Found Dry Ferts in Canada! Help me in Choosing?

[ishar]

I was wondering what ferts I would need. I originally thought I would need KNO3, K2SO4, KH2P04 and a trace mix. The I read the EI method from Tom Barr and he doesn't use the K2S04. The website I found the ferts from says I would need K2SO4, KNO3, MGSO4, and Trace.

Who do I believe? I feel like I need at least what the EI method uses, meaning KNO3, KH2P04 and Trace. Is the MgSO4 really needed if I use tap water and have a GH of roughly 10-12?

Here is the website by the way: Poor Man's Doopla Drops. There is a supplier of this place near me and I intend to visit them tomorrow, so if you are unable to respond before then then don't worry about it (unless it is for others' future reference ).

If no one says differently I am going to get my original idea of KNO3, K2SO4, KH2P04 and a trace mix.

[ishar]

Hmm... in looking it over, for $25 I can pick up the whole pack of 1lb each of KNO3, KH2P04, K2SO4, CaNO3, MgSO4 & trace. I figure if I get both the Ca and the Mg I can make my own GH booster.

I figure I will mix the K2SO4, CaNO3 & MgSO4 at a certain ratio to make sure the GH and mineral content is good. I am posting elsewhere on how to mix it .

[Lotus]

It's really going to depend on what method you want to use. I think the "pound of each" deal sounds reasonable. If you decide not to use some of them, you could always resell to another hobbyist. The EI works for a lot of people, and seems to be simple and popular. I believe there's a modified version that uses less ferts, but I haven't been reading up on fertilization lately.

I only use KNO3 and K2SO4 (that's the potassium, right?), chelated iron and trace mix. I use Fleet Enema for phosphates. To be honest, I'll probably go with Tropica trace and Flourish iron when the dry versions I have run out. I don't do EI, I just sort of "dose as necessary."

[ishar]

Yeah- I think I am going to stick with my Seachem Iron- seems to be a good product to me. I don't like the Seachem Flourish (trace) though- it is smelly and dark coloured, and I find it colours my water by the end of the week :/. I want my water to be clear, but instead I keep getting a brown tinge to it and it takes away from the colouring of my plants.

Anyone have any sort of idea of how I should go about making my own GH booster from the three minerals listed?

[ishar]

Well I didn't get the CaNO3 or MgSO4 so I guess no worries on the GH booster .

I did get the three macros (1lb each) + a chelated trace mix (150g- kind of small amount isn't it?) for a total of 20.11 CAD . I am so happy now! I think I am going to aim for a 3.5ppm N, 0.25ppm P, about 0.75ppm K, and 0.15ppm Fe each day. I still have Seachem stuff left over, and I am going to stick with Seachem Iron for my iron supplementation, and I have a lot of Flourish still kicking around for my traces, so I will figure out the dosage of my trace mix when it starts running out .

[Avalon]

You don't need a GH booster. All that stuff you hear on the internet is hogwash. You might need it if your tank is using extremely high light and stressing your plants...something I discourage. I use 100% RO and I don't have problems. As for Seachem traces, I've noticed it's far better to dose them daily because of the chelator they use to bind the nutrients. It's weak. That's why I use Tropica's Plant Nutrition Liquid. It has a stronger chelator so the nutrients stay active in the water column longer. The Iron is more difficult for the plant to take up, so that's why I supplement Seachem's Iron...and I dose it daily. Heck, iron is just a good nutrient for plants when everything else is going great. Iron won't solve many problems, but it is the icing on the cake.

[ishar]

hahaha. Icing on the cake eh?

I wasn't too worried about the GH stuff- it was sort of just to supplement my water column, to make sure I had the nutrients available. As for the trace- you think I should dose every day? Maybe if I use half dosage but every day? I can easily do that- I am doing it this way because the other night it is what we worked out- 5mL every other day. As I said- I can easily switch to 2.5 each day.

[tom91970]

I almost bought some dry ferts like you described but opted out for Fleet enema, stump killer, epsom salt, NoSalt, etc. Much less exspensive.

[Avalon]

Originally Posted by ishar

hahaha. Icing on the cake eh?

I wasn't too worried about the GH stuff- it was sort of just to supplement my water column, to make sure I had the nutrients available. As for the trace- you think I should dose every day? Maybe if I use half dosage but every day? I can easily do that- I am doing it this way because the other night it is what we worked out- 5mL every other day. As I said- I can easily switch to 2.5 each day.

I was mainly referring to the iron to be dosed daily. I think Flourish is similar, but I do believe you can get away with every other day. Try it and see. The best way to describe an early trace deficiency is by plants that just don't have enough color. Mainly in the greens. They look washed out, faded, or pale. When traces are adequate, iron can extend the color even further. Heh, one way to look at it is traces are the brightness control while iron is the contrast.

[ishar]

hahaha that' a good analogy

Alright, well I think I am going to leave it as it is right now and see the results once I get my CO2 hooked up. If I change it I will likely do 3mL flourish each day.