[IUnknown]

The thing I've notice in my tanks is that plants compete for resources and end up growing at different rates. I don't know if this has to do with one plant being healthier than another, or if one is 'stronger' than the other. For example, my glosso slows down when my Rotala gets real thick. I would think any phosphate that gets dosed is absorbed by the Rotala, and not much is left for the glosso. When the Rotala gets a hair cut, the glosso picks up speed and gets out of control. Anyone experience this or have input on wether this is really happening?

 

[IUnknown]

Sure if things are resource limited or you run things lean.
If things are excess, this does not occur.

OK, but how long are nutrients in excess in the water column? I thought PO4 was used up within a couple of hours after dosing. I thought that plants only had the right concentration of nutrients (are happy) for 3 out of the 7 days in a week. I've always struggled at understanding the balance that goes on in the tank. I just get confused because plants are labeled as fast growers (algae busters), and that seems to me like a tug of war goes on for the resources in our tanks.