LVKSPlantlady

OK so I started this post and it turned into a monster, Basicly My Crypts, Echinodous barthii, Echinodous martii have pin holes in then, pretty sure it's from a potassium deficiency after reading around on here.

So should I add Florish Potassium to the water?

Could this then case a deficiency in something else like Mg or Zn? How would I know? Then I would add Florish trace?

Could I just put some root tabs down there or should I just start fresh with new 'dirt'?

nokturnalkid

Usually pin holes are a sign of potassium deficiency. You can try and dose a bit of fluorish potassium or some k2so4 if you got it. That should help. It kinda defeats the purpose of an npt though. Maybe you can try a water change and see if that may help, wc's add some nutrients back into the water column.

davemonkey

There's nothing wrong with dosing needed ferts into a NPT. Watch for deficiencies and dose accordingly. Something else to try is feeding a little more or adding more fish. I would recommend the Flourish Potassium because it is not a high dose when used as directed. Just follow the instructions until the deficiency is met.

-Dave

Dustymac

I agree. According to Diana's book, Potassium is one of the three main nutrients most plants prefer to get from water and not the substrate. The other two are Calcium and Magnesium. If you're low on one, you might be low on the other two and you should test your water for hardness, looking for a minimum reading of GH 8 (140+ ppm). The good news is when you get your water to the right hardness, fish food should keep it there.

BTW, I use Potassium Chloride in my NPTs. It's a salt substitute you can buy at the grocery store. I mix it at a 1:1 ratio to the Calcium being added to bring up the hardness.

Good luck!!
Jim

LVKSPlantlady

ok so I Tested the water hardness. It's at 12 GH and 5 KH, should they be closer together? Should I take out the empty snail shells, my shunk loaches LOVE ramshorn snails!

I wanted to buy a potassium test, but a $30 price tag put me off, I have not found a pet store yet that has the test, there is a Saltwater store that I think will be able to test it but it's an hours drive away So if I ever do make it out there, what's too high? What's considered low?

Thanks

Dustymac

I can't answer that. I can never get my GH much over 8 and KH over 3, but that seems to work in my tanks.

My tanks are full of empty snail shells. The only time the hardness crashed in my tanks was after a snail population explosion. I suspected the drop in hardness was partly due to the snails. Who knows, but I resist removing them with the reasoning that if they're made from calcium pulled from the water column, eventually they will get absorbed back into the water column.

I'm with you. I wouldn't pay $30 for a test kit unless it was absolutely necessary. Instead, how about trying a small dose of potassium and see what happens. Too much of a nutrient isn't going to do anything bad unless it's the one nutrient in the water that's been limiting algae growth. That's probably not likely with K.

According to Ecology of the Planted Aquarium, plants prefer to take up potassium through their leaves from the water column, as opposed to through their roots. Perhaps Diana can expound on this, but that would leave me to believe that K has to be in the water column for good plant growth. And since so many NPTs go algae free, K shouldn't be the limiting nutrient. In addition, plants can actually store excess nutrients like K. This means you can try dosing your tank without worrying about throwing everything out of balance, and certainly without paying for an expensive test kit.

LVKSPlantlady

DustyMac,

Thanks for the help I'm just waiting for my Order to come in then I'll see what that does.

But If K is the limting factor in my pants now and I fix that dosen't something else become the limting factor? Like Mg?

I hope this works I want my plants to grow out of control again.
I think I'll use 'dirt' cubes if this does not work, should prob do that anyways, since the dirt is over 2 years old. Any thoughts on this?

Dustymac

Exactly. That's why I usually dose Ca, Mg & K at the same time at 2:1:2 ratio. They're the three nutrients plants prefer to get from water. Everything else besides CO2 should come from the soil (I think...). Ultimately the limiting nutrient should be CO2, unless you want hyper growth, then all bets are off.

Well, your soil should still be OK after two years unless it hasn't been getting recharged by enough fish food. I would try the K first and see what happens. Toss in a little dissolved Epsom salts while you're at it. I'm thinking if you stir things up enough by pushing stuff into the substrate, you might get a visit from some algae.

LVKSPlantlady

Well I always have had alge that grows on the sides, back and the little pots I put in there for hinding spots, the back and two side are almost coverd in alge now, I never scrap it off I figure It does not bother me there, I dont look though that side and maybe it helps the front not get so much so fast.

I did only have 2 Killi loaches in this tank for about 6 months... it's only been 3 since i put 3 snunk loaches and some gupies in... well see what happens. Thanks

Red_Rose

I'm assuming that your test results are in degrees. If they are then there is no need to tamper with the water by adding calcium and magnesium. You can leave the empty snail shells in the water if you want. I have empty shells in both of my tanks and it's never affected my water hardness.

As for adding potassium, there is no harm in doing that if your plants are showing deficiencies. Before I tore down my first 10g NPT, I had a really bad K deficiency in there and I added potassium sulfate and it really helped a great deal with the plants. I never used a potassium test kit though. They are quite pricey, as you well know, so I just used the fertilator along with the help of a fellow member here to help me figure out how much to add to up the potassium close to the 10ppm range.(I'm assuming the measurements are in ppm.)