Angry_Platy
Sleepy Chook
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DAY 1 E.I Planted Tank Method
Today I started E.I. dosing. Prior to doing anything I tested water for nitrate, phosphate, pH and KH. Readings are:
Nitrate= <5ppm
Phosphate = <0.25ppm
pH = 7.2
KH = 200ppm (11.2deg)
Then I took the CO2 tubing out, did a 50% water change, added a few plants, removed dead leaves, trimmed the val etc. then refilled the tank, dosed 5ppm nitrate and 0.25ppm phosphate. I then made a fresh batch of CO2 mixture and put the tubing back into the temp. I then tested the water again (CO2 has not yet started bubbling at this stage, it had only been in there 5 minutes….however 15 minutes later it is now bubbling nicely). Water tests after all this are:
pH=7.4
KH=110ppm (6.16deg)
So gf225 told me to let him know what happened after a 50% water change with the KH and pH. As you can see, after a 50% water change the KH readings are almost half what they were prior to a water change (note, my tapwater tests at pH 7.2 and KH 40ppm)….
I also did an algae scrape and some general cleaning. The tank is looking good at the moment and I am looking forward to “hopefully” an algae free tank once the E.I. gets going more!!!
Since I was worried about keeping my CO2 levels high enough I ordered a bubble counter/ladder (made by Hagen) this morning but it probably won’t be here till next week or the week after (they had run out)….in the meantime I will keep a closer eye on my CO2 levels and make sure they don’t drop.
I was also at a LFS earlier and was asking about plants. He said theres a lot of more exotic plants he can order in for me if I want them. Forgetting the names of all the ones I wanted the only ones I remembered were dwarf sag (aka. gf225s tank) and lilaeopsis. I also found some nice looking ambulia as well as some pennywort and a nice looking piece of driftwood with abubias nana attached.
I shall update this thread from time to time with further info and/or pictures
OH….and thanks to zig for providing me with enough detailed information for me to get started with the E.I.
Today I started E.I. dosing. Prior to doing anything I tested water for nitrate, phosphate, pH and KH. Readings are:
Nitrate= <5ppm
Phosphate = <0.25ppm
pH = 7.2
KH = 200ppm (11.2deg)
Then I took the CO2 tubing out, did a 50% water change, added a few plants, removed dead leaves, trimmed the val etc. then refilled the tank, dosed 5ppm nitrate and 0.25ppm phosphate. I then made a fresh batch of CO2 mixture and put the tubing back into the temp. I then tested the water again (CO2 has not yet started bubbling at this stage, it had only been in there 5 minutes….however 15 minutes later it is now bubbling nicely). Water tests after all this are:
pH=7.4
KH=110ppm (6.16deg)
So gf225 told me to let him know what happened after a 50% water change with the KH and pH. As you can see, after a 50% water change the KH readings are almost half what they were prior to a water change (note, my tapwater tests at pH 7.2 and KH 40ppm)….
I also did an algae scrape and some general cleaning. The tank is looking good at the moment and I am looking forward to “hopefully” an algae free tank once the E.I. gets going more!!!
Since I was worried about keeping my CO2 levels high enough I ordered a bubble counter/ladder (made by Hagen) this morning but it probably won’t be here till next week or the week after (they had run out)….in the meantime I will keep a closer eye on my CO2 levels and make sure they don’t drop.
I was also at a LFS earlier and was asking about plants. He said theres a lot of more exotic plants he can order in for me if I want them. Forgetting the names of all the ones I wanted the only ones I remembered were dwarf sag (aka. gf225s tank) and lilaeopsis. I also found some nice looking ambulia as well as some pennywort and a nice looking piece of driftwood with abubias nana attached.
I shall update this thread from time to time with further info and/or pictures
OH….and thanks to zig for providing me with enough detailed information for me to get started with the E.I.
