Frequency for Dosing Flourish? Alternanthera reineckii trouble

[nerdelish]

I have been dosing Flourish and Flourish trace biweekly and running co2 on my 29 gallon planted aquarium. Has anyone dosed these daily? I am still very new to this, I'm only a few months in, and I sort of jumped in head first to fish keeping.

The reason I am asking: I purchased an Alternanthera reineckii and was under the impression it was an easy plant (I think I have heard otherwise since then) but it's not doing well in my tank. I am running a Finnex 24/7 on the automatic settings and every other plant is doing well. I am wondering if upping ferts might help? I would just try it but I don't want to hurt my fish and shrimp.

 

[Mebbid]

Honestly, for any tank thats not low light the flourish ferts are junk.

I would highly recommend looking into ei or pps pro dosed fertilizers. You can find the fert packs at green leaf aquariums.


The plant youre having problems with is the bane of my exisrance. Ive tried itbhalf a dozen times and have never had it survive. Some tanks it does well in, and othersnit just dies. I have no idea why.

 

[pittbully13]

I have a 29g and tried and failed at ar minis. They never took off for me and only had crinkly leaves covers with BBA. I've stared ei dosing and maybe I'll try again. Like Mebbid said flourish is weak. Post a pic to see what your working with.


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[nerdelish]

Out of IE or PPS ferts which is easiest to get a handle on? I don't feel confident about venturing into complex dosing at this point in time.

I also have algae growing on the alternanthera reineckii. I'll take and post a pic later tonight. I am out of the house today.

 

[nerdelish]

Here are two pics of my plants. Also, a shot of the full tank. The alternanthera reineckii is on the left.

 

[pittbully13]

Out of IE or PPS ferts which is easiest to get a handle on? I don't feel confident about venturing into complex dosing at this point in time.

I also have algae growing on the alternanthera reineckii. I'll take and post a pic later tonight. I am out of the house today.

PPS PRO is done daily, 1cc per 10gal. You will need two containers, provided if you go with GSA, and gram digital scales. One containers will be for macros and the other for trace elements. Depending on the volume you plan to make will determine the ferts in grams to mix with distilled water. There's calculators for this. EI method requires you to over dosing your tank ensuring you don't miss any nutrients. You dose for 5 days then don't for two. Then do a large wc 50% or more and repeat. You will also need the scales for this too.

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[nerdelish]

Thanks for the explanation pitbully13. The PPS system seems more appealing to me. I'll look into it more.

 

[pittbully13]

Your welcome. Once you mix all your ferts into bottles it's just like dosing flourish, which you're already used to doing.

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[ImACoolguy]

Thanks for the explanation pitbully13. The PPS system seems more appealing to me. I'll look into it more.

I use PPS and after 5-6 months and 2 tanks(75&10) finally used up my first batch. Still many more to go, it's very cost effective.

Sorry about the A.R. I had the same problems. Mine grew tall but the leaves just covered in algae and it was never as vibrant as I've seen in pics and videos.


Caleb

 

[nerdelish]

Yeah, I remember you saying the AR was tricky. I am having the exact same problem. It's growing and even throwing up new shoots but the color is just really brown and the plant looks wilty. Sigh.

 

[nerdelish]

Your welcome. Once you mix all your ferts into bottles it's just like dosing flourish, which you're already used to doing.

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Yes! I wanted something that was mostly "measure and dump" in one or two doses a day.

 

[PerfectDepth]

My experience with AR leads me to think that it simply does not compete for co2 very well, and will tend to show a carbon deficiency even when all other plants in the tank are thriving. If other nutrient deficiencies have been ruled out but it is struggling regardless, it should show improved health if you either lower the light level or increase co2 concentration.

 

[nerdelish]

My experience with AR leads me to think that it simply does not compete for co2 very well, and will tend to show a carbon deficiency even when all other plants in the tank are thriving. If other nutrient deficiencies have been ruled out but it is struggling regardless, it should show improved health if you either lower the light level or increase co2 concentration.

I'll try that as well as PPS dosing.

 

[Delapool]

I use PPS and after 5-6 months and 2 tanks(75&10) finally used up my first batch. Still many more to go, it's very cost effective.

Sorry about the A.R. I had the same problems. Mine grew tall but the leaves just covered in algae and it was never as vibrant as I've seen in pics and videos.


Caleb

I seem to be getting that with the new plants I put in a week ago. Right next to the co2 diffuser but I think I can see hair algae starting to show. Makes a change from BBA I guess but not too hopeful. Perhaps it is just settling in.