LVKSPlantlady

Got my package with the Florish potassium and Florish trace dosed both in the tank now lets see what that does.

LVKSPlantlady

So it's been 5 weeks, for 3 weeks I was really good about dosing 2 or 3 times a week with the Florish potassium and Florish trace, and wow did all my red plants get DEEP red! My ozelot sword put out 2 leaves that were VERY dark maroon with black squares! The red Melon sword got darker too! And no more holes in the crpyto leaves!

Then I forgot to dose for a week, the ozelot's newest leaf is back to greenish-red with darker green squares! All the other red plants are making new leaves that are not as red as they were either, but on the other hand even after not dosing for awhile the crypto leaves are still hole free...

So I think I got the potassium and trace elements to a level that is high enough to sustain the plants but not to produce that deep red color... If I remember I'm going to dose one capful per 10 gals once a week I think that will keep levels high enough...soon I'm going to have to order more!

Diana K

Sounds like you have found the answer. I think there were not many fish in there, so you were feeding appropriately so the fish did not overeat and get sick, but this was not enough fertilizer for the plants.

Keep up the dosing with K and Trace.

Another source of these fertilizers is www.aquariumfertilizer.com
He sells the dry powders that you mix up yourself, so you are not paying for shipping water.
He sells K2SO4 (Potassium source) and CSM+B, trace nutrient source. This may have enough iron for your tank, though some aquarists think it might not be. At aquarium fertilizer he also sells chelated iron.

Testing by way of looking at the plants is a good way to go. Some nutrients might show up on a test kit, but not really be available to the plants. Might be locked up in a way that the plants cannot get to them.

I would try adding clay balls, or fertilizer tablets to the soil for the other nutrients. Push them deep down so you bump into the bottom of the tank. After 2 years the plants may have used up a lot of the nutrients that were originally in the soil. With less fish (and less fish food) the soil might not be replenished.

A GH of 12 degrees suggests that there is Ca and Mg, but you do not know for sure. There might be a lot of one, and not much of the other. However, the plants would not have put on that great growth spurt if either of these were lacking. I would go by the plant response, and assume there is enough Ca and Mg to suit the plants. There are tests for these, too, but the plants are pretty good indicators.

You made a comment about supplying enough of something (such as K or Trace) then something else becomes the limiting factor. Yes, this happens. When the fertilizer in the shortest supply is added, then something else becomes 'the fertilizer in the shortest supply'. Watch for the next deficiency. There may not be a 'next deficiency', though. All nutrients might now be available in quantities that suit the light and other conditions, so the plants are growing the best they can. Faster growth will use up the fertilizers faster, though.

LVKSPlantlady

What would happen if there were an Iron deficiency? What would the plants do.