Question regarding Tom Barr method

[Tony Volk]

Part 3 of my aquarium saga has things going fairly nicely. In Part 1 I
brought an old tank back from old tank syndrome (and all its wonders), in
Part 2 I took on my algae garden by planting the heck out of the tank and
adding a DIY CO2 system. I'm now at Part 3, and have a couple of questions.
First, my stats:

55 gallon, 80 watts (GE plant&aquarium), heavy fish load, pH7, kH4, CO2
~12ppm, nitrates ~10ppm, weekly water changes of 40-50% in 3 8 gallon
changes (still stuck using a 4g bucket)

The algae in my aquarium seems to primarily be in a static mode. That is,
there's still BBA of various forms, very limited staghorn, green spot, and
green algae. The BBA is growing very slowly (if at all), there's no new
staghorn (most is gone actually), there's green algae in my floating
hornwort, and on the glass. The plants (vals, swords, hornwort, & java
ferns) all seem to be growing well, if not spectacularly. For my next move
then, I am curious about a fertilizing regiment, as I realize that I might
be on borrowed time with the way things are. I've been adding small amounts
of a trace fertilizer (iron and other minerals), but that's about it. So my
question is, with my moderate light levels, and moderate CO2 levels, and
high fish load, what fertilizers do I need? I'm hesitant to follow the
"typical" Barr dosing because of my high fish load. I'm most tempted to
just add some Flourish Excel to provide trace nutrients and an extra CO2
kick, but I want to make sure that I'm not missing out on any critical
nutrients for my plants that isn't being provided via fish waste or that if
I do start dosing, I don't overdo it. I'm very pleased to have gotten to a
static state with the algae (and even gotten rid of the staghorn), so I've
got no desire to go back! Thanks for any advice,

Tony

[Happy'Cam'per]

Hi Tony

Sounds like you're on a winning streak.
So you're on about 1.5wpg, thats about the same as my setup. I have a very
low fishload at the moment though. I'll tell you my routine and then perhaps
you can adjust it to suit your own needs.
First off perhaps you should buy a Nitrate kit just so you do know the start
point of your NO3 levels.
But if things are going as good as you say they are even with the high
fishload you probably won't be supplying enough Nitrates for the plants, CO2
speeds uptake of nutrients considerably.

I use DIY ferts all bought from the local pharmacy, I dose my Macro and
Micros on alternate days.

1. NO3 I get from Salt Petre (KNO3)....A third of a teaspoon gets dumped in
the tank every second day.
2. PO4 I get from 'Fleet Enema' (FYI it's name has now changed to Lenolax),
I dump about a third to half a teaspoon along with the NO3.
3. K you can get from 'No salt', this is mostly Pottassium Chloride, you can
dose this for extra K but many folks say that the K in KNO3 is enough for
the plants, its a matter of choice so you can skip this one if you want to.
4. I have recently started using K2SO4 (Pottasium Sulphate) instead of No
salt and tell you the truth I have'nt noticed any major difference in plant
growth, but I'm staying with that for now anyhoo!
5. With a GH of 4 you should have enough Calcium and Magnesium to get you
through to the next water change, although adding a dash of Epsom salts for
Magnesium and Caco3 (or cheap dolomite tabs for the right ratio magnesium
and calcium) for calcium will probably do the tank good, I do large 50 -
70% water changes so I don't feel the need to add more GH.

All the above is dosed at the same time on the same day, my micro's are then
dosed the day after (5-6ml)

One more thing, your co2 is still too low, start another yeast culture and T
that inline to what you're already pumping into the tank. IMHO, the trick to
a healthy panted tank is choosing your routine and sticking with it, don't
let the co2 slip, as long as the tank is run smoothly you should be good to
go :)
Hope this helps and if you need further clarification just ask.
--
Kind Regards
Cameron

"Tony Volk" > wrote in message
...
> Part 3 of my aquarium saga has things going fairly nicely. In Part 1 I
> brought an old tank back from old tank syndrome (and all its wonders), in
> Part 2 I took on my algae garden by planting the heck out of the tank and
> adding a DIY CO2 system. I'm now at Part 3, and have a couple of
questions.
> First, my stats:
>
> 55 gallon, 80 watts (GE plant&aquarium), heavy fish load, pH7, kH4, CO2
> ~12ppm, nitrates ~10ppm, weekly water changes of 40-50% in 3 8 gallon
> changes (still stuck using a 4g bucket)
>
> The algae in my aquarium seems to primarily be in a static mode. That is,
> there's still BBA of various forms, very limited staghorn, green spot, and
> green algae. The BBA is growing very slowly (if at all), there's no new
> staghorn (most is gone actually), there's green algae in my floating
> hornwort, and on the glass. The plants (vals, swords, hornwort, & java
> ferns) all seem to be growing well, if not spectacularly. For my next
move
> then, I am curious about a fertilizing regiment, as I realize that I might
> be on borrowed time with the way things are. I've been adding small
amounts
> of a trace fertilizer (iron and other minerals), but that's about it. So
my
> question is, with my moderate light levels, and moderate CO2 levels, and
> high fish load, what fertilizers do I need? I'm hesitant to follow the
> "typical" Barr dosing because of my high fish load. I'm most tempted to
> just add some Flourish Excel to provide trace nutrients and an extra CO2
> kick, but I want to make sure that I'm not missing out on any critical
> nutrients for my plants that isn't being provided via fish waste or that
if
> I do start dosing, I don't overdo it. I'm very pleased to have gotten to
a
> static state with the algae (and even gotten rid of the staghorn), so I've
> got no desire to go back! Thanks for any advice,
>
> Tony
>
>

[Elaine T]

Tony Volk wrote:
> Part 3 of my aquarium saga has things going fairly nicely. In Part 1 I
> brought an old tank back from old tank syndrome (and all its wonders), in
> Part 2 I took on my algae garden by planting the heck out of the tank and
> adding a DIY CO2 system. I'm now at Part 3, and have a couple of questions.
> First, my stats:
>
> 55 gallon, 80 watts (GE plant&aquarium), heavy fish load, pH7, kH4, CO2
> ~12ppm, nitrates ~10ppm, weekly water changes of 40-50% in 3 8 gallon
> changes (still stuck using a 4g bucket)
>
> The algae in my aquarium seems to primarily be in a static mode. That is,
> there's still BBA of various forms, very limited staghorn, green spot, and
> green algae. The BBA is growing very slowly (if at all), there's no new
> staghorn (most is gone actually), there's green algae in my floating
> hornwort, and on the glass. The plants (vals, swords, hornwort, & java
> ferns) all seem to be growing well, if not spectacularly. For my next move
> then, I am curious about a fertilizing regiment, as I realize that I might
> be on borrowed time with the way things are. I've been adding small amounts
> of a trace fertilizer (iron and other minerals), but that's about it. So my
> question is, with my moderate light levels, and moderate CO2 levels, and
> high fish load, what fertilizers do I need? I'm hesitant to follow the
> "typical" Barr dosing because of my high fish load. I'm most tempted to
> just add some Flourish Excel to provide trace nutrients and an extra CO2
> kick, but I want to make sure that I'm not missing out on any critical
> nutrients for my plants that isn't being provided via fish waste or that if
> I do start dosing, I don't overdo it. I'm very pleased to have gotten to a
> static state with the algae (and even gotten rid of the staghorn), so I've
> got no desire to go back! Thanks for any advice,
>
> Tony
>
>
I use a trace element mix, iron, potash (K), and make sure nitrogen is
up to 8 ppm. At the moment I'm using Kent's Botanica line but will
probably switch to something cheaper when I run out. One of my tanks
gets enough N03 from the fish; the other doesn't.

For trace fertilizer, you're looking for iron at 0.1 ppm, and if your
fertilizer is good everything else will follow.

The critical nutrient you seeem to be missing is potash, since you're
not adding any. Fish waste generally doesn't provide enough. Potash
doesn't tend to lead to algae blooms like N or P so I usually follow the
directions on the bottle. Many planted tank folks add Mg++ in the form
of epsom salts as well - I've never needed to with Kent trace elements.

As for Flourish Excel, it has no trace elements in it at all - just a
carbon source/putative algicide. With CO2, your plants will use the CO2
first. Perhaps you're thinking of Flourish.

--
__ Elaine T __
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