# Do I need and acidic substrate?



## Mjproost (Nov 17, 2005)

I am currently trying to grow Tonina Blemen, Fluvitalis and Ludwigia Cuba and Pantanal. They seem to be just surviving, but not have not died. Occassionally, part of a stem of the Ludwigias turns black and I cut it off and replant the rest and it recovers. But, I am not really reproducing it. Actually I have less Pantanal than I started with. The Tonina's have grown less than 1" in a month. I have kept the following parameters:

20 gallon long
130 watts 8800K PC
reconstituted RO to:
3 dGh
2 dKH
ph via CO2 6.0-6.2
Nitrate: 10-15 ppm
PO4: 1-2 ppm
every other day 7mls TMG
50 % weekly water changes.
substrate: about 75% schultz's mixed with regular flint gravel over a very thin layer of coconut fiber and pelletized laterite.

The only thing I have come up with is that the plants may prefer an acidic substrate. The only commercially available substrate that claims to be acidic is the ADA stuff. Is there another, less expensive way to make an acidic substrate?

Or is something else the issue that I am missing?


----------



## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

edit


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

No, you don't need an acidic substrate. It's perfectly possible to grow stuff in inert substrates. 

For my 40 breeder, I add 9mls a day of both Flourish and Flourish Iron. Doing that has really helped with those Ludwigias. They just require more micronutrients. I'd consider doing that in your case. 

If your parameters are really what you think they are, you should be ok if you do that. 10ppm nitrate is at the lower end of what I'd consider 'safe'.


----------



## VITARTE (Feb 20, 2005)

Cavan, Do you mean, 9ml of flourish and then 9ml of flourish iron everyday?


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Yes, I do.


----------



## mrbelvedere138 (Jan 18, 2006)

Is that the secret to Ludwigias? Do you get bad deposits of iron hydroxide on the surfaces of your equipment?


----------



## Mjproost (Nov 17, 2005)

Thanks everyone!

I will try upping the CO2, NO3, PO4 for sure.



> For my 40 breeder, I add 9mls a day of both Flourish and Flourish Iron. Doing that has really helped with those Ludwigias. They just require more micronutrients. I'd consider doing that in your case.


Would you suggest I just add more TMG alone or add more TMG plus Greg Watson's Iron supplement?


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

If you go overboard, you can get a brownish haze on equipment and old plant leaves.

But yes, I think the secret to those verticillate Ludwigias is to give them mucho micros. I struggled with 'Cuba' when I first got it but solved the problem by doing that.

You can have a tank running on less and then have to add more if you add one of them. My tank was getting by on about 50% less until I added just a few stems of the 'Araguia'. Once you get a big stand going, they can really put a dent in macros too. Their influence on a tank's operation can be amazing. _Elatine triandra_ is another one like that.


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Mjproost said:


> Thanks everyone!
> 
> I will try upping the CO2, NO3, PO4 for sure.
> 
> Would you suggest I just add more TMG alone or add more TMG plus Greg Watson's Iron supplement?


I'd add some of the iron as well.


----------

