# Basic EI dosing recipe?



## oscarlloydjohn (Dec 3, 2017)

I have a starter kit from aquariumplantfood.co.uk which has all of the EI basics. Here is the recipe from the website:

Macro Solution
Mix, Shake & Leave to Dissolve Overnight:

4tsp Potassium Nitrate
1tsp Potassium Phosphate
6tsp Magnesium Sulphate
500ml Water

Micro Solution
Mix, Shake & Leave to Dissolve Overnight:

1tsp Chelated Trace Elements
500ml Water

It seems good mostly, however I feel like the Magnesium Sulphate is way overboard. All of the other threads I have read dose much less Magnesium. Does anyone have any suggestions for the recipe? The other ingredients seem fine, It's just the magnesium. Thanks


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## oscarlloydjohn (Dec 3, 2017)

Bump


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## SamuelLG (Dec 24, 2017)

How many mL per dose of the macros you want to use, and it will be every day or 1 day/week?


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## oscarlloydjohn (Dec 3, 2017)

SamuelLG said:


> How many mL per dose of the macros you want to use, and it will be every day or 1 day/week?


My plan would be 5ml of macro 3x per week and 5ml of micro 3x per week (alternating days) with WC and no dosing on Sunday. My tank is 25L  Here are the instructions from the website which I based my dosing on.

Dosing:
Macro 3x a week. (10ml per 50ltr of Aquarium water)
Micro 3x a week. (10ml per 50ltr of Aquarium water)
20-50% weekly water change.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

I always considered this basic EI Dosing:
*
Macros*
Potassium Nitrate KN03
Monopotassium Phosphate KH2P04
Potassium Sulphate K2S04 (optional)

*Micros*
Plantex CSM+B or Flourish Comp.

*Ranges*
EI target ranges
CO2 range 25-30 ppm
NO3 range 5-30 ppm
K+ range 10-30 ppm
PO4 range 1.0-2.0 ppm
Fe 0.2-0.5ppm or higher
GH range 3-5 degrees ~ 50ppm or higher
KH range 3-5


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## SamuelLG (Dec 24, 2017)

oscarlloydjohn said:


> My plan would be 5ml of macro 3x per week and 5ml of micro 3x per week (alternating days) with WC and no dosing on Sunday. My tank is 25L  Here are the instructions from the website which I based my dosing on.
> 
> Dosing:
> Macro 3x a week. (10ml per 50ltr of Aquarium water)
> ...


I'll do some calculations with it and see how much NO3/PO4/Mg you will be dosing.

And why you are dosing Mg but no Ca? What about K? What is your GH or current Ca/Mg ppm?

Macros is Nitrogen (included on NO3), Phosphorous (included on KH2PO4), and Potassium (you should be dosing Potassium Sulfate, not Magnesium Sulfate for macros).

So, your weights must be:

4 tsp Potassium Nitrate 27.2 g
1 tsp Potassium Phosphate monobasic 5.6 g
6 tsp Potassium Sulfate 38.4 g
500ml Water

So, using the amounts above, you would be dosing 5 mL of macros in yours 25 L tank, right? That gives you per dose:

NO3 6.67 ppm
PO4 1.56 ppm
K 11.74 ppm

3 times a week adds weekly:

NO3 20.01 ppm
PO4 4.68 ppm
K 35.22 ppm

Which builds up the following amounts along with TPA 50%:

NO3 40.02 ppm
PO4 9.36 ppm
K 70.44 ppm

That makes more sense than putting magnesium sulfate in macros. But it seems that at this dosage (5 mL/25 L), you should dose only 1 or at most 2 times a week (there is a lot of everything there dosing 5 mL 3 times a week).


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## oscarlloydjohn (Dec 3, 2017)

SamuelLG said:


> I'll do some calculations with it and see how much NO3/PO4/Mg you will be dosing.
> 
> And why you are dosing Mg but no Ca? What about K? What is your GH or current Ca/Mg ppm?
> 
> Macros is Nitrogen (included on NO3), Phosphorous (included on KH2PO4), and Potassium (you should be dosing Potassium Sulfate, not Magnesium Sulfate for macros).


I could buy some Potassium Sulfate and skip using the magnesium (or maybe use much less)

I haven't actually made the mixtures or started dosing yet. I just want to work out a basic recipe as the recipe in the kit seems different to what most people say

My GH is 7

Thanks!



houseofcards said:


> I always considered this basic EI Dosing:
> *
> Macros*
> Potassium Nitrate KN03
> ...


What benefit would the potassium sulphate have? Is it worth me buying to replace the Magnesium Sulphate or no?


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

oscarlloydjohn said:


> What benefit would the potassium sulphate have? Is it worth me buying to replace the Magnesium Sulphate or no?


You can probably skip the potassium sulphate since your getting potassium in the other two macros. I'm not sure why you would need a separate magnesium product. Almost all are fine with the amount from their micro mix and tap water. And if your water is GH 7 you are definitely fine with Mg/Ca You only need small amount of these. I've always dosed the potassium sulphate since I want to make sure I don't run short since it is one of the 3 macros. 

My KH is 2 and GH is 4 and I never add any additional Mg/Ca products. Plants only need traces of these. Also be wary of anyone who might post that simply attaches data or links and doesn't have any real experience.


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## SamuelLG (Dec 24, 2017)

houseofcards said:


> Also be wary of anyone who might post that simply attaches data or links and doesn't have any real experience.


I don't want to seem rude, but did I posted something wrong or misleading? Only because I did my register in this forum recently, it doesn't mean I don't have real experience. I keep a planted tank since 2010. You shouldn't talk about new users this way assuming new users are lacking any experience or are here to trick others.


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## oscarlloydjohn (Dec 3, 2017)

QUOTE=houseofcards;10690313]You can probably skip the potassium sulphate since your getting potassium in the other two macros. I'm not sure why you would need a separate magnesium product. Almost all are fine with the amount from their micro mix and tap water. And if your water is GH 7 you are definitely fine with Mg/Ca You only need small amount of these. I've always dosed the potassium sulphate since I want to make sure I don't run short since it is one of the 3 macros. 

My KH is 2 and GH is 4 and I never add any additional Mg/Ca products. Plants only need traces of these. Also be wary of anyone who might post that simply attaches data or links and doesn't have any real experience.[/QUOTE]

That really helps, I'll just skip the magnesium then. Should I use the existing measurements for the Potassium Phosphate & Potassium Nitrate or will I need to correct them after removing the Magnesium?


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

SamuelLG said:


> I don't want to seem rude, but did I posted something wrong or misleading? Only because I did my register in this forum recently, it doesn't mean I don't have real experience. I keep a planted tank since 2010. You shouldn't talk about new users this way assuming new users are lacking any experience or are here to trick others.


No not at all. Why are you assuming I'm talking about you? You shouldn't do that and then write what you did assuming it was about you. You could have easily sent me a PM if you were that curious. It has nothing to do with number of posts. It's a general statement that was protective of people asking questions on any forum.

If I disagreed with you BTW I would have quoted you. So yes you are being rude directing this at me when it has NOTHING to do with you.


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## SamuelLG (Dec 24, 2017)

houseofcards said:


> No not at all. Why are you assuming I'm talking about you?


If it was not about me, I'm sorry, but only two of us answer to this thread, and tooking the way you posted it looks like I just 'simply simply attaches data' and also I'm new here, so... Again, I'm sorry.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

SamuelLG said:


> If it was not about me, I'm sorry, but only two of us answer to this thread, and tooking the way you posted it looks like I just 'simply simply attaches data' and also I'm new here, so... Again, I'm sorry.


No problem, it's for posts that might yet come :wink2: I've actually agreed with your posts.


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