A Few Ei Questions

[Themuleous]

Hi people

Since I started EI a week or so ago I've had a few thought that I would like you opinion on, if that’s ok?

1) Could you dose NO3 and PO4 in the morning and trace in the evening of the same day? This would keep levels optimum (10ppm and 1ppm each) and it doesn’t (well in my tank anyway) seem to make the water cloudy doing it this way.

2) If the fish seem to be fine, is there any advantage to having higher than 30ppm CO2?

3) Can you overdoes trace?

Thanks in advance all to reply and/or read

Sam

 

[modernhamlet]

1) Could you dose NO3 and PO4 in the morning and trace in the evening of the same day? This would keep levels optimum (10ppm and 1ppm each) and it doesn’t (well in my tank anyway) seem to make the water cloudy doing it this way.

I don't see why not. Time of day isn't particularly important, in my experience.

2) If the fish seem to be fine, is there any advantage to having higher than 30ppm CO2?

The co2 limits have been creaping up for the last few years. Not that long ago, people thought anything above 15ppm would be detrimental to fish! That said, there is a limit somewhere and I doubt that the risk vs. reward for going higher than 30ppm is all that good.

3) Can you overdoes trace?

Yes! At least in the case of traces with iron. Too much iron can lead to thread algae, something i've been battling toothbrush in hand for a couple of weeks. There are probably other reasons to take it easy on the traces as well.

 

[Themuleous]

3) Can you overdoes trace?

Yes! At least in the case of traces with iron. Too much iron can lead to thread algae, something i've been battling toothbrush in hand for a couple of weeks. There are probably other reasons to take it easy on the traces as well.
[/quote]

I was attacking the very thing with my toothbrush yesterday!

Sam

 

[George Farmer]

Overdosing trace can lead to metal toxicity in slower growing plants - in particular iron.

My Anubias nana leaves were getting covered in brown marks/spots. It wasn't algae because the leaves themselves were brown. I held back on dosing my normal Dennerle E15 iron for a few weeks and the symptoms vanished.

>30ppm CO2 will do little extra for your plants but may help fight off algae.

Dosing ferts little and often is better than larger quantities, less often. How you choose to do this is entirely up to you. EI is a guide, you can tailor it to your own requirements. In a few months you won't even need your test kits, let the plants do the talking. I binned all my kits months ago. I'll probably buy NO3 and PO4 kits when I set my tank up again but as soon as the layout is established they'll go.