dosing help

[kenneth_kpe]

Well right now i dont have the luxury of researching a lot on the net and i have to start dosing so maybe you guys could help me out with a proper dosing sched for me ?

right now i just got my KNo3 in power form (a kilo of it maybe more!)
still looking for epsom salts
trace elements via sera florena

so heres the question
i want to try tom barrs EI, so the sched would be
a little bit less then 1/4 teaspoon 4X a week of kn03 every other day
5 ml or trace sera? when im not dosing kn03?

im not really sure about the epsom salts on how much to dose....

btw how do i dose the kn03 ? just mix it with a little tank water then pour it in again ?

btw its a 13 gal tank with roughly 4 WPG and c02

 

[iggy01]

I think 1/4 tsp KNO3 might be a bit over the top for a 13 gal. You'd be adding 17.5 mg/l nitrate each time you dosed. You might be better with around 1/8 tsp, which would give you around 8 mg/l.

If you haven't already done so, download the Planted Aquaria Calculator . It will be of great help when working out a dosing schedule.

Are you planning on dosing phosphate too? Do you know your phosphate level? You could end up with problems if your phosphate bottoms out. The idea is to not let any nutrient bottom out. Also try to keep your CO2 around the 30 mg/l mark.

You should be ok with dosing 5 mls of trace 3 x week and you are correct, dose macros and micros on alternate days. You can scoop out some tank water and mix the NO3 in a cup and pour it back in the tank. You could also mix a stock solution and add the required mls of fluid ( I think gf does this ). Whichever way you choose the above calculator will help.

Good luck!

 

[RYO]

I found this on the net, while it wont give you a dosing sched, it might help you or anyone else with their dosing.
http/www.leon-huang.com/doser/

 

[kenneth_kpe]

i see i see....

i dunno really about the phosphates im still reading into it but i had a plant fert before that had phosphates i think would this be enough? its hagen i think but looking at the ingredients it doesn't really contain phosphates ? how do you dose phosphates into your tank ?

has ingredients like this
NPK: 0.3 - 0.08 - 0.8
Total Nitrogen (N) - 0.3% Total Phosphorus (P) - 0.08% Total Potassium (K) - 0.8% Magnesium (Mg) - 0.012% Sulfur (S) - 0.020% Iron (Fe) - 0.0085%


what cha think ?? and i think its really hard to pre mix .125 teaspoons of kno3 solution haha

 

[iggy01]

Hi Kenneth,

The best way to dose phosphates would be in the form of KH2PO4 ( mono potassium phosphate ). This website has all the chemicals/ferts you would need to dose using the E.I. method.

Yes, it would be difficult to measure 1/8 tsp. You might be better making up a stock solution first and then dose however many mls of that solution you require.

Have a good read of the E.I. page again. I know it's quite a long read, but it does explain there about the required phosphate levels.

Good luck!

 

[zig]

Im about to start doseing Kno3 also, ive just been reading up on it and you have to be careful to gradually increase your levels of Kno3, if your levels are 0 and you add enough in 1 dose to raise your levels to 10ppm, you will probably kill your fish.

So if you have low levels of nitrate make the increases slowly and gradually increase the dose until you achieve the desired level.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

oic, its a good thing i only dosed a pinch yesterday, so i should add slowly over the week up to next week do any of you guys think gregwatson will ship to the philippines ? hehehe

anyways i think im gonna order and make ship it all at the same time
so right now i have kn03 and im using sera florena for traces

i should have phosphates delivers so what else do you think i need ?

 

[iggy01]

Yes , I think Greg Watson does deliver to the Philippines, except for KNO3. I don't think he's allowed to send that via air mail.

I would check the phosphate level of your tap water before you go ordering any KH2PO4. You never know, you might have enough already!

Good luck!

 

[kenneth_kpe]

ic..... i cant seem to find a phosphate test kit over here... i should just watch out for deficiencies .... ehehe thanks a lot!