Hi, a hobbyist I know in my own country, who deals with plants, told me that it is necessary to use a sample with a high TDS value of 120 TDS, high micro dose. He said that if it is low TDS, I give a sample, 30 TDS low micro and iron should be used. Do you think the situation is really like this?
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micro dose
- Thread starter hasan66
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A sample of what with high TDS?
From what I understood, he is asking if we need to dose more micros and iron in tanks with high TDS.
As far as I know, you’ll likely need more iron, or more strongly chelated iron, when the pH is too high, which often happens when you have hard water and, therefore, high TDS.
So the answer is “maybe”. If the TDS is high due to carbonates, then you’ll need more and better iron. If the TDS is high because of other ions, then probably it won’t matter much.
I don’t know how that affects other micro elements, but they are probably less affected.
As far as I know, you’ll likely need more iron, or more strongly chelated iron, when the pH is too high, which often happens when you have hard water and, therefore, high TDS.
So the answer is “maybe”. If the TDS is high due to carbonates, then you’ll need more and better iron. If the TDS is high because of other ions, then probably it won’t matter much.
I don’t know how that affects other micro elements, but they are probably less affected.
simon_the_plant_nerd
Member
EDIT: I’ve basically just repeated what @LMuhlen has said.
Different chelates of Iron become less available at higher pH. Your pH may be higher with more dissolved calcium (I.e. harder) which would have a higher TDS than softer water and which case, you would need more iron per unit volume to reach the same amount of available iron for plants.
However this is only half the story as you could have a very high TDS in your water but still be sufficiently acidic that a chelated iron is available to plants.
If I’ve understood the question, then the answer is “it depends.”
Different chelates of Iron become less available at higher pH. Your pH may be higher with more dissolved calcium (I.e. harder) which would have a higher TDS than softer water and which case, you would need more iron per unit volume to reach the same amount of available iron for plants.
However this is only half the story as you could have a very high TDS in your water but still be sufficiently acidic that a chelated iron is available to plants.
If I’ve understood the question, then the answer is “it depends.”
Tap water of 120 TDS is not particularly hard (with the caveat that we will need to know exactly what ions make up the 120TDS). I would say there are plenty of successful aquariums with that sort of tapwater that get along just fine with normal levels of micro dosing.
Finally, just look at the plants. If there are no signs of deficiency, there is no need to add more. If there are signs of deficiency, you can post the details and photos in UKAPS and the experts are happy to help.
Finally, just look at the plants. If there are no signs of deficiency, there is no need to add more. If there are signs of deficiency, you can post the details and photos in UKAPS and the experts are happy to help.
