Ed Wiser
Active Member
Wanting to buy the best way to measure Dry fertilizer. What is your favorite way to measure and why?
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What is the best way to measure dry fertilizer?
- Thread starter Ed Wiser
- Start date
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I have a cheap food scale I bought on Amazon. It is accurate down to 0.1gm I believe.
To answer your question though, my "favorite" way is just with measuring spoons. I want to be reasonably accurate, but I'm not convinced extreme accuracy is important. Plants that thrive in your aquarium with 10ppm NO3 are not going to wither and die with 9.8ppm NO3.
<Edit>I started thinking about this. I have measured trace on the scales though. I'm not sure most comercially availably CSM+B is very well mixed, so I'm not sure it is worth the effort, but I try to be more conservative and accurate with trace.
To answer your question though, my "favorite" way is just with measuring spoons. I want to be reasonably accurate, but I'm not convinced extreme accuracy is important. Plants that thrive in your aquarium with 10ppm NO3 are not going to wither and die with 9.8ppm NO3.
<Edit>I started thinking about this. I have measured trace on the scales though. I'm not sure most comercially availably CSM+B is very well mixed, so I'm not sure it is worth the effort, but I try to be more conservative and accurate with trace.
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Do yourself a favor and get a jewelers gram scale from Amazon.
Years back I did a test using tsp's and then a gram scale. The smaller the spoon, the more wildly different is the actual weight. And how you scoop it makes a big difference too. If you scrape the top to level it off you actually end up with way more as you are compacting it. And interestingly I did it three times with each, and they never were the same weight. Sometimes off by quite a bit, especially when you start measuring 1/2 tsp or less. Can be off 20% to 40% depending on how you measure it.
Gram scales are cheap in relation to everything else in this hobby.
Immortal1
Mad Scientist
Pretty much the same as GreggZ - I use a 3 decimal place gram scale the goes up to 20 grams. Picked it up on Amazon
I'm kinda with @BenB on this one. Generally I can't imagine a huge difference in growth that a scale would be needed (but I could be convinced otherwise). You also have tanks where the majority of plants feed from the substrate (ADA approach) and it's unregulated as far as we are concerned. You would also have varying uptake levels tank to tank, trim to trim.
Have you found the use of scales beneficial more from a consistency viewpoint? Do you just like to know exactly what is going in? Are there plants this sensitive? What say you?
Have you found the use of scales beneficial more from a consistency viewpoint? Do you just like to know exactly what is going in? Are there plants this sensitive? What say you?
LOL all of the above.
A scale is significantly more consistent, I like to control exactly what is going in, and some plants are more sensitive to change and prefer certain levels.
But mostly I am probably more of a control freak than most. When your tank is very high energy you are walking the tightrope I like to leave the least that I can to chance.
And again when people are measuring 1/8 or 1/32 tsp it's little more than a guess. Could be twice or half as much with those.
But as always whatever works. I will say once you get a scale you will wonder why you ever did it with measuring spoons.
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BigWave
Active Member
Ive got a 3 decimal jewelry scale that I use the most. Also bought some of those custom teaspoon sets that go down to dash, smigen etc. Honestly I hate dry dosing. It takes up so much more time then say a solution where you measure out 10mL and dump in. Now Ive tried the weekly pill containers and put each dry power in individual spots. It works but not for me.
I know you so well, LOL
Everything is fluid and always good to try new things, so I might be shopping for a scale one day soon (especially if I get an Amazon gift certificate.) I also haven't rolled my own micros yet so that can happen as well, but right now the GLA micro mix with both cheating agents seems to be working well. I also don't store in solution but I have been front-loading macros (so thanks for that) and with the premixed micros there's really not a lot for me to do.
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LOL yeah I am what I am!
And yes if you front load macros there's a lot less to do. If nothing else I like it as it is more convenient.
If you ever want to roll your own micros hit me up and I can help you out.
I might take you up on that one day soon, thanks! I noticed that the GLA mix doesn't contain the full breath of micros you could apply. I'm using tap water so I assume that's providing minimal amounts.
ryancamaratta
Active Member
Just wanted to make note, appreciate you throwing this in there because this sums up my entire approach to the hobby and everything I have an opinion on within it
I also use a scale for the same reasons listed above. I've weight tested them and they're not reliable. Now as to "does it make a difference"...I lean towards no, but I don't pick a side of the fence, because like Gregg I too am a control freak. So for me it doesn't matter if the accuracy matters to the plants...it matters to me lol.
There's logic to that though. If you don't mind obsessing over the level of control over your water column that Gregg mentions (and I definitely don't mind it) it does have some payoffs; I never have to think, even for a minute, that a potential problem could be due to a nutrient I was too heavy or light handed with or anything like that. I can *completely rule that out*.
Ruling out variables like that is worth solid gold to me in this hobby. It's the same reason I run a pH monitor in tank 24/7, is it necessary? Nah man it's kinda overkill. But, tradeoff, it also means I can completely rule out CO2 fluctuations and problems that might (will) arise from them.
It's also the same reason I use rodi water. It's probably the same reason I do alot of things lol, ruling out variables can save alot of troubleshooting time when you run into problems. Am I overthinking the question and do over elaborating on the answer? Also yes; it's what I do.
I think you hit on why this new forum was created. Someone picked a side of the fence and banned all others who dared choose the opposite side. It was time to move on.I lean towards no, but I don't pick a side of the fence,
Wow... I bet the OP never imagined what they were getting into when they asked this question.
LOL you summed it up nicely and I could have written the exact same thing!It's probably the same reason I do alot of things lol, ruling out variables can save alot of troubleshooting time when you run into problems. Am I overthinking the question and do over elaborating on the answer? Also yes; it's what I do.
Dave
New Member
I use a gram scale to measure. Like mentioned earlier in the post. Measuring spoons are sometimes not very accurate.
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