# how much iron for Limnophila aromatica?



## darkoon (Jun 7, 2010)

how much iron is needed to bring out the intensive red/purple color of Limnophila aromatica?


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

just dose iron as recommended... why? were you thinking of not dosing iron?


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi darkoon,

Since I become involved in this hobby I have seen various debates as to what is needed to maximize the "red" in aquarium plants. I have seen threads and articles claiming the key element is: Iron (or other macro/micro nutrients); Light Intensity; Light Spectrum; as well as the genetics of the stem I have in my tank (maybe it came from a plant that had more or less red that others). 

Based on my experience, I believe it could be any or all of those factors. I have noticed that my "red" plants become more red as they grow taller and become closer to the lights, so light intensity could certainly be one factor.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Not saying you can't tweak things here and there to get color, but one thing I'll say for sure. In a shallow tank with strong light my Aromatica always turned deep red, in a tall tank with strong light it turned red on top. I've never dosed extra FE in any of my tanks. Whatever was provided by Flourish Comp.

Is the reverse true? Can you have deep red/purple Aromatica throughout the plant in a tall tank by giving it 'high FE" and lowlight?


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## darkoon (Jun 7, 2010)

I am trying to see if I need to dose more, if so, how much more Iron. I am currently dosing close to 0.5ppm per week. I read a lot of descriptions for red plants under APC plant finder, most state that high Iron dosing is required. So what is considered high?
I have 2 sets of 110w power compact over 72g, currently running 1 set for 8 hours, the other set overlaps for 4 hours. I can only get the top to turn pink.


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

i have around 56 watts over a 20 long. i dose flourish comp, excel, phosphates, 2 times a week and my lights are on 6 hours a week. my rotal has a nice red as do my lotuses.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

darkoon said:


> I am trying to see if I need to dose more, if so, how much more Iron. I am currently dosing close to 0.5ppm per week. I read a lot of descriptions for red plants under APC plant finder, most state that high Iron dosing is required. So what is considered high?
> I have 2 sets of 110w power compact over 72g, currently running 1 set for 8 hours, the other set overlaps for 4 hours. I can only get the top to turn pink.


*Tall Tank*



neilshieh said:


> i have around 56 watts over a 20 long. i dose flourish comp, excel, phosphates, 2 times a week and my lights are on 6 hours a week. my rotal has a nice red as do my lotuses.


*Shallow Tank*


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## darkoon (Jun 7, 2010)

hmmm... make sense, my lights are about 2ft above substrate. once my new plants settle in, will increase the light intensity to see that makes any difference.
do you think different types of Fe will make a difference too?


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi darkoon,

Yes, I believe that different types of iron make a difference.

For example:

EDTA does well in acid enviornments
DTPA and HEEDTA do better than EDTA in alkaline enviornments
EEDHA is being tested and is showing even greater absorption in alkaline enviornments than DTPA or HEEDTA.

Lastly there are the nutrients chelated by fulvic acid.


> Fulvic acid allows nutrients to move more freely which prevents a number conditions like localized calcium deficiency which happen due to low mobility of nutrients.
> 
> Fulvic acids can be most effective when the growing environment in the root zone (rhizosphere) is above or below optimal. Unlike synthetic chelating agents fulvic acid retains its effectiveness under conditions like high or low pH. Under such adverse conditions plants supplied with fulvic acid have been found to be remarkably free of signs of stress, deficiency etc. than plants supplied with synthetic chelating agents. Fulvic acid also produces all round improvement of transportability of various nutrients in plant tissue. This is not limited to the fertilizer minerals but also helps improve the transport of other plant fluids.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

darkoon said:


> I am trying to see if I need to dose more, if so, how much more Iron. I am currently dosing close to 0.5ppm per week. I read a lot of descriptions for red plants under APC plant finder, most state that high Iron dosing is required. So what is considered high?


I add 10mls a day of both Flourish and Flourish Iron to my 40. That may be a bit much, and I'd just be wasting it if I went with more, but I think more people underdose than you might think. A good way to test if you have enough is this: Get a stem or two of _Mayaca fluviatilis_ in your tank somewhere. Is it entirely lush and green, or is it a bit chalky? IMO, this is one of the best ways to test iron; if it has enough, the other plants most likely do as well. From there, you may adjust macro nutrients and lighting as necessary.


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## darkoon (Jun 7, 2010)

i had some Mayaca fluviatilis in the tank, they were doing fine, so I think I should have enough iron to grow other plants, but does that mean I have "Heavy iron" needed for some iron hungry plants, LUDWIGIA INCLINATA VAR. VERTICILLATA 'CUBA' for example. 

Does PH define acid enviornments? or KH/GH?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

darkoon said:


> i had some Mayaca fluviatilis in the tank, they were doing fine, so I think I should have enough iron to grow other plants, but does that mean I have "Heavy iron" needed for some iron hungry plants, LUDWIGIA INCLINATA VAR. VERTICILLATA 'CUBA' for example.


Yes, probably. That's another hog for iron. It sounds like you just may have to manipulate the other variables.


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## Ekrindul (Jul 3, 2010)

darkoon said:


> i had some Mayaca fluviatilis in the tank, they were doing fine, so I think I should have enough iron to grow other plants, but does that mean I have "Heavy iron" needed for some iron hungry plants, LUDWIGIA INCLINATA VAR. VERTICILLATA 'CUBA' for example.
> 
> Does PH define acid enviornments? or KH/GH?


Just bear in mind, the more iron hogs you add to the tank, the more you will need to supplement Fe levels to avoid deficiency.

pH defines acidity. Use DTPA if you have alkaline water/EDTA or ferrous is fine for acidic water.


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