I want to change my dosing routine

[jcali10]

Sorry for the lengthy post. I usually try to keep them pithy.

I've been dosing ferts using PPS Pro because of it's simplicity, one bottle for micros, and one for macros, 1 ml per 10 gallons, easy. 50% water changes weekly to reset things. But now after running CO2 again for the last 2 months, I am still having algae issues. Green spot algae, BBA, and a little green dust algae on the glass. My drop checker is dark green, so I believe I have adequate CO2, and I am running my lights 8 hrs a day, 4 x 39 W T5HO. (My bulbs are old, about 3 years old, so I am ordering new ones from Ken's Fish, good prices there on Coralife 6700K and colormax bulbs.

Other considerations:

I have a lot of livestock in the tank. It's a 50G, with 5 juvie koi angels about silver dollar size, 2 adult ancistrus, many juveniles, maybe 20-40. I just removed the breeding cave to stop the production of offspring. About 6 cherry barbs, 2 lemon tetras, and a couple of corys.

I also tend to overfeed. Some fish are greedy.

I am thinking about trying Estimative Index method, dosing N, P, K separately, and monitoring the fert levels. I have Nitrate and Nitrite test kits, and a Phosphates kit, but no potassium kit. Is it neccessary to test K?

I just tested for N and P. N was ~50ppm, way too high, and P was about 2.0ppm, at the high end of the acceptable range.

For ferts I have CMS+B with MgSO4 for my micros. I'm gonna stick with PPS PRO for the micros for now. And for NPK I have KNO3, KH2PO4, and K2SO4.

I need small spoons correct? and I should be measuring before dosing. I believe I know where to find directions for using EI.

[Cristy Keister]

I think you should get the bulbs replaced before making other changes. Old bulbs could be the whole problem.

[jcali10]

thanks Cristy, I ordered the new bulbs today. I hope your right. I believe I need to address the levels of N and P also. What else causes the excess phosphates? decomposing fish food, or plants?

[krisw]

Joe, your high nitrates and old bulbs are pretty typical for BBA. I imagine at certain times, your phosphates bottom out (become the limiting factor) and then the green spot comes in. When was the last time you cleaned your filter? I often notice higher nitrate levels when I get lazy about that, as the mulm builds up in the filter sponges and become a nitrate sink leeching back into your water column. If it's been awhile, you might be fine with new bulbs, as Cristy suggests, and cleaning your filter. If afterward, your nitrate levels are still too high, just remix your macro solution with the ratio of N to P slightly lower, and see if that makes a difference.

If you do end up going EI, don't even bother with K2SO4. Just dose KNO3 and KH2PO4, as there's plenty of K in those two. Regarding spoons, it's all a matter of how precise you want to be. The idea behind EI is more about dosing proper ratios, and then resetting with a water change each week. I follow this principle, but dose way less than what the calculator call for. I literally eyeball my amounts, adding about 1/3 as much KH2PO4 as KNO3, three times a week, dosing the dry ferts. (I'm too lazy to mix up solutions)

[jcali10]

Kris , thanks for responding. I have been so depressed over the condition of my tanks lately. I clean my filter once a month, it's a Filstar XP2. Hopefully with the new bulbs I ordered, and new dosing regime (EI), I will see a turn around in the condition of my plants or more precisely, the algaes soon. I plan on testing my N and P levels regularly to ensure the levels are within the 10-20 ppm and 0.5-2.0 ppm ranges. Too bad I don't need K2SO4, (potassium) I have quite a bit of it.

I haven't seen a calculator for EI yet, just the general guidelines for the different size aquariums, but I plan on dry dosing 3 times a week. Only I will mix the dry doses with some water before adding it to the tank. I don't want to watch my fish eat the fertilizer, thinking it's food. I found my small spoons that I bought a long time ago and never used. I have non CO2 tanks also that I plan to dose using EI. If my 4 tanks looked as nice as Judi's I'd be a happy camper. Five tanks as soon as my 75 is online. Just got my JBJ regulator ready to go for the 75, so I'm almost there.

[krisw]

Joe, I've definitely been there in terms of tank frustration. The trick is to not change too many things at once, and try to be as consistent as possible with your dosing/regimens.

The calculator I've used is not EI specific, but is a good baseline. Like I said, I usually still dose leaner than this:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/foru ... ilator.php

My only other comment is whether or not you really want to dose non-CO2 tanks with EI. Could you just get by with periodic dosing of a comprehensive fert like Seachem Flourish as needed?

[jcali10]

The only thing I will be changing is my dosing of macros. I will be monitoring and recording my dosing levels and test results for a while. Going lean makes sense to me because a 50G tank doesn't hold 50 gallons of water as the name implies, plus substrate and hardscape displace area that would otherwise contain water volume. Of course I will be changing out my bulbs as soon as they arrive later this week. So I will be changing 2 variables. But the new bulbs are really long overdue.

I've been thinking about calcium and GH and DH lately. All related to water hardness right. I don't normally test my hardness or add anything for it. Since reading a little about EI, I noticed they seem to be keen on using a GH booster after water changes. And the fertilator has targets for Ca, and Mg. I add Mg via my micro mix, but Ca I have completely ignored. I have a test kit for Kh but not Gh. I suppose most plants do better in softer water?

[jcali10]

I've been testing my NO3, and PO4 daily since last week, since the levels were high, I did not dose on Friday. Today, I did a pwc of ~ 70% and did not add any ferts. NO3 tested at ~20ppm and PO4 tested at ~ 2.0. At the top of the ranges I want to be in.

I have the basic API test kits. I changed out my old bulbs on Thursday. I have not seen any abatement of BBA as of yet. It's only been about 4 days with the new bulbs and 1 week monitoring N & P and dosing EI. Just for fun I tested my tap water for NO3, it tested about 10ppm. I thought it would be a little lower. I also cleaned the filter media, it was 5 weeks since last time I cleaned it.

I plan on checking N & P before dosing EI this week, and I plan on using about half the recommended amount. I am wondering if I should trust my API measurements to guide my dosing or just dose on Mon, Wed, and Fri, regardless of readings and just reset the tank with a 50% water change.

[Jeff120]

How old are the test kits? They seem to lose their accuracy after awhile.

[jcali10]

they're pretty old, 3-5 years old I'd guess.