Just to add to what Dave has said above (Which I agree with)
Balance is the key. Far too many people think that copper cannot be added with shrimp. Dosing an off the shelf fert will have nowhere enough copper in it when dosed correctly for the shrimp to even know it is there. With EI you would be looking at a much higher amount than any off the shelf fert. probably 10x or more yet lots of EI tanks (including mine pre non CO2 days) had an uncontrollable shrimp colony.
What many need to understand is the relationship between light, CO2 and nutrients. They apply to all methods. Yes that includes a 'non CO2' setup.
In reality there is no such thing as a 'non CO2' setup as an amount of CO2 will naturally be in the water. 'Non CO2' refers to tanks that do not inject CO2.
Light is a subject where there are many disagreements. This is because it is something we think we all know something about as we can see it (or can we?) We see brightness, therefore we can see 1 light is brighter than another however we cannot see how much light is coming from the tube. The brighter one
may be emitting less actual light. Therefore we have to make an assumption. The easiest is the WPG rule which has many faults but at least we can read the wattage from the box and equate it to a figure from the known measurements and volume of our tank. This is where the arguing starts because different people then start putting ranges of figures to state what you can do with each range and of course many have different ideas about what the ranges are.
Nutrients are a lot easier to manage. Put more than you need in and you can forget about it. That doesn't mean chuck in loads as that of course would be a waste and also could in extreme cases lead to problems with toxicity and/or algae if you don't have a balance.
Onto what you want to hear:
I would suggest that you should look at the following thread r.e. a 'non CO2' setup. It is long, it will take time to digest and you may still need help understanding some things but is very helpful:
http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/433-Non-CO2-methods
One thing that people seem to think is CO2 tanks need nutrient addition and non CO2 tanks don't. In reality CO2 tanks need ferts in most cases and non CO2 tanks do too. The reason that
most non CO2 tanks need ferts is because the owner is still following generally understood principles of fishkeeping where a planted tank is much different. Non CO2 tanks can be run without fert addition but it depends on a few things:
The substrate is important. Much more important than a system where water column dosing is heavy. If you get the substrate right it can supply a slow release form of carbon. It can hold nutrient both from the original content and what it 'stores' from the waste within the tank and it can also produce CO2 from organic breakdown.
Another aspect is water changes. A non CO2 tank with no water changes means that all those vital goodies remain in the tank. A good filter can 'polish' the water but the fish waste (including waste food) and other detritus remain in the tank and contribute to the 'system'. All the filter does is clean the water so it looks clear. The plants consume most of the ammonia and other goodies that non planted tanks would need to remove.
So in summary (as you will read in the link above) A non CO2 tank has a 'natural' level of CO2 through gaseous exchange at the water surface. The substrate 'adds' some CO2 too. It needs no (or absolute minimal) water changes. It
can be run purely off the livestock's waste but in the majority of cases will need a little boost every now and then. I am talking here of a pinch of KNO3 every few weeks to top it up a little.
So there you go. Have a good read. I think you
should be OK with your lights although they are higher than I would put on a non CO2 tank.
Just as a pointer I would guess I have much higher PAR than your lights even though I only have 1 WPG yet I add no ferts, no CO2 and I haven't done a water change since September 2009 (10 months ago.) I have a huge breeding colony of shrimp (cherry) and a breeding group of Corys within this tank
The tank runs itself basically and the occupants are very happy and healthy
AC
