Reply by Tom Barr:
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.200207/msg00423.html
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.200207/msg00423.html
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.200207/msg00404.htmlRight now I'm working on a high-light 15 gal, 55W 6400K PCF from AH
Supply. In order to prevent iron deficiency using (H. polysperma as an
indicator), I'm dosing 1ml of Flourish and 1ml of Tetra FloraPride daily,
weekly 5 gallon water changes. This is an uncomfortable level of trace
additions for me, I'd like to see my dosages around half of this.
I've been browsing around Dennerle's site and also referencing this with
Scheurmann's text and have concluded that my lighting levels may be a
little too high. I've come up with three possible "mechanisms" for why my
tank needs so much trace:
1) High light, high growth rates which causes high uptake rates
2) High light, high growth produces too much O2 which rapidly oxidizes Fe
3) High light causes photo-oxidation
Of these three I think #1 is out because my growth rates aren't
exceptional. Both Dennerle and Scheurmann mention excessively high oxygen
levels being detrimental (redox is too high to keep Fe available). Does
anyone have any evidence of this? Can there be too much O2 production and
is this causing the huge trace demands in our ("American") tanks? I've
noticed the Germans and Dutch use lower lighting levels than us, might
there be some benefit here? But Amano's lighting in Nature World #2 is off
the map; he's using 80W over 15 gallons? My nitrate is 15ppm in the tank
b/c of very high tap levels, can high nitrate levels increase trace demand
(Scheurmann states this also)?
Wondering if he should run out and buy an O2 test kit,
Jeff Ludwig
Philadelphia