# Deficiency with EI dosing?!



## Crossocheilus (21 May 2015)

Is this an iron deficiency (plant rotala rotundifolia)
I am dosing EI according to APF instructions with APF ferts:

4tsp potassium nitrate
1tsp potassium phosphate
6tsp magnesium sulphate
500ml water

1tsp chelated trace mix
500ml water

Dosing 36ml 3x a week of each, alternating.

Macro
Micro
Macro
Micro
-
Water change, macro
Micro

180L tank, 2x 39W T5 30cm from surface, lime green/yellow dc.

See any problems?

I get very slow growth, and older/lower growth is stunted and unhealthy. I also have gsa algae on the glass.


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## Crossocheilus (21 May 2015)

My best guess is that I have added more than 500ml to the supposedly 500ml dosing bottles when making a mix, thus dosing a less concentrated amount. However seeing as EI is unlimited nutrients and I am not running excessive lighting, it should not have made a huge difference.


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## ian_m (21 May 2015)

Nothing wrong with your EI dosing and light level for a high light setup...so must be CO2 as in 99% of plant issues is generally CO2.

You could try doubling your macro dose (easier to put 1.5tsp in 500ml) if your don't believe its a CO2 issue and want to try something else. I run at 1.5 times dose micro as I noticed plants be "not as green as I would like".


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## Crossocheilus (21 May 2015)

I did notice a similar paling a week ago and added a micro dose on the rest day, after which the pale colour dissapeared, I think 1.5 micro is a good bet, and of course I'll keep considering CO2, although I do feel I am getting near the right level (turns out my 7bps ends up being roughly equal to your 20grams per day)


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## Jose (22 May 2015)

Crossocheilus said:


> I did notice a similar paling a week ago and added a micro dose on the rest day, after which the pale colour dissapeared, I think 1.5 micro is a good bet, and of course I'll keep considering CO2, although I do feel I am getting near the right level (turns out my 7bps ends up being roughly equal to your 20grams per day)



Just up micros a bit. Dose 2x for a week and see the result. Very easy to find out. My plants get transparent patches when co2 isnt good enough.


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## sciencefiction (22 May 2015)

The iron dose in EI can be limiting in certain conditions. I need to dose an EI dose in a low tech tank with literally 5 plants in it because my hard water seems to "swallow" the iron before it gets to the plants. Just up the iron dose or change the iron type you are dosing.  It does look like an iron deficiency. It also causes the plants to be sort of "weak" and fragile and the stem is not robust and can hardly stay upright. The already pale leaves may eventually just all apart they are so soft.  And they also don't seem to correct themselves much after a proper iron dose, just the new growth starts growing healthy. But that depends on the plant species.


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