# Pogostemon helferi turning white



## Themuleous (Jun 6, 2006)

Hi all,

I've been running an EI tank for about 6 months now and added some Pogostemon helferi about 2 months ago. Recently the youngest leaves have been turning white, so that all that is left green is the central vein, the rest is almost pure white. Could this been symptomatic of a nutrient deficiency?

Current tank stats

Size - 20lt / 4UKG
Lighting - 36W Arcadia freshwater tubes
CO2 - 40ppm ish
Substrate - eco-complete
Ferts - Aquaessential KH2PO4 - 1ppm 3x per week, KNO3 - 10ppm 3x per week
Trace - Aquaessentials trace mix 2ml 3x per week
KH - 6 (but often around 8)
GH - 7
pH - 6.6
NH3 - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - minimum 20ppm probably higher
PO4 - minimum 2ppm again probably higher

Other plants - HC, lotus lily 'green', crypt sp, dwarf and thin leaved sagittaria, and an unknown liverwort. All seem to be doing fine and need regular trimming.

Other issues to speak of; I have recently upped CO2 as I think it’s been running quite low recently (possible as low as 20ppm). I also currently have a huge infestation of staghorn especially on the HC and green spot on the tank glass.

So after all that, could it be a simple case of carbon deficiency or is there something else at play here?

Thanks all 

Sam


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

I think you need to be adding more phosphates than you are. True, the ideal ratio is about 10 ppm nitrate to 1 ppm phosphate, but that doesn't necessarily mean you need to dose them using the same ratio. It is only the ratio one wishes to achieve within the tank. Try adding 3 ppm of phosphate instead of 1 ppm. I think you'll find that this improves things greatly.


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## Themuleous (Jun 6, 2006)

OK will do  that'll give me up near 5ppm in the tank? SHould I also try increasing NO3 along with it?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

No, don't increase NO3. The problem isn't necessarily lack of nutrients, it's an improper ratio. The phosphate is all gone before the nitrate can be used up. 

The other option is to reduce your nitrate dosing. Try dosing only 6 or 7 ppm of nitrate and see if that helps also. I've found you want to dose nitrate and phosphate in about a 3 or 4 to 1 ratio in order to achieve a 10:1 ratio in the water column. Of course your water may vary.


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## oscarjamayaa (Dec 12, 2009)

What happened with your Pogos??


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

i really dislike helferi... thats why i got rid of it, it kept melting everytime i moved it a little and it was too delicate.


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