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pH's of all aquatic wetland soils tend to be neutral or start off low/high and over the course of a few days to weeks, they go towards pH 7.
If you add more OM(organic material, peat, mulm etc)), they will remain lower(and a lower Redox). Non CO2 systems are ideal for this and this also keeps the nutrients in the soil rather than being oxidized and used up very fast.
If you add less OM, the pH will be neutral and higher redox.
I do think good test kits are sujected to testing errors when the tank recieves no water changes since the organic fractions build up and influence the test kits.
While using a standard is useful if the water is changed often for a reference, adding the natural organic components does influence kits and the what is truly available for plant uptake.
The other potential issue is the low levels of other nutrients/KH, this organic fraction will be a much larger ratio relative to these nutients. I do not know how that may influence things.
I will not even discuss trace testing which I have never found to be of any real use in planted tanks. See Roger Miller's and I's disscussion on the APD, and that was just Fe.
Regards,
Tom Barr
If you add more OM(organic material, peat, mulm etc)), they will remain lower(and a lower Redox). Non CO2 systems are ideal for this and this also keeps the nutrients in the soil rather than being oxidized and used up very fast.
If you add less OM, the pH will be neutral and higher redox.
I do think good test kits are sujected to testing errors when the tank recieves no water changes since the organic fractions build up and influence the test kits.
While using a standard is useful if the water is changed often for a reference, adding the natural organic components does influence kits and the what is truly available for plant uptake.
The other potential issue is the low levels of other nutrients/KH, this organic fraction will be a much larger ratio relative to these nutients. I do not know how that may influence things.
I will not even discuss trace testing which I have never found to be of any real use in planted tanks. See Roger Miller's and I's disscussion on the APD, and that was just Fe.
Regards,
Tom Barr