Why do only some plants get white?

[itafx]

My anacharis and my saggitaria get white while right beside them, the water sprite stays healthy and grows. Why?

Params:
- 55 gal
- 6 angels, 1 cory, 6 small guppies
- Ph 6.4
- Temp 75
- Tablet fertilizer around bases of all plants
- Lights = 108W T5 HO


Regimen
-Lights on 8h/d
- Flourish once/wk
- Excel every other day

[Peyton]

Is flourish the only fert you use? If so that is no doubt the problem as it's only a micro fert. You will still need to dose your macros (nitrogen, potassium, phosphourus). Also I would think with 108w of t-5 HO over a 55g you might need to add co2.

[Alshain]

Sorry to disagree Peyton, but his problem is excel. Anachris doesn't like it. Your options are to get rid of the anachris or stop dosing excel.

As for the Sagittaria, I don't know what kind it is but it will require medium to high light. If it is the one I think it is it requires high light, which you don't have. Also, as Peyton mentioned. Your at about medium light, which means you may need to start considering other ferts or CO2.

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_...ia&type=Search

[evercl92]

current issues
1. insufficient source of carbon for your plants
2. anacharis doesn't tolerate excel very well, it has to be 'eased' into it
3. any other ferts?

The WPG rule doesn't really work all that well when discussing T5 HO lighting. It doesn't really work that well, at all.

Try cutting the lighting in half (assuming your fixture has separate controls for the lights), so as to not demand as much production by the plants.

[Peyton]

Originally Posted by Alshain

Sorry to disagree Peyton, but his problem is excel. Anachris doesn't like it. Your options are to get rid of the anachris or stop dosing excel.

You're right. I forgot about the excel/anachris reaction . Still IMO, macros need to be added.

[itafx]

1. I believe the macro fertilizers are taken care of by the fertilizer tablets in the substrate and the Flourish. Flourish is different from Excel.
2. Maybe I'm missing some micro ferts. Is there any comprehensive formulation that has everything you need instead of having to buy a bunch of expensive components?
3. I have both kinds of anacharis. In other tanks the more finely leafed variety of anacharis is thriving. I'm doing the same fertilization regimen for all tanks. So sensitivity to Excel would seem not to be the issue. I think I'll go back and check my calculations though, to make sure I'm not overdosing any of my tanks.
4. Isn't the time when you need CO2 when you start getting around 2.5-3 WPG? I didn't think I would need CO2 at 108W since that's under 2W per gal. It's hard to keep anything but low light plants alive in much less than 2W per gal.

Labels:

Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium 0,7-0.01-0.37

vs

Flourish Excel - Organic Carbon for the Planted Aquarium

I'm using both.

On the Saggitaria question, I went back and looked up what I purchased. I was wrong. It isn't a Saggitaria, but rather a Broad Leaf Chain Sword, Echinodorus quadricostatus

[evercl92]

Originally Posted by itafx

Is there any comprehensive formulation that has everything you need instead of having to buy a bunch of expensive components?

no, not really. sounds like some sort of miracle fert.

that's why many people move to dry, powdered ferts. allows you to dose N, P, K, and macros more precisely.

Originally Posted by itafx

Isn't the time when you need CO2 when you start getting around 2.5-3 WPG? I didn't think I would need CO2 at 108W since that's under 2W per gal. It's hard to keep anything but low light plants alive in much less than 2W per gal.

CO2 need isn't dependent entirely on the wattage that you're pushing into the tank. Sure, it's a big part, but it's not the sole determinant. For the majority of tanks, carbon source is the limiting factor. Lighting usually isn't an issue, as most people overdo it. Then most people throw in ferts, and think that's plenty to get adequate growth.

Having a constant and consistent source of carbon, IME, has been the most beneficial part of a balanced planted tank.

Dosing excel every other day, on a tank of that size isn't constant or consistent. You'd be better off (and cheaper) using DIY CO2. Ideally, with that much wattage you'll want pressurized CO2. T5 HO lighting has a multiplier of 1.4 for wattage, thus rather than 108wt you have 151wt.

The WPG rule doesn't really work all that well when discussing T5 HO lighting. The actual lumen output is far more important than how much electricity is used. And T5 HO do quite well at lumen output. Thus your lighting is far more efficient than you're giving it credit for.

[Peyton]

Here is the breakdown of flourish taken from seachems website

Guaranteed Analysis
Total Nitrogen 0.07%
Available Phosphate ( P2O5) 0.01%
Soluble Potash 0.37%
Calcium (Ca) 0.14%
Magnesium (Mg) 0.11%
Sulfur (S) 0.2773%
Boron (B) 0.009%
Chlorine (Cl) 1.15%
Cobalt (Co) 0.0004%
Copper (Cu) 0.0001%
Iron (Fe) 0.32%
Manganese (Mn) 0.0118%
Molybdenum (Mo) 0.0009%
Sodium (Na) 0.13%
Zinc (Zn) 0.0007%

Notice that with each dose your adding more iron (a micro nutrient) than you are nitrogen or phosphorus (macros).

The tabs have better levels of macros

Guaranteed Analysis
Total Nitrogen 0.28%
Available Phosphate 0.17%
Soluble Potash 0.16%
Calcium 14.9%
Magnesium 0.06%
Sulfur 12.2%
Boron 0.029%
Chlorine 0.55%
Cobalt 0.001%
Copper 0.001%
Iron 2.2%
Manganese 0.23%
Molybdenum 0.0009%
Sodium 0.14%
Zinc 0.0024%

however these would not necessarily be avalible to all the plants, only in certain spots in the substrate. Anachris is a heavy water column feeder so the root tabs would do little for it.

My guess would be what little macros and CO2 you do have the water sprite is absorbing.

[itafx]

Originally Posted by evercl92

current issues
2. anacharis doesn't tolerate excel very well, it has to be 'eased' into it

Does anyone know of a list somewhere of plants that are sensitive to Excel? I stopped putting Excel in the tank and the Anacharis are bouncing back...