fleshgear Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 i have a few questions about this ei fertilizing system. i am going to try it out. i have been using regular bottled ferts from the pet store. i have about 10 planted tanks and only a few get regular fertalizing and onlhy a few have diy c02. for the most part they are medium to heavily planted tanks now for the questions, are these fert measuerments in dry powderd form? and do you dump it right in the tank or mix it into a little but of water first? can these measurments be reduced for lower light thanks with no c02? i copied and pasted the ei target ranges and it says the dh and kh are very low(at least by calgary standards) do i need to make any adjustments to allow for this? are these the only ferts i need to dose with? 100 - 125 Gallon Aquarium +/- 1 1/2 tsp KN03 3x a week +/- ½ tsp KH2P04 3x a week +/- ½ tsp K2S04 3x a week +/- ½ tsp (30ml) Trace 3x a week 50% weekly water change EI target ranges CO2 range 20-30 ppm NO3 range 5-30 ppm K+ range 10-30 ppm PO4 range 1.0-2.0 ppm Fe 0.2-0.5ppm or higher GH range 3-5 degrees ~ 50ppm or higher KH range 3-5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruadh Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Hi guy Those look like dry ferts measurements to me. I know some folks just dump the dry chemicals into the water, but I caution strongly against it. Fish don't know it's ferts and will eat it readily with not so good results. I put my ferts in a 1 lt bottle and add water, shake the crap out of it and dribble it into the tank. Here's the link to Tom Barre's site. He's the one who developed EI and has all the info you might need. http://www.barrreport.com/ Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 (edited) The thing with EI is that it's designed to be an overdose of all nutrients so that there aren't any deficiencies to inhibit plant growth. The method also assumes that you are adding in CO2 and have high light levels so that these do not limit plant growth either (therefore you should get optimum plant growth.) So... with lower light/no CO2 tanks, you will probably find that listed dosages are waaaay to high for your needs. You can reduce them accordingly. I prefer to use an adaptation of the PPS (perpetual preservation system) method. Basically, you mix up a solution from dry ferts and dose a bit of it daily. Instead of mixing the trace element solution, I just use Seachem's Trace and Iron. I like this method because I'm lazy with my water changes sometimes... Whatever you choose to do, getting dry ferts and mixing your own solutions is going to be much cheaper than buying brand name stuff from the pet store (especially with that many tanks!) Edited August 9, 2009 by werner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 The thing with EI is that it's designed to be an overdose of all nutrients so that there aren't any deficiencies to inhibit plant growth. The method also assumes that you are adding in CO2 and have high light levels so that these do not limit plant growth either (therefore you should get optimum plant growth.)So... with lower light/no CO2 tanks, you will probably find that listed dosages are waaaay to high for your needs. You can reduce them accordingly. I prefer to use an adaptation of the PPS (perpetual preservation system) method. Basically, you mix up a solution from dry ferts and dose a bit of it daily. Instead of mixing the trace element solution, I just use Seachem's Trace and Iron. I like this method because I'm lazy with my water changes sometimes... Whatever you choose to do, getting dry ferts and mixing your own solutions is going to be much cheaper than buying brand name stuff from the pet store (especially with that many tanks!) that pps sounds a little easier and i like the part about water changes optional. also involves a lot more reading, and more questions. also a few more dry ferts i went out and bought some dry ferts. i got mono potasium phosphate kh2p04 potassium sulfate k2s04 potassium nitrate kn03 trace elements Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 the pps system also involves multiple solution mixes. is there any type of system that involves 1 solution mix that i can make that doesnt involve making a new soultion every day? even once a week? even if i make two solutions, one for high light c02. and one for low light no c02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 that pps sounds a little easier and i like the part about water changes optional. also involves a lot more reading, and more questions. also a few more dry fertsi went out and bought some dry ferts. i got mono potasium phosphate kh2p04 potassium sulfate k2s04 potassium nitrate kn03 trace elements Nah- you don't have to read all the stuff if you don't want to. Just follow the recipe chart. And the Pro version is mush easier than the Classic since there are fewer mixtures to fiddle with. MgSO4 is just epsom salts, which you can find at the drugstore. Of course, our water has plenty of Magnesium in it to begin with, so you could probably skip it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 the pps system also involves multiple solution mixes. is there any type of system that involves 1 solution mix that i can make that doesnt involve making a new soultion every day? even once a week? even if i make two solutions, one for high light c02. and one for low light no c02 You don't need to make it every day- just make up the 500ml or 1L of stock solution (or double/triple it if you want) and then dose the appropriate number of ml required daily. You could dose slightly less or more as each tank required. You do need to mix the trace solution separately, since the iron and phosphates will cause a precipitate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 the pro soultion recipe sounds easier. http://ca.geocities.com/pps@rogers.com/PPS...s.Recipe.01.gif it says for 1 liter of water to put in 59 of k2s04. 59 what? 59ml? 59 grams? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 the pro soultion recipe sounds easier. http://ca.geocities.com/pps@rogers.com/PPS...s.Recipe.01.gif it says for 1 liter of water to put in 59 of k2s04. 59 what? 59ml? 59 grams? ok so i read it now and it says grams. how do i measure grams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Yeah, it's in grams. If you don't have a scale, you can use the Fertilator to get conversions between grams and teaspoons, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 for the most part 1 gram is about 1ml that fertilator is very cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewels Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 I purchased a scale accurate to hundredths (X.YZ) grams. What a riot!! Things I have learned so far... some dry goods will double in weight in short order a loose spoonful of powder can weigh three times less tha a packed one 1ppm of phosphorous for a thirty gallon, is less than you can press in to the tip of your index fingerphosphorous burns when you press it into your finger tip ENJOY !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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