I took the leap in to the Dry Salts fertilization scheme.

[Pepere]

Many thanks to @Mmiller2001 for taking time to help me decide what salts, compounds to buy and walking me through the use of Rotalabutterfly.com.

so, I am doing this on 2, 29 gallon display tanks with CO2 injection.

I recently turned off the CO2 to my 20 High.. It is on the lower level of my two tier stand and trimming and pruning while on my hands and knees  at 58 years is just a bridge too far…

I am thinking of doing a complete rescape on this one pulling all the substrate out and creating a Bonsai tree scape with anubias, buce, and crypts.  Low tech slow growth tank…

 

Until then, this tank and the 17 gallon bowl are continuing with Easy Green and no co2…  I am also looking to reduce water change depth and frequency on both…

Quite honestly though on the dry salts ferts on the display tank, it was anticlimatic…  There had been a hesitancy over having to learn everything involved…  It basically took a few emails back and forth and maybe 45 minutes of facetime call to get comfortable working with Rotalla butterfly calculator.

Now that I have worked out the measurements, I simply weigh out or measure out the volumes into a custard cup and sprinkle them in to the water after doing my weekly water change for the macros, and measure out the micro solution  3 times a week.  

Going with Dry salts is definitely going to be a fraction of the cost of Easy Green for the CO2 injected tanks…. The co op will miss my frequent Easy Green orders… I am still using it in my low tech tanks, but the volume used is definitely a fraction of what I was using..

The other advantage to the dry salts is a more optimized fetilization schedule for my water, and plant needs.. 

 

Now we wait for a while for the plants to adjust to the new soup they are sitting in and optimize for it…,

[Beach Cruiser]

Yes, the Rotala calculator makes it pretty easy. I even use an old EG pump bottle for a csm+b micro solution. It's nice to be able to tailor your ferts (for example , i hardly ever need no3).  Recently went to making my own gH buffer as well, thanks to help from @Seattle_Aquarist. Folks here are super generous in the sharing of knowledge! 

[Mmiller2001]

Gregg Zydec spoke about the cost difference in his journal. I will quote him

“If told you that you could make a typical 1,000 ml bottle of fertilizer that usually retails for about $45 for $2.39 would that get your attention?”

Edited July 29 by Mmiller2001

[Pepere]

On 7/29/2024 at 8:53 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

“If told you that you could make a typical 1,000 ml bottle of fertilizer that usually retails for about $45 for $2.39 would that get your attention?”

Well, it depends on how long that bottle lasts.  For my two non injected tanks, I figure the two unopened 500 ml bottles of Easy Green should last me about 4 1/2 years…

 

Of course once they run out I will likely make  my own macro solution tailored for the low tech tanks needs…

I am sort of intrigued by Tom Barr’s article on non CO2 methods that minimizes water changes and mostly relies on fish waste and fish food for ferts and only supplementing with a bit of Seachem Equilibrium every other week to replaced Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Iron, and also adding a wee bit of supplemental Nitrate from time to time in addition to the Equilibrium…

 

https://barrreport.com/threads/non-co2-methods.422/

 

[lefty o]

On 7/29/2024 at 7:53 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

Gregg Zydec spoke about the cost difference in his journal. I will quote him

“If told you that you could make a typical 1,000 ml bottle of fertilizer that usually retails for about $45 for $2.39 would that get your attention?”

sadly most things that are sold to consumers are on a similar pricing schedule.

[Pepere]

On 7/29/2024 at 9:27 AM, lefty o said:

On 7/29/2024 at 8:53 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

Gregg Zydec spoke about the cost difference in his journal. I will quote him

“If told you that you could make a typical 1,000 ml bottle of fertilizer that usually retails for about $45 for $2.39 would that get your attention?”

sadly most things that are sold to consumers are on a similar pricing schedule.

Of course, when you buy a bottle of all in one fertilizer you are buying a bottle, a pump, and the liquid the salts are dissolved in….  And the weight and volume of the bottle, pump and liquid.  And “free” shipping costs account for a lot of the cost of that bottle of all in one fertilizer…

The dry salts dissolved in that bottle could likely be shipped in an envelope…

I don’t consider the liquid pre mix all in one fertilizer sellers taking advantage of anyone by over charging.  For a low tech tank with no co2 injection under 30 gallons, a lot can be said for the convenience of an all in one like Easy Green.  3, 1 ml pumps twice a week for a 30 gallon tank and that $20.00 bottle of Easy Green should last you over a year and a half and run you about $13.00 a year…. While it is only about $1.15 worth of salts, the upfront cost of the 1 lb tubs of salts and mixing bottles cost me around $80.00 more or less…

Easy Green would make more sense if I just had a few low tech tanks…

[Beach Cruiser]

^Agreed^

If you have a single, smallish low tech planted tank then a premixed commercial fert is just fine. 

Once you get into the hundreds of gallons tho... They'll suck up a 500ml bottle of EG pretty quickly.