jaycolucci Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Hi All, I have started dosing my tank with EasyIron about a week and a half ago (1 pump per 10 gal, 3x/week). I just ran an iron test and it's showing pretty much 0. Validate the test is correct. Was just wondering if there is a safe level to add to the tank until I get the iron levels higher than my plants are absorbing them. Is daily dosing ok? More? Less? Thanks, Jay 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 (edited) On 10/12/2021 at 6:02 PM, jaycolucci said: Hi All, I have started dosing my tank with EasyIron about a week and a half ago (1 pump per 10 gal, 3x/week). I just ran an iron test and it's showing pretty much 0. Validate the test is correct. Was just wondering if there is a safe level to add to the tank until I get the iron levels higher than my plants are absorbing them. Is daily dosing ok? More? Less? Thanks, Jay Opening admission: I don’t have the answer! But a couple months ago, I visited a small aquaponics operation up in PA. I learned that the key missing ingredient for their plants (mostly lettuce) was iron. Their water was tinted very dark - like heavy in tannins - and the farmer told me that was due to the iron supplements. The fish used for nitrate fuel were tilapia and some blue gills. Edited October 13, 2021 by Fish Folk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyBWell Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 I would just say be careful how much you dose or like my case I believe I caused a staghorn outbreak from overdosing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 .2 to .9ppm. I'd start at .2 and work up from there. Give it 3 weeks minimal before any changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycolucci Posted November 4, 2021 Author Share Posted November 4, 2021 update. i've been dosing daily for four weeks. i'm still not measuring any appreciable iron in the tank. is it just that my plants are absorbing it all? could there be anything else in my tank absorbing the iron? I'm planning to start increasing the dosage again this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 Measure 10 minutes after dosing, then measure 30 mins after dosing. You might also need to calibrate the test kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycolucci Posted November 4, 2021 Author Share Posted November 4, 2021 i did do the test kit calibration, and all is fine there. i typically test a couple of hours later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 They can take up all the iron within 30 minutes. Seems crazy, but true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycolucci Posted November 4, 2021 Author Share Posted November 4, 2021 oh, wow. so is it ok to keep increasing my dosing until i start to see that there is residual iron in the water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 No, I wouldn't do that. Have a set number and dose that total amount weekly. Watch the plants, if they look good, keep that dose. Only increase if the plants show you a deficiency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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