# EI dosing dry or mixed



## djamm (Sep 25, 2010)

Hi,

Just curious what the planted tank guru's think is the best method for dosing....dry staight into the tank, or in a water based solution?

Cheers


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

In solution is my preference !

Best Regards,

Stuart


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## DR1V3N (Apr 22, 2010)

Not a guru by any stretch... but it depends on a few factors in priority:

Type of plant- I find carpet plants and low growing (generally foreground) respond more immediately to dry dosing (especially targeted, i.e. filter off 15 mins during dose) whereas stems will absorb in either scenario.
Substrate- If you use a high CEC (cation exchange capacity) substrate like ADA or Flourite, it would be hard to prove the benefits over the other, of either dry or solution based dosing.
Size and amount of tanks- the larger the tanks and the more tanks you have, the more you will likely lean towards solution based dosing for the convenience and consistency of your doses. 

With my nano tanks I simply dose dry every other day. I only use Pfertz line to treat more isolated problems that can be observed. I.e. lack of K etc.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I don't think it makes any difference, as it all becomes a solution in tank. It comes down to convenience and personal preference. I dose dry in all of mine because then I don't have to keep mixing jars of liquid, plus EI dosing a 125 gallon with liquid is a lot of liquid.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

I dry dose my tank like how Yan-can-cook sprinkles a teaspoon of salt and soysauce.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

i was dosing solutions for the longest time since i did not have a scale for doing my smaller tanks, but thats changed now, finally got a pocket scale for $7 off dhgate


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

Solution for me. I don't like to directly dry dose into the tank, here's why. When I did dry dose, I'd just dump a bunch of dry chemicals in all at once, the problem is, not all of the dry chemicals would dissolve away at once, some of it stayed as crystals until they reached the substrate. Now there's a large concentration of fertilizers in one area and where ever that area was, I'd get a massive algae bloom there. 

Now I just dissolve my dry fertilizers before hand in a bucket and spread the solution out over the entire area of the tank. That way I make sure the fertilizers, when I dose, are as uniformly spread out over the entire tank as possible.


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## neoh (Apr 22, 2010)

I have a large pill reminder container I use:









When I'm doing my weekly waterchange, I'll remeasure and put them all in the capsules. That way when I get up in the morning, I just open up 'W' and pour it into the tank. Done and done. If I have the extra time, I'll dump it into a bottle, put some water in there and shake the mix before pouring. I then put it right in front of my powerhead and it blows around the tank.


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## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

if you have a small tank, it may be easier to use a dissolved solution than using dry powders. Easier to control measurements and dosage. But for larger tanks I prefer dry dosing straight into the tank. The powders dissolve fairly quickly and mix in evenly unless you have a problem with water circulation..you can spread the powder over the surface instead of dumping in all in one spot if you are worried. Why make more work for yourself having to make a dosage solution if you don't have to.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

As long as one is dosing EI style, a little extra here and there shouldn't affect anything, and as Captured Moments pointed out, in a high tech planted tank, circulation is very important, for distribution of nutrients as well as gas exchange. The regular large water changes should take care of any excesses which exist in the tank.


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