Hi All,

Ive been following this newgroup, reading, learning and sometimes throwing
my 2 cents in since december.

I have a 125 gal - flourite - co2 pressurized, 4 X 96w cf's, 2 X Magnum 350
Filters.

I went through the normal brown algae the first week, hair algae a few weeks
later and now the algae is gone but I have green water.

I have PMDD somewhere in the mail, and bought some Tropical Master Grow.

Ive read the Kribs sections on PMDD and TMG - However I guess I still dont
get it.

Would someone be kind enough to kind of mentor me via email, and point me in
the right direction as to what test kit I should purchase that will cover
all the variables, and then help me balance this thing? I have moderate
plant growth but the imbalances are no good.

I even have a excel spreadsheet that calculates all the dosages needed, I
just dont know how to use it *if anyone is interested in a copy of this
please email me, i'll be glad to email it to you.*

Id be glad to reimburse whoever would like to help me in plants or
whatever....

Please email me if you are interested.

Thank You,

Dustin

In article , dws@mbbookstore-
nospam.com says...
Ive been following this newgroup, reading, learning and sometimes throwing
my 2 cents in since december.

I have a 125 gal - flourite - co2 pressurized, 4 X 96w cf's, 2 X Magnum 350
Filters.

I went through the normal brown algae the first week, hair algae a few weeks
later and now the algae is gone but I have green water.

I have PMDD somewhere in the mail, and bought some Tropical Master Grow.
Ive read the Kribs sections on PMDD and TMG - However I guess I still dont
get it.

Would someone be kind enough to kind of mentor me via email, and point me in
the right direction as to what test kit I should purchase that will cover
all the variables, and then help me balance this thing? I have moderate
plant growth but the imbalances are no good.

I even have a excel spreadsheet that calculates all the dosages needed, I
just dont know how to use it *if anyone is interested in a copy of this
please email me, i'll be glad to email it to you.*

Id be glad to reimburse whoever would like to help me in plants or
whatever....


Dustin,

I have a setup very similar to yours:

110g, Flourite, 4-96w CF, Wet-Dry filter, CO2 added, and UG heating. I
use RO water reconstituted with EQUILIBRIUM.

I also have a shelf full of UNUSED test kits. Actually, I test a couple
times a year. Of all the tests, I found nitrate to be somewhat useful.
IMO, if it gets too high, you either have too many fish or are feeding
too much or you need to do more water changes, too little and maybe you
need to add some nitrate along with the trace fertilizer.

When I started 9+ years ago, I tested very often, made graphs, kept
tables, etc. Over time, I learned that observing the plants and the
aquarium was a much better indicator than any test kit I ever used.

You'll learn that some plants are indicators of proper dosage of PMDD or
TMG or whatever you chose to use, watch them and they will guide you. I
use PMDD. For example, if I added too little PMDD, the leaves on my
Bacopa shrank in size. If I added too much, clumps of green algae balls
would form.

As an engineer, it was natural for me to do lots of tests and keep
records. But as I watched and observed, I learned that keeping a
planted tank is as much an art as it is a science. Try some of both and
see how you do, I think you will surprise yourself at how well you do.

DougS



Please email me if you are interested.

Thank You,

Dustin

Dustin wrote:

Hi All,

Ive been following this newgroup, reading, learning and sometimes throwing
my 2 cents in since december.

I have a 125 gal - flourite - co2 pressurized, 4 X 96w cf's, 2 X Magnum 350
Filters.

I went through the normal brown algae the first week, hair algae a few weeks
later and now the algae is gone but I have green water.

I have PMDD somewhere in the mail, and bought some Tropical Master Grow.

Ive read the Kribs sections on PMDD and TMG - However I guess I still dont
get it.

Dustin,

Plants need CO2, three macro nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium),
and trace elements. The most often lacking trace elements seem to be Iron,
Magnesium and Calcium.

You are injecting CO2.

PMDD has up to five main ingredients:

* Trace element fertilizer. This is often a brand called Plantex CSM, but
other brands can be used.
* Potassium, in the form of K2SO4
* Nitrogen, in the form of KNO3 (plus more Potassium in there too)
* Magnesium, in the form of Epsom Salts (not used by everyone)
* Phosphorous, in the form KH2PO4 (not used by everyone)

Used together in the dosages described on TheKrib, these form a very complete
fertilizer regimen for planted tanks. The tricks a

* Overdosing Nitrate is bad (kills fish), so you have to start slow.
* Overdosing Phosphate can promote algae, and many people
have enough without adding any.
* Many people have nice hard water, and do not add Epsom Salts.

The TMG you ordered is a proprietary combination of Trace plus Potassium and
Magnesium. Many people use it alone. Few people use it in conjunction with PMDD,
since they overlap so much. TMG contains no phosphate or nitrate.

Reread the sections on the Krib, compare to what's above, and see if it doesn't
start to make sense. Then ask more questions!

Hi,

I was wondering about nitrate, as the tank is heavily planted. Only just
after a water change do I get pearling.. and only for a short period of
time.

Where do I get nitrate? Is it a component in the PMDD? If so which
abbreviations?

Thanks!

Dustin
"DougS" wrote in message
m...
In article , dws@mbbookstore-
nospam.com says...
Ive been following this newgroup, reading, learning and sometimes
throwing
my 2 cents in since december.

I have a 125 gal - flourite - co2 pressurized, 4 X 96w cf's, 2 X Magnum
350
Filters.

I went through the normal brown algae the first week, hair algae a few
weeks
later and now the algae is gone but I have green water.

I have PMDD somewhere in the mail, and bought some Tropical Master Grow.
Ive read the Kribs sections on PMDD and TMG - However I guess I still
dont
get it.

Would someone be kind enough to kind of mentor me via email, and point
me in
the right direction as to what test kit I should purchase that will
cover
all the variables, and then help me balance this thing? I have moderate
plant growth but the imbalances are no good.

I even have a excel spreadsheet that calculates all the dosages needed,
I
just dont know how to use it *if anyone is interested in a copy of this
please email me, i'll be glad to email it to you.*

Id be glad to reimburse whoever would like to help me in plants or
whatever....


Dustin,

I have a setup very similar to yours:

110g, Flourite, 4-96w CF, Wet-Dry filter, CO2 added, and UG heating. I
use RO water reconstituted with EQUILIBRIUM.

I also have a shelf full of UNUSED test kits. Actually, I test a couple
times a year. Of all the tests, I found nitrate to be somewhat useful.
IMO, if it gets too high, you either have too many fish or are feeding
too much or you need to do more water changes, too little and maybe you
need to add some nitrate along with the trace fertilizer.

When I started 9+ years ago, I tested very often, made graphs, kept
tables, etc. Over time, I learned that observing the plants and the
aquarium was a much better indicator than any test kit I ever used.

You'll learn that some plants are indicators of proper dosage of PMDD or
TMG or whatever you chose to use, watch them and they will guide you. I
use PMDD. For example, if I added too little PMDD, the leaves on my
Bacopa shrank in size. If I added too much, clumps of green algae balls
would form.

As an engineer, it was natural for me to do lots of tests and keep
records. But as I watched and observed, I learned that keeping a
planted tank is as much an art as it is a science. Try some of both and
see how you do, I think you will surprise yourself at how well you do.

DougS



Please email me if you are interested.

Thank You,

Dustin

I think Dave just answered my question


"Dustin" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I was wondering about nitrate, as the tank is heavily planted. Only just
after a water change do I get pearling.. and only for a short period of
time.

Where do I get nitrate? Is it a component in the PMDD? If so which
abbreviations?

Thanks!

Dustin
"DougS" wrote in message
m...
In article , dws@mbbookstore-
nospam.com says...
Ive been following this newgroup, reading, learning and sometimes
throwing
my 2 cents in since december.

I have a 125 gal - flourite - co2 pressurized, 4 X 96w cf's, 2 X
Magnum
350
Filters.

I went through the normal brown algae the first week, hair algae a few
weeks
later and now the algae is gone but I have green water.

I have PMDD somewhere in the mail, and bought some Tropical Master
Grow.
Ive read the Kribs sections on PMDD and TMG - However I guess I still
dont
get it.

Would someone be kind enough to kind of mentor me via email, and point
me in
the right direction as to what test kit I should purchase that will
cover
all the variables, and then help me balance this thing? I have
moderate
plant growth but the imbalances are no good.

I even have a excel spreadsheet that calculates all the dosages
needed,
I
just dont know how to use it *if anyone is interested in a copy of
this
please email me, i'll be glad to email it to you.*

Id be glad to reimburse whoever would like to help me in plants or
whatever....


Dustin,

I have a setup very similar to yours:

110g, Flourite, 4-96w CF, Wet-Dry filter, CO2 added, and UG heating. I
use RO water reconstituted with EQUILIBRIUM.

I also have a shelf full of UNUSED test kits. Actually, I test a couple
times a year. Of all the tests, I found nitrate to be somewhat useful.
IMO, if it gets too high, you either have too many fish or are feeding
too much or you need to do more water changes, too little and maybe you
need to add some nitrate along with the trace fertilizer.

When I started 9+ years ago, I tested very often, made graphs, kept
tables, etc. Over time, I learned that observing the plants and the
aquarium was a much better indicator than any test kit I ever used.

You'll learn that some plants are indicators of proper dosage of PMDD or
TMG or whatever you chose to use, watch them and they will guide you. I
use PMDD. For example, if I added too little PMDD, the leaves on my
Bacopa shrank in size. If I added too much, clumps of green algae balls
would form.

As an engineer, it was natural for me to do lots of tests and keep
records. But as I watched and observed, I learned that keeping a
planted tank is as much an art as it is a science. Try some of both and
see how you do, I think you will surprise yourself at how well you do.

DougS



Please email me if you are interested.

Thank You,

Dustin

Hi Dave,

Very Helpful..

So by this Im guessing Im probably lacking Nirtogen? I have a test kit, and
will test for this later tonight...

If that is the case, what ratio should i mix the KNO3 with water, and what
is the estimated dosage per 125 gallons? or will that vary completly by the
status of my tank?

I think the iron level should be fine because i have 95% Flourite substrate.

Also an overdose of the TMG probably explains the green water - over dosage
of Phosphorous.. Or am I off?

Thanks

Dustin


"Dave Millman" wrote in message
...
Dustin wrote:

Hi All,

Ive been following this newgroup, reading, learning and sometimes
throwing
my 2 cents in since december.

I have a 125 gal - flourite - co2 pressurized, 4 X 96w cf's, 2 X Magnum
350
Filters.

I went through the normal brown algae the first week, hair algae a few
weeks
later and now the algae is gone but I have green water.

I have PMDD somewhere in the mail, and bought some Tropical Master Grow.

Ive read the Kribs sections on PMDD and TMG - However I guess I still
dont
get it.

Dustin,

Plants need CO2, three macro nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorous and
Potassium),
and trace elements. The most often lacking trace elements seem to be Iron,
Magnesium and Calcium.

You are injecting CO2.

PMDD has up to five main ingredients:

* Trace element fertilizer. This is often a brand called Plantex CSM,
but
other brands can be used.
* Potassium, in the form of K2SO4
* Nitrogen, in the form of KNO3 (plus more Potassium in there too)
* Magnesium, in the form of Epsom Salts (not used by everyone)
* Phosphorous, in the form KH2PO4 (not used by everyone)

Used together in the dosages described on TheKrib, these form a very
complete
fertilizer regimen for planted tanks. The tricks a

* Overdosing Nitrate is bad (kills fish), so you have to start slow.
* Overdosing Phosphate can promote algae, and many people
have enough without adding any.
* Many people have nice hard water, and do not add Epsom Salts.

The TMG you ordered is a proprietary combination of Trace plus Potassium
and
Magnesium. Many people use it alone. Few people use it in conjunction with
PMDD,
since they overlap so much. TMG contains no phosphate or nitrate.

Reread the sections on the Krib, compare to what's above, and see if it
doesn't
start to make sense. Then ask more questions!

Dustin wrote:

Hi Dave,

Very Helpful..

So by this Im guessing Im probably lacking Nirtogen? I have a test kit, and
will test for this later tonight...

If that is the case, what ratio should i mix the KNO3 with water, and what
is the estimated dosage per 125 gallons? or will that vary completly by the
status of my tank?

It will vary. Start slow, since Nitrate is a toxin and a sudden change can kill
fish. In my case, I slowly increased the Nitrate dosage from 1/8 tsp per week to
the current 3/4 tsp per week, which keeps me stable at around 10ppm.


I think the iron level should be fine because i have 95% Flourite substrate.

Flourite is great, it's all I use, but you still need to add iron. PMDD is
designed to provide traces indexed to iron level. A test kit will tell you how
much you have.

Also an overdose of the TMG probably explains the green water - over dosage
of Phosphorous.. Or am I off?

As I said, urrent thinking is that an excess of Phosphate IN THE ABSENCE OF
OTHER IMPORTANT NUTRIENTS will encourage algae. The trick is not to obsess over
phosphate, because it is a macronutrient after all, but to provide the other
necessary nutrients. Here's a useful post on that one:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...b1d7e4d&rnum=1