# EI Dosing for 15 gallon



## sampster5000 (Jul 24, 2010)

Hi everyone. I am having trouble with figuring out the exact dosing of EI I should use for my 15 gallon aquarium to reach the suggested parameters I see everywhere:

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

On this link here http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/plants-algae-ferts-ei-co2-lighting-13/intro-ei-estimated-index-82/ I am told that for 10 to 20 gallons I should dose like this:

10-20 Gallons (38-76 litres) 
10ml solution or 1/8 tsp KNO3 3x a week 
5ml solution or 1/32 tsp KH2PO4 3x a week 
2ml solution or 1/32 tsp K2SO4 3x a week 
2ml or 1/32 tsp traces 3x a week

A little confused here. First, when I use the calculator(fertilator) here http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilator.php and put in this number of fertilizer for my tank I do not get within the suggested amounts in ppm for each substance. For the calculator I called my tank a 12 gallon (minus substrate, plants, wood, equipment). Dosing like this website says, I come out to:

NO3 - 8.78
PO4 - 2.69
K - 8.62
Fe - 0.19

As you can see, none of these are correct. Am I doing something wrong? Am I supposed to mulitply these numbers x3 since you dose them 3 times a week? Or does this mean to keep a steady number in ppm I must dose this much in a week?

Another thing that confuses me is this. Above it says for KH2PO4 and K2SO4 you can dose 1/32tsp. It also says if you use mL you can do 5mL for KH2PO4 and 2mL for K2SO4. Two questions here. Why are these different dosings in mL but the same in tsp? Second, if you convert 1/32tsp to mL you get 0.154mL. This is not 5mL or 2mL so what amount do I dose?

Really need some help here. My dry ferts just came in today and really want to know how to dose my tank. People say they use EI dosing for their planted tanks but do not say how much they dose or how they figured out the exact amount, or somewhere near, what to dose 3x a week. I would be fine with someone just replying with exactly what to dose my tank but I would really like to know how to figure it out for myself. Thanks.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi sampster5000,

I dose the following in my tanks, using the Estimative Index (EI) method of dosing.

KNO3 - Potassium Nitrate
K2SO4 - Potassium Sulfate
KH2PO4 - Mono Potassium Phosphate
CSM+B Plantex - Micro Nutrients

Here is a handy calculator that helps to determine your dosing levels based upon your aquarium size. It is from Quenton at The Barr Report.

In addition I also add Seachem Flourish Comprehensive, and Seachem Excel and because I have very soft water Seachem Equilibrium. I also dose extra Iron.


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## sampster5000 (Jul 24, 2010)

Thanks for the calculator file! I wish I could have find that before. I guess the problem now is how do I measure the ferts if they are such a small amount? Is this why you use Flourish?


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi sampster5000,

I dose EI, so I do use all the dry ferts. In addition I dose Seachem Flourish Comprehensive; Iron (10% Chelated); and Excel. Measuring is easy if you get a set if Dash, Pinch, Smidgen spoons. I gave an easy link but they can be found in most good kitchen supply stores, Bed, Bath, and Beyond may have it as well.

Dash = 1/8 tsp
Pinch = 1/16 tsp
Smidgen = 1/32 tsp


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## sampster5000 (Jul 24, 2010)

Wow I never even thought of using those! Thanks a lot. I'm still trying to figure out how to measure the CSM + B since the dosing is incredibly low for my size of aquarium. 3/64tsp 3x a week... hmm... I will also be dosing Iron Chelate but I guess the amount I want to dose is up to me. Hard to eyeball these dry ferts!


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi sampster5000,

If you look at the calculator you can mix up a solution of 3 tablespoons of CSM+B in 500 ml of water. If you dose 3X a week then each dose would be about 6 ml (a little over a teaspoon).


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## DVS (Nov 20, 2005)

I agree with Seattle, mixing solutions of low dosage nutrients makes life easier. I also believe you may be overthinking EI. You really don't need to be overly accurate, just don't short your tank. If you want to conserve ferts you can reduce them later (and watch for negative responses).


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## sampster5000 (Jul 24, 2010)

Thanks for the help guys!


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Easier to set it up to dose liquids. 

For example:
Dose 3 days per week = 12 doses in a month. 
Decide how much ferts you want your tank to have in a month. 
Lets say you want to do this:
1/8 tsp KNO3 3x a week... you would then 
multiply the 1/8 tsp by 12 = 12/8 = 1.5 teaspoons. 
Put this in a jar and add the other Macros in a similar manner. (1/32 x 12 = 12/32 = 3/8 teaspoon)
Use a separate jar and set up the Micros the same way. 

Then add enough water to dissolve the ferts, and make sure it is a volume that you can divide into 12. Say... 12 tablespoons of water. (12 tablespoons = 6 oz = 3/4 cup)

Then you know that each time you dose you will add 1 tablespoon to the tank.
M, W, F = 1 tablespoon of Macros
Tu, Th, Sa = 1 tablespoon of Micros
Su = water change

After a couple of weeks you can change the formula to suit how the plants are doing. 

If this is a low tech tank, then monitor the NO3. I found that EI dosing raised the NO3 more than I wanted, so I backed off on the KNO3.


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## sampster5000 (Jul 24, 2010)

Diana K said:


> Easier to set it up to dose liquids.
> 
> For example:
> Dose 3 days per week = 12 doses in a month.
> ...


Would adding all of the macros to one jar work? I am not dosing the same exact amount of each. According to the Nutri-Calc I need 1/8tsp of KNO3 3x a week, 1/16tsp K2SO4 3x a week, and 1/32tsp KH2PO4 3x a week. How would this work if I put them all in the same mixture? Wouldnt I need 3 seperate containers of water for the macros?


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi sampster5000,

I have done both dry and liquid dosing. If at all possible I do my ferts "dry" because it takes time to measure the ferts, and dilute them in the proper amount of water, and dosing liquids takes a much time as dosing dry....maybe even longer. Also liquid ferts can develop fungus in the solutions. I dose all of my macros "dry", I dose the CSM+B, Chelated Iron, and of course the Seachem products as liquids using a oral dosing syringe. I do all my dry Macros on one day, all my liquids the following day. The "dry" days take less time than the liquid days.


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## sampster5000 (Jul 24, 2010)

It says for me to mix 3tbs of CSM+B with 500mL of water and to dose 3mL 3 times a week. Can I keep using this mixture until it runs out? Or must I make a new one every week? If so, isnt that a big waste of the CSM+B? 

Also, how did you figure out how much Chelated Iron you wanted to dose to your tank? My plants are obviously lacking iron and I want to up the iron dosage but do not want to over or underdose. Thanks!


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

sampster5000 said:


> It says for me to mix 3tbs of CSM+B with 500mL of water and to dose 3mL 3 times a week. Can I keep using this mixture until it runs out? Or must I make a new one every week? If so, isnt that a big waste of the CSM+B?


Strange, when I look up 12 gallons 3X week it shows 6 ml per dose.



sampster5000 said:


> Also, how did you figure out how much Chelated Iron you wanted to dose to your tank? My plants are obviously lacking iron and I want to up the iron dosage but do not want to over or underdose. Thanks!


Per the Rex Grigg website:


> Chelated Iron
> 
> Mix 35 grams of powder with 2 cups (473 ml of water).
> 1 ml of this solution will raise the iron level in 10 gallons of water by 0.2 ppm.
> Suggested range for iron is 0.1-0.5 ppm.


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## sampster5000 (Jul 24, 2010)

I had it telling me what to do for 13 gallons. For 13 gallons it says to do 3mL 3x a week for a total of 9mL. When I put in 12 gallons it says 2mL 3x a week to get a total of 6mL. 

Thx for how to dose the Iron. Do you keep using the mixture of water until its done?


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi sampster5000,

Even though I used distilled water for my mixes, my DIY liquid ferts used to develop a fungus after a couple of weeks; especially my CSM+B solutions. It didn't seem to bother the plants or fish, but I didn't feel right dosing a "contaminated" solution. For the last couple of months, I have added about 20 ml of Seachem Excel per 500 ml to my solutions and have not seen any fungus formation to date.



> I had it telling me what to do for 13 gallons. For 13 gallons it says to do 3mL 3x a week for a total of 9mL. When I put in 12 gallons it says 2mL 3x a week to get a total of 6mL.


You are correct, I was looking in the wrong column.


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## sampster5000 (Jul 24, 2010)

Thanks, Seattle Aquarist! You've helped me out a lot.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi sampster5000,



> Thanks, Seattle Aquarist! You've helped me out a lot.


I was glad to help; others helped me when I started out and now I have the opportunity to help others and do a little "pay back".


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I can mix 2 weeks worth and use it up before that stuff starts growing. I have used it after those white skeins show up, and it still seems to work, but I also think it is better not to let it reach that stage. 

Anyway... dosing... 
Try a particular dose for a week or two. Watch the plants. If they are growing well with that, then keep it there. If you think there is room for improvement then alter the recipe as the plants indicate.


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