EI Dosing Guideline

First of all, EI is Estimated Index from the grandmaster of aquatic plants....Mr Tom Barr.

I am using it as a guide for my fertilizer dosing and i find them very useful especially if you are into high tech setup.

EI target nutrient amount in planted tank ( WEEKLY)

Nitrate NO3 range 5-30 ppm
Potassium K+ range 10-30 ppm
Phosphorus PO4 range 1.0-2.0 ppm
Ferum/iron Fe 0.2-0.5ppm or higher
General Hardness GH range 3-5 degrees ~ 50ppm or higher
Carbonate Hardness KH range 3-5
Carbon dioxide CO2 range 25-30 ppm ( drop checker shows Green)

Weekly water change WC 50%

I will explain in Q&A format for easy explaination

Q&A Session 

Q1: How to know how much nutrient is enough?
A: Well the name is estimated index, so its " estimated ".... DUH..wahahaha its an easy way out to provide sufficient nutrient to plants without buying all those test kits to test individual nutrient content in tank water. Excess nutrient will be removed as you do your weekly wc of 50%.

Q2: How to dose?
A: Pour fert into tank water and stir...DUH....lol well there are few ways, easy way out is to use commercial available fertilizers and dose accordingly.

Q3: how to dose according to the EI range?
A: good question, depend on your commercial fertilizer, you can use the calculator below to calculate the amount (in quantity required).
http://calc.petalphile.com/
http://www.fishfriend.com/fertfriend.html

Q4: I checked out the calculators, i need to dose astronomical amount of commercial fertilizer weekly? i will be broke in no time...any cheaper alternatives?
A; well, you can buy fertilizers in dry form/ salt form from webstores and dose using the amount calculated in the online calculator in Q3 or  Mix/dilute the dry salts in to 500ml/1litre of water and dose accordingly.

Q5: Where can i buy the dry ferts in singapore?
A: you can try out http://www.ecocityhydroponics.com/

Q6: Do i really need to go though the hassle of buying/mixing and wc 50% for my plants?
A: Yes:- if you are into high tech setup
No:- if you are a casual hobbyist with a low tech setup and happy with commercial available fertilizers

Q7: Do i have to follow the amount in EI strictly? aka die die follow?
A; No, you can adjust accordingly. if your plant mass is small, you can reduce the amount accordingly, its not carved on stone...:)

Q8: Is EI shrimp/ fish safe/friendly?
A: Yes and No, there are mixed response over the net and it may not suit all types of shrimps/fish. so to play safe, its better to keep cheapo/hardy shrimps/fish when you are into EI.

Q9: Have you tried EI yourself? what's your experience with it?
A; i tried EI in 3 of my scapes, so far so good...nothing bad had happened, plants growth is very good, that's why i share here.


Disclaimer:- The handsome and macho author above shall take NO responsibility including but not limited to algae outbreaks/deaths of fauna /flora while you experimenting EI in your tank.