Adjusted EI ferts/CO2

[Fishful Thinking]

I was wondering if it were possible to still do CO2 and ferts on a low light planted tank without getting a whole bunch of algae. Maybe drop the BPS on the CO2 and cut the ferts in half?

[timbruun]

I've ran ferts with DIY CO2 on my low light 55 for a while with no issues... I've even done ferts without CO2 and ferts with only excel. I have had no issues in this tank.

[fishclubgirl]

I have a low light tank that runs with no CO2(and no excel) and gets the same ferts as my all my other tanks which have high light and CO2. The plants are very healthy(anubias, crypts,vals,water sprite and tons of duckweed) and there's absolutely no algae.

[jvision]

The whole point of EI is to overdose on ferts so that the plants have everything they need to outcompete the algae, so as long as your plants are fed, you shouldn't see algae. Give it a shot and see how it goes. If you see algae start to creep in, try upping the CO2 a bit first (like 1/2 bubble/sec). If that doesn't get rid of your algae, you'll want to ballance your ferts out.

[Kronosdelsol]

Fishful Thinking - That's similar to Tom Barr's low tech setup, except you eventually drop the co2 and water changes entirely.

Edited April 17, 2010 by Kronosdelsol

[Scotian]

The hardest part is just finding the balance. While I would keep the ferts constant (I would look into Tom Barr's method for low tech tanks), you want to keep your lighting and co2 balanced to allow the plants to grow as fast a possible. If you have lots of co2 and little light, the light will limit the growth assuming you have plentiful nutrients. It is not really a problem to have lots of co2 as it won't cause algae. However, if you have little co2 and too much light you will have algae galore and the co2 will be the limiting factor. If you have lots of light and lots of co2 but too little fertz, algae can grow as well as the fertz will be the limiting factor.

Based on my experience and gathered knowledge, I would keep the co2 levels high and find a balance on the amount of light and nutrients. Of course, you can have a low light, no co2 setup and just dose as needed and adjust until you get a rhythm going. It can just be hard to get it perfect.