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Practical application of lean fertilizer dosing
- Thread starter MichaelJ
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MichaelJ
Member
Hi @Hanuman,
@22802 asked me that as well, here is what I put in the experimental tank so far:
Rotala Colorata
Rotala Wallichii
Ammannia Senegalensis
Ammannia Sulawesi
Alternanthera Rosanervig
I specifically picked these plants because they are all plants I have tried before and failed with, while everything else in the tank, mostly plants in the easy category did very well.
Whats your take?
Cheers,
Michael
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I have only grown the 2 first ones which grew perfectly fine in my medium/high light, high CO2 setup. They are not particularly picky to me. They actually grew like weed up to point I decided to remove them as too much maintenance. At that time I was using APT Complete if memory serves me well.
For the Ammania and Alternanthera Rosanervig I have never grown any of those so can't say.
I am growing Rotala Wallichii again in my new setup and this time I am using a DIY fert that basically is ~ an APT EI clone. Co2 still high, rich substrate, RO as above. Rotala Wallichii is still growing as weed. The one in the foreground is actually a small specimen that I picked up at a street shop selling plant pots (0 relation to aquatics). I thought the plant had an interesting structure and experimented in putting in my tank. The one at the back is actually a branded Rotala Wallichii sold by APC. They are virtually identical to me. One was free the other was 10 euros!
Some pics of the transformation process from emersed to submersed.
My only comment on this would be that any would work. Simply chose one that has no traces in it.
ElleDee
Member
I look forward to there being more data points, and I'm especially interested to see if there are deviations from your parameters that are nonetheless successful. You've definitely inspired me to take my new builds in this direction, though I don't know right now if I am able to check every box.
MichaelJ
Member
Very nice!
Agree that Rotala Wallchii is a weed. Good for vacuuming up those nitrates. Even though I'm not 'lean dosing', maybe I have even less nitrates in water column than lean dosers given the amount of Wallichii (and R. Blood red - the 2 fastest growers in my tank) then I'm tossing from my tank after every trim. 😅
After 3 weeks, I think my APC Rotala Wallichiis have converted - while they look similar to my current Wallichiis in term of colour (i..e. stems have turned red), they are slightly 'smaller' width wise. I will wait for the sideshoots to appear as new sideshoots will usually indicate the final 'form' of the plant in my tank.
After 3 weeks, I think my APC Rotala Wallichiis have converted - while they look similar to my current Wallichiis in term of colour (i..e. stems have turned red), they are slightly 'smaller' width wise. I will wait for the sideshoots to appear as new sideshoots will usually indicate the final 'form' of the plant in my tank.
What exactly was the problem because saying you failed is actually rather broad. If you have detailed this already please link it here so not to waste your time repeating the same thing.
Honestly I think that's disputable. It all depends what you put in the word "difficult". I don't think it is difficult to achieve that result BUT, and here is the thing, it will take a far much longer time and patience than if you went full high tech. High tech people me included, are used to get instant or near instant gratification since things grow so fast even after trimming and uprooting. In Sudipta's case it takes a good amount of patience and to me that's probably the most difficult thing. Adding ferts, putting some osmocote here and there, changing water etc etc are all common denominators to any aquarist.
You don't need them for the first couple of months if you are using Ammonia rich aquasoil.
I have grown all of these plants in my non-CO2 setups except colorata (just another rotundifolia variant, should be easy to grow). I keep H'ra and it looks great.
Correct name for Ammania sulawasi is Cuphea anagalloidea.
These are some pictures from my non-CO2 supplemented softwater tanks.
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@Sudipta I mentioned in another post that it would also be good for the sake of completeness and fairness if you also posted pictures of your tank when things aren't that pretty. If I understood well those pics basically represent the paroxysm of the tank. What about when you uproot, trim and temps are on the hotter side? Showing those would also allow full disclosure on your tank's complexity. It is human to only show the good side of things and so there is no blame in what I am asking, but to cool everyone off it would be good to show the dark side of things.
I agree that I haven't posted any pictures showing algae problems or other issues. However, I did mention in my original post at TPT how I struggled with alage when I setup the 20 gal tank. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures back then. Here are couple of pictures showing bba in my 20 gal tank (2 years ago) and hydra in my 4 gal setup (1 year ago, treated with fenbendazole). Another image showing my failed attempt to grow Eriocaulon quinquangulare in my non-CO2 setups. I have tried multiple times but haven't succeeded yet (I was able to keep one alive for 3 months, my best so far). Another such plant is Hygrophila 'Chai'. I have never said that I can grow any plant without pressurized CO2 injection but
I have also demonstrated that many so called high-tech plants can be grown successfully in non-CO2 supplemented softwater tanks.I have said this several times that I do get occasional algae (mostly in summer time coupled with my negligence as I spend more time outside during weekends and holidays photographing wildlife and nature. I have also noticed that I face algae issues if I don't clean the filter regularly even though I hardly miss weekly water change (not a big surprise here).
I spot treat BBA with a freshly prepared 1:1 mixture of H2O2 and excel.
But the reality is that you could write 3 pages long of ugly stuff about the tank, then post a picture of the tank at its prime. Which one do you think people will remember? That’s exactly what is happening. Although in the back of people’s mind we all know a tank cannot be as beautiful as the picture shows all the time, the picture tends to stick and we forget that this is just the top of the iceberg.
I can only say one thing: good job for the patience and dedication you have put into this tank.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MichaelJ
Member
Hi @Hanuman I don’t think I ever documented the situation here on UKAPS. It was back in the day when I was just lurking around before signing up. I definitely didn't do very low KH/GH, lower pH, lower temps. Off the top of my head I think I had my low-tech tanks at ~7 GH/KH, 7.2-7.4 pH and 77-78 F back then and my tanks weren't as stable as they are now. The plants would begin to struggle after a short while, loose their leaves and eventually just died off.
Cheers,
Michael
Easternlethal
Member
see this is why i don't want to put up a journal of my tank
You might want to elaborate because honestly I don’t get it.
plantnoobdude
Member
quoted the wrong post perhaps? @Easternlethal
aquanoobie
Member
Hi all
Are there any scientifically proven research papers on other fertilizing methods?
Hi all,
There would be data from <"phytoremediation in ponds"> and <"constructed wetlands">, but it is often about toxicity and the favoured plants are floating (or emergent) to access aerial CO2. There is a lot of work on Rice (Oryza sativa), but again it mainly looks at avoiding toxicity and <"maximising yield">*.
* Moe, K.; Htwe, A.Z.; Thu, T.T.P.; Kajihara, Y.; Yamakawa, T. (2019 )"Effects on NPK Status, Growth, Dry Matter and Yield of Rice (Oryza sativa) by Organic Fertilizers Applied in Field Condition. Agriculture 9, 109. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture9050109
cheers Darrel
Not really, commercial producers of aquarium plants <"use emersed growing methods"> and commercial hydroponics is all about the <"economic balance"> between expenditure and <"maximising yield">.
There would be data from <"phytoremediation in ponds"> and <"constructed wetlands">, but it is often about toxicity and the favoured plants are floating (or emergent) to access aerial CO2. There is a lot of work on Rice (Oryza sativa), but again it mainly looks at avoiding toxicity and <"maximising yield">*.
* Moe, K.; Htwe, A.Z.; Thu, T.T.P.; Kajihara, Y.; Yamakawa, T. (2019 )"Effects on NPK Status, Growth, Dry Matter and Yield of Rice (Oryza sativa) by Organic Fertilizers Applied in Field Condition. Agriculture 9, 109. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture9050109
cheers Darrel
Easternlethal
Member
