Some someone help me create a dosing schedule please..?

Jag1980

Jag1980

Got Plants?
Aug 18, 2008
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Marysville, Wa
I'm trying to figure this out using all these calculators and it's making me sick trying to figure everything out what I need to be adding and how often and how much of each.... ml, kg 1/16th, pinch dash kilos ppm whatever what? :wall:
I posted this at another forum also., I need a schedule by the time I wake up and turn on my lights.
I get a more correct level of nutrients dosing dry in the tank then if I was to make my own liquid in the empty Seachem bottles and add to my tank using a Seachem dosing chart correct?

After reading it looks like I do not need to be dosing Potassium Sulfate K2so4 and wasted money buying this bag..?
When do I need to add or huh?
I'm using the Dry fertilizers from Aquariumfertilizers.com
I read the estimate dosing chart and it only gives the dosing for 3 ferts.. I got 5 but one I don't need?
I have:
Plantex CSM+b
Iron Chelate 10%
Potassium Sulfate
Potassium Nitrate
Mano Potassium Phosphate
29 gallon tank
3.3 watts per gallon, 9 hours per day.
Pressurized Co2
This many plants:
CIMG3319.jpg
 
I think I figured it out..
I had to covert from tsp to grams since this calculator would not let me put in the / for 1/8th and stuff
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilator.php

1.3 grams = 1/4 tps - KNO3
0.35 grams = 1/16 tsp - KH2PO4
0.53 grams = 1/8 tsp - CSM+B
0.40 grams = 1/16 tsp - K2SO4

This will give my tank:
KNO3 Nitrate = 7.25
PO4 Phosphate = 2.25
K Potassium = 7.15
MG Magnesium = 0.07
Fe Iron = 0.32

This is what my water will contain after dosing all of these fertilizers in one day? Should I just dose everything every 2 days to keep the correct nutrient levels?? How long do each of these chemicals ppm stay in the water?

Now I'm confused about reading this compared to what I got when doing my own calculations..
20-40 Gallon Aquariums
+/- ¼ tsp KN03 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp (5ml) Trace Elements 3x a week
50% weekly water change

What about adding a Iron Chelate 10% dose? 1/16 tsp every day?
I don't see it on the Conversion chart...


Example Dosing Regime for 29 Gallon:
Note: K2SO4 is not required for dosing unless you need the extra Potassium (K). This K is found in KN03 and KH2P04. Dosing these two according to above will yield sufficient K levels. Therefore, one will be fine dosing only KN03 and KH2P04, and Plantex. If one needs to increase their K levels with K2S04, add the same measured amount as KH2P04. For example, if one is dosing 1/2 tsp of KH2P04, then dose 1/2 tsp of K2S04. In true regards to EI, added excess K is not detrimental in any event.


I have to dose all to get my target ranges according to the calculator I used,
so why does one say i will have enough Potassium without adding the K2SO4
???

Sorry for all the questions. If you are sitting at your computer with nothing to do, here something you can do if you wanna help me :)
 
Last edited:
Jag1980 said:
I think I figured it out..
I had to covert from tsp to grams since this calculator would not let me put in the / for 1/8th and stuff
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilator.php

1.3 grams = 1/4 tps - KNO3
0.35 grams = 1/16 tsp - KH2PO4
0.53 grams = 1/8 tsp - CSM+B
0.40 grams = 1/16 tsp - K2SO4

This will give my tank:
KNO3 Nitrate = 7.25
PO4 Phosphate = 2.25
K Potassium = 7.15
MG Magnesium = 0.07
Fe Iron = 0.32

This is what my water will contain after dosing all of these fertilizers in one day? Should I just dose everything every 2 days to keep the correct nutrient levels?? How long do each of these chemicals ppm stay in the water?

Now I'm confused about reading this compared to what I got when doing my own calculations..
20-40 Gallon Aquariums
+/- ¼ tsp KN03 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp (5ml) Trace Elements 3x a week
50% weekly water change

What about adding a Iron Chelate 10% dose? 1/16 tsp every day?
I don't see it on the Conversion chart...


Example Dosing Regime for 29 Gallon:
Note: K2SO4 is not required for dosing unless you need the extra Potassium (K). This K is found in KN03 and KH2P04. Dosing these two according to above will yield sufficient K levels. Therefore, one will be fine dosing only KN03 and KH2P04, and Plantex. If one needs to increase their K levels with K2S04, add the same measured amount as KH2P04. For example, if one is dosing 1/2 tsp of KH2P04, then dose 1/2 tsp of K2S04. In true regards to EI, added excess K is not detrimental in any event.


I have to dose all to get my target ranges according to the calculator I used,
so why does one say I will have enough Potassium without adding the K2SO4
???

Sorry for all the questions. If you are sitting at your computer with nothing to do, here something you can do if you wanna help me :)
Click to expand...

Should I lower my CSM+B dose to 1/16?
To late to Edit the post, so I had to reply..
 
A self mixed solution is as accurate as your measurements, if you were using the correct ratio then it is as accurate as using dry. I wouldn't use Seachem's dosing chart, it isn't suitable for a high light setup.

It is never a bad idea to have some extra fertilizers on hand. Different tanks have different requirements and you may find out that you might need the extra potassium or iron. Start dosing the main three (CSM+B, KNO3, KH2PO4) and then add the others if your plants aren't looking as good as you expect.

I can't tell you what your tank's nutrient uptake will be, it depends on your plant mass. If you follow the EI method, you are basically trying to add enough nutrients to last at least 2 days, hence the dosing every other day. If you want to check test the nitrate and phosphate levels, you don't want them to bottom out.
 
Jag1980 said:
I think I figured it out..
I had to covert from tsp to grams since this calculator would not let me put in the / for 1/8th and stuff
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilator.php

1.3 grams = 1/4 tps - KNO3
0.35 grams = 1/16 tsp - KH2PO4
0.53 grams = 1/8 tsp - CSM+B
0.40 grams = 1/16 tsp - K2SO4

This will give my tank:
KNO3 Nitrate = 7.25
PO4 Phosphate = 2.25
K Potassium = 7.15
MG Magnesium = 0.07
Fe Iron = 0.32

This is what my water will contain after dosing all of these fertilizers in one day? Should I just dose everything every 2 days to keep the correct nutrient levels?? How long do each of these chemicals ppm stay in the water?
Click to expand...

Yes, that is what your water will contain after dosing all of those in one day. It's recommended that you spread out your dosing. In EI, you dose in such a way that, were your plants to use no nutrients at all, you wouldn't dose more than your target level. What that means is that you would take your values from above, and dose 1/3 of each 3x a week, so that by weekly water change time, you have built up the level to that amount. That's EI. There are other methods.

Now I'm confused about reading this compared to what I got when doing my own calculations..
20-40 Gallon Aquariums
+/- ¼ tsp KN03 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp (5ml) Trace Elements 3x a week
50% weekly water change

What about adding a Iron Chelate 10% dose? 1/16 tsp every day?
I don't see it on the Conversion chart...


Example Dosing Regime for 29 Gallon:
Note: K2SO4 is not required for dosing unless you need the extra Potassium (K). This K is found in KN03 and KH2P04. Dosing these two according to above will yield sufficient K levels. Therefore, one will be fine dosing only KN03 and KH2P04, and Plantex. If one needs to increase their K levels with K2S04, add the same measured amount as KH2P04. For example, if one is dosing 1/2 tsp of KH2P04, then dose 1/2 tsp of K2S04. In true regards to EI, added excess K is not detrimental in any event.


I have to dose all to get my target ranges according to the calculator I used,
so why does one say i will have enough Potassium without adding the K2SO4
???

Sorry for all the questions. If you are sitting at your computer with nothing to do, here something you can do if you wanna help me :)
Click to expand...

There really isn't "one" way to dose. The current leading suggestion is that for light-to-medium planted tanks, with moderate but not high light, and an average amount of fish, that you get enough potassium from your other nutrients(KNO3 for example) without needing to further dose K2SO4. Again, the leading suggestion is that, in higher light tanks, this does not hold true.

As far as adding iron. I add a small amount of iron to my tank in addition to Plantex CSM+B. For almost all tanks, Plantex adds plenty of FE, however I had a hunch that I needed more iron, so I upped it. I can't say for sure that it's helping, but I feel like it is, and it's not hurting anything. I dose according to PPS(look on aquatic plant central for more info) and I increased the Fe in my traces solution by 1%, which means I'm dosing just a hair more every day.


I may have missed one of your questions, so just a suggestion, when quoting another page or something, change the color of the font so we can see the difference between what it said and what you are saying.
 
Thank you for your help :cheers:

I dosed:
1.3 grams = 1/4 tps - KNO3
0.35 grams = 1/16 tsp - KH2PO4
0.53 grams = 1/8 tsp - CSM+B
0.40 grams = 1/16 tsp - K2SO4
Tiny pinch of Iron on off days.
If I read everything correctly, this sounds like a good dosing if my plants absorb nutrients well.?

I will dose the K2SO4 for the first dosing and leave it out of the next two dosings of the week until after next water change and repeat.

If I can, I should probably test my water on day 6 to check my levels to make sure there's not too much nutrient build up correct?

I think I should try dosing before the lights come on, the fish eat it as it falls.. or they will just learn to not eat it once they realize it's not food? ha...
 
Just to make things easier, I recommend either A)mixing dry components together and doing some calculations so that you only have to dose one "thing" per day(instead of a tsp of this and a tsp of that...) or B)mix into solutions.

Don't mix ALL of it, meaning mix up enough for 3 months or so, that way you can tweek it later if you need to.

I mix my solutions into a 500 mL bottle that has a 5 mL cap, easy as pie to dose.
 
You may also chose to dose daily to avoid forgetting to dose 3x a week(was it Tues or was it Wed I last dosed?). Generally, nutrients are VERY easy to rule out(do a large water change and dose thereafter, the tank is reset), CO2 is 90% or more of most issues for folks, not the nutrients or whether they slightly add excess or limit.

Folks get tunnel vision when it comes to nutrients and forget about CO2.
You cannot do that without addressing CO2 etc and light. Light is plenty for you.

Regards
Tom Barr
 
Thanks for this post Jag... I have been trying to sort out everything in my head as well. As soon as the chinese decide to actually ship me one of the drop checkers I have ordered I will be fully up to speed
 
jmhart said:
Just to make things easier, I recommend either A)mixing dry components together and doing some calculations so that you only have to dose one "thing" per day(instead of a tsp of this and a tsp of that...) or B)mix into solutions.

Don't mix ALL of it, meaning mix up enough for 3 months or so, that way you can tweek it later if you need to.

I mix my solutions into a 500 mL bottle that has a 5 mL cap, easy as pie to dose.
Click to expand...


Good idea, I will do that.

Every other day dosing is much easier to remember as I also use a chart labeled with the days so I don't forget.
Do you think it is necessary to add the pinch of iron on the off days?
 
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