# Very Hard Water (Well Water) & EI Dosing



## Brad99 (Sep 27, 2006)

Hi Everyone,

I've tried searching with limited success for stategies of EI dosing very hard water. I basically have liquid rock. My well water kH is 400 ppm or 22.4 degrees hardness. (my GH is 700 ppm). Our well is over limestone and therefore has a high Ca content.

I'm wondering if I should be dosing Magnesium or Ca or is this just going to contribute to the hardness. I see everyone doses Nitrate, Phos, and K for the macros but don't see much discussion about Ca and Mag unless someone is suspecting deficiencies. I haven't purchased a kit to test my Ca levels. Would this be worthwhile or even needed with EI dosing?

I'd love to hear about anyone else's experiences and/or suggestions with this type of water.


----------



## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

For the time being, I wouldn't worry about Mg or Ca. Obviously, your Ca is quite high, but chances are you will have adequate Mg as well. Dosing either will contribute to your GH, as GH is the sum of both Ca & Mg. Personally, as I mentioned, I would wait until Mg deficiencies show up (IF they show up) before adding Mg if you cannot find information about local aquifer specs.

Simply test your water from the tap, er, well, for nitrates & phosphates, then adjust your EI dosing from there. You may wish to test weekly to observe the dynamics of your aquarium--such as how your fish contribute to N & P levels, or how your plants subtract from said levels. Once you get a feel for what your aquarium produces and uses, you will gain a much better idea of what you should be dosing as well as how much.


----------



## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

I've also seen effects of harder water (KH of 15 and GH of 18 ) on dosing micros:

- I found that Flourish does not work as well in hard water, at least at the levels above so I switched to TMG (Tropica Master Grow). I think its related to the chelator Seachem uses. It's a great product otherwise though and I use it for tanks with water that's not liquid rock.

- I also found that even with the TMG, I need to dose about 25-50% more than I do with softer waters in order to avoid iron deficiencies.

None of the above is scientifically proven, just my observations!


----------



## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

Laith said:


> I've also seen effects of harder water (KH of 15 and GH of 18 ) on dosing micros:
> 
> - I found that Flourish does not work as well in hard water, at least at the levels above so I switched to TMG (Tropica Master Grow). I think its related to the chelator Seachem uses. It's a great product otherwise though and I use it for tanks with water that's not liquid rock.
> 
> ...


I've observed the same as well Laith! I find TMG to work better in hard water (KH 13, GH 24). I found iron supplementation to really help, although Seachem's Iron clouded my hard water.


----------



## Brad99 (Sep 27, 2006)

Thanks for the feedback about micros. This kinda of falls in line with what I've noticed. When I was dosing iron according to the instructions on the bottle, I would test and see little change. I've found with water as hard as mine that when I doubled the about of micros, I would see the plants perk up.

I've switched to CSM+B and am currently dosing 1/2 tsp on water change and 1/4 tsp in subsequent days.....

I'll stay away from Mag and Ca as you've suggested for now.

How is your success with stem plants in hard water??


----------



## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

Brad99 said:


> How is your success with stem plants in hard water??


My success has been pretty good. You can grow about 80% or so very well. The acid loving plants, such as Tonina's, Erio's, and certain others will not make it, but you can have success with almost any other plant that doesn't require an acidic enviornment. Some "borderline" plants, such as P. stellatus, will be cranky, but you can grow them. The key will be adequate traces and CO2. Hard water makes it difficult to get enough CO2 into the tank, but the smaller the tank, the easier it will be. With any tank 55g and down, I would say your chances at a nice stem plant tank are very good!


----------

