Teaspoon and Tablespoon

**wasabi8888** · 3rd Jun 2007, 10:19

Hi all

For those who are using EI, how do you measure the KNO3 and KH2PO4 that you are dosing?

I have those bakery measuring spoons. I am dosing 1/4 teaspoon of KNO3 for a 2 ft tank. However, when I look at the spoon, it seems quite deep and long for 1/4 teaspoon... the length of the spoon is about 2.5com and the breadth is 1.5cm...depth is 0.75 cm. I wonder whether my spoon is too big..

**jiahe88** · 3rd Jun 2007, 10:26

from what i previous use for EI, my tea spoon was provide by the Lusgrow product i dose 1/4 of it for No3 and Kh2Po4 from the smaller size of teaspoon. is really usefull after dosing. .i use to plants APP. .they grow well after a month with very good result.

**FishFan** · 3rd Jun 2007, 12:18

Hi there. I also used the spoons that came along with the Lushgrow bottles.

**Shadow** · 3rd Jun 2007, 13:09

isn't it too much 1/4 teaspoon for 2 ft (2ft is about 15-17 galon)? how many times a weeks do you dose?

**tanhb** · 3rd Jun 2007, 16:39

If I am not wrong, 1 teaspoon is equal to 5ml. I dose 1/8 teaspoon of KNO3 and 1/32 teaspoon of KH2PO4 for my 2ft by 1ft tank.

**wasabi8888** · 3rd Jun 2007, 17:33

I dosed high nitrates as I had a BGA problem.. now i am not sure whether i dosed too much... on my bakery spoon which is a 1/4 teaspoon, it stated 1.2 ml....

does anyone have a spare Lushgro teaspoon to spare?

**lEddyl** · 3rd Jun 2007, 18:00

the spoon you can get them at any clinic. it's the same.

**wasabi8888** · 3rd Jun 2007, 18:05

Really? the spoon that has 2 sides? one larger and another smaller one?

**quacks** · 3rd Jun 2007, 19:30

Daiso has this set of metal spoons which i find very useful, you can find them in the baking accessories section. They come in a set of 5 or 3 different sizes , excellent for measuring out doses of fertilizers or fish food.

**wasabi8888** · 3rd Jun 2007, 20:55

OK.. i was just looking at the spoon from the doctors... one side is 2.5ml and the other side is 5ml... that means one side is half teaspoon and the other is 1 teaspoon right? wah.. the '1 teaspoon' is quite big leh...

**Shadow** · 3rd Jun 2007, 21:20

I'm using the smalest metal spoon from Daiso (pack of 3). I think that one is about right, 1/8 tsp. I did try to put 8 times KNO3 using this spoon into 1 tsp.

**wasabi8888** · 3rd Jun 2007, 22:03

ok... i go buy from Daiso tommorrow....

**ranmasatome** · 3rd Jun 2007, 23:25

err... i suggest not using teaspoons to dose... you can.. but its a little inaccurate. Instead dose according to PPM... use a calculator then make a stock solution of the concentration you want to use.
After that.. the stock solution can last months...and all you have to do is squirt...resting assured that it'll always be the same concentration.

**naresh666** · 4th Jun 2007, 00:38

Originally Posted by Shadow

isn't it too much 1/4 teaspoon for 2 ft (2ft is about 15-17 galon)? how many times a weeks do you dose?

sorry what do you mean by 15 - 17 galon? you mean the whole volume?

**Shadow** · 4th Jun 2007, 10:41

yea, assuming standart 2ft, not cube

**Shadow** · 4th Jun 2007, 10:43

Originally Posted by ranmasatome

err... i suggest not using teaspoons to dose... you can.. but its a little inaccurate. Instead dose according to PPM... use a calculator then make a stock solution of the concentration you want to use.
After that.. the stock solution can last months...and all you have to do is squirt...resting assured that it'll always be the same concentration.

Think of that before but I do not know where to get small scale to measure miligram.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, 1mg/1liter = 1ppm

**valice** · 4th Jun 2007, 10:49

See if you can find the old Macdonalds stirrer or any kind of stirrer which have the little spoon at the end. The amount scooped up by that spoon is approximately 1g.

You can use that as a rough guide.

**vinz** · 4th Jun 2007, 11:26

Originally Posted by ranmasatome

err... i suggest not using teaspoons to dose... you can.. but its a little inaccurate. Instead dose according to PPM... use a calculator then make a stock solution of the concentration you want to use.
After that.. the stock solution can last months...and all you have to do is squirt...resting assured that it'll always be the same concentration.

Stock solutions are great... I used to advocate it when I was more active in the forum.

However, the argument about the accuracy, or lack of, of teaspoons are a little redundant because:

We do not have an accurate measurement of the amount of tank water we have.
We do not have an accurate measurement of the fertiliser levels in our tanks.
The small amount of fertiliser we dose to the much larger volume of water makes the scale of the error negligible.

My point is... don't get too worried about the accuracy of the dose... as long as you know that you are more or less using the right amount, as far as the human eye can tell. (The human eye can tell the difference between 1/4 tsp and 1/8tsp, but not whether your 1/4 tsp is EXACTLY 1/4 tsp down the last grain.)

Some tips though:

Tap the spoon gently, to make the powder/crystals settle and break any empty pockets hidden below.
Level the spoon. I.e. the powder/crystals should fill the spoon completely, with no heap above the rim of the spoon.

I still advocate making stock solutions, for the convenience of it, and for more even distribution during dosing.

**wasabi8888** · 4th Jun 2007, 11:32

Originally Posted by ranmasatome

err... i suggest not using teaspoons to dose... you can.. but its a little inaccurate. Instead dose according to PPM... use a calculator then make a stock solution of the concentration you want to use.
After that.. the stock solution can last months...and all you have to do is squirt...resting assured that it'll always be the same concentration.

Hi ranma

Are you saying to weigh the powder and make a stock solution?

wa.. where do find weighing scale?