I read the article at "http://www.barrreport.com/articles/1...ive-index.html" and confuse on the measurement stuff.
"a 1/8 tsp should fill a ¼ tsp in 2 tries, 1/16 tsp in 4 tries, and a 1/32 tsp in 8 tries."
What does its mean by in 2 tries? My understanding for 1/4 tsp in 2 tries equal to 1/2 tsp
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
Tom's writing is sometimes confusing in the way he constructs sentences.
If you expand the statement, it should read:
a 1/8 tsp should fill a ¼ tsp in 2 tries,
(a) 1/16 tsp (should fill a ¼ tsp) in 4 tries, and
a 1/32 tsp (should fill a ¼ tsp) in 8 tries.
Translated, he means:
2 times (tries) of a 1/8 tsp should fill a 1/4 tsp, etc.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
a... that make sense, thanks
so when he said "+/- 1/32 tsp KH2PO4" how to measure it? The smallest measurement spoon I can find is 1/2 tsp.
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
I didn't read the whole article you linked, but...
You just have to find something that you can use to estimate 1/32 tsp. Then test it by trying to fill a 1/2 tsp after 16 scoops of that. Perhaps the hollow side of a Lego one stud flat piece or Lego cup? Or maybe a smallest bottle cap you can find, like those from the tiny medicated oil bottles? Or a cup from some doll teaset.
Supermarkets like NTUC sell sets of measuring spoons really cheap, maybe a few dollars or less. Each set usually has sizes ranging from 1 tablespoon down to 1/4 or 1/8 teaspoon. These spoons are sold for baking and cooking purposes.
Alternatively, mix 1/2 tsp in 160 ml of water and then dose 10 ml each time.
There are many ways to skin a cat.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
I just pinch my fingers in the powder, no need to get exact measurements.
I use a 5ml teaspoon[tsp](those we used for consuming liquid medicine) as stated in dr malick's website.
Divide the amount of fert(eg. KNO3) accordingly.
1 tsp divide by 1/2 = 1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp divide by 1/2 = 1/4 tsp
1/4 tsp divide by 1/2 = 1/8 tsp
1/8 tsp divide by 1/2 = 1/32 tsp
1/32 tsp divide by 1/2 = 1/64 tsp
You got the idea ??Different people tends to divide their tsp of concentration differently. As what Terrence(squee) said, the idea is rough estimation, but I tend to overdose a little bit(I will dose the bigger divided remaining portion).
The smalest measurement spoon that i got from NTUC is a pinch, do not know how many tsp is that. I think I saw something like that at $2 shop, Daiso, hope they have the small one.
This is my first time using dry fertilizer, so a bit worry of over dose and kill the fauna inside.Originally Posted by |squee|
corect me if I'm wrong, so the idea is to keep devide 1 tsp until you get the right value.I use a 5ml teaspoon[tsp](those we used for consuming liquid medicine) as stated in dr malick's website.
Divide the amount of fert(eg. KNO3) accordingly.
1 tsp divide by 1/2 = 1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp divide by 1/2 = 1/4 tsp
1/4 tsp divide by 1/2 = 1/8 tsp
1/8 tsp divide by 1/2 = 1/32 tsp
1/32 tsp divide by 1/2 = 1/64 tsp
You got the idea ??
hi Shadow,
i doubt that you can precisely keep halving the amount of 1 tsp beyond 1/8 tsp. it would be easier to adopt Vinz's method of mixing the amount into a known amount of water. then you dose the solution accordingly. in his example below, you'll be dosing 1/32 tsp everytime you pour in 10ml of the solution. a syringe would be helpful to get you almost accurately to the nearest ml.
...Alternatively, mix 1/2 tsp in 160 ml of water and then dose 10 ml each time..
"Tandas Berkualiti, Hidup Berkualiti"
hm... you are right, my math getting rusty
Dun worry about excess fert...it won't kill your faunas. It will only go to waste if your plants cannot use up most of them.
Yup, that's what I did. The Keyword is 'Estimation'...If you're following Barr's EI.Even Terrence has already reached the stage of dosing 1 pinch of dosage without the use of a teaspoon(probably he estimated 1 pinch = 1/64 or 1/32 tsp already). That's how convenient the EI can get you. Of cos you also need to follow a good habit if you're following Barr's EI(eg. 3 times of dosage per week, followed by a 50% water change if you're injecting co2).
I don't like the idea of 50% water chnge to reset the nutrient loads (lazy). Is there any way to avoid this? maybe lower the light, curently my light is 3.6WPG.
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
Well, you guys should read Tom's articles on fertilisation (not just EI!) and understand how he came up with EI and his rational for the method. From there you can work out alternatives.
The abbreviation EI has been thrown around so much, that people have forgotten (or don't know) that the E stands for Estimation. Besides how accurate are you with the water volume? Did you accurately calculate how much space the plants, rocks, drifwood, fishes, filter media take and subtract that from a accurately measured water volume? No, right? If you don't have an accurate water volume to start with, how can you figure out what is the exact dosage.
As for over-dosage, I wouldn't throw a blanket statement and say you can't overdose. Too much Ca or Mg can raise the GH way too high for some flora and fauna. NO3 is still toxic, just a lot less toxic then NO2, NH3 and NH4. Normally our target is 10ppm NO3. Miss a zero in your calculations and you can easily dose 100 ppm NO3. That might not kill fish outright, but they won't be healthy for sure. At 200ppm, from what I've read, most fishes are in serious trouble if not dead. I think most are familiar with CO2 poisoning?
So, yes, overdosing can kill or harm, but depending on the product, mostly only at levels 10 to 100 times over the target (for CO2, maybe 2 or 3 times over-dosage is already a bad thing). Some may not have any effect at all.
While you can estimate the dosage, estimate carefully. Estimate within reasonable means.
Lastly, to quote a local TV personality and cousin-in-(TV)name, 'use your blain, use your blain, use your blain!' Don't depend on forums like AQ and people like Tom for stock answers. Planted tanks are dynamic systems. we can't possibly give answers to fit all situations. Sometimes we can only give formulas, theories and examples. You have to engage brain and work out how these answers work for YOUR tank.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
Examine other methods. I haven't been checking out APC recently, but some guys there were pushing an alternative method called PPC (IIRC) one or two years ago. They try to dose according to what they estimate is left in their tanks (again IIRC).
Another alternative, cut down to moderate light tank, and easier plants.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Actually, when you use EI correctly, you are forced to do your tank maintainance by the growth rate of your plants... So some trimming is always needed somehow or rather....
Use that time to change water lor... Or, go low-tech...
Then less water changes needed...
The 50% water change is used to dilute any buildup of the nutrients you've added throughout the week, thus nutrients will never go to toxic levels (the math is on Tom Barr's website, www.barrreport.com).
Valice is right, if you use the EI properly, you usually have to do maintainence weekly because the plants go nuts in growth.
The one vinz is talking about is the Perpetual Preservation System (PPS). However imho it's much easier to follow the EI.
I guest water change is unavoidable. I was thinking of convert it to low tech once all the plants grown to desired level.
But, you will notice that your plants will go into a state of transition when you do your converting...
Suddenly, some plants especially crypts will melt, ferns will turn black, stem plants will stun for awhile, before they grow again...
So be mentally prepared and don't be alarmed when that happens...
really, I got tonina, blyxa japonica, baccopa, taiwan moss, Hemianthus micranthemoides and Vallisneria americana. Any idea if these plant will survive the convertion? I read Hemianthus micranthemoides and tonina need bright light
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks