Deficiencies and toxicities of plant nutrients.

[Caliban07]

Good stuff. Keep those GH and KH numbers up!

I've just added some macros today including magnesium sulphate. There's plenty of calcium carbonate from the crushed coral I added to the filter and the substrate.

I can already see roots gravitating towards the substrate like outstretched limbs. The MC looks really well. Still it's only day 3 and the photoperiod hasn't kicked off yet. Hopefully we are getting a handle on this.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Good stuff. Keep those GH and KH numbers up!

I've just added some macros today including magnesium sulphate. There's plenty of calcium carbonate from the crushed coral I added to the filter and the substrate.

I can already see roots gravitating towards the substrate like outstretched limbs. The MC looks really well. Still it's only day 3 and the photoperiod hasn't kicked off yet. Hopefully we are getting a handle on this.

Yea I've noticed a huge difference in root growth aswell. My japonica sent out a huge one from halfway up and drove it into the substrate would have been close to half a mm thick. I rearranged a few plants today and the roots were strong and sticking to the substrate

 

[Caliban07]

Yea I've noticed a huge difference in root growth aswell. My japonica sent out a huge one from halfway up and drove it into the substrate would have been close to half a mm thick. I rearranged a few plants today and the roots were strong and sticking to the substrate

Thanks good. My blyxa has been stunted for the past month so this should be a good test. Although increasing GH whilst decreasing micros doesn't exactly isolate micros it looks like the two definitely work in tandem to improve overall plant health.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Thanks good. My blyxa has been stunted for the past month so this should be a good test. Although increasing GH whilst decreasing micros doesn't exactly isolate micros it looks like the two definitely work in tandem to improve overall plant health.

100% agree. Now I just need to work out my co2 :S it's good on the drop checker but according to ph-kh chart I'm well under where I should be. Is it the resting ph or the high of the co2 ph to reference to the kh?

 

[Caliban07]

100% agree. Now I just need to work out my co2 :S it's good on the drop checker but according to ph-kh chart I'm well under where I should be. Is it the resting ph or the high of the co2 ph to reference to the kh?

It's the pH drop. People often plot the drop through the course of the day but you need a little KH. So start with the resting pH and add co2 until you depress the pH enough to achieve a difference of around 30ppm but remember that the chart often underestimates due to inaccurate measurements of both KH (which measures total alk) and pH test kits.

 

[Bert2oo1]

It's the pH drop. People often plot the drop through the course of the day but you need a little KH. So start with the resting pH and add co2 until you depress the pH enough to achieve a difference of around 30ppm but remember that the chart often underestimates due to inaccurate measurements of both KH (which measures total alk) and pH test kits.

According to my probe and kh I'm only at 13ppm lol I doubt that's true. My tap ph is 8.2 and my tank is 7.2 at its lowest currently. However I feel the resting ph of the tank would be lower than the tap. I've taken out a sample of water to test tomorrow

 

[Caliban07]

Again, nothing concrete but I found this interesting.

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/micranthemum-monte-carlo-carpet.34813/page-3

Look at the constant obsession with co2 and flow. I've been guilty of this. So guilty. Must have a look what the op changes before his tank explodes after 2 weeks and a long time struggling with this plant. This thread is from 2015. You may have to go back to page one.

In the end I still think everyone believes that the flow was the issue.

 

[flchamp89]

Several things puzzling. 3/4 bps?
He talked about gh and pounded macros. What is that substrate.

Cal do the math for us. Whats gallons and filter flow?

 

[Caliban07]

Several things puzzling. 3/4 bps?
He talked about gh and pounded macros. What is that substrate.

Cal do the math for us. Whats gallons and filter flow?

I don't know what his filter flow is. He mentions it was underpowered. 3-4 bubbles per second of co2 with lime green drop checker.

When he gives the update he says only thing he changed was adding GH booster as tap water was very low in magnesium.

So magnesium deficiency or a combination of toxicity protection/increased mg + ca uptake.

Akadama is a high CEC clay based substrate. Mainly used and derived by bonsai growers.

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/akadama.htm

 

[Bert2oo1]

So since starting micro's up again this week at a reduced dosage (0.2g 2x per week) my plants are looking ruff again and I've had 2 fish deaths.

Dosed iron today and the tank has gone cloudy [emoji36]

Everything else is in check I don't understand what could be causing it apart from micro's.

 

[Autumnsky]

So since starting micro's up again this week at a reduced dosage (0.2g 2x per week) my plants are looking ruff again and I've had 2 fish deaths.

Dosed iron today and the tank has gone cloudy [emoji36]

Everything else is in check I don't understand what could be causing it apart from micro's.

Something is binding the iron. I just read that couple weeks ago, but can't retain it all Phosphates is what I just saw, but I thought it was pH or sodium. Anyhow it is to dose Micros then 2-3 hours and Macros. Or make sure to do Iron one day and phosphate the next.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Something is binding the iron. I just read that couple weeks ago, but can't retain it all Phosphates is what I just saw, but I thought it was pH or sodium. Anyhow it is to dose Micros then 2-3 hours and Macros. Or make sure to do Iron one day and phosphate the next.

I always dose iron on seperate days to macros (I dose it with micro's) could it be that my substrate is holding in phosphate and binding the iron as I dose it?

Gah surely all this isn't ment to be this hard. I need to keep it simple and not look to far into things I think.

 

[Autumnsky]

I always dose iron on seperate days to macros (I dose it with micro's) could it be that my substrate is holding in phosphate and binding the iron as I dose it?

Gah surely all this isn't ment to be this hard. I need to keep it simple and not look to far into things I think.

These things are too hard for me! I am trying to learn more though, wish I could remember that detail of the reading. Maybe it was a different ingredient that was the issue.

 

[Bert2oo1]

These things are too hard for me! I am trying to learn more though, wish I could remember that detail of the reading. Maybe it was a different ingredient that was the issue.

I was reading up about it and apparently it can happen when iron is too high in the water or as you said mixing with phosphate. People recommend dosing daily and said it stopped it due to iron only being active for 24 hours.

 

[Caliban07]

It is the iron and phosphate and I think calcium can react with phosphate both forming insoluble iron and calcium phosphate. Your phosphate are probably building up too much. The plants may not be taking nutrients in efficiently anymore. My plants never recovered with the detox. Some peoples don't. Toxicity damages and interferes with translocation and certain enzymes within the plant they don't just block uptake by each other they do other damage too I'm led to believe.

As I said even my s.repens the newer stuff I bought when I was doing a test control in the eco and sand has not recovered. I'll post a pic of it later. It's stunted and forming algae despite everything else thriving. All it's doing is contaminating the water.

I added some iron the other day because the new salvinia leaves were a bit yellow. They don't have access to the soil so i know there is not much iron in solution. Not touched micros though.

 

[Delapool]

Iron seems to bind very quickly. I have an iron test kit (and assuming it works to some degree) have never got much of a reading off it. Did play around with the test kit with another member and it seemed like it was working but was either reading no iron or very low iron.

 

[flchamp89]

Iron seems to bind very quickly. I have an iron test kit (and assuming it works to some degree) have never got much of a reading off it. Did play around with the test kit with another member and it seemed like it was working but was either reading no iron or very low iron.

+1. Ferrous sulfate has issues. Chelated can bind in minutes. The cloudy is a formulation issue im thinking.

 

[flchamp89]

I was reading up about it and apparently it can happen when iron is too high in the water or as you said mixing with phosphate. People recommend dosing daily and said it stopped it due to iron only being active for 24 hours.

Too high in water? Not getting that part. But iron has low persistence yes.

 

[Caliban07]

How quickly it binds and what it binds to depends other factors.

 

[flchamp89]

Plant material and temperature would be larger factors than phosphorus.