# What is wrong with my plants?



## josh (May 1, 2005)

I have a 46g with 96 watt cf lighting 10 hrs a day, pressurized CO2 and I dose 5ml of Plantex+B and a pinch of S2O4 (not very accurate). My GH=23 & KH = 13 (hard well water). I was thinking of going the EI method (just picked up some KH2PO4) I did test my water for KNO3 and it is around 80ppm (high), I also do 40% water changes once a week.
My crypts are curled and the older leaves have holes.

I think I am overfeeding my fish and that is the cause of the high KNO3, my tap water reads less than 5ppm.

Any help would be great...

Thanks,

Josh


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## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

Leaf curling may be indicative of not enough CO2. With a KH of 13, it's going to be a challenge to maintain enough CO2. The holes in your leaves is a macronutrient problem. If your N03 reading is correct, then I would suspect P & K being deficient. A lack of P and/or K may be limiting N.

How much N do you dose? Do you have any algae problems (name specific algae)? What is the S204 for? I would dose 1/8 tsp of KH2P04 every other day. You might monitor your N03 after you start dosing. It should start going down.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

If you want to use the EI fertilizing method, first you need to accept the premise behind EI - that having even twice the recommended levels of any of the fertilizer components will do no harm to fish or plants. Then, just follow the recommended dosages in the EI sticky. If you suspect that you have enough nitrate without dosing any, try reducing the amount of nitrate you dose by about a third or so, watch the plants for a couple of weeks and if they don't show any problems, reduce it by another third and repeat. When you start to see problems that might be from a deficiency in nitrate, go back to the last dosage level and use it from then on. EI dosages in the sticky are starting points, but any changes need to be done a little at a time, followed by a couple of weeks to see what the effects are.

Remember, you accepted the premise that having even double the needed amount of nitrate in the water isn't going to harm fish or plants, so don't worry about that part. And, be sure to do the weekly 50% water changes to avoid reaching any extreme levels of any nutrient.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

I agree with what hoppy said and what Avalon said about macros.

I don't agree with Avalon's comments about CO2 though. CO2 will dissolve and be available to the plants in water with a high KH just as easily as it will in water with a low KH.

I suspect your plants are deficient in P or K. I'm not sure what you mean by S2O4. K2SO4 maybe? Do a little reading about the EI system and try to meet the N, P, K, and micro needs of the plants. Be cautioned - it will take several weeks to see any real changes or improvements so be patient. Don't make too many changes all at once.


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## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

BryceM said:


> I don't agree with Avalon's comments about CO2 though. CO2 will dissolve and be available to the plants in water with a high KH just as easily as it will in water with a low KH.


I'll try not to sidetrack the thread, but I tend to disagree with this statement. I used to have water with a KH of 13, and while you can get enough CO2 dissolved in the water, it is more difficult to achieve than in low KH water. It's the primary reason I use RO (but not the only reason). Regardless, my main point was to be sure of your CO2 levels, a simple caution if you will, that CO2 is critical for success in that it affects the plants use of nutrients.


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## josh (May 1, 2005)

Thank you all for your response to my questions. I will monitor my tank for a couple of weeks with the new dosing schedule. If things do not improve I may revisit you all for some more help.

Thanks,

Josh


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