# Dosing- what effects what



## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Hi
A little info first. I have been dosing for about 6 weeks in two tanks a 70 gallon & a 55 gallon. I have been keeping logs so can see what is going on. However I have some very basic questions about dosing, testing & hitting targets.
1. I know that KNO3 will adjust NO3
2. Is it true that you should automatically dose the same amount of K as KNO3?
3. Does GH & KH change much? I get readings from 5-12 in one tank & 6-11 in the other. My readings indicate hard water but I believe I am in the area for tropical fish & plants 
3. How do you measure P? I am never sure how much KH2PO4 to dose.

Thanks for your time & interest


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Read through these and you will find many answers to your questions:

http://www.aquatic-plants.org/articles/basics/pages/index.html

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilizing/15225-estimative-index-dosing-guide.html

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/pps-analysis-feedback/39491-newbie-guide-pps-pro.html

-Dave


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Thanks for those links Dave. I've been reading for hours. 
Being mathamatically challenged I mixed solutions so that a ml will yeild something my brain can handel  KNO3 was mixed so a ml will yeild .5 ppm nitrate ( or half in my mind ) & KH2P04 so a ml will yeild .24 ( or a quarter in my mind).

I learned that my GH should be twice my KH (which it is) KH = 6 GH =12

I also learned that K2S04 is not really needed as you get enough K in N & P

I also now understand that it would be darn near impossible to get an exact dosage as there are to many variables like plany growth (duh!) to get it exact. The idea is to supply more. It would be really tough to make the tank toxic with weekly %0 % water changes

and now for what I must have missed. 
1. P still eludes me. Other than a range of ppm. How do you know how much to use. I just added the target amount of 1 ppm for the number of gallons via chucks calculator. Is that correct? Or
What am I missing ;-> 
2. What is GSA?


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## ray-the-pilot (May 14, 2008)

I wouldn’t recommend any dosing plan that doesn’t require some water changes each week. I use the PPS pro plan with 20% water changes each week.

The idea behind all these plans is that you don’t have to think much about what you add. My suggestion as the simplest is Tom Barr’s EI. For example:

20-40 Gallon Aquariums 
+/- ¼ tsp KN03 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp (5ml) Trace Elements 3x a week
50% weekly water change

If you have a 30 gal tank just add ¼ tsp. of KNO3 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Add 1/16 tsp of KH2PO4 and trace elements on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 
On Sunday replace 50% of your water.

If you follow this plan you KPN will always be in a good range.

If you are looking to test your tank for NO3, PO4 and K there are kits on the market for NO3 and PO4. You can buy a kit fro LaMotte for K. I wouldn’t bother to buy these if you are sticking to a program like EI.

GSA is green spot algae. A common type that covers glass and plants.


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

ray-the-pilot said:


> I wouldn't recommend any dosing plan that doesn't require some water changes each week. I use the PPS pro plan with 20% water changes each week.
> 
> The idea behind all these plans is that you don't have to think much about what you add. My suggestion as the simplest is Tom Barr's EI. For example:
> 
> ...


If you follow this plan you KPN will always be in a good range.

If you are looking to test your tank for NO3, PO4 and K there are kits on the market for NO3 and PO4. You can buy a kit fro LaMotte for K. I wouldn't bother to buy these if you are sticking to a program like EI.

GSA is green spot algae. A common type that covers glass and plants.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for your reply Ray. Are you the same Ray on Tropicalfish hosted by yahoo? If not it must be a coincidence that there is a helpful Ray in both places:clap2:. As far as water changes go, I have always been a big believer in them even before dosing. I would say that I am attempting the EI with a twist.
First off I have not yet install CO2 & I am using excel with great results. When I say great I mean the plants are growing better than they ever have. I started using gravel fertilizers some years ago. I have two tanks a 55 gal & a 70 gal. The 70 is a tall tank (24" high). I keep saying I am getting the 
C02 but then the son needs this or the daughter needs that. You know how it is if you have kids. 
So if I were to strictly dose per EI I think I'd have a problem with out pressurized C02. Of course I could have waited but that wasn't to likely...LOL. So I am dosing macros two times a week & micros three times a week. I am doing my best to hit the desired target. I am doing quite well with N and as I understand it Tom Barr indicates you don't need to dose K2S04 but it doesn't hurt. I am sure I will be reading the links Dave posted a few times before it sinks in. The other reason I am not strictly following EI is that although I have the same 4 x 55 watt DIY fixtures on both tanks my watts/per gallon are different for each tank. So I am figuring that by dosing as I am along with quite a bit of testing I'll get it down. The testing really helps me. Had I not been testing I would not have known that my N readings in the 55 were much higher than in my 70 gal even though I have been putting in twice as much in the 70 gallon tank. That tells me that the 70 gallon is just eating it up (and this is the tank that has fewer watts per gallon), the value of a log. I think I will get a test kit for P & K, I have one for N.& I like seeing the results chemically & visually of what I am dosing, my hopes are that I will be able to stay ahead of need and with 50 % water changes, I don't think I'll kill anything. Does my approach make sense to you?

GSA - green spot aldea I get it on the glass. Typically the front of each tank.
here are recent shots of each tank (hope this works- fingers X)


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## Fishtory (Jan 21, 2009)

Hi Aquaticz,
I have done 0 dosing, PPS-Pro, and now am trying EI. I'll let you know how they compare.

Your tanks are beautiful!


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Thanks for the compliment Fertilizing makes all the difference. 
Do you have a C02 system set up?


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Progress.









What a difference a few years make

Regards,
Aquaticz


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

From a distance the two pictures from 6 years back looked nice as well, but the last picture certainly shows healthy growth. Please share what you do fertilizer wise now.


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Thanks Yo-han"

Being the mathematical genius that I am I was not mixing my fertilizers correctly. I made mistakes more than once J. However I finally got it right with the available calculators ( Thx 2 Wet). Part of getting it right for me was my P04. So little by little I added more. It took me a while to get the fertilizers down to the right mix. Fortunately I never gave up but kept checking my math for EI.

I think its more than that though, I better understand the "planted Tank" and the individual components that work together, Lighting , filtration, flow, C02. Did I say Flow 


Hopefully I learned a tad about scaping as well. i will post a pic next of a tank still cycling, mostly crypts in this tank. 


Regards,
Aquaticz


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