When I started the hobby, we tried to dose to feed ONLY the plants but not algae. We all thought that phosphates were evil and having just a bit too much meant a war with algae. Then came Tom Barr with his Estimated Index idea and said, "forget that". Just dump plenty of complete fertilizer into your tank so plants grow healthy and the plants will outcompete the algae. Boom!
This meant easy dosing but required 50% water changes every week. Not too bad in the freshwater world especially if you use tap. But a real pain if you use RODI and don't automate it in some way.
Over time, aquarists have backed away from EI dosing and now use some sort of hybrid dosing that matches what their tank needs to grow healthy plants.
This meant easy dosing but required 50% water changes every week. Not too bad in the freshwater world especially if you use tap. But a real pain if you use RODI and don't automate it in some way.
Over time, aquarists have backed away from EI dosing and now use some sort of hybrid dosing that matches what their tank needs to grow healthy plants.