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They destroyed it in a single night.
Argentine plants and stocking
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Came back from a shop that sells stuff for plants. "Those" plants, specifically. Buenos Aires... Full of the stuff.
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Anyway. I'll begin dosing very, very small amounts of a NPK 3 - 8 - 11 now and again, see if those pinholes start to recede. It also has 1% magnesium and 20% humic and fulvic acids. I diluted two drops in a 500 ml bottle, and threw in a little squeeze. I will repeat every three days.
Anyway. I'll begin dosing very, very small amounts of a NPK 3 - 8 - 11 now and again, see if those pinholes start to recede. It also has 1% magnesium and 20% humic and fulvic acids. I diluted two drops in a 500 ml bottle, and threw in a little squeeze. I will repeat every three days.
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Also, I've doubled the lighting. Let's see if we can get some more algae for the Otos. Whomever fears death should not be born, as we say down here.
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No algae, twice the shoddy DIY lighting. The 500ml bottle for size, it really looks tiny beside it.
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Edit on the ferts issue. I've disregarded all the science, most likely, but I'm guiding myself by what I see and what I read. I have three different products: this NPK solution for pot that I got, urea, and an iron-rich slow release gardening fertilizer that comes in granules.
The urea comes in little granules. All that I do is drop two or three granules onto the mini waterfall, half an hour or so after the lights go on. They dissolve almost instantly.
The NPK solution is, I suspect, very strong. As I mentioned, it has NPK 3 - 8 - 11, 1% Magnesium, and 20% humic and fulvic acids. My precision-dosing just consists in dipping the end of a glass thermometer in the bottle, letting the big drop fall, and rinsing the rest in the tank. So, very, very little. Doing this every other day.
The slow release thing should be under the substrate. I'll whip up a little experiment when I get a decent glass jar, and hopefully I'll incorporate it into the next setup, if it goes well. However, in this tank I poured some of it in a bottle, added water and shook it up. Some dissolves, some does not and some precipitates. I spray some of that into the tank every week or so. My logic is that the MTS should mix it up with the substrate and that the plants will transform the chemicals into something they can use, if they can't use it straight away.
RESULTS: Good and bad.
On the negative side, there is no GDA or diatoms like I had before, but there has been a minor spot algae outbreak. I'll cut down on the dosing somewhat, or add more Otos down the road.
The good news is that plant growth is completely different. New Alternanthera leaves are brow/reddish, totally smooth and lustrous. The rigid hornwort went from growing soft and flimsily to being really tough and compact, like I found it in the wild. Some "mystery plants" that had not grown until now started to grow properly and not just slowly die. Even the pennyworts (which I lost almost completely) grew and sprouted an extra hat. Noticeable growth in the mosses, too.
The urea comes in little granules. All that I do is drop two or three granules onto the mini waterfall, half an hour or so after the lights go on. They dissolve almost instantly.
The NPK solution is, I suspect, very strong. As I mentioned, it has NPK 3 - 8 - 11, 1% Magnesium, and 20% humic and fulvic acids. My precision-dosing just consists in dipping the end of a glass thermometer in the bottle, letting the big drop fall, and rinsing the rest in the tank. So, very, very little. Doing this every other day.
The slow release thing should be under the substrate. I'll whip up a little experiment when I get a decent glass jar, and hopefully I'll incorporate it into the next setup, if it goes well. However, in this tank I poured some of it in a bottle, added water and shook it up. Some dissolves, some does not and some precipitates. I spray some of that into the tank every week or so. My logic is that the MTS should mix it up with the substrate and that the plants will transform the chemicals into something they can use, if they can't use it straight away.
RESULTS: Good and bad.
On the negative side, there is no GDA or diatoms like I had before, but there has been a minor spot algae outbreak. I'll cut down on the dosing somewhat, or add more Otos down the road.
The good news is that plant growth is completely different. New Alternanthera leaves are brow/reddish, totally smooth and lustrous. The rigid hornwort went from growing soft and flimsily to being really tough and compact, like I found it in the wild. Some "mystery plants" that had not grown until now started to grow properly and not just slowly die. Even the pennyworts (which I lost almost completely) grew and sprouted an extra hat. Noticeable growth in the mosses, too.
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Hm. I'll cut down on it significantly then. I'm reluctant to drastically modify anything, working well as it is.
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