# Missing the boat with EI method!



## greenman (Nov 4, 2006)

Am I missing the boat on this? I have a moderately-high planted 29g with CO2 @approx. 24ppm. I've been doing the Seachem recommended schedule to get things up and going. Everything is looking great except my bank account. I want to move over to Greg Watson ferts and utilize the EI method.

*Here's where I get hung up.*

According to example for a 29 gallon tank that is found in the Overview:
The Estimative Index, It calls for adding 5.46-5.77 ppm of phosphate via KH2PO4 over the course of a week (3x approx 1.9ppm). So here's what confuses me, Tom Barr points out that we should never go beyond 2x the recommended dose, but the recommended dose for PO4 is .5-1.0. So 5.46ppm is well beyond twice the upper limit. Even if 50% got used up, I'd still have over twice the limit. Did I miss something or get something wrong? I recognize that I wasn't a math wizard or Chemistry major.

*Additionally*:

I'm trying to figure out how to dose the EI method in a solution form. I want to be able to mix up a 500ml solution of all the Macros together(KNO3,KH2PO4, and K2SO4) and then add the Traces in solution on alternate days. I was hoping to find away to make the concentrations appropriate to adding 5ml 3x/week. I'm already doing 50% water changes. And my tank appears to require a bit more K than is the norm, Possible well water problem.

I'm having problems coming up with the appropriate amounts of macros to add to a 500 ml solution in order to add exactly 5ml 3x/wk.

Any help would be appreciated.


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## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

You can use the fertilator on this website to calculate amounts for a given volume of water to yield a certain in your tank. Check it out, if it's unclear let me know.

I dose a liquid solution daily, just because I think it's easier to do something every day and I think that it's better to keep nutrient levels more consistent, but that's just speculation.

Also you don't need K2SO4. If you're dosing enough KNO3/KH2PO4 you will be getting plenty of K.

As for Tom's recommendations, I wonder where it is you read him saying that. My feeling is that Tom has never been much of an advocate for the position that excess nutrients are in and of themselves a bad thing. I can also dig up plenty of threads where Tom says 5 ppm PO4 is fine. I usually have 5 or more ppm of PO4 to avoid GSA.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

What Tom has said is that we shouldn't go beyond two times the recommended dosage of Excel. Going that high with other nutrients isn't likely to do any harm, unless it would be keeping 60 ppm of CO2 in the water - that would kill the fish.

If you want to fill a 500 ml bottle with water and fertilizers and dose 5 ml at at time, the bottle will contain 100 doses. Just add 100 times the number of tsp needed of each fert per dose to the bottle, fill it with water, and you are ready to dose the correct dosage with 5 ml of solution. I'm not sure 500 ml of water can hold in solution that much fertilizer, but if it can, this method is guaranteed to work.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Greenman,

Keep in mind the perspective of things. EI or PPS are just 2 ways of maintaining a planted tank. They do not guarantee success 100% of the time. There is no approach that you can follow step by step that will guarantee a clean and healthy tank.

I see that you are into all these numbers and calculations which could be fun for a while. But do remember that common sense, observation, and fine adjustmensts are the things that will lead you to success.

In any case - whatever approach you decide to follow give it an honest try. Do not make the mistake of switching approaches and changing things every other week.

--Nikolay


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## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

> In any case - whatever approach you decide to follow give it an honest try. Do not make the mistake of switching approaches and changing things every other week.


 This is probably the single best piece of advice that could ever be given  For me Consistancy was the one missing element from getting some decent growth to come about. Granted I still have some really weird things that go on in my tanks that I *think* may be from my tap water.... once I stopped changing things around ever week, put a plan togeather and stuck with it, my plants started to improve just a bit.... It still needs tweaking but my plants are very much pleased that I stopped changing all the parameters around on them.... my fish arn't to upset about it either 

As far as making a solution for dosing the easiest way is as hoppycalif described, but maybe instead of doing 100 doses as this very well may not disslove in 500ml of water, just do say 12 doses. That would be enough for a month, though you would have to add right around 40 ml per dose instead of the 5 you were looking for. But if you have a dosing glass that measures that much it would be no big deal.


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## greenman (Nov 4, 2006)

Thanks for the feed back everyone. My tank has been set up for 7 months now. The first month and a half was bad because the well water kept changing, and for a newbie that just tipped the scale. My tank is doing well for the most part, I am only changing to save some money. If this works, I don't intend to move on to anything else. Because the well water changes throughout the year, the EI method makes sense from a practical standpoint. I've come to view getting the ferts where they need to be as a dynamic process with my water supply.



> Also you don't need K2SO4. If you're dosing enough KNO3/KH2PO4 you will be getting plenty of K.


Will the KNO3/KH2PO4 be enough, Keeping in mind that I have needed to add additional K up to this point?

*Do I need to take any additional steps transitioning the tank from Seachem over to EI?* I ask this, because almost all of my stems had to die off first and then start anew. Things appears to get shocked fairly easy in my setup.


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## Hashbaz (Apr 23, 2006)

K2SO4 is cheap. I like to "overdose" potassium, and not have to worry about getting enough. JMO. I add 30 ppm every week.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

Hi Greenman

Do you know that Greg Watson just came out with a dosing book for $4.95? http://www.aquaticplantnews.com/


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