Poor Mans Fertilizer and CO2 system

Hi,

i have a question regarding fertilizing plants and CO2.

I found an article on making your own mixture of K2SO4, KNO3, MgSO4
and trace elements to fertilize plants.
(http://www.cam.org/~tomlins/algae.html)
Now, if you use tap water, it will already contain most of the above so if
you
add such a mix, wouldn't that bring to many nutrients into the water?
Or are potassium and magnesium pretty rare in tap water?

Also, if you start using this DIY fertilizer, are there testkits to measure
those elements or do you just go by trial and error?

The reason i want to try this is that i'm having a slight increase in algae
growth
(hair algae). I use a liquid fertilizer but i don't think it's adding to
much elements
that are also usefull for algae (sera florena). But on the other hand, i'm
not sure
it contains potassium which seems like a must have for aquarium plants and
to
fight algae.

On CO2: my CO2 levels are way to low (+-1.2 ppm, PH 8, KH 5)
so i'm also going to build a DIY CO2 system. It seems easy enough.
Anyway, if you buy one of these systems, what would be the initial cost
and how much do pay to keep it going?

Regards,
Benedict

"flupke" wrote in message
...
Hi,

i have a question regarding fertilizing plants and CO2.

I found an article on making your own mixture of K2SO4, KNO3, MgSO4
and trace elements to fertilize plants.
(http://www.cam.org/~tomlins/algae.html)
Now, if you use tap water, it will already contain most of the above so if
you
add such a mix, wouldn't that bring to many nutrients into the water?
Or are potassium and magnesium pretty rare in tap water?

Also, if you start using this DIY fertilizer, are there testkits to
measure
those elements or do you just go by trial and error?

The reason i want to try this is that i'm having a slight increase in
algae
growth
(hair algae). I use a liquid fertilizer but i don't think it's adding to
much elements
that are also usefull for algae (sera florena). But on the other hand, i'm
not sure
it contains potassium which seems like a must have for aquarium plants and
to
fight algae.

On CO2: my CO2 levels are way to low (+-1.2 ppm, PH 8, KH 5)
so i'm also going to build a DIY CO2 system. It seems easy enough.
Anyway, if you buy one of these systems, what would be the initial cost
and how much do pay to keep it going?

Regards,
Benedict



dosing ferts is dependent on a number of things, probably most importantly
is how much light are you using. If you have a low light tank, low light
plants then CO2 is not going to help much and fets, whether dry dosed or
PMDD stuff will increase your algae as the plants don't grown fast enough to
use it up. If you have high light, fast growing plants then the increased
need for CO2 and fertilizers. A DIY CO2 system costs next to nothing
depending on what you use. It can be a couple of 2 liter bottles, some
airline tubing , yeast, sugar and a bit of baking soda. I still use DIY on a
33g tank but changed to a compressed system for my 77g.

Rick

"Rick" schreef in bericht
news:TnDGb.816669$pl3.795256@pd7tw3no...
snip

dosing ferts is dependent on a number of things, probably most importantly
is how much light are you using. If you have a low light tank, low light
plants then CO2 is not going to help much and fets, whether dry dosed or
PMDD stuff will increase your algae as the plants don't grown fast enough
to
use it up. If you have high light, fast growing plants then the increased
need for CO2 and fertilizers. A DIY CO2 system costs next to nothing
depending on what you use. It can be a couple of 2 liter bottles, some
airline tubing , yeast, sugar and a bit of baking soda. I still use DIY on
a
33g tank but changed to a compressed system for my 77g.

Well going on the levels of my PH & KH, i have only around 1 ppm of CO2
in my aquarium so i will be making a DIY CO2 system.
Is such a compressed system expensive?

"flupke" wrote in message
...

"Rick" schreef in bericht
news:TnDGb.816669$pl3.795256@pd7tw3no...
snip

Well going on the levels of my PH & KH, i have only around 1 ppm of CO2
in my aquarium so i will be making a DIY CO2 system.
Is such a compressed system expensive?



what size tank and how much light do you have?. Compressed systems vary in
cost. I bought my regulator for about $90.00 (Cdn) , clippard needle valve
for $25.00 and a few bucks for miscellaneous parts. The tank is a 20lb which
I rent, a one time deposit of $50.00 and $30. to fill it. I simply take the
tank back and they will give me a filled one. I installed this system 10
months ago and have not use up the tank yet. I expect it will likely last me
about 18 months. Depending on your tank size you will need 1 + bottles.
Every charge will be 2 cups of sugar, yeast and baking soda. I run two
bottles in my 33g (one bottle does nothing) so over the course of a year I'm
likely going to spend quite a bit on sugar and yeast. I will be replacing
that system with a smaller compressed system and running separate values to
several tanks. Much more convenient. What size tank and how much light do
you have?. Adding CO2 to a tank without sufficient light for the plants to
use it really will do nothing.

Rick

On CO2: my CO2 levels are way to low (+-1.2 ppm, PH 8, KH 5)
so i'm also going to build a DIY CO2 system. It seems easy enough.
Anyway, if you buy one of these systems, what would be the initial cost
and how much do pay to keep it going?

Regards,
Benedict


Initial cost : Co2 fermenter and tubing : under $10 , empty soda bottle :
free

additional costs : sugar, yeast, and baking soda = under $5 , enough for 3
months to a year

= very cheap

"Rick" schreef in bericht
news:cnZGb.828263$pl3.616033@pd7tw3no...
snip

What size tank and how much light do
you have?. Adding CO2 to a tank without sufficient light for the plants to
use it really will do nothing.

It's only a 60 litres (16 gallons) aquarium. But i'm already looking into it
since
i'm planning to get a tank of at least 80 gallons (300 litres).
I'm not sure what "strength" the light is giving in the tank. I think it's
25 watts.

"nanoreef" wrote in message
.cable.rogers.com...
Rick may have written:
Compressed systems vary in
cost. I bought my regulator for about $90.00 (Cdn) , clippard needle
valve
for $25.00 and a few bucks for miscellaneous parts. The tank is a 20lb
which
I rent, a one time deposit of $50.00 and $30. to fill it.

Where did you get the regulator and needle valve? (one stage or two?)
Where do you rent the CO2?

When I last looked into this I was looking at spending twice that for
parts. I never did figure out who would be willing to sell me the CO2.

thanks.

double gauge regulator purchased at a local hydroponics store in Winnipeg,
Canada, Clippard valve purchased from another local company and the co2
rental tank and gas fill simply provided by a local supplier of various
types of gas. Check your local yellow pages for anyone selling welding
equipment, gas refills etc, they should all sell CO2. For me the $50. rental
of the tank is a great deal.

Rick

"Keith J" wrote in message
...
On CO2: my CO2 levels are way to low (+-1.2 ppm, PH 8, KH 5)
so i'm also going to build a DIY CO2 system. It seems easy enough.
Anyway, if you buy one of these systems, what would be the initial cost
and how much do pay to keep it going?

Regards,
Benedict


Initial cost : Co2 fermenter and tubing : under $10 , empty soda bottle :
free

additional costs : sugar, yeast, and baking soda = under $5 , enough for
3
months to a year

= very cheap


yup , without a doubt DIY has a place for smaller tanks. Try and maintain a
DIY system in a 77g tank and it is a real pain. You would likely need 4 of
those 2 liter bottles so multiply your expenses as noted above x 4. Then you
have the PH fluctuations from the lows when a new charge is made up to the
highs when the sugar and yeast is about exhausted. Then if your running
multiple bottles you need to stagger them so as to prevent them all
runningout at the same time and how many time shave you read about posters
having the bottle tip over and dump the contents into the tank creating a
real mess. Having said all that I still do use DIY although I use one gallon
glass jugs which will not tip over. The convenience of compressed co2, the
stability of your PH and with a smaller tank and smaller CO2 bottle you hook
it up and likely do not have to worry about it for a year is too much to
pass up IMHO.

Rick