see what is likely the best method to advise to a new person vs someone who might be obsessed about every detail vs someone who is less likely to care for things/lacks the time etc.
Dosing is actually a relative small part of the planted tank but still important, light and CO2 are the big issues.
For management, less light, moderate light is best. Generally 2 w/gal, not more. Less light= less CO2 demand. This makes adding CO2 much easier and less light also = slower, easier to manage growth rates.
Slower growth(Slower algae growth as well)= less nutrient dosing require, more wiggle room. Poor CO2 causes most of the issues folks tend to have.
So less light helps that crowd as well as those who mess up their dosing or are just not that attentive.
Dosing itself is really easy. Most new folks tend to be scared about it and particularly with dry fertilizers. They are taking a leaf of faith here. Just keep that in mind when helping them.
They are not sure what KNO3 is, or KH2PO4 and all this weird Chem lingo looking stuff. That's okay, they generally are okay with things like baking soda, they rarely call it "sodium bicarbonate" NaHCO3 :evil_lol:
They can add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda no problem to a cookie recipe without getting too unsure. They should be able to do the same saltpeter or KNO3 by adding 1/4 teaspoon in the same manner.
If they make a mistake, they can do a large water change and re set the tank. That's simple.
So the dosing part only involves perhaps 3-4 things at most, folks might add every 2-3 days or they can do it daily if their habits are best suited, much like feeding the fish daily, they can feed the plant daily.
After doing this for a week or two, it becomes very simple and "old hat".
I add 2 teaspoons of KNO3, 1 teaspoon of KH2PO4, 50 mls of Tropica master grow every 2-3 days. I add 1 table spoon of GH booster after each water change(60% weekly etc).
I do not need to do anything else other than watch CO2, clean filters, prune etc.
Here's yet another view of EI dosing from another perspective which you might understand a bit better:
http://www.ukaps.org/EI.htm
Many of these folks are relatively new to all this as well.
But they have come a long way in a very short time frame.
For those not wanting to do much dosing, few water changes, then a non CO2 planted tank method/s are much better suited to your goals.
This does not mean you will grow a nice looking ADA style scape by simply not adding CO2 and no nutrients, far from it. It still takes patience, a lot more than many think, but the end result might be something you are happy with. As the light is also low, no CO2, the plant growth is slow.
This means the plants demand for nutrients is also slow.
So fish waste alone often, but not always, can meet the nutrient demands.
So for the CO2 enriched tanks, you will generally need to add ferts regularly(2-3x a week, to daily), maybe 1-3x a month for the non CO2 methods and then only a small amount if at all.
There are trade offs for both methods, but trying both of them is the best way to learn about each.
Regards,
Tom Barr
