[APD] RE: traces

["Thomas Barr" <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

>Tom,
>You asked about my test kit.I have a LaMotte but am waiting on the
refill.Meanwhile I have been using the  Seachem kit but it's hard to get
accurate readings with any >of them (IMHO).
>I forgot to add that the photo period is 9 hours.When you recommended
15-20mls of Flourish, do you mean per 50 gal.?Also, you did not mention
potassium.Thanks.

>-Mark Vanvick

Mark, and John, 

For a 120 gal tank, 15-20mls 2-3x a week is a normal amount I would add.
This is 2-4x what most recommendations suggest.
I like 3x a week and adding a little less(say 15mls 3x a week), depends on
the lighting really, less lighting, say 1.5w/gal, I'll only do weekly.

Realize that the recommendations are CONSERVATIVE and also take into
account non CO2, Excel, and low light tanks, only 1/2 the market or less is
high light CO2 gas enriched plant tank at best and likely much smaller.

Also the level of bioavailable nutrient vs the dry weight in % plant mass
are two different things. Plants do not need much Fe for example, but we
add several orders of magnitude more than the plant needs to get good
growth.
So even at the recommended levels, it's still 10X more than you need in
terms of pklant mass and the algae are not limited by adding less traces,
they need even less than the plants. 

John, for a 30 gal, 5mls 3 x a week should give as good as result as you
can expect from traces.

Regards, 
Tom Barr

 



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