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Great place to get EI ferts

4K views 11 replies 3 participants last post by  Angel079 
#1 ·
#2 ·
#4 ·
So is that the only thing you use then? Do I understand the page correctly it these lil chem set's that you mix yourself pretty much?
 
#6 ·
Hmmm maybe that's not what I was thinking of then. The stuff I check out before was like mini lil bottles of different minerals and you mix your own fert out of it, based on what you guess your plants exact needs are (some plants need more Fe then others etc) and dose your tank that way.

If you say its too complicated for me, I'll take your word, but still am interested to understand the barr EI method you're using please? :)
 
#7 ·
its actually a quite simple goal, give all ferts nutrients and micro nutrients along with l9ighting and lots of c02 in a unlimiting supply so that your plants can flourish. barr is a member on the ukaps.org site and there is LOTS of info of E.I there he even accecpts PM'S so i would go directly to the founder and have a sit down with him. i dont use this method im just aware it exsits and from what everyone says its not too hard to do its just not reccomended unless your REALLY serious about your platns.
 
#8 ·
So if I get you right by what you say there, this method is actually about providing TONS of everything in excess for your plants? ("unlimiting supply")
So I can't be serious about MY plants & tanks cause I'm not using it and still grow awesome plants w/out ferts!? I don't get that sorry...
 
#9 ·
im not famillar with your setup or anything like that and i guess i used the wrong word there. EI is mainly used with hard to grow plants like hairgrass baby tears most all of the red plants and hard to gor wplants. and yes this is about providfing TONS of everything for your plants to flourish.

i cant explain it too far in detail you should take a look at ukaps.org many MANY posts about EI there.
 
#10 ·
Dang I can't find the link any more with them lil bottles to mix up...If I come across it again, I'll show ya what I was talkin bout.

Baby tears I can see, my dwarf are doing ok'ish in the 55g but not really all that great. Now Hairgrass I had one time and one time only and it took over the grounds in no time at all, that's a weed man! And yea red plants are harder to keep IMO, thou I always been pretty lucky with the red tiger lotus so far *knock on wood*
 
#11 · (Edited)
Angel, I recall seeing photos of your former setups with the Red tiger lotus growing super, and I believe I mentioned at the time that this was due to the warm light you had; light higher in the red (lower kelvin number) was providing more red which red-leaf plants require simply because they reflect red light or they wouldn't appear "red." So there needs to be more of it. Some aquarists compensate by increasing the total light intensity. Amounts to the same thing, the plant needs more red light. It also needs good fertilization. But notwithstanding you did not dose with fert then, your tap water may have contained minerals plus the fish food certainly contains minerals, plus other processes.

A comment on the EI method, it is not meant for low-tech setups such as you and I basically have. To try that in such a setup would be foolish in the extreme. Overdosing with nutrients in an amount which is guaranteed (intended) to be more than will balance the light and CO2 is only asking for trouble. That has to be clearly understood.

I also don't see the need to spend all that money on mega-light, CO2 systems, and continual dosing with nutrients (which must in itself be considerably more than the $60 CDN [prob $45+ US] a year I spend on fertilizer for my three aquaria) with the deliberate aim of providing more than the plants need then removing them with sizable water changes--when we can have 95% as good plant growth without it. Common sense should prevail.

I realize there are probably a couple of plant species I would not have luck with (though haven't bothered to try, since I am perfectly satisfied with the lush growth I have had over 15 years) because of my natural approach. But the fish are first in my aquaria; the plants are there for aesthetic reason plus, and even more so, water quality. And I know they do the job. I am constantly trimming the Pennywort and pulling out runners with pygmy chain swords every week. And I have some plants that have been thriving for more than 10 years in my tank. I am not about to disrupt all this and spend unnecessary money doing it, just to grow one "difficult" plant species.

Every successful and knowledgeable aquarist I have ever read understands that an aquarium is a balanced eco-system. While I do not suggest that going the EI route cannot result in a balanced system, it clearly requires considerably more input by the aquarist and that means the balance that nature can provide simply is being tampered with, plain and simple. The fish need stable water quality to thrive, and the less fussing with it the better. This approach has stood the test of time; for more than a hundred years aquarists had lush planted tanks with no CO2, no fertilizers even, and for much of that time, no electrical gadgetry at all. Wioth some attention paid to lighting and fertilization, anyone can have a beautiful thriving planted aquarium.

Byron.
 
#12 ·
Yea, on any and all tanks larger then 40g I generally re-built or buy hoods that will house 2 ~4ft bulbs to provide a wider range of type's lights.
And yea honestly I was pretty happy the way things were.
There's just some kinda "hype" going on in this forum about fertilizer that made me curios to learn, you use Seachem's Products - Mitch E.I. so I'm just wanting to learn and I will take my time first to see what's happening in my tank before adding anything at all and then carefully choose which stuff I put in it or not. So for that decision, I gotta know everything :)
On the Pennywort - One time and never again, I am honestly convinced this plant grow without NOTHING in the total dark and still grows SO QUICK it'll take a good sized tank over in few days (remember the pic's of my old 55g after the bus. trip....yea....not cool)
 
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