# Am I calculating my dosing amount correct? 150 Gallon



## Patchworks (Dec 20, 2008)

Ok folks, I'm not sure if I'm calculating this correct. By my calculations I will need 24 pounds of KNO3 a year to dose!! Here is my logic using Chuck's Windows Program Calculator.

Anyway, I have a 150 Gallon Tank and I want to make a 30 day supply so to keep it easy let's say I do a daily 100ml dosing so that will require a 3000ml mix.

Days out of Mix	30
Daily Dosing	100 ml
Mix Water ml	3000

KNO3 Grams	900
Liquid Mix change 0.2 ppm per ml of Mix

Target PPM	20 ppm


If all this is correct, I multiply 900 grams by 12 months and that is 10800 grams a year! The grams to lbs conversion is .00220462262 which equals 23.8 lbs.

Is that right that I need 24 pounds of KNO3 a year?

g


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## Wö£fëñxXx1 (Feb 10, 2005)

Dry dosing would be oh so simple on a tank that large, but to each his own.

How long do you want the solution to last?

You have a 150 gal tank, so the most KNO3 you'd need would be about 2-1/4
teaspoon per week of KNO3.
Let's say you want a 4 week solution:
Add 2-1/4 tsp X 4 weeks= 9 tsp KNO3.

Next do the KH2PO4.
Say 3/4th-ish teaspoon, X 4 weeks = 3 tsp of KH2PO4.

So for a 4 week supply, add 9 tsp of KNO3, 3 tsp of KH2PO4.
Add that to 500mls of water or whatever you have.
It will need to be enough water to dissolve all the salt.
Dose 500mls/28 days = 18 mls per day

Add the water, then make it as concentrated as you'd like.
You can always use the week dry dosing + add this to a some amount of water
and simply divide the solution by days till they are all gone.

Use the dry dose amounts as a reference and add them to water to make a
solution.

From there you simply divide by the amount of days the dry ferts would typically
last and dose the appropriate mls to use it up by that final day.

Got it?


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## freydo (Jan 7, 2006)

what fertilizing method are you using that requires you to use chuck's calculator? it kind of seems like you're following the EI method with amounts you're dosing, but it also seems like you're using the PPS method.

i would suggest using the PPS method. with it you dose 1ml/10 gallons or 15ml each day. a 500ml container would last ~33 days, and the required dry ferts for each batch would be ~10-40 grams each.

check out this link for the PPS calculator:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=30659


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## Patchworks (Dec 20, 2008)

Wö£fëñxXx said:


> Dry dosing would be oh so simple on a tank that large, but to each his own.


The main reason I want a liquid form is so I can put it in my infusion pump and automate my dosing!



Wö£fëñxXx said:


> How long do you want the solution to last?


I'm hoping to get a 30 day batch of liquid mix.



Wö£fëñxXx said:


> You have a 150 gal tank, so the most KNO3 you'd need would be about 2-1/4
> teaspoon per week of KNO3.
> Let's say you want a 4 week solution:
> Add 2-1/4 tsp X 4 weeks= 9 tsp KNO3.


I guess I'm missunderstanding what period of time Chuck's calculator is for? It just tells you that you need to target 20ppm, but it doesn't say the dose is for a day or a month.

I understand how to do all the mixing and such but I can't find anywhwere exactly how much I need to dose of what period of time? (ie Day or Month)

Thanks,

g


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## Patchworks (Dec 20, 2008)

freydo said:


> what fertilizing method are you using that requires you to use chuck's calculator? it kind of seems like you're following the EI method with amounts you're dosing, but it also seems like you're using the PPS method.
> 
> i would suggest using the PPS method. with it you dose 1ml/10 gallons or 15ml each day. a 500ml container would last ~33 days, and the required dry ferts for each batch would be ~10-40 grams each.


Freydo,

I'm trying to use the PPS method. Ok, the calculator you pointed me to was a little more clear. Let me try again and see if I got the right amounts now.

Ok the calculator for the Pro Version used a different mix size, 1 liter (1000ml) versus the 500ml the PPS classic calculator used. Anyway, from what I could tell, the below amounts are what I need to make a 1 liter (1000ml ) mix:

K2SO4	59 grams
KNO3	65 grams
KH2PO4	6 grams
MgSO4	41 grams
TE	80 grams

Once I have my 1 liter mix I should dose 1ml per gallon per day which would be 15ml for my 150 Gallon tank. If I divide 1000ml (Size of Mix) by the 15ml per day dose, it appears that the 1 liter mix would last about 2 months.

So if I'm correct so far, since the above will last 2 months, I can multiple by 6 and get the amount I need to order to dose for 1 years?

I have come up with the follow list in pounds that I need to order? Obviously, I'm going to round up the the nearest pound but I want to make sure I have the calculations correct?

K2SO4	0.71 pounds
KNO3	0.78 pounds
KH2PO4	0.07 pounds
MgSO4	0.49 pounds
TE	0.97 pounds

Thanks for your help guys!!!

g


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## freydo (Jan 7, 2006)

you dose 1ml per 10 gallons, which is 15 ml each day. but your numbers look right. if you don't have one already, you will need a gram scale, with a minimum accuracy of 0.1g. the PPS method does not need anything more accurate. but if you find one with 0.01g or 0.001g, even better, but not detrimental to your plant's health and nutrient needs if you can't.

you can use whatever size container you want, the best is with ml markings on the side.

also the TE would be in a separate container. for this i just dose flourish (not flourish trace) following the recommended dosage on the bottle. but you can use whatever you prefer.


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## Patchworks (Dec 20, 2008)

freydo said:


> you dose 1ml per 10 gallons, which is 15 ml each day. but your numbers look right. if you don't have one already, you will need a gram scale, with a minimum accuracy of 0.1g. the PPS method does not need anything more accurate. but if you find one with 0.01g or 0.001g, even better, but not detrimental to your plant's health and nutrient needs if you can't.
> 
> you can use whatever size container you want, the best is with ml markings on the side.


Ordered on ebay a few days ago... 2 of them $10 each including shipping!!! Ya gotta love eBay!!!


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Patchworks,

When I work up a method for an EI tank I first start with a couple of assumptions.

First, the watercolumn of the tank is probably about 80% of the total volume. 150g * 0.8 = 120g.

Second, assume that you want a concentration of around 20 ppm NO3. Personally, that's a bit high for my taste, but it's ok. You change 1/2 of the water each week. If you assume that the plants don't use any NO3, you'll need to add 10ppm NO3 per week to get a concentration of 20ppm. Of course the plants do use some. Let's assume you add 20ppm per week. As long as you're faithful with your waterchanges, you'll never get a concentration >40ppm and it likley won't ever get lower than 20ppm.

Now, if you want to use an autodoser to add daily ferts, you'll need to add 2.86 ppm per day (20/7 = 2.86 ppm).

Using the fertilator, you'll see that 2.65 grams of dry KNO3 will produce 2.86ppm in 120 gallons of water.

If you use 2.65 grams per day, you'll need 967 grams per year (2.65 * 365 = 967). That's about 2.1 lbs per year.

Add 24 lbs per year and you'll have an average NO3 concentration of around 300 - 400 ppm per year, high enough that you'll cause major issues with the plants and probably the fish.


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## Edward (May 25, 2004)

Patchworks said:


> Ok the calculator for the Pro Version used a different mix size, 1 liter (1000ml) versus the 500ml the PPS classic calculator used.


The PPS-Pro Solutions Recipe calculator works with any bottle size and measuring system. Download, then enter any bottle size and read the amounts.


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## Patchworks (Dec 20, 2008)

BryceM said:


> Patchworks,
> 
> When I work up a method for an EI tank I first start with a couple of assumptions.
> 
> ...


BryceM,

Yes, I'm not sure where my error was with my original calculations. When I used Chuck's Windows Calculator, I think I may have been calculating daily dosing, when it meant monthly dosing!!! Anyway, Freydo got me on the right track with the PPS Pro calculator.

Thanks,

g


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## Patchworks (Dec 20, 2008)

Edward said:


> The PPS-Pro Solutions Recipe calculator works with any bottle size and measuring system. Download, then enter any bottle size and read the amounts.


Edward,

Yes, I am aware you can change the bottle size. It was a little confusing since I started with the classic download and it uses a 500ml bottle by default. When I figured out that the PPS Pro appeared to be easier in my situation, I downloaded the calculator for the PPS Pro and it was a little confusing when the default bottle amount were different (1 Liter). Just a small thing that cause doubt and a quick google search to convert metrics.

Yes, this thread was about trying to find out how much to dose my aquarium on a daily basis, but my more immediate concern which required calculating the dosing amount was to find out how much bulk I needed to order!! I'm sure everyone starting out has to struggle with this same issue.

It might be a nice addition to that calculator spreadsheet would to go ahead and list out for someone how much they would need to order for a yearly based on their calculations!

Thanks again for everyone's help.

g


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