Nutrient deficiency :/

[Beaker]

I started a new tank 4 months ago. I'm struggling to get the plants to grow well. On the plus side, I have barely any algae and this tank is doing much better than my previous tanks.

The new growth is almost white on my rotala and it isn't growing much at all. My Ludwigia Natans is growing slow and the old leaves don't look very good.

Nesaea Pedicellata golden is not growing and when it was growing, the leaves where all bunched up and twisted.

Things that are growing well:
HC cuba it is growing low to the ground and leaves are not getting smaller. But it is growing slow
AR mini- It is growing well and looks really good.
Hydrocotyle Tripartita- growing well but slower than I remember it growing before in other tanks

I'm dosing per week:
9ppm NO3
6ppm po4
1ppm mg
.3 ppm iron and traces
3ppm K

PH:7.8 before CO2
KH:7-8
GH:7-8
Nitrates: Proably 5ppm (test isn't accurate)
PO4: .8ppm

I just called my water company and they said they have 56 ppm Ca and 13 ppm mg

I have black sand for my substrate.

CO2 I am pretty sure is fine because of how the HC cuba looks. I have a 1.5 ph drop when CO2 is on. And if I increase the CO2 anymore, the fish start getting stressed.

Light is on 6 hours a day at max but it ramps up for 3 hours before and after

The pictures are a week old because I'm having phone problems right now. Most of the algae is gone and the plants looked better in real life than in the pictures

 

[hypnogogia]

You have quite a lot of algae there.
what lighting do you have?
What’s your maintenance regime, i.e. water changes, filter cleaning?
What filtration do you have?
What fertiliser are you using?

 

[Beaker]

Most of the algae is gone now. I have spot treated it and it hasn't come back. The pictures were taken right after a 2 week vacation and I came back to tons of staghorn algae.

My normal maintenace regime is weekly 70% water change. Sometimes 2.

Filter is cleaned every 2 months or so.

I have an Ehiem 2213

Using KNO3, KH2PO4, Plantex CSM+B, K2SO4 mixed in to solutions and dosed daily by a dosing pump.

Light is Planted + HCL

I was able to get my phone to work Here are some current pictures

 

[G H Nelson]

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/please-read-the-guidelines-for-algae-help.60672/;)

 

[hypnogogia]

Ok, thanks. I think you’re under dosing EI, and your filter isn’t producing enough flow for a co2 injected tank. I, or familiar with those lights, so can’t comment on those.
I’d up the ferts and also add some flow pumps to increase the flow and thus CO2 distribution in the tank.

 

[Beaker]

20 gallon long, 4 months old
Inhabitants- 30 white cloud mountain minnow, 6 leopard cories, lots of ramhorns, cherry shrimp
Everything was planted 4 months ago except for the whorled pennywort which was planted 2 months ago.

 

[sparkyweasel]

I’d up the ferts and also add some flow pumps to increase the flow and thus CO2 distribution in the tank.

That sounds like a good plan.
Also, slowly ramping up and down the lights can be beneficial to algae without helping the plants. I would try a much shorter ramp period.

 

[Beaker]

Unfortunately , I can't change the ramp up period. The light is set with 3 hour increments. Algae was only an issue right after vacation. As I have been spot treating, it is going away without coming back.

I increased the dosing but I don't thing flow is an issue. I can see mirco CO2 bubbles even in the lower flow areas of the tank. My AR mini is in the lowest flow area and it is doing great. I had a second pump in the tank a month ago and I still had these issues.

I'm wanting to have a leaner dosing routine then EI because I want slower grow for easier maintenance. When I did EI in the past, I had way more problems then I'm having now.

 

[hypnogogia]

Your curled leaves and white growth are nutrient related. Why do you think you had all that algae?

 

[Beaker]

It was mostly staghorn. My filter got clogged for the last week of my vacation with snails that go caught in a kink in my filter hose. I thought the algae was because of low CO2 and no water changes during that time.

What nutrients do you think I'm lacking?

 

[hypnogogia]

What nutrients do you think I'm lacking?

Your post is entitled “nutrient deficiency” and yet you rejected the suggestion to up your ferts, So I’m unsure what help you want.
On closer inspection of your second set of photos, you still have an algae problem.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

What nutrients do you think I'm lacking?

Your curled leaves and white growth are nutrient related.

It is almost certainly iron (Fe) deficiency.

Nutrient deficiencies are difficult to diagnose, but it is only really iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) that are immobile within the plant and as such effect new leaves. Have a look at page 4. of <"3rd time lucky"> and linked threads.

cheers Darrel

 

[Beaker]

I dosed .5 ppm of DTPA instead of the Plantex CSM+B and the leaves started turning green that day.

I'm going to start dosing .7ppm a week of DTPA iron and see if that helps.