EI Ferts and how to use them....

[dean9922]

Ok, so I got all my dry ferts and have been on chuck's calculator etc and am going to use just one of the ferts i will be using for an example.

KNO3

The research i've done says if you add 11 tsp or 59.4 grams in 1 litre of distilled water. 1mil of fert will raise nitrate levels in 10 gallons by 0.96ppm or for simplicity sake 1 ppm, with a target level of 5ppm.
Therefore, in my 30 gallon tank for example each mil I add will raise 0.33 ppm and to reach the target of 5 ppm I would have to add about 15.15 mil's.

My question is, am i correct or do I have to go back to school....lol

Also, in dosing this fert, do you just go ahead and add the 15 mil's right away in one shot or in several steps ex: 5 mils at 3 times per week.

I have a low level 2wpg "non" CO2 tank with anubius java fern and crypts.
It is not a heavily planted tank "yet" so not sure about the frequency of adding macros and micros to this tank and my 76 and 100 gallon.

Also on Tom Barr's website it was suggested to use excel.....what is the difference between excel and using csm+b.....probably a dumb question but i'm just when i think i'm starting to understand all this techno stuff, i get another variable thrown into the scenario.....thanks to who responds and also has responded in the past.....it gives us slower people some hope...lol

All this is quite new to me and I do appreciate the help anyone can give.

[Chad Hughes]

The best approach to ferts is to start with using one of the calculators that you mentioned and then adjust accordingly. The problem with the calulators are that they do not take in to consideration all of the variable of each tank. Like you said, you have a lightly planted low light non-CO2 tank. The dosing that it recommends are a bit high in my opinion.

I would start with half of what the calculator says and only once a week. Watch the tank and see if any unfavorable conditions start to appear (algae, poor plant growth, yellowing leaves, etc.) You can adjust accordingly to get what you want in the tank. Once you get a good baseline, you'll be all set.

In my 150 and my 110 I have a lot of fast growing plants and moderate to high light. I only dose 30 ml of micros and 40 ml of macros once a week. This works well for me. The biggest difference between the Excel Flourish and the CSM+B is the ingredient content. There is more in the CSM+B. I like it better because you are getting much more for your money.

I hope this helps! Best wishes!

[dean9922]

thanks again Avionics for your advice, I really appreciate it.....do you add your ferts direct or make up mixtures in water....

[shoggoth43]

For EI I don't test. I use the recommendations for a 40 gallon tank on my 29 biocube. I just measure out the dry weights and pour them into the tank using the spice measuring spoons ( pinch/dash/etc ) and dose every other day with a 50% water change each week. If you want to adjust the #s down or up you'll need to test. Otherwise just running the amounts high work fine. I also just use the SeaChem flourish and dose three times weekly.

You'll need to tweak the amounts somewhat if you do biweekly water changes. If you don't have high light you won't need to dose so often or need CO2.

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S

[GrillMaster]

I agree with Chad. There are so many variables in each planted tank. You being low planted and low light, I wouldn't even consider EI!! That is designed for highly to moderately lit tanks with a heavy plant load. If you start dosing EI to some calculator on your particular tank there wont be enough plants or light to uptake the nutrients your fixing to toss in there. :(

Tweak it a little. Remember that you will also get the nitrates and phosphates from the food and waste. You might want to dose a lil iron, calcium and magnesium but depending on what plants ya have, you might find that they will do well with a few dosings of iron and calcium every once in awhile. I have a friend that actually put tums under the sword plants and they did awsome. :)

[dean9922]

Thanks for getting back to me...I do appreciate the info....I know I don't have lots of plants currently and low lighting in the tanks but I'm getting black algae on the leaves of all my plants and figure I have to do something as I've lost lots of plants and leaves to this problem...ultimately CO2 will be the way to go, but this is what I'm dealing with now....thanks again

[shoggoth43]

For BBA and your light planting I would probably go with low dosing. CO2 is what you'll need to kill off BBA. If you don't have presurrized CO2, try using Cidex or SeaChem's ExCel product. I don't think you'll be able to get a handle on the BBA with DIY CO2. Dose lightly on the ExCel initially just to make sure all of your fish are fine. I haven't heard of issues with discus, but you don't want to just start dumping stuff in.

You can then up the dosage but I would not exceed their recommended dosage. Shrimp and other spineless critters sometimes have issues with ExCel. Plants like Vals will take a beating but others do quite well with it. If you can reach the spot when you do a water change, a straight application of Excell on the BBA will do it in that much faster. You could also directly squirt it on the spot with a syringe underwater but it won't be quite as effective.

Since you already know about Tom's EI method, I would suggest checking out the source on Tom's site, www.barrreport.com, for more on the method and other ways to deal with algae. Ultimately it's going to come down to light, CO2, and ferts. In that order. EI will work no matter the lighting levels in your tank, it's just about how much you dose and how many times a week but it's designed to be tweaked.

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S


Thanks for getting back to me...I do appreciate the info....I know I don't have lots of plants currently and low lighting in the tanks but I'm getting black algae on the leaves of all my plants and figure I have to do something as I've lost lots of plants and leaves to this problem...ultimately CO2 will be the way to go, but this is what I'm dealing with now....thanks again

[Chad Hughes]

thanks again Avionics for your advice, I really appreciate it.....do you add your ferts direct or make up mixtures in water....

I mix them in old prime bottles with distilled water. I have a shot glass that has "ml" graduations on the side. I use that to measure the doses.

Best wishes!

[GrillMaster]

Double dosing Flourish Excel will get rid of BBA. You can also cut the filter off so there is no circulation in the tank and apply it directly to the effected areas. After 10 minutes turn the filter back on. You will see the BBA turn pink then white if you are doing it correcly. I would also cut your light duration back to 7 hours until the plants are established. :)

[Harriett]

In addition to what Mark has suggested, be aware that EXCEL can be lethal to fish if they swim right into a column of it. I lost several discus the first time I used it--the discus must of figured since I was pouring something into the tank, it must be interesting....for those that blazed into it, it was also their last thought...now I feed at one end of the tank and when they zoom down there to eat, I pour ferts and excel mix at the other end, right near the bigger filter intake--so itall gets mixed well with tank water and comes out the spray bar quuite diluted. Works great in this 6 x 2 x 2.
Best regards,
Harriett