when to fertilize? After water change?
I've been hearing some rumblings in this group about not fertilizing
(micronutrients -iron etc.) after a water change because the water already has these nutrients--maybe waiting a few days for the nutrients to be absorbed would be better. I've been currently fertilizing using Ferreal +spureal (iron & trace elements) directly after every weekly 25% water change. Any suggestions? Or am I doing it right. Thanx alot for your help! :) Dave. |
when to fertilize? After water change?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca...
I've been hearing some rumblings in this group about not fertilizing (micronutrients -iron etc.) after a water change because the water already has these nutrients--maybe waiting a few days for the nutrients to be absorbed would be better. I've been currently fertilizing using Ferreal +spureal (iron & trace elements) directly after every weekly 25% water change. Any suggestions? Or am I doing it right. Thanx alot for your help! :) Dave. There's typically not even close to enough micronutrients in tap water. If you use CO2 etc, try dosing 2-3x a week. I do it right after the water change then once or twice more during the week till the next water change. Sera are good products IMO. You will need to add about 2-3x the recommended doses if you use CO2. So rather than say 5mls weekly, add it 5mls 2-3x weekly. Dosage stays the same but with more light/CO2 etc, the __frequency__ increases. This makes sense due to increased plant growth therefore more uptake and demand for more nutrients/CO2 etc. Non CO2 tanks I don't use any water column fertilizers and don't do water changes, just top off for the evaporation losses and feed a good sized fish load. |
when to fertilize? After water change?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca...
I've been hearing some rumblings in this group about not fertilizing (micronutrients -iron etc.) after a water change because the water already has these nutrients--maybe waiting a few days for the nutrients to be absorbed would be better. I've been currently fertilizing using Ferreal +spureal (iron & trace elements) directly after every weekly 25% water change. Any suggestions? Or am I doing it right. Thanx alot for your help! :) Dave. There's typically not even close to enough micronutrients in tap water. If you use CO2 etc, try dosing 2-3x a week. I do it right after the water change then once or twice more during the week till the next water change. Sera are good products IMO. You will need to add about 2-3x the recommended doses if you use CO2. So rather than say 5mls weekly, add it 5mls 2-3x weekly. Dosage stays the same but with more light/CO2 etc, the __frequency__ increases. This makes sense due to increased plant growth therefore more uptake and demand for more nutrients/CO2 etc. Non CO2 tanks I don't use any water column fertilizers and don't do water changes, just top off for the evaporation losses and feed a good sized fish load. |
when to fertilize? After water change?
Wow, I've been only dosing every water change (once a week). I've got about
33ppm C02 going right now with 2wpg in a 15 gallon wide (shallow tank). Dosing say, every 2nd day or so wouldn't be too much iron?--algae spurts? I guess I could test for iron levels every other day to actually see. I guess we want chelated iron levels about what?--.3 to .35ppm? Dave. " wrote in message om... "Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca... I've been hearing some rumblings in this group about not fertilizing (micronutrients -iron etc.) after a water change because the water already has these nutrients--maybe waiting a few days for the nutrients to be absorbed would be better. I've been currently fertilizing using Ferreal +spureal (iron & trace elements) directly after every weekly 25% water change. Any suggestions? Or am I doing it right. Thanx alot for your help! :) Dave. There's typically not even close to enough micronutrients in tap water. If you use CO2 etc, try dosing 2-3x a week. I do it right after the water change then once or twice more during the week till the next water change. Sera are good products IMO. You will need to add about 2-3x the recommended doses if you use CO2. So rather than say 5mls weekly, add it 5mls 2-3x weekly. Dosage stays the same but with more light/CO2 etc, the __frequency__ increases. This makes sense due to increased plant growth therefore more uptake and demand for more nutrients/CO2 etc. Non CO2 tanks I don't use any water column fertilizers and don't do water changes, just top off for the evaporation losses and feed a good sized fish load. |
when to fertilize? After water change?
Wow, I've been only dosing every water change (once a week). I've got about
33ppm C02 going right now with 2wpg in a 15 gallon wide (shallow tank). Dosing say, every 2nd day or so wouldn't be too much iron?--algae spurts? I guess I could test for iron levels every other day to actually see. I guess we want chelated iron levels about what?--.3 to .35ppm? Dave. " wrote in message om... "Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca... I've been hearing some rumblings in this group about not fertilizing (micronutrients -iron etc.) after a water change because the water already has these nutrients--maybe waiting a few days for the nutrients to be absorbed would be better. I've been currently fertilizing using Ferreal +spureal (iron & trace elements) directly after every weekly 25% water change. Any suggestions? Or am I doing it right. Thanx alot for your help! :) Dave. There's typically not even close to enough micronutrients in tap water. If you use CO2 etc, try dosing 2-3x a week. I do it right after the water change then once or twice more during the week till the next water change. Sera are good products IMO. You will need to add about 2-3x the recommended doses if you use CO2. So rather than say 5mls weekly, add it 5mls 2-3x weekly. Dosage stays the same but with more light/CO2 etc, the __frequency__ increases. This makes sense due to increased plant growth therefore more uptake and demand for more nutrients/CO2 etc. Non CO2 tanks I don't use any water column fertilizers and don't do water changes, just top off for the evaporation losses and feed a good sized fish load. |
when to fertilize? After water change?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca...
Wow, I've been only dosing every water change (once a week). I've got about 33ppm C02 going right now with 2wpg in a 15 gallon wide (shallow tank). Dosing say, every 2nd day or so wouldn't be too much iron?--algae spurts? I guess I could test for iron levels every other day to actually see. I guess we want chelated iron levels about what?--.3 to .35ppm? Dave. Good CO2 and light. Well then the macro and micro nutrients are all that's left. Here's an easy cheap way to do this and keep them in a good range. For your tank, dosing 2x a week would be about right and relatively easy/cheap. What you'll need: Traces- you got that. KNO3- stump remove, I use Grant's or Cooke's branc. K2SO4- potash of sulfur, I used Green All brand KH2PO4- I get this from www.litemanu.com and you can get all three from them also. So the routine goes like this: Twice a week add: Add 1/8 teaspoon of KNO3 Add 1 rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 4mls of Trace mix. Once a week after water change: Add 1/4 teaspoon of K2SO4 Dechlorinator. Do 50% weekly water changes, add all the 4 nutrients back, 1/2 way through the week add the KNO3, KH2PO4 and traces. That's it. Try and tell me what you think after 3 weeks. Before you do the water changes, trim the plants, scrub off any algae from the glass, trim any algae off plants etc. Then do the water change. The above routine will give you about 7-8ppm of NO3 after each dose and enough K and PO4, Fe etc. The weekly water changes keep the nutrients from getting too high and the dosing keeps things from getting too low. It resets the tank each week. Just keep up on the CO2 and you'll be fine with this routine. No, algae will not be a problem if the plants are growing well. The best way to deal with algae is to have well growing plants. So give the plants what they need. If the plant suffer, the algae will creep in. So you recheck the CO2 first, then do a 50% water change and add the nutrients back in. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca...
Wow, I've been only dosing every water change (once a week). I've got about 33ppm C02 going right now with 2wpg in a 15 gallon wide (shallow tank). Dosing say, every 2nd day or so wouldn't be too much iron?--algae spurts? I guess I could test for iron levels every other day to actually see. I guess we want chelated iron levels about what?--.3 to .35ppm? Dave. Good CO2 and light. Well then the macro and micro nutrients are all that's left. Here's an easy cheap way to do this and keep them in a good range. For your tank, dosing 2x a week would be about right and relatively easy/cheap. What you'll need: Traces- you got that. KNO3- stump remove, I use Grant's or Cooke's branc. K2SO4- potash of sulfur, I used Green All brand KH2PO4- I get this from www.litemanu.com and you can get all three from them also. So the routine goes like this: Twice a week add: Add 1/8 teaspoon of KNO3 Add 1 rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 4mls of Trace mix. Once a week after water change: Add 1/4 teaspoon of K2SO4 Dechlorinator. Do 50% weekly water changes, add all the 4 nutrients back, 1/2 way through the week add the KNO3, KH2PO4 and traces. That's it. Try and tell me what you think after 3 weeks. Before you do the water changes, trim the plants, scrub off any algae from the glass, trim any algae off plants etc. Then do the water change. The above routine will give you about 7-8ppm of NO3 after each dose and enough K and PO4, Fe etc. The weekly water changes keep the nutrients from getting too high and the dosing keeps things from getting too low. It resets the tank each week. Just keep up on the CO2 and you'll be fine with this routine. No, algae will not be a problem if the plants are growing well. The best way to deal with algae is to have well growing plants. So give the plants what they need. If the plant suffer, the algae will creep in. So you recheck the CO2 first, then do a 50% water change and add the nutrients back in. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
Wow...sounds pretty involved. But I guess after I get a routine down it
shouldn't be too bad. Do you premix all this stuff and then just add it from packets or baggies? Can I get all this stuff from a garden/nursery store? Thanx. " wrote in message om... "Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca... Wow, I've been only dosing every water change (once a week). I've got about 33ppm C02 going right now with 2wpg in a 15 gallon wide (shallow tank). Dosing say, every 2nd day or so wouldn't be too much iron?--algae spurts? I guess I could test for iron levels every other day to actually see. I guess we want chelated iron levels about what?--.3 to .35ppm? Dave. Good CO2 and light. Well then the macro and micro nutrients are all that's left. Here's an easy cheap way to do this and keep them in a good range. For your tank, dosing 2x a week would be about right and relatively easy/cheap. What you'll need: Traces- you got that. KNO3- stump remove, I use Grant's or Cooke's branc. K2SO4- potash of sulfur, I used Green All brand KH2PO4- I get this from www.litemanu.com and you can get all three from them also. So the routine goes like this: Twice a week add: Add 1/8 teaspoon of KNO3 Add 1 rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 4mls of Trace mix. Once a week after water change: Add 1/4 teaspoon of K2SO4 Dechlorinator. Do 50% weekly water changes, add all the 4 nutrients back, 1/2 way through the week add the KNO3, KH2PO4 and traces. That's it. Try and tell me what you think after 3 weeks. Before you do the water changes, trim the plants, scrub off any algae from the glass, trim any algae off plants etc. Then do the water change. The above routine will give you about 7-8ppm of NO3 after each dose and enough K and PO4, Fe etc. The weekly water changes keep the nutrients from getting too high and the dosing keeps things from getting too low. It resets the tank each week. Just keep up on the CO2 and you'll be fine with this routine. No, algae will not be a problem if the plants are growing well. The best way to deal with algae is to have well growing plants. So give the plants what they need. If the plant suffer, the algae will creep in. So you recheck the CO2 first, then do a 50% water change and add the nutrients back in. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
Wow...sounds pretty involved. But I guess after I get a routine down it
shouldn't be too bad. Do you premix all this stuff and then just add it from packets or baggies? Can I get all this stuff from a garden/nursery store? Thanx. " wrote in message om... "Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca... Wow, I've been only dosing every water change (once a week). I've got about 33ppm C02 going right now with 2wpg in a 15 gallon wide (shallow tank). Dosing say, every 2nd day or so wouldn't be too much iron?--algae spurts? I guess I could test for iron levels every other day to actually see. I guess we want chelated iron levels about what?--.3 to .35ppm? Dave. Good CO2 and light. Well then the macro and micro nutrients are all that's left. Here's an easy cheap way to do this and keep them in a good range. For your tank, dosing 2x a week would be about right and relatively easy/cheap. What you'll need: Traces- you got that. KNO3- stump remove, I use Grant's or Cooke's branc. K2SO4- potash of sulfur, I used Green All brand KH2PO4- I get this from www.litemanu.com and you can get all three from them also. So the routine goes like this: Twice a week add: Add 1/8 teaspoon of KNO3 Add 1 rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 4mls of Trace mix. Once a week after water change: Add 1/4 teaspoon of K2SO4 Dechlorinator. Do 50% weekly water changes, add all the 4 nutrients back, 1/2 way through the week add the KNO3, KH2PO4 and traces. That's it. Try and tell me what you think after 3 weeks. Before you do the water changes, trim the plants, scrub off any algae from the glass, trim any algae off plants etc. Then do the water change. The above routine will give you about 7-8ppm of NO3 after each dose and enough K and PO4, Fe etc. The weekly water changes keep the nutrients from getting too high and the dosing keeps things from getting too low. It resets the tank each week. Just keep up on the CO2 and you'll be fine with this routine. No, algae will not be a problem if the plants are growing well. The best way to deal with algae is to have well growing plants. So give the plants what they need. If the plant suffer, the algae will creep in. So you recheck the CO2 first, then do a 50% water change and add the nutrients back in. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
Is this stuff easily dissolved?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message a... Wow...sounds pretty involved. But I guess after I get a routine down it shouldn't be too bad. Do you premix all this stuff and then just add it from packets or baggies? Can I get all this stuff from a garden/nursery store? Thanx. " wrote in message om... "Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca... Wow, I've been only dosing every water change (once a week). I've got about 33ppm C02 going right now with 2wpg in a 15 gallon wide (shallow tank). Dosing say, every 2nd day or so wouldn't be too much iron?--algae spurts? I guess I could test for iron levels every other day to actually see. I guess we want chelated iron levels about what?--.3 to .35ppm? Dave. Good CO2 and light. Well then the macro and micro nutrients are all that's left. Here's an easy cheap way to do this and keep them in a good range. For your tank, dosing 2x a week would be about right and relatively easy/cheap. What you'll need: Traces- you got that. KNO3- stump remove, I use Grant's or Cooke's branc. K2SO4- potash of sulfur, I used Green All brand KH2PO4- I get this from www.litemanu.com and you can get all three from them also. So the routine goes like this: Twice a week add: Add 1/8 teaspoon of KNO3 Add 1 rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 4mls of Trace mix. Once a week after water change: Add 1/4 teaspoon of K2SO4 Dechlorinator. Do 50% weekly water changes, add all the 4 nutrients back, 1/2 way through the week add the KNO3, KH2PO4 and traces. That's it. Try and tell me what you think after 3 weeks. Before you do the water changes, trim the plants, scrub off any algae from the glass, trim any algae off plants etc. Then do the water change. The above routine will give you about 7-8ppm of NO3 after each dose and enough K and PO4, Fe etc. The weekly water changes keep the nutrients from getting too high and the dosing keeps things from getting too low. It resets the tank each week. Just keep up on the CO2 and you'll be fine with this routine. No, algae will not be a problem if the plants are growing well. The best way to deal with algae is to have well growing plants. So give the plants what they need. If the plant suffer, the algae will creep in. So you recheck the CO2 first, then do a 50% water change and add the nutrients back in. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
Is this stuff easily dissolved?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message a... Wow...sounds pretty involved. But I guess after I get a routine down it shouldn't be too bad. Do you premix all this stuff and then just add it from packets or baggies? Can I get all this stuff from a garden/nursery store? Thanx. " wrote in message om... "Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca... Wow, I've been only dosing every water change (once a week). I've got about 33ppm C02 going right now with 2wpg in a 15 gallon wide (shallow tank). Dosing say, every 2nd day or so wouldn't be too much iron?--algae spurts? I guess I could test for iron levels every other day to actually see. I guess we want chelated iron levels about what?--.3 to .35ppm? Dave. Good CO2 and light. Well then the macro and micro nutrients are all that's left. Here's an easy cheap way to do this and keep them in a good range. For your tank, dosing 2x a week would be about right and relatively easy/cheap. What you'll need: Traces- you got that. KNO3- stump remove, I use Grant's or Cooke's branc. K2SO4- potash of sulfur, I used Green All brand KH2PO4- I get this from www.litemanu.com and you can get all three from them also. So the routine goes like this: Twice a week add: Add 1/8 teaspoon of KNO3 Add 1 rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 4mls of Trace mix. Once a week after water change: Add 1/4 teaspoon of K2SO4 Dechlorinator. Do 50% weekly water changes, add all the 4 nutrients back, 1/2 way through the week add the KNO3, KH2PO4 and traces. That's it. Try and tell me what you think after 3 weeks. Before you do the water changes, trim the plants, scrub off any algae from the glass, trim any algae off plants etc. Then do the water change. The above routine will give you about 7-8ppm of NO3 after each dose and enough K and PO4, Fe etc. The weekly water changes keep the nutrients from getting too high and the dosing keeps things from getting too low. It resets the tank each week. Just keep up on the CO2 and you'll be fine with this routine. No, algae will not be a problem if the plants are growing well. The best way to deal with algae is to have well growing plants. So give the plants what they need. If the plant suffer, the algae will creep in. So you recheck the CO2 first, then do a 50% water change and add the nutrients back in. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca...
Wow...sounds pretty involved. You add 4 things with teaspoon measurements 2x-3x a week. I see nothing complicated there. If you made cookies from scratch it would be more complicated. But I guess after I get a routine down it shouldn't be too bad. Do you premix all this stuff and then just add it from packets or baggies? Can I get all this stuff from a garden/nursery store? Thanx. I buy bags from a nursery(Stump remover-KNO3 and potash of sulfur-K2SO4) or on line etc. KH2PO4 you'll likely need to get on line at www.litemanu.com, potassium monobasic phosphate. You can buy it all from litemanu.com also. Traces like Flourish, Tropica Master Grow- TMG, you get from from the LFS or on line etc. You can also make your own traces from dry powder, CMS Plantex brands are commonly used and are pretty cheap. I add the KH2PO4, KNO3 and the K2SO4 dry right into the tank like I have for years. Traces are liquid so I add those in milliliters. For a 20 gallon tanks I add 2-3x a week: 1/4 teaspoon KKNO3 2rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 5mls of Flourish and once a week after the water change 1/4 teaspoon K2SO4 That is as simple as you are going to get. Do 50% weekly water changes and keep the CO2 in the 20-30ppm range. That's it. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca...
Wow...sounds pretty involved. You add 4 things with teaspoon measurements 2x-3x a week. I see nothing complicated there. If you made cookies from scratch it would be more complicated. But I guess after I get a routine down it shouldn't be too bad. Do you premix all this stuff and then just add it from packets or baggies? Can I get all this stuff from a garden/nursery store? Thanx. I buy bags from a nursery(Stump remover-KNO3 and potash of sulfur-K2SO4) or on line etc. KH2PO4 you'll likely need to get on line at www.litemanu.com, potassium monobasic phosphate. You can buy it all from litemanu.com also. Traces like Flourish, Tropica Master Grow- TMG, you get from from the LFS or on line etc. You can also make your own traces from dry powder, CMS Plantex brands are commonly used and are pretty cheap. I add the KH2PO4, KNO3 and the K2SO4 dry right into the tank like I have for years. Traces are liquid so I add those in milliliters. For a 20 gallon tanks I add 2-3x a week: 1/4 teaspoon KKNO3 2rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 5mls of Flourish and once a week after the water change 1/4 teaspoon K2SO4 That is as simple as you are going to get. Do 50% weekly water changes and keep the CO2 in the 20-30ppm range. That's it. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
Thanx for all your help! I'll be starting that as soon as I get back from a
few days holidays and after I can aquire this stuff. Dave. " wrote in message om... "Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca... Wow...sounds pretty involved. You add 4 things with teaspoon measurements 2x-3x a week. I see nothing complicated there. If you made cookies from scratch it would be more complicated. But I guess after I get a routine down it shouldn't be too bad. Do you premix all this stuff and then just add it from packets or baggies? Can I get all this stuff from a garden/nursery store? Thanx. I buy bags from a nursery(Stump remover-KNO3 and potash of sulfur-K2SO4) or on line etc. KH2PO4 you'll likely need to get on line at www.litemanu.com, potassium monobasic phosphate. You can buy it all from litemanu.com also. Traces like Flourish, Tropica Master Grow- TMG, you get from from the LFS or on line etc. You can also make your own traces from dry powder, CMS Plantex brands are commonly used and are pretty cheap. I add the KH2PO4, KNO3 and the K2SO4 dry right into the tank like I have for years. Traces are liquid so I add those in milliliters. For a 20 gallon tanks I add 2-3x a week: 1/4 teaspoon KKNO3 2rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 5mls of Flourish and once a week after the water change 1/4 teaspoon K2SO4 That is as simple as you are going to get. Do 50% weekly water changes and keep the CO2 in the 20-30ppm range. That's it. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
Thanx for all your help! I'll be starting that as soon as I get back from a
few days holidays and after I can aquire this stuff. Dave. " wrote in message om... "Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca... Wow...sounds pretty involved. You add 4 things with teaspoon measurements 2x-3x a week. I see nothing complicated there. If you made cookies from scratch it would be more complicated. But I guess after I get a routine down it shouldn't be too bad. Do you premix all this stuff and then just add it from packets or baggies? Can I get all this stuff from a garden/nursery store? Thanx. I buy bags from a nursery(Stump remover-KNO3 and potash of sulfur-K2SO4) or on line etc. KH2PO4 you'll likely need to get on line at www.litemanu.com, potassium monobasic phosphate. You can buy it all from litemanu.com also. Traces like Flourish, Tropica Master Grow- TMG, you get from from the LFS or on line etc. You can also make your own traces from dry powder, CMS Plantex brands are commonly used and are pretty cheap. I add the KH2PO4, KNO3 and the K2SO4 dry right into the tank like I have for years. Traces are liquid so I add those in milliliters. For a 20 gallon tanks I add 2-3x a week: 1/4 teaspoon KKNO3 2rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 5mls of Flourish and once a week after the water change 1/4 teaspoon K2SO4 That is as simple as you are going to get. Do 50% weekly water changes and keep the CO2 in the 20-30ppm range. That's it. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca...
I've been hearing some rumblings in this group about not fertilizing (micronutrients -iron etc.) after a water change because the water already has these nutrients--maybe waiting a few days for the nutrients to be absorbed would be better. I've been currently fertilizing using Ferreal +spureal (iron & trace elements) directly after every weekly 25% water change. Any suggestions? Or am I doing it right. Thanx alot for your help! :) Dave. There's typically not even close to enough micronutrients in tap water. If you use CO2 etc, try dosing 2-3x a week. I do it right after the water change then once or twice more during the week till the next water change. Sera are good products IMO. You will need to add about 2-3x the recommended doses if you use CO2. So rather than say 5mls weekly, add it 5mls 2-3x weekly. Dosage stays the same but with more light/CO2 etc, the __frequency__ increases. This makes sense due to increased plant growth therefore more uptake and demand for more nutrients/CO2 etc. Non CO2 tanks I don't use any water column fertilizers and don't do water changes, just top off for the evaporation losses and feed a good sized fish load. |
when to fertilize? After water change?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca...
Wow, I've been only dosing every water change (once a week). I've got about 33ppm C02 going right now with 2wpg in a 15 gallon wide (shallow tank). Dosing say, every 2nd day or so wouldn't be too much iron?--algae spurts? I guess I could test for iron levels every other day to actually see. I guess we want chelated iron levels about what?--.3 to .35ppm? Dave. Good CO2 and light. Well then the macro and micro nutrients are all that's left. Here's an easy cheap way to do this and keep them in a good range. For your tank, dosing 2x a week would be about right and relatively easy/cheap. What you'll need: Traces- you got that. KNO3- stump remove, I use Grant's or Cooke's branc. K2SO4- potash of sulfur, I used Green All brand KH2PO4- I get this from www.litemanu.com and you can get all three from them also. So the routine goes like this: Twice a week add: Add 1/8 teaspoon of KNO3 Add 1 rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 4mls of Trace mix. Once a week after water change: Add 1/4 teaspoon of K2SO4 Dechlorinator. Do 50% weekly water changes, add all the 4 nutrients back, 1/2 way through the week add the KNO3, KH2PO4 and traces. That's it. Try and tell me what you think after 3 weeks. Before you do the water changes, trim the plants, scrub off any algae from the glass, trim any algae off plants etc. Then do the water change. The above routine will give you about 7-8ppm of NO3 after each dose and enough K and PO4, Fe etc. The weekly water changes keep the nutrients from getting too high and the dosing keeps things from getting too low. It resets the tank each week. Just keep up on the CO2 and you'll be fine with this routine. No, algae will not be a problem if the plants are growing well. The best way to deal with algae is to have well growing plants. So give the plants what they need. If the plant suffer, the algae will creep in. So you recheck the CO2 first, then do a 50% water change and add the nutrients back in. Regards, Tom Barr |
when to fertilize? After water change?
"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote in message . ca...
Wow...sounds pretty involved. You add 4 things with teaspoon measurements 2x-3x a week. I see nothing complicated there. If you made cookies from scratch it would be more complicated. But I guess after I get a routine down it shouldn't be too bad. Do you premix all this stuff and then just add it from packets or baggies? Can I get all this stuff from a garden/nursery store? Thanx. I buy bags from a nursery(Stump remover-KNO3 and potash of sulfur-K2SO4) or on line etc. KH2PO4 you'll likely need to get on line at www.litemanu.com, potassium monobasic phosphate. You can buy it all from litemanu.com also. Traces like Flourish, Tropica Master Grow- TMG, you get from from the LFS or on line etc. You can also make your own traces from dry powder, CMS Plantex brands are commonly used and are pretty cheap. I add the KH2PO4, KNO3 and the K2SO4 dry right into the tank like I have for years. Traces are liquid so I add those in milliliters. For a 20 gallon tanks I add 2-3x a week: 1/4 teaspoon KKNO3 2rice grain's worth of KH2PO4 5mls of Flourish and once a week after the water change 1/4 teaspoon K2SO4 That is as simple as you are going to get. Do 50% weekly water changes and keep the CO2 in the 20-30ppm range. That's it. Regards, Tom Barr |
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