Jayba Posted September 15, 2010 Report Share Posted September 15, 2010 So I have a 55 gallon tank that has become a planted tank in the past while. I have recently acquired pressurized co2 and am ready to get this thing rocking. I am wondering where to buy dry ferts local to red deer, or where on line I can order them? Also what should I be ordering? K2SO4,KH2PO4, MgSO4, trace elements? I have no idea. What's a good starting point recipe ? What method should I dose? EI or PPS -pro etc... I know every tank is different and I will have to mess with it to find the proper balance, but I just need a place to start, so any advice or mentoring will be greatly appreciated! Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted September 15, 2010 Report Share Posted September 15, 2010 I would stick with whatever makes sense to you. When I started fertilizing, I had every test kit for every nutrient - it cost a lot, but it really helped me understand what plants need. But, back then, there wasn't as much info available. As you're trying things out, read lots. I no longer own test kits, I just watch my plants and fish and figure things out from their response - I'm currently using the MCI method of fertilizing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devocole Posted September 15, 2010 Report Share Posted September 15, 2010 Hi Jay. Just my 2 cents. I have a high tech system with pressurized CO2 and 3 watts per gallon of high output fluorescent. I attempted the EI method and found it overdosed the system too much, caused fish stress, algae blooms and unclear water. I stopped doing it, just dosing Nitrate on occasion. And my tank is more healthy, clear, and stable now. I now do not agree with EI and the overdose. I will just dose according to algae. And understanding that with my low fish load i need some nitrate. Phosphate seemed to stress the fish and cause algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted September 15, 2010 Report Share Posted September 15, 2010 Also what should I be ordering? K2SO4,KH2PO4, MgSO4, trace elements? I have no idea. MgSO4 is easy- just go to the drugstore and buy a bag of Epsom Salts. The others can be picked up either in Edmonton (All Seasons) or Calgary (Quick Grow). Quick Grow does mail orders if you aren't going for a drive anytime soon. Hint: their website is full of abbreviations- you need to search for "pot nit", "pot sul" and "mono pot phos". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted September 15, 2010 Report Share Posted September 15, 2010 As a non techie, my suggestion would be to use liquid ferts for the first while until you get your feet wet. There's many other factors to plants so keeping it simple might be the way to go. And yes, I only use liquid ferts as I'm not that smart!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayba Posted September 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 I have been dosing with excel for a while, not real happy with what I am seeing. Vals grow like weeds, thats about it. I also am going to start doing little water changes and top up with RO water, that should help I hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 IME, Excel has to be added as per directions on the bottle - must be added daily. In tanks with Val, I found that I could go to about 1.5x the recommended dosage, but 2x caused them to melt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kronosdelsol Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 I would buy an all in one solution (that contains the macros and micro elements) and then dose slowly. Just watch your plants and they will tell you what they need based on the color of the leaves. Once you get more comfortable with fertilizing and gain more knowledge, move on to one of the other proven fertilization approaches. It can get mind boggling if you gun ho too fast, and as Jason said, you end up with a lot of test kits that you don't need. Some popular all in ones are: - Seachem flourish (not the excel one) - Tropica plant nutrition - Tetra flora pride Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayba Posted September 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2010 So after building the "REX"reactor things seem to have picked up a ton, I am putting in 1.5 bubbles a second, and have been using mostly RO water, (about 80/20 with tap water) to get my water softer. I am dosing with Flourish at half the dosage, but everyday. My red tiger lotus is beautiful and growing like a weed. So I will keep this up for a while and see how it works out. My German blue rams apparently like it, they are looking awesome and have been laying eggs. So thanks to all for the advice and insight, Jay Link to Rex's reactor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vince0 Posted September 30, 2010 Report Share Posted September 30, 2010 So after building the "REX"reactor things seem to have picked up a ton, I am putting in 1.5 bubbles a second, and have been using mostly RO water, (about 80/20 with tap water) to get my water softer. I am dosing with Flourish at half the dosage, but everyday. My red tiger lotus is beautiful and growing like a weed. So I will keep this up for a while and see how it works out. My German blue rams apparently like it, they are looking awesome and have been laying eggs. So thanks to all for the advice and insight, Jay Link to Rex's reactor hey jay, i just thought i'd point out that with co2, you don't need to dose flourish anymore, the plants get their carbon from the co2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayba Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 (edited) But doesn't flourish supplement far more than just carbon? Edited October 1, 2010 by Jayba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kronosdelsol Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Are you dosing with Seachem Flourish or Seachem Flourish Excel? Excel is the co2 supplement. It is completely different from the Seachem Flourish. If you are using pressurized co2 then stop dosing Seachem Flourish Excel. You can continue using that product for algae spot treatment (dip the plant into the solution or dose it using a syringe right around the plant under water). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayba Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 I have just been dosing with flourish, not excel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vince0 Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 I have just been dosing with flourish, not excel. oh oops sorry my bad, i was tired when i read that and jumped to conclusions... my apologies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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