# Help with Nutrients



## NVES (Apr 21, 2010)

Good day all,

Some background info for you:
- 150 gallon tall tank (48"x24"x30")
- eshopps wet/dry filter ~ 1,000 GPH filtration
- Coralife 4x65 watt PC light with LEDs - currently have 2x65W @10,000; 2x65W actinic lamps. I will be changing the actinic lamps to either 6,700 or 10,000 bulbs.
- no CO2
- sand substrate
- plants - Jungle Vallisneria, Needle Vallisneria, Moss ball, Bacopa Monnieri, Hygrophila Polysperma, Hemianthus callitrichoides. 

So I've been reading several articles on the various nutrients available for planted aquariums, and I think that I would like to use the EI dosing method. However I don't know how much to dose for a 150 gallon tank.

At the moment I have a full bottle of Flourish and have been dosing the tank with Al's Plant Supplement 2x a week (6-7 capfuls). My Al's bottle is almost empty, and I'm somewhat hesitant on using the Flourish as I don't want to damage my vals, which are just now recouping from adjusting to the tank.

So my question is how much of KH2P04, KN03, and CSM+B do I dose? Can I still use my bottle of Flourish?
If I go with the EI method, is CO2 a requirement? 

Thanks for your help.
Aaron


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Please take a look at the article that I wrote here:

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11247#3

In particular, post #3 has some informative information regarding EI dosing. There are also some links that I provide to Tom Barr's site regarding EI dosing. If you want to use EI dosing in a 150 gallon tank, I would adjust the dosing rates for a 100-125g and scale up accordingly.

You will have a lot of light once you switch your actinic bulbs out (6x 65W PC lighting), so CO2 will be a must. Whether you use EI dosing or not will not affect whether or not you need CO2 or not; it is dependent on how much light you have over your tank.

Flourish is a trace mix; it will not damage Vallisneria. You are thinking of Flourish Excel.

If you are going to use EI dosing, and plan to use CSM+B, then there is really no need to use Flourish in addition (as they are both trace mixes). Some people like to add iron separately (i.e. iron gluconate), if they feel that there is not enough iron in the tank, however.


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## NVES (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks Darkblade, I have read your link once before, but I'm going to read it again now. And probably again later too.

Just to be clear on the lighting I will have 4x65 watts in total - so 260 watts over 150 gallon = 1.73 WPG.

I'll use up the Flourish I have and then find some CSM+B trace mix. And for the other dry ferts I'll stop in my local hyrdoponics store and see what they have.

Thanks,
Aaron


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## Jsu (Dec 4, 2009)

I have a container of trace mix that i can share. its going to take me years to use up on my 10 gals. Theres a aquaponic store near my work in barrie on dunlop street west.



NVES said:


> Thanks Darkblade, I have read your link once before, but I'm going to read it again now. And probably again later too.
> 
> Just to be clear on the lighting I will have 4x65 watts in total - so 260 watts over 150 gallon = 1.73 WPG.
> 
> ...


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

The triangle for minimal, effective plant growth is LIGHT - CO2 - TEMPERATURE. Nutrients just aid growth. Good CO2 helps with photosynthesis so your nutrients you dose will be eaten up and help grow brighter and better plants.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

BettaBeats said:


> The triangle for minimal, effective plant growth is LIGHT - CO2 - TEMPERATURE. Nutrients just aid growth. Good CO2 helps with photosynthesis so your nutrients you dose will be eaten up and help grow brighter and better plants.


I disagree; nutrients is an important part of that triangle. If you have good light, good CO2, and good temperature, but do not dose nutrients, your plants will not do well.

CO2 also does not help photosynthesis; it will occur regardless if CO2 is present or not. The two are not interdependent.


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## archgop (Sep 19, 2010)

Darkblade48 said:


> Please take a look at the article that I wrote here:
> 
> http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11247#3
> 
> ...


Where can we get the iron gluconate? And how much of it do we have to add ideally? Thanks


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

I haven't seen a local source for iron gluconate; you can probably order it from online, however.

In terms of dosing it, you will have to do some searches; I believe on Tom Barr's website there is an informative thread for dosing various types of iron (gluconate, DPTA, EDTA, etc)


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