# Fixing a potassium deficiency in NPT



## LVKSPlantlady (Oct 4, 2009)

OK so I started this post and it turned into a monster, Basicly My Crypts, Echinodous barthii, Echinodous martii have pin holes in then, pretty sure it's from a potassium deficiency after reading around on here.

So should I add Florish Potassium to the water? 

Could this then case a deficiency in something else like Mg or Zn? How would I know? Then I would add Florish trace?

Could I just put some root tabs down there or should I just start fresh with new 'dirt'?


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## nokturnalkid (Feb 27, 2007)

Usually pin holes are a sign of potassium deficiency. You can try and dose a bit of fluorish potassium or some k2so4 if you got it. That should help. It kinda defeats the purpose of an npt though. Maybe you can try a water change and see if that may help, wc's add some nutrients back into the water column.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

There's nothing wrong with dosing needed ferts into a NPT. Watch for deficiencies and dose accordingly. Something else to try is feeding a little more or adding more fish. I would recommend the Flourish Potassium because it is not a high dose when used as directed. Just follow the instructions until the deficiency is met.

-Dave


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## Dustymac (Apr 26, 2008)

davemonkey said:


> There's nothing wrong with dosing needed ferts into a NPT. Watch for deficiencies and dose accordingly.


I agree. According to Diana's book, Potassium is one of the three main nutrients most plants prefer to get from water and not the substrate. The other two are Calcium and Magnesium. If you're low on one, you might be low on the other two and you should test your water for hardness, looking for a minimum reading of GH 8 (140+ ppm). The good news is when you get your water to the right hardness, fish food should keep it there.

BTW, I use Potassium Chloride in my NPTs. It's a salt substitute you can buy at the grocery store. I mix it at a 1:1 ratio to the Calcium being added to bring up the hardness.

Good luck!!
Jim


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## LVKSPlantlady (Oct 4, 2009)

ok so I Tested the water hardness. It's at 12 GH and 5 KH, should they be closer together? Should I take out the empty snail shells, my shunk loaches LOVE ramshorn snails! 

I wanted to buy a potassium test, but a $30 price tag put me off, I have not found a pet store yet that has the test, there is a Saltwater store that I think will be able to test it but it's an hours drive away  So if I ever do make it out there, what's too high? What's considered low? 

Thanks


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## Dustymac (Apr 26, 2008)

LVKSPlantlady said:


> ok so I Tested the water hardness. It's at 12 GH and 5 KH, should they be closer together?


I can't answer that. I can never get my GH much over 8 and KH over 3, but that seems to work in my tanks.



> Should I take out the empty snail shells, my shunk loaches LOVE ramshorn snails!


My tanks are full of empty snail shells. The only time the hardness crashed in my tanks was after a snail population explosion. I suspected the drop in hardness was partly due to the snails. Who knows, but I resist removing them with the reasoning that if they're made from calcium pulled from the water column, eventually they will get absorbed back into the water column.



> I wanted to buy a potassium test, but a $30 price tag put me off, I have not found a pet store yet that has the test, there is a Saltwater store that I think will be able to test it but it's an hours drive away  So if I ever do make it out there, what's too high? What's considered low?


I'm with you. I wouldn't pay $30 for a test kit unless it was absolutely necessary. Instead, how about trying a small dose of potassium and see what happens. Too much of a nutrient isn't going to do anything bad unless it's the one nutrient in the water that's been limiting algae growth. That's probably not likely with K.

According to *Ecology of the Planted Aquarium*, plants prefer to take up potassium through their leaves from the water column, as opposed to through their roots. Perhaps Diana can expound on this, but that would leave me to believe that K has to be in the water column for good plant growth. And since so many NPTs go algae free, K shouldn't be the limiting nutrient. In addition, plants can actually store excess nutrients like K. This means you can try dosing your tank without worrying about throwing everything out of balance, and certainly without paying for an expensive test kit.


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## LVKSPlantlady (Oct 4, 2009)

DustyMac,

Thanks for the help I'm just waiting for my Order to come in then I'll see what that does.

But If K is the limting factor in my pants now and I fix that dosen't something else become the limting factor? Like Mg? 

I hope this works I want my plants to grow out of control again.
I think I'll use 'dirt' cubes if this does not work, should prob do that anyways, since the dirt is over 2 years old. Any thoughts on this?


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## Dustymac (Apr 26, 2008)

LVKSPlantlady said:


> But If K is the limting factor in my pants now and I fix that dosen't something else become the limting factor? Like Mg?


Exactly. That's why I usually dose Ca, Mg & K at the same time at 2:1:2 ratio. They're the three nutrients plants prefer to get from water. Everything else besides CO2 should come from the soil (I think...). Ultimately the limiting nutrient should be CO2, unless you want hyper growth, then all bets are off.



> I hope this works I want my plants to grow out of control again.
> I think I'll use 'dirt' cubes if this does not work, should prob do that anyways, since the dirt is over 2 years old. Any thoughts on this?


Well, your soil should still be OK after two years unless it hasn't been getting recharged by enough fish food. I would try the K first and see what happens. Toss in a little dissolved Epsom salts while you're at it. I'm thinking if you stir things up enough by pushing stuff into the substrate, you might get a visit from some algae.


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## LVKSPlantlady (Oct 4, 2009)

Well I always have had alge that grows on the sides, back and the little pots I put in there for hinding spots, the back and two side are almost coverd in alge now, I never scrap it off I figure It does not bother me there, I dont look though that side and maybe it helps the front not get so much so fast.

I did only have 2 Killi loaches in this tank for about 6 months... it's only been 3 since i put 3 snunk loaches and some gupies in... well see what happens. Thanks


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

LVKSPlantlady said:


> ok so I Tested the water hardness. It's at 12 GH and 5 KH, should they be closer together? Should I take out the empty snail shells, my shunk loaches LOVE ramshorn snails!
> 
> I wanted to buy a potassium test, but a $30 price tag put me off, I have not found a pet store yet that has the test, there is a Saltwater store that I think will be able to test it but it's an hours drive away  So if I ever do make it out there, what's too high? What's considered low?
> 
> Thanks


I'm assuming that your test results are in degrees. If they are then there is no need to tamper with the water by adding calcium and magnesium. You can leave the empty snail shells in the water if you want. I have empty shells in both of my tanks and it's never affected my water hardness.

As for adding potassium, there is no harm in doing that if your plants are showing deficiencies. Before I tore down my first 10g NPT, I had a really bad K deficiency in there and I added potassium sulfate and it really helped a great deal with the plants. I never used a potassium test kit though. They are quite pricey, as you well know, so I just used the fertilator along with the help of a fellow member here to help me figure out how much to add to up the potassium close to the 10ppm range.(I'm assuming the measurements are in ppm.)


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## LVKSPlantlady (Oct 4, 2009)

Got my package with the Florish potassium and Florish trace dosed both in the tank now lets see what that does.


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## LVKSPlantlady (Oct 4, 2009)

So it's been 5 weeks, for 3 weeks I was really good about dosing 2 or 3 times a week with the Florish potassium and Florish trace, and *wow* did all my red plants get DEEP red! My ozelot sword put out 2 leaves that were VERY dark maroon with black squares! The red Melon sword got darker too! And no more holes in the crpyto leaves!

Then I forgot to dose for a week, the ozelot's newest leaf is back to greenish-red with darker green squares! All the other red plants are making new leaves that are not as red as they were either, but on the other hand even after not dosing for awhile the crypto leaves are still hole free...

So I think I got the potassium and trace elements to a level that is high enough to sustain the plants but not to produce that deep red color... If I remember I'm going to dose one capful per 10 gals once a week I think that will keep levels high enough...soon I'm going to have to order more!


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Sounds like you have found the answer. I think there were not many fish in there, so you were feeding appropriately so the fish did not overeat and get sick, but this was not enough fertilizer for the plants.

Keep up the dosing with K and Trace.

Another source of these fertilizers is www.aquariumfertilizer.com
He sells the dry powders that you mix up yourself, so you are not paying for shipping water. 
He sells K2SO4 (Potassium source) and CSM+B, trace nutrient source. This may have enough iron for your tank, though some aquarists think it might not be. At aquarium fertilizer he also sells chelated iron.

Testing by way of looking at the plants is a good way to go. Some nutrients might show up on a test kit, but not really be available to the plants. Might be locked up in a way that the plants cannot get to them.

I would try adding clay balls, or fertilizer tablets to the soil for the other nutrients. Push them deep down so you bump into the bottom of the tank. After 2 years the plants may have used up a lot of the nutrients that were originally in the soil. With less fish (and less fish food) the soil might not be replenished.

A GH of 12 degrees suggests that there is Ca and Mg, but you do not know for sure. There might be a lot of one, and not much of the other. However, the plants would not have put on that great growth spurt if either of these were lacking. I would go by the plant response, and assume there is enough Ca and Mg to suit the plants. There are tests for these, too, but the plants are pretty good indicators.

You made a comment about supplying enough of something (such as K or Trace) then something else becomes the limiting factor. Yes, this happens. When the fertilizer in the shortest supply is added, then something else becomes 'the fertilizer in the shortest supply'. Watch for the next deficiency. There may not be a 'next deficiency', though. All nutrients might now be available in quantities that suit the light and other conditions, so the plants are growing the best they can. Faster growth will use up the fertilizers faster, though.


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## LVKSPlantlady (Oct 4, 2009)

What would happen if there were an Iron deficiency? What would the plants do.


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