Nutrient deficiencies?

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NativeCreations

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 21, 2019
Messages
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I have a 10 gallon planted tank with hygrophila and hornwort. It has been running for about 3 weeks now. I used Carib sea flora max substrate and added seachem flourish root tans throughout the substrate. I am running a nicrew classic led plus 15w 6500k. 72 par @ 12” All the plants seem to be growing but are turning white and losing color. Any ideas? There’s also 5 small tiger barns and two small gouramis that I’m moving to a 40 breeder once they grow a bit. IMG_5496.jpgView attachment 1View attachment 1
 
White leaves on new growth is usually an iron deficiency. White on mature leaves as well is a magnesium deficiency?? I'm still learning about plants so maybe ZxC or Goatnad can give further insight.
 
could you get any close up pictures of the leaves? new and old growth. there are several deficiencies that deal with white leaves. co2, magnesium and iron deficiencies will cause white leaves.
 
could you get any close up pictures of the leaves? new and old growth. there are several deficiencies that deal with white leaves. co2, magnesium and iron deficiencies will cause white leaves.



I’ll send more pics when I get home from studying! Thanks for the speedy response!
 
I'm gonna go with an iron deficiency. The veins still look a bit green while the leaf is yellow/whitish. Also your old growth looks fine. Common signs of an iron deficiency. Don't take this as absolute though. Hopefully zxc will weigh in as I feel he is a bit more knowledgable about dosing and deficiencies then I am.
 
I would say it's more than just Iron. The only fertilizer you've put in the tank are a tiny bit of micro nutrients. Flourish tabs contain insignificant amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. They are also lacking on a few key micro elements.

I would start a water column dosing regime, and not bother buying any more Flourish tabs. If you want to use tabs, build them yourself with Osmocote+ and size 00 gel capsules.
 
With the Carib sea flora max, it is a lava rock based substrate that doesn’t have any nutrients but holds them well (high Cec) is there anything I could put down over the flora max that may be better to plant directly into? Maybe ada soul or stratum? FloraMax seems a bit course for me to plant a carpet of dwarf hair grass. Don’t wanna harm plants roots driving them into a bunch of rough rock
 
Didn’t know about osmacote! I’ve got some in my shed right now for the garden! I’m a crops soil and environmental science major at auburn and just rediscovered aquariums this year and I’m eating this stuff up [emoji1360] thanks for all the help!
 
Didn’t know about osmacote! I’ve got some in my shed right now for the garden! I’m a crops soil and environmental science major at auburn and just rediscovered aquariums this year and I’m eating this stuff up [emoji1360] thanks for all the help!

I'm a certified crop adviser, University of Guelph - Ontario Agriculture College alumni ;)

So, you'll be able to actually understand what I'm talking about.

It does not have a high CEC.... Where are you finding claims that it does?

Dosing the water column is the easiest way to ensure plants are receiving there nutrient demands. Clean, no mess, simple, no mixing of substrates etc.
 
My mistake, the FloraMax being lava rock does not have a high CEC but has lots of small pores that can hold nutrients and such. Something more clay based like Eco-Complete or stratum would have a higher cec. Would one of those two be easier on my plants at planting than straight FloraMax? what's your opinion on layering substates?
 
My mistake, the FloraMax being lava rock does not have a high CEC but has lots of small pores that can hold nutrients and such. Something more clay based like Eco-Complete or stratum would have a higher cec. Would one of those two be easier on my plants at planting than straight FloraMax? what's your opinion on layering substates?

My opinion on layering substrates is no. Too much mess, too much mixing, too much hassle, too much money. Spend the time / effort and money elsewhere on your tank.

Eco-Complete is lava rock = no CEC. Big pores in the floramax = no CEC.
CEC requires bonding sites on the particles themselves. More surface area = more CEC capability. Clay / organic matter has lots of bonding sites, while sand has less, and large gravel particles such as Eco-complete or FloraMax will have have very little CEC.


Now, active substrates such as Stratum or ADA aqua soil are made from organic matter, and will have a high CEC. But, they are active and buffer the water (pH goes down as the substrates uptakes kH - Carbonates). They are best suited to be used with gH boosting RO water only, so as to prolong their buffering ability.

I say stick with what you have, but supply the plants with nutrients via the water column and via Osmocote+ tabs.
 
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