# plant deficiency? help please (lots of pics)



## ARLINGTON (Oct 8, 2007)

tank is 100 gallons, 2.5wpg, co2 (around 25-30ppm).i dose excell every other day to help with the bba i had a few weeks ago. kh and gh are high as is normal in central Texas. The exact ppm or degrees I'm unsure. ph is around a 6.8 to 7.2. substrate is a mix of turface and play sand. i do not currently dose any ferts. The tank temp is usually around 80 degrees.

here are some pics of what I'm experiencing. i am new to taking pictures of the aquarium so i apologize for the quality of the photos.

Blyxa aubertii 
when first purchase 3 weeks ago








two weeks ago








and today i noticed the inner leaves are tuning white.









also I had a bunch of corkscrew vals that mostly died off and the ones that didn't die look like this







]
and another fuzzy pic but you can make out that the leaves are white and almost clear near the bottom of the plants..








My jungle vals look like this, (is that how they look normally?)









and what i find some what funny is the moss i have it went from this








to ...








and








I think these are signs that i need to start dosing ferts but any and all comments/ideas are welcome.


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## ARLINGTON (Oct 8, 2007)

any suggestions?


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## Afyounie (Aug 10, 2007)

It looks like you need to start dosing ferts. With the moderately high light, and high co2, those plants need ferts.


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## Missy B (Jul 8, 2007)

I've noticed that when plants begin to "melt" like your plants are doing and turn white, it's most often an iron deficiency. My Blyxa japonica and Echino. tenellus were doing the same thing, I started dosing iron a little bit more frequently, and the problem went away


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

CO2, 2.5wpg, and 80 degree temps? You're trying to drive this tank very hard without any ferts. It's surprising to me that the Blyxa is still alive at all.

Moss will do well in almost any condition so don't take success with that as an indication that things are ok.

At the very least you need to start with micros, Fe, and K. You'll probably see better results if you add a little NO3 and PO4 too, but I'd start with the other stuff.


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## Peteman (May 28, 2007)

I've had pics like that, ahh fond memories. :mrgreen:

Bits of general advice once you start adding ferts. 

Give any changes at least two weeks as only new growth is going to show the differences.

Takes notes of what you are dosing and what changes you see. I've got some plants that are sensitive for particular ferts and end up being good indicators. That spiral val is a good one.

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Just as a potential starting base this is what I use for my 87 gal. This is just reference as every tank is different.

All ferts are dry hydroponic ferts.

Weekly 50% water change. Day of change I add.
1 tsp Chelated Iron mix (iron, boron etc.)
1 1/2 tsp Potassium sulfate.
1/2 tsp Magnesium sulfate.
2 rice grain size bit of Potassium Phosphate
1 1/2 Calcium Nitrate.

In between water changes. 2 doses (tues, thurs)
1/2 tsp Chelated Iron mix (iron, boron etc.)
1 tsp Potassium sulfate.
1/2 tsp Magnesium sulfate.
1 rice grain size bit of Potassium Phosphate
1 Calcium Nitrate. 

Now before people flame me saying this is not the 'correct' mix, this is what works for ME. The Pot and Mag stops the major warping in one of my (sensitive?) stem plants, Iron for colour and the spiral val which seems to need it a lot. etc. BTW mix the Calcium Nitrate seperately as combined with the other stuff it forms insoluble pellets.

But after going through the whole fert thing, I found it's easier to overdose everything and once all the plants are doing well you can try cutting some back if you want (wait a while to see results). Playing around with low fert levels is problematic as a plant can be pale with low iron or low nitrate, be distorted with low iron or potassium etc. You'll never know which is low if more than two are and you're raising one at a time.

Luck
Pete.


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## ARLINGTON (Oct 8, 2007)

thank you for the help! I couldn't find a source of ferts, so i just bought seachem flourish and have added that to the tank. I'll be out of town for the next few weeks so i'll have to wait till i get back to see any results. In the mean time i'll continue to try and locate a source for dry ferts. thanks again.


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## Afyounie (Aug 10, 2007)

http://aquariumfertilizer.com

This is a good size to get dry ferts for good price, and they last a long time.


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## Impatient (Nov 12, 2007)

Found this in my cyber travels:

http://www.aquariaplants.com/plantdeficiencies.htm

Lists various deficiencies and what they show up as.


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## Missy B (Jul 8, 2007)

You can also get bulk dry ferts at:

www.rexgrigg.com


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