Liquid fertilizer dosing - best schedule?

[zpayne10]

I've purchased some Easy Green liquid fert for my tank, and I'm wondering about dosing requirements. I'm running a tech without CO2, but has two Fluval Plant 3.0s. Most of the plants I'd consider "low tech", so I'm not sure if I should be dosing once or twice a week, per the bottle.

Additionally, how should I go about dosing? It's a 75 gallon tank, so should I really dose ~7 pumps all at once, or it is more beneficial to do one pump each day so the plants have continually access to nutrients? Or maybe it doesn't matter...

[lefty o]

i dont think it makes a huge difference, but id probably dose 2 times during the week. 3 or 4 pumps each time, and see how it goes for a while, and then adjust if needed.

[Cory]

If you're trying to maximize, you'd figure out your dose, and then dose daily. Really you'd want to dial in your dosing based on what your plants etc. It's a bit like saying, I have a 2000 sq ft house. How much food should I buy for the week. It depends more on, how often are people are eating at home. How many people are eating a home? Are they teenage boys or elderly? This is why there is a 1-2x a week to start. From there you adapt based on what the water parameters are saying. Might takes 3-4 weeks to figure it out.

[zpayne10]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:35 PM, Cory said:

If you're trying to maximize, you'd figure out your dose, and then dose daily. Really you'd want to dial in your dosing based on what your plants etc. It's a bit like saying, I have a 2000 sq ft house. How much food should I buy for the week. It depends more on, how often are people are eating at home. How many people are eating a home? Are they teenage boys or elderly? This is why there is a 1-2x a week to start. From there you adapt based on what the water parameters are saying. Might takes 3-4 weeks to figure it out.

That makes sense, and I appreciate the feedback!

In addition to the dosing question, how does one differentiate a low vs medium tech tank?

[Phoenix1391]

On 2/11/2023 at 12:03 PM, zpayne10 said:

That makes sense, and I appreciate the feedback!

In addition to the dosing question, how does one differentiate a low vs medium tech tank?

Not a fan of the low vs high term. It’s more like a spectrum. Basically the ideal high tech is co2, high lighting, powerful filter. Low tech is well, the opposite. Low tech could mean a bowl of water with a beta. 
 

but in reality most people just consider is there co2? Ok high tech. But really you could run a tank with co2 that is more akin to low tech with a cheap light, and a weak filter. It’s just whatever works best for you and your aquarium. 

[PerceptivePesce]

Is there an article or vid on how to figure out fertilized water parameters?  I've been watching vids on EI dosing, but no one ever gets into the nitty gritty details on how to do it.  As far as I know, there arent water tests for micros.

[PerceptivePesce]

Also, I think @zpayne10s confusion about "low tech" vs "high tech" comes from the Easy Green dosing instructions.  EG says dose once a week for "low light", and twice a week for "high light"

I may be wrong but I think what is meant by "low light" and "high light" is referencing what kind of plants you have.  High Light plants require more nutrients than Low Light plants.

[Sleepy]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:45 PM, zpayne10 said:

I've purchased some Easy Green liquid fert for my tank, and I'm wondering about dosing requirements. I'm running a tech without CO2, but has two Fluval Plant 3.0s. Most of the plants I'd consider "low tech", so I'm not sure if I should be dosing once or twice a week, per the bottle.

Additionally, how should I go about dosing? It's a 75 gallon tank, so should I really dose ~7 pumps all at once, or it is more beneficial to do one pump each day so the plants have continually access to nutrients? Or maybe it doesn't matter...

You should be testing your water before doing anything and seeing where your nitrates are.