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Rotala Macrandra and wallichi in hardwater

keef321 said:
Are you using full RO water or mixed? I’m mixed 70% RO / 30% Tap and still need to dose DTPA iron, otherwise my plants suffer
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I've done multiple 40% wc with ro only, but had tap water before. Waitig to get the parameters I want then decide on the ro/tap ratio.

I dose 0.3 ppm fe every day.
 
I changed my water parameters from tap to RO mix very slowly over time. I found a fbI changed parameters too fast my plants suffered. I probably dropped 1GH per week over several weeks.
 
keef321 said:
I changed my water parameters from tap to RO mix very slowly over time. I found a fbI changed parameters too fast my plants suffered. I probably dropped 1GH per week over several weeks.
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I've done it much quicker than that, most plants seemed okay, the ones were struggling still struggling.
What did you start using ro? Was it for the plants?
 
meto1986 said:
I've done it much quicker than that, most plants seemed okay, the ones were struggling still struggling.
What did you start using ro? Was it for the plants?
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I think I've already answered this for you on Page 1, second post to this thread 😉🙂 I use RODI to grow Rotala

If ive misunderstood your question please just say.
 
keef321 said:
I think I've already answered this for you on Page 1, second post to this thread 😉🙂 I use RODI to grow Rotala

If ive misunderstood your question please just say.
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Sorry, I have fish memory, yes I can see it.
Which rotalas are you growing? Any photos after using RODI.
 
I’ve not long re-scapes, planted some new in-vitro and at same times did and experiment with my ferts, so not the best time for a photo. I did manage to take a photo of Rotala Blood Red before It’s trim
 

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Well, regarding R. Wallichii: on another forum a well respected user Marcel G. made some test results public. These well executed tests showed R. wallichii grows best in acidic water pH 5,5. My own observations is they grow great at 0 dKH without CO2 in a low light vase at pH 5,5 and medium light tank pH 6,3 using a trace mix of chelated Fe. I guess they grow weedy when I would use CO2 injection.

R. rotundifolia including Blood Red are growing just fine in my 2 tanks at 8 dKH, pH > 8,0 without additional CO2. And yes, dosing a chelated trace mix with Fe DTPA.

I hope this helps.
 
PeerUnk said:
Well, regarding R. Wallichii: on another forum a well respected user Marcel G. made some test results public. These well executed tests showed R. wallichii grows best in acidic water pH 5,5. My own observations is they grow great at 0 dKH without CO2 in a low light vase at pH 5,5 and medium light tank pH 6,3 using a trace mix of chelated Fe. I guess they grow weedy when I would use CO2 injection.

R. rotundifolia including Blood Red are growing just fine in my 2 tanks at 8 dKH, pH > 8,0 without additional CO2. And yes, dosing a chelated trace mix with Fe DTPA.

I hope this helps.
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Thanks for your input, I was thinking to add HCL to lower the ph, might give that a go at some poimt.
 
hax47 said:
This would also add CO2 to the aquarium. If you decide to take this route, you might want to check this topic by @Andy Pierce.
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Adding HCl does add CO2 but only to meaningful levels for about an hour after you add the acid. I tried doing this twice a day for a while but didn't notice anything you could call dramatic improvement in plant growth/health.
 
Andy Pierce said:
Adding HCl does add CO2 but only to meaningful levels for about an hour after you add the acid. I tried doing this twice a day for a while but didn't notice anything you could call dramatic improvement in plant growth/health.
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What was the ph? And was is stable?
 
Andy Pierce said:
Lots of details on the method here: Real aquarium liquid carbon - Fireplace aquarium
Is the pH stable? Um... no, you're adding HCl and deliberately destabilising the pH. 😜
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Finally I've managed to keep my rotala wallichii alive! using HCL to bring the DKH down to 1.5 helped a lot.
Your page about using HCL was really useful @Andy Pierce 👍
Will post photos after few weeks! I must mention that I've started dosing DTPA Fe on top of EDTA while adding HCL, so probably it was combination of both has helped my rotala macrandra and wallichii!
 
None will know whether it was the additional HCL or Cleated iron that helped.
Either ways, enjoy the success, I struggle with Mac and Wallichii.
 
I find this plant tough to sustain for more than a year or two, it gets tired, it needs the top 6 inches cut and replanted regularly. Iron is needed in even moderately hard water, and it likes intense light, I have found intense light with less blue works but water hardness does need controlled. Anything above 10 dKH simply will not for me work, 5-8 dKH is about right.
 
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