Balance not quite right...

[Karacticus]

My aquarium has been up and running since January and is doing pretty well in the main. Most plants are growing well but I'm starting to feel like they're not going quite as well as they were, and a few things are starting to bother me. I hoped someone might be able to advise please?

Plants in the lower part of the tank do grow, but aren't carpeting quite like you see in the books and some people's scapes and are dusted with algae. One of my crypts has barely grown since I put it in. There is also an area of the tank, where the plants are visibly covered in detritus (bottom righthand third beneath the lily pipe). Is a glass lily pipe ever enough for flow in a 300l tank, or do I need to invest in a powerhead? If so, do people run them in line with their outflow or against it? I use a Oase 850 cannister filter with three trays of sponge, a tray of carbon and then empty trays.

Also, I have a large piece of bogwood which I love, but it creates a darker area behind it and I guess acts as a barrier line down the middle. I have currently moved some dwarf sagittaria to that darker area, which is growing but it doesn't look as verdant as it did when it was going crazy at the front. Am I causing problems planting that darkened area with plants dying and decaying etc? Should I clear it out completely? Or get a spot light?

I am dosing @Happi's Solufeed mix, but how do I know if I am dosing too much or not enough?

My mix is:

31.545g 2:1:4
5.721g Free TEC
3.81g Fe DTPA
All into a 500ml solution - I then dose around 13ml of this daily.

Don't get me wrong, I love what I have achieved so far, but looking back through George Farmer's book I realised I still have a lot to learn!

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Mark

 

[Happi]

31.545g 2:1:4
5.721g Free TEC
3.81g Fe DTPA
All into a 500ml solution - I then dose around 13ml of this daily

You are dosing something like this:

Daily:

N 0.41
P 0.082
K 0.724
Fe 0.082
Mn 0.0115
B 0.0051
Cu 0.0014
Zn 0.0078
Mo 0.00088
Mg 0.052

Weekly, 7X

N 2.87
P 0.574
K 5.0
Fe 0.575 (0.32 FeEDTA, 0.255 FeDTPA)
Mn 0.08
B 0.03584
Cu 0.00987
Zn 0.05453
Mo 0.006153
Mg 0.3633


It was suggested that you also add additional Mn to the original recipe in one of the post if you were going to modify it. Adding more Fe in DTPA form is beneficial for your hard water but it has also altered the Fe:Mn ratio even much further.

If I were to give you an advice, I would either add Additional Mn to create a better Fe: Mn ratio or just skip on adding the DTPA Fe at all. The original recipe already have this issue and if anything, I would suggest adding additional Mn EDTA about 0.08 ppm, which will total to 0.16 ppm Mn. When paired with original recipe, it would look something like this: 0.32 ppm Fe and 0.16 ppm Mn, preferred 2:1 ratio.

Don't get me wrong, I love what I have achieved so far, but looking back through George Farmer's book I realised I still have a lot to learn!

George is One of the greatest aquascaper in the world. but Aqua scaping is much different from growing aquatic plants. It is important that you understand the water chemistry which will play very important role on plant growth and nutrient availability. Your hard water is already an issue and you cannot expect everything to do best in your aquarium to begin with.

 

[Karacticus]

Thanks, @Happi . If I add Mn EDTA to the above mix, how much should I weigh out please? I cannot get my head round the calculations you do to get to what you actually need in the bottle.

In terms of the nutrient values going into the tank weekly, is this within a reasonable range or would there be any benefit either increasing or decreasing the amount?

Thanks as always for your help.

Mark

 

[Happi]

Thanks, @Happi . If I add Mn EDTA to the above mix, how much should I weigh out please? I cannot get my head round the calculations you do to get to what you actually need in the bottle

31.545g 2:1:4
5.721g Free TEC
1.056 gram Mn EDTA 13%
All into a 500ml solution - I then dose around 13ml of this daily

N 0.41
P 0.082
K 0.724
Fe 0.04578
Mn 0.0229
B 0.0051
Cu 0.0014
Zn 0.0078
Mo 0.00088
Mg 0.052

 

[Karacticus]

31.545g 2:1:4
5.721g Free TEC
1.056 gram Mn EDTA 13%
All into a 500ml solution - I then dose around 13ml of this daily

Thanks, @Happi . So, my takeaway is that the ratio of Fe to Mn is more important than the actually volume of Fe going in? Why is that? So I stop adding additonal Fe DTPA and instead add Mn EDTA?

Originally it was suggested I add the iron as some plants were showing signs of deficiency, so I don't understand why I now remove it completely (beyond what is already in the original mix).

 

[Happi]

Thanks, @Happi . So, my takeaway is that the ratio of Fe to Mn is more important than the actually volume of Fe going in? Why is that? So I stop adding additonal Fe DTPA and instead add Mn EDTA?

Originally it was suggested I add the iron as some plants were showing signs of deficiency, so I don't understand why I now remove it completely (beyond what is already in the original mix).

I suggest you read the following threads, the discussion has already been covered about these same topics on multiple occasions.

Thread 1
Thread 2

As mentioned earlier, the hard water create multiple challenges when working with fertilizer, Fe and Mn in particular needs more attention.

You can try this one below and report back. You can either combine them or seperate the Micros/Fe and Macros. If you choose to seperate the two, keep the Magnesium with the Fe/Micro solution and keep the NPK in their own seperate solution. This will give you options if you need to raise the Micros or Macros separately. Your tap water likely contain several Micros, our main priority is Fe and Mn.

500 ml, 13 ml per 300 liter

2.986 gram Sodium Free TEC
3.147 gram DTPA Fe 11%
1.775 gram EDTA Mn 13%
35.10 gram MgSO4
18.81 gram KNO3
1.49 gram KH2PO4

Daily dose of 13 ml:

N 0.225 (1 ppm NO3)
P 0.03 (0.1 ppm PO4)
K 0.66
Fe 0.051
Mn 0.025
B 0.00238
Zn 0.003
Cu 0.000595
Mo 0.000388

Weekly total:

N 1.575 (7 ppm NO3)
P 0.21 (0.7 ppm PO4)
K 4.62
Fe 0.357
Mn 0.175
B 0.0167
Zn 0.021
Cu 0.00416
Mo 0.0027