I am using the EI dosing method on my 135gal tank. Water volume is about 120gallons so I enter that amount in Nutri-Calc for a general EI dosing recommendation.

My question is about Calcium & Magnesium dosing

I dose the following

CASO4 - Calcium Sulfate
MGSO4 - Magnesium Sulfate

Can someone please look at the snapshot of my Nutri-Calc setup and comment on if my Ca/Mg dosing is too little or too much?

Important

* my "20ppm" of Calcium is the result taken from Nutrafin test kit and is in CA2+ "total calcium" level. The level of Carbonate Hardness in CaCO3 according to the instructions is gotten from multiplying CA2+ X 2.5 = 50ppm in CaCO3.

I am confused about whether or not Nutri-Calc is expecting me to put my "Source PPM" as CA2+ ... OR ... CaCO3 ...




Please help me if you can!


Thanks

Pockets - i can't answer your question directly re Nutri-Calc, but alternatively I wanted to show you two very educational links I just recently found.

The first discusses the relationship between Magnesium and Calcium and what you should/shouldn't be worried about, and also some dosing calcs:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...ationship.html

The second discusses more just the calculations of dosing:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...cl2-mgso4.html


I know that doesn't directly answer your questions, but I hope you can find them useful.

Yea, good old Edward, claims things, never seems to try them. Claims other methods, ranges and rates are bad merely because he is unable to achieve success. It's not a method's fault, it's your fault.


I tried inducing the Mg+ with R wallichii, at 20ppm of so and low Ca, around 10ppm, the R wallichii still grew quite nicely.........so it's it what he claimed?
I do not see how it can be that solely.
Or Mg/Ca blocking.

We really do not see that nor have evidence of that in an aquatic water column system. That is the system that matters.

I really start to question folks when I repeat their claimed ranges.rates and cannot reproduce them.

Shalu's explaination is best.

For CaSO4*2H2O and MgSO4*7H2O, just shoot for about 3:1 ratio Ca:Mg, and about 1-2 degrees extra GH booster or about 15ppm:5ppm.

That's plenty of Ca/Mg for aquatic plants for a week and does not include other potential sources such as fish waste/CaCO3 rock/Tapwater/TMG etc.

Regards,
Tom Barr