I am going to give the estimative index fertilization a try. I do not want to do such large weekly water changes though so my doses are going to be a bit lower than recommended. I am planning on weekly 30% water changes on my 60 gallon tank (so roughly 18-20 gallons a week). Estimative Index recommends 50% weekly water changes. I do not think my crypts will like that, and I just don't want to do that much.
Tank stats: 60 gallon heavily planted 110 watts PC and 64 watts of normal output (regular) fluorescent lighting (2.9 watts per gallon, but 1.8 of it is PC light) - 12 hours a day 3 Hagen yeast CO2 systems, changed every 3 weeks Substrate is 4-5 inch gravel bed with 60 grams of laterite
My fertilizer regime is going to go like this:
Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday : 1/4 tsp of KNO3, 1/16 tsp of KH2PO4, 1 capful flourish excel
Monday, Wednesday, Friday : 1/16tsp of trace elements (CSM+B Plantex), 1 capful flourish excel
Sunday am : 18-20 gallon water change, 1/4 tsp GH booster (has Potassium Sulfate, Calcium Sulfate and Magnesium Sulfate). Start over with dosing regime.
Every 3 months : 3 flourish tabs (at the base of swords and crypts)
I just purchased my fertilizers from www.aquariumfertilizer.com, so I will be starting once they get here. I may find I need to up my doses a bit, but we shall see how this goes. I am concerned I may need to add extra iron, but again we will see. If it is needed I will probably just use Flourish Iron and start at 1/3 the dose they recommend since the trace elements should have some iron in it. I may also find I do not need the GH booster. I plan to test my GH weekly for awhile and see what it does. This should be an interesting experiment.
Links about estimative index:
The Barr Report - Estimative Index
Greg Watson's Aquatic Plant News - Estimative Index
Aquatic Plant Central - Estimative Index Dosing Guide
I also posted some of this on aquariphiles.com and google's TFA group
Showing posts with label estimative index. Show all posts
Showing posts with label estimative index. Show all posts
Monday, July 9, 2007
Trying a new fertilization regime, Estimative Index
Posted by
Melgrj7
at
3:14 AM
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Labels: estimative index, fertilization, fertilizers, plant fertilizers
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