Nutrients level recommended in EI method

[o2bubble]

Hi all, I would like to find out your opinions if the below levels of nutrients are in EI method description (http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...ing-guide.html):

EI target ranges
CO2 range 25-30 ppm
NO3 range 5-30 ppm
K+ range 10-30 ppm
PO4 range 1.0-2.0 ppm
Fe 0.2-0.5ppm or higher
GH range 3-5 degrees ~ 50ppm or higher
KH range 3-5

I do agree with the above general guidelines but feels that for high light, well planted tank, nitrate should be be higher at 20-30 ppm, PO4 at 1.5 to 2.0 ppm and K+ at 20-30 ppm...

[Shadow]

It worked well for me. It is not cast by stone, it is estimate, so you probably still need to tweak around little bit. Especially when you see your shrimps start dying

[Plantbrain]

Folks often ask me specific amounts, grams etc for dosing plants, but they grow over a wide range of parameters. So I tend to give general info based on what they tell me.

I cannot guess every thing they do and have going on.

Maybe some have high fish loads, large frequent water changes address any of that.

As far as high light, EI is based on non limiting levels.
That means non limiting light.

I used 5.5 W/Gal of PC lighting at 16" depth, or about 250-450 micromols/m^2/sec at any point in the tank.

I've not measured a higher level except with a 1000W MH in one client's tank that's 4ft+ 2 ft above that, so 6ft.

So that's pretty high.

So the nutrients are in good supply, CO2 is more tricky that nutrients to ensure good non limiting amounts.

Ask your why that might be..........

How long does 30ppm of CO2 take to dissipate if you stop adding it?
Maybe 1 hour or so.

20ppm of NO3?

Several days.

Which is easier to accurately measure?
NO3.......

Which is used 20-30X more relative to each atom?
Carbon.

So that is often the issue for most folks, not NO3, PO4 etc.
Those are pretty easy to add plenty of.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[larlee]

What do you mean by EI method? Is it a formula or a brand of fert?

[Plantbrain]

What do you mean by EI method? Is it a formula or a brand of fert?

Neither, it's just a method used to dose fertilizers that uses dilutions of water changes to prevent any nutrient from building up, and regular dosing to prevent anything from running out.

That's all.

See here if you want more details:

http://www.barrreport.com/estimative...test-kits.html

Less techy:
http://www.barrreport.com/estimative...chy-folks.html