Ferts

[hellfish]

Just a quick question here.

I have kno3 and kh2po4 also have seachem flourish. Is there anything more anyone would suggest to get for proper fertilization for my tank? Also I will get roots tabs for my rooted plants if necessary. My lighting consist of 2 98watt bulbs in a coralife fixture over a 55g tank. Seperate switches for the bulbs, currenlt run both bulbs for 3hrs and the single bulb for 5hrs. I have some vals, amazon swords crypts, Bacopa, a variety of Java ferns and Anubia. The swords are not getting enough nourishment and same with the vals some are kind of iridescent and some seem ok. Also if anyone could suggest the proper way to mix the dry ferts and the amounts of kno3 and k2so4. Sorry for such a stupid question I just want to make sure I get it right the first time. As well just getting alot of conflict, I know Co2 is the way to go and all but do I need co2 injection in order to use the ferts? I seriously cant find the info I am looking for.
I did mix the kno3 and the kh2po4 using these directions

k, now we are going to mix solutions using 250 ml of water.

For the KNO3 you want to mix 16.8 grams or 3 teaspoons or one tablespoon (did you know there are three teaspoons in a tablespoon?) into 250 ml of water. Each ml of this solution will give you 1.08 ppm of NO3 in 10 gallons of water. Note: I did not say in a 10 gallon tank I said in 10 gallons of water. Don't know how much water your tank actually holds? Tough. You will also get the side benefit of dosing 0.68 ppm of Potassium in your 10 gallons of water at the same time.

Want a strong solution? Then mix 67.2 grams or 12 teaspoons or 4 tablespoons of KNO3 in 250 ml of water and this will give you a solution that will dose 4.34 ppm of NO3 in 10 gallons of water and 2.74 ppm of potassium for each ml dosed. You can also use Chuck's calculator to figure out how to dose KNO3 dry directly into your tank.

For dosing KH2PO4 you need to mix 7.2 grams or 1.5 teaspoons or 0.50 tablespoons into 250 ml of water. Each ml of this solution will 0.53 ppm of PO4 in 10 gallons of water.


thats what i did.

 

[Bobtastic]

I am using a DIY TPN+, the details of which were given to my by arronnorth. Which I believe is taken from JamesC's recipe. He also has advise on how to go about IE dosing too, so that might be worth a look for you.

TPN+ is lighter on nutrients than EI, which isbetter suited to tanks with hig light & CO2 injection (lots of fast growth). But TPN+ dosage can easily be raised to accomodate for this.

All In One Solution

48g Potassium Nitrate (KNO3)
2.2g Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4)
17g Magnesium Suplhate Heptahydrate (MgSO4.7H2O)
0.5g Ascobic Acid (Vitamin C)
0.2g Potassium Sorbate E202
5g Trace Elements (CSM+B)


Add all that to 500ml distilled water and dose 5ml per 100l daily or every other day.

Thanks.

The amount of light that you're using is what dictacts the about of ferts and Co2 you use, as light it was drives plant growth. The more light you have the faster the plants grow, the more nutrients and Co2 they need to have available. I found that with my 240l tank (2xT5 39w) that adding ferts wasn't enough to promote growth and keep algae at bay. I had to add pressurised Co2 and I'm still tweeking it to get the right Co2 and fert levels...