We wanted to first thank you for purchasing the ASG fertilization kit! If you have not bought one of our kits, you can find them here. If you'd like to learn more about the kit, check out the video below!
In this article we wanted to go into a little more detail about how to dial in your fertilization table.
Why one dosage doesn't fit every setup
The hard part about developing a fertilizer is that everyone has different setups, so we can't just say "dose 2ml per gallon and you'll be good to go!". We wish fertilization is that simple, but its not. How much fertilizer you need depends on much plant mass is in the tank, and how quickly they are going. A high PAR, Co2 injected tank full of plants is going to grow MUCH quicker than a low PAR, non Co2 injected tank. But luckily, this doesn't matter with our kit. And here is why...
Focus on your Nitrates
The amazing thing about the ASG fertilization kit is that it doesn't matter what kind of setup you have, all you need to do is focus on your nitrates. Let give you two scenarios to better explain what your target is:
Scenario 1 (Perfect scenario):
In a perfect world, you'd have zero ppms of nitrates in your tank. We would dose enough micros and macros throughout the week to increase and sustain the nitrates in you tank by 10ppm. As stated on the bottle, you'll want to start at the recommended dosage of:
1.0ml per 1 gallon - High PAR (around 120), Co2 injected
0.25ml per 1 gallon - Low PAR (around 60), non Co2 injected
But again, this is a starting point. If by the end of the week you are still at zero nitrates. This means you need to increase the dosage a little. Maybe increase them by .25mls a week and go from there. If by the end of the week your nitrates are through the roof, at 20+ppm, you know you are dosing too much and need to cut back on the dosage. We use your nitrates as a float point and try to keep the boosted by 10ppm.
Scenario 2 (Real world application):
In a real world scenario we have fish in our tank and they produce nitrates throughout the week. The hard part no matter what fertilizer you are using, you need to be able to differentiate between the nitrates created by your fish (through the nitrogen cycle), and the nitrates added by your fertilizer. The nitrates produced by your fish are can be used for fertilization, but they don't have all the other 9 macros and micros, so they are incomplete. However, the nitrates added by our fertilizer are set in a ratio which include all the other macros and micros needed for healthy plant growth, which we know is needed due to Liebigs Law Of the Minimum.
So grab a nitrate test kit to find out what your baseline nitrate reading is for what fish are producing each week. For example sake we'll say that our tank has 15ppm from fish waste. From there we will want to add enough fertilizer to boost your nitrates up 10ppm. This means that you'll need to add enough fertilizer throughout the week to bring you nitrates up from 15ppm (from your fish) to 25ppm (with the addition of our fertilizer), and keep it there.
Troubleshooting
Don't drive yourself too crazy with testing your nitrates, as this is going to be a float point. As long as you're hovering around your target nitrate reading, your plants should be happy.
Signs you are too lean
We would suggest running a little too lean, than too rich. Here are a list of signs that you may be running too lean.
Signs of deficiency
Pin holes
Deterioration of leaves
Yellowing of leaves
GSA (green spot algae)
Signs you are too rich
However on the flip side, these are signs that you might be running too rich
GDA (green dust algae)
I need more fertilizer!
You're in luck. We are selling ASG fertilization refills for less than half the price of the kit. You can purchase a refill kit here. We sell them in individual pack, or you can subscribe and save 15%
Customizing your fertilizer to your tank (Advanced)
The beauty of this fertilizer is the idea that you don't need to mix in all the nutrients that we provide, so long as the compounds are being introduced in a safe ratio. For example, we can rely on our fish for the nitrates (IF they produce enough) and omit some or all of the nitrates from our kit. We can rely on phosphates from our tap water and omit some or all of our phosphates from our kit.
The BIG take away is if you're going to start customizing your fertilization mix, your nutrients needs to be in a balanced ratio. We recommend the Redfield ratio which is the ratio in which plants update nutrients. The ratio is 1ppm of phosphates, to 10ppm of nitrates. 1P:10N. If we can keep our tanks nutrients within the redfield ratio, you will most likely never see algae so long as the rest of your design is in balance. But what about potassium? There aren't natural source of potassium. This is why whenever people say "fish poop" is enough fertilizer, they are wrong. There is no natural source potassium deficient. Potassium helps move nutrients around a plant, and plants LOVE potassium. This is why your mixture is so high in potassium. So we'd never suggest reducing your potassium levels.
Final Thoughts
Now that you have your nutrients dialed in, if you need help balancing out any other parts of your tanks, check out Part 1 of our guide. You can also download our free ASG Method Checklist that has all the metrics you can follow to ensure your tank is balanced.
If you have additional questions, you can ask them on our form under the nutrients section, or drop us a help ticket if you've signed up for our free membership (see image below).
