# dosing dry ferts



## falcon (Jun 4, 2004)

I am thinking of dosing dry ferts. I have a 120g, 260w pc light - added 80 NO light temporarily. Pressurized co2 maintained at 6.7-6.8pH. kH 5.5-6, gH 6. Phosphates 0.5-1ppm(hard to tell from the kit sometimes), nitrates around 10ppm.

Currently, I am dosing [email protected]/2tsp twice a week to maintain at 10ppm. I will be adding a bit of enema to maintain phosphates at 1-1.5ppm. I have been dosing PMDD at about 8ml/day. 

I have been battling algea forever. I think my algea situation has gotten worse after adding additional light and starting to dose NO3. 

To dose traces dry, what sort of dosage should I be looking at?

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

falcon


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Hi Falcon, welcome to the Planted Tank :bounce:


I replied to your other question, but then saw more details in this one. I'd say 260W is enough light to grow most plants just fine.

How old is the tank ("forever" is a very long time!)? What sorts and kind of algae are causing you grief? How densely is the tank planted?


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## falcon (Jun 4, 2004)

The tank has been up for 6 months now. I'd say the tank is fairly densely planted - will try and post a pic tomorrow. Before, I was getting BBA, the one that is hard to pull off. Now, I have the slimy algea. I wouldn't complain about little bit of algea, but I have tons of it and its thriving. On my two new stems, forgot the name, each leaf is covered threefold in algea and the algea extends past the leaves and flows heavily in the water - pretty disgusting.

Wasserpest, I have to add, I just looked at the picture of your 100g tank. Truly, awesome. That's what I would like to have and instead I am up to my ears in algea.

falcon


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I have to disagree here... even though it is "only" 2.x Watt/gal, for a tank this size it is a lot, especially when delivered by high-powered PCs with excellent reflectors. There might be an issue with light distribution, but I would still suggest to keep the CO2 running.

If you JUST started with addition of fertilizers, a little more patience is all that might be necessary. When you have algae problems and then correct NO3/PO4 levels, the algae don't disappear quickly, often they seem to even get worse. Tanks go through these cycles of algae. Needs a little bit of time.
I am not using PMDD, so backing off on that as Wolfen suggests might be the right thing to do.

Thanks for your compliment, I enjoy that tank a lot. Go ahead and post the picture of your tank, sometimes that helps to come up with more ideas. roud:


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## falcon (Jun 4, 2004)

Thanks for your replies guys. I change 50% of water on a weekly basis. In the 260w pc those are 6700k, 80w additional some sort of growth bulbs I think in the 4-5000k range.

I have been fertilizing for 5 months now but have increased the dosage 2 weeks ago. I have been adding no3 for the past week and a half and po4 since yesterday. Wolfen, my phospate level is about 0.5pmm and I am trying to increase it to 1-1.5pmm to feed the plants alongside no3.

Here are the pics...

overall pic...does not provide clarity, not sure why.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/740545/IMG_0229.jpg

this algea started forming on one sword
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/740545/IMG_0225.jpg

this is what I have throughout
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/740545/IMG_0223.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/740545/IMG_0221.jpg

I hope you can help me guys as this is getting very discouraging. :icon_frow 

falcon


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## zapus (May 26, 2004)

*klaxon* Rookie alert! PMDD? Primordial Mud Dosing Drops?? Maybe we need a glossary of terms and acronyms...


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## zapus (May 26, 2004)

zapus said:


> *klaxon* Rookie alert! PMDD? Primordial Mud Dosing Drops?? Maybe we need a glossary of terms and acronyms...


Oh, duh... I got it, must still be asleep or something---> Poor Man's


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## falcon (Jun 4, 2004)

zapus said:


> Oh, duh... I got it, must still be asleep or something---> Poor Man's


Zapus, you're funny... :icon_bigg


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Very nice tank there falcon! I think you have a good grip on nutrients. I would not use the additional 80 Watts until things have cleared up. I would keep PO4 around 0.5 ppm, and Nitrates just as you do around 10 ppm. Keep the CO2 running, and I bet in a few weeks these hairy things will start to disappear all by themselves.
If you have access to Amano shrimps, they might be helpful in cutting down these algae. A few SAE (Siamese Algae Eaters... for zapus :icon_bigg ) might be useful addition too.
FWIW, I started my tank with 160 Watts, then went to 175, now about 200 Watts. It's not so much the wattage alone, but also what kind of lamps and reflectors you use. For example, two shoplights with 4x 40W T12 bulbs provide way less light than say 3x 55W PC's with excellent reflectors.


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## fedge (Mar 4, 2004)

Crap... and I thought *I* had bad algae.....

that is much worse than mine... my platy babies eat a lot of the algae off the plants(which is good)... I only feed them every other day now..(I WANT them to HAVE to eat the algae to live!!!)


> I would keep PO4 around 0.5 ppm, and Nitrates just as you do around 10 ppm


I thought a 1:10 ratio.. not 1/2:10... or will a lesser amount of phosphate help control algae problems? (maybe I am doing my doses all wrong then...) I try to keep nitrate at 5 ppm and phosphate at about .5 .... any more than that on either side and algae tends to grow more intensely..

i ALSO dose potasium since I think I am in deficit of that... (1 ml every 3 days of Seachem K in a 20L--55watt pc)


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Apart from the fact that most of our test kits are incapable of determining EXACT values for NO3 and PO4...

That ratio is derived from the Redfield ratio for N, which should be around 10-15 to avoid both green and blue/red algae. If you convert it to NO3O4 (as measured by test kits) this ratio changes to about 15-30.

A lesser amount of PO4 will not supress algae. Actually, if PO4 bottoms out, there is a good chance that various green algae will take over.

Again, this isn't all exact science. As long as there is NO3 and PO4 available to plants, and the ratio isn't completely out of whack (say 5 ppm PO4...), algae will be suppressed!


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## falcon (Jun 4, 2004)

Thank you for your help Wasserpest. Yes, it's a nice tank but can't fully enjoy 'cause of algea.

I have added 4 more amano shrimp to the original 5 I had. The original five are pretty big now. I like them, they're very busy eating algea.

So, just to make sure, remove the 80w light and stop dosing PMDD. I can continue with NO3&PO4 to maintain the required levels.

falcon


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I think so... You should also look at adding traces. I am using Flourish and Flourish Iron for that, others with more intense tanks prefer CSM+B to save some money. (A bottle of Flourish lasts for a long time the way I am dosing).


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