this part I can agree on that they have different mythology
the ratio doesn't have to be the exact, but they are somewhat similar. my point was that if you have 0.3 ppm NH4 in the water, you don't need lot of K to counter the toxicity if that was the case. again, if someone is adding 8-10 ppm K weekly, this is not going to stop the plant from growing.
this is why I continue to use NH4/Urea instead of NO3, NH4/Urea is constantly being uptaken by the plants and the aqua soil as it attract + charges and mostly ignore - Charges. some people add Osmocote or Ammonium based root tabs to achieve the same effect.
Simple answer. High light. Then limit nitrate to finish it off. APT EI is also not limiting nitrates so things will tend to turn greener. Your plants look healthy though.
One of my challenges with Pantanal is that only the top leaves turn red while the leaves in the middle and lower remain green... I would like more of the plant to turn red (this photo was taken when I dosing APT EI at the recommended dose)
Apart from posting photos here, pls do start a separate journal if you haven't already! I find following regular photos of "work in progress" more valuable than a single 'instagram perfect photo' as it shows me the steps I need to take.
Read carefully that screenshot below. The substrate is loam. Highly rich susbtrate. Soil is continuously replenished with new organic matter being deposited in the river floor.Thanks for hammering this home @Happi ! - Remember I started a thread on this last year;
It was a revelation to me quite honestly! @Happi and other added lot of good insights to this on that thread.Amazon water types vs. "natural fertilizer" levels
Hello, I thought this was interesting: Chemistry of different Amazonian water types. Now, the paper is not specifically about aquatic plants in the Amazonas, but I thought it was interesting how low the water column levels of essentially every mineral are in the rivers they sampled from. I...www.ukaps.org
Hi @Hanuman I hear you and I mostly agree! I do not think you can do this ultra lean water column without substrate rich on microbial activity etc. (soft acidic water and all that jazz...). My substrate was originally "inert", but now after two years its highly mature and rich in microbial activity (I Assume!), so my lean column dosing should work, but only time will tell... crossing my fingers!
I suspect your inert 2 years soil will be far from enough. You grew plants during these 2 years yes? Unless you didn't and dosed heavily and your substrate has a high CEC those plants also sucked up some of the nutrients so your soil will not be as heavily fertile as you think. Note that Sudipta used Amazonia light then also added some Amazonia I. Those are heavily fertile substrates.
Appreciate it. Just learning like everyone 🙂.
Again, appreciate it. But when writing is inaccessible it is always the fault of the writer.
I use <"rain water as well">. I appreciate that isn't an option for everybody and mine also has some carbonate buffering.
There are <"some papers"> on this.
I should have linked in our <"conversation with Tim Hovanec"> for newer members. I think generally it would be fair to say I'm not keen on Bacterial supplements etc. but I've got a lot of time for Dr Hovanec.
Hi @Hanuman , Yes, my inert but "mature" substrate is an unknown factor. I did grow plants in it for 2 years. Previously I did dose quite heavily (EI levels) for a long time. I do not know what level the substrates Cation Exchange Capacity is at - thats a big unknown. I mostly kept the substrate undisturbed, with only occasional vacuuming of mulm and detritus. Also, I am using a bit of Osmocote balls in the area where I keep the stem plants. I hope I do not have to replace the substrate... Lets see. It might be feasible to deploy your idea of gradually replacing the substrate with Amazonia.
Mature or not has little importance in this specific situation I think as long as it is cycled and you have no more or very little ammonia leeching. You could have a 15 year old substrate with all the bacteria in the world that it would be the same issue, and that is nutrient availability in the substrate. Maturity of the substrate is beneficial from a general stand point of the tank and its stability but it serves little if food is not present or in low amounts and you have hungry plants. Anyway as long as you are adding something to the substrate then you should be good.
Not really. If you plant straight away in a fresh rich aquasoil that leaches excessive amounts of ammonia you can expect some level of melting. Plants do like ammonia or other macros for that matter but when ppm levels are way off from what they are used to, they need to adapt again and you can/will get some melting combined with algae proliferation. On fast growing plants, not a big deal. On epiphytes not so cool. What I did was a fast mini-cycle. My canister also helped as I didn't touch it during the reset. Once all was back to normal I did a quick clean of the filter.
The only examiners/judges here are your plants. 🤓 We are mere spectators.😎well, as long as my friends @Hanuman, @GreggZ, @Guest and @LondonDragon are not on the board of examiners, I might have a sporting chance defending this one
After... I guess. Might take a couple as these guys are very hard to convince!
Whilst we’re on that subject. This, not so unique idea, has already been discussed ad nauseam in two mammoth threads that differ only in title. Surely there can’t be that much more to discuss? Wouldn’t it be better to start a journal now and turn theory in to practice?
just curious - as a mod do you prefer lots of traffic talking about the same ole or less of both?
