# Name that deficiency



## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

I believe these are amazon swords and they're having some issues. I thought it might either be nitrogen or potassium deficiency, but i thought i'd get the wisdom of more experienced folks. 

I have 41 watts on around 27 gallons, the animals are: har. rasboras, 1 sunset angelfish, a rainbow fish, cory catfish, and some silver tip tetras. No snails yet. I've noticed some yellowing in old growth of my brazilian microsword, and i've seen some brown spotty algae on some of the larger leaf plants. I've got flourite substrate. 

Thanks for the help. I love this forum.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I am thinking not nitrogen, but possibly potassium or magnesium. Also, in the first picture, that looks like damage. Do you have a plecostomous?


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## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

no plecos.


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

Iron. When I had swords they were *huge* consumers of iron. Work the iron and CO2 if you're running it.


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## Pickled_Herring (Jul 22, 2010)

How old are the swords and how long have they been planted in your tank?


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## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

The swords were pretty mature when I got them, but already had the clear tips. I've had it in here for about a month. Thanks!


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## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

bueller?


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## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

update: So my phosphates are around 2 ppm. Which i understand means something else is not available to the plants. My nitrates are around 10 ppm. I dose with excel, flourish, potassium, and iron pretty regularly. I have flourite substrate, and I've used the flourite undergravel tabs. I have extremely low ph, I'm not happy about it. It's below 6. My test kit doesn't go any lower. I hear it could be the phosphates buffering at a lower ph, so I used the baking soda technique to raise ph, didn't help as far as i can tell. My tap water has .25 ppm phosphates, 0 nitrates/ammonia, ph of 7.9. I've been doing 25 percent water changes daily for a week. No success. The driftwood in my tank has been submerged for several years. I'm going to test the rocks in a bucket and see if they are raising the phosphates. Also the ballast for my 80 watt lights are going to be here in a few days, but at the moment I have 40 watts on my 28 gallon tank. There's a powdery brown algae on a few of my leaves and a very small and dark algae on some of my java fern. my macro sword and my cabomba is just melting away. I need help. 

I have an anubius that I've had for 3 years and It has brown spots all over the older leaves and the newer leaf looks a bit yellow. I don't have time to have a full-time job, do constant water changes AND get a degree in chemistry, so I'm hoping someone can help me out and say "oh yeah, that's what it is". I'm gonna test iron and magnesium. Any more ideas?


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## wet (Nov 24, 2008)

(I've never properly grown or had the tanks for big swords.)

The brown algae you describe may be diatoms and, if your source was an LFS, some or all of your other plants may have been emergent growth, and it is normal for it to die off while sending new, usable, growing submerged growth. 

When I first started using Excel, years ago, I got all excited by people quadjuple dosing and melted many plants. 

40 watts, depending on the kind of light, might not meet the minimum threshold for light at your plant's current depth. A good way to test this with stems is to float them for a while. 

Don't worry about chasing a pH number. You're doing a good job thinking of nutrients and your instincts make sense. But if you're looking to tinker, just follow Seachem's dosing schedule for now, then spend your time on DIY CO2 first. This is by far the best food for your plants. (Excel as a supplement is much better than Excel as a replacement to CO2. DIY CO2 isn't as easy or adaptable as pressurized, but, by your second or third batch, weekly changes of alternating DIY CO2 bottles is fast and extremely effective.)

HTH!


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## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

wet said:


> (I've never properly grown or had the tanks for big swords.)
> 
> The brown algae you describe may be diatoms and, if your source was an LFS, some or all of your other plants may have been emergent growth, and it is normal for it to die off while sending new, usable, growing submerged growth.
> 
> ...


THANKs! I was feeling like an idiot. It's nerve racking to spend a bunch of money on plants just to see them die and get covered with algae and to see my ph so acidic. I'm getting my bulbs in a few days and my ballast should be here any day. I'm going to do diy co2 asap from a bunch of spare parts from work(I build espresso machines for a living). I'm going to use an old steel boiler as my canister, a 125 solenoid/valve on a timer, a manometer to keep my pressure consistent and a steam valve. Not sure if i should use the copper ones and leak some copper into the water, but i could get a steel valve cheap. I'll just get a drop checker and a diffuser and be in business.


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## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

So, I put some crushed coral in, and some of seachem's seagel. my ph is back to normal. So, I was reading last week that a non aquatic plant some people use for medicinal purposes can't absorb fertilizers if the water they're suspended in has an inappropriately low or high ph. So now that my ph is up to 6.8, it seems to be working, 4 days later and all my plants are growing noticeably more than they've grown in a month and aren't showing signs of deficiancies for the most part. Algae is disapearing, still some beard algae though. Most of my plants are South American and the same book talked about the lighting cycles in South America. So I timed my lights to mimic the fall lighting within the southern tropics. I just need some flowering plants. so...


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## TonyVideo (Aug 11, 2010)

"My test kit doesn't go any lower. I hear it could be the phosphates buffering at a lower ph, so I used the baking soda technique to raise ph"

I wasn't aware phosphates could buffer at a lower ph. Is this possible? I also thought using baking soda would raise the Kh and provide a buffer for the Ph but was not aware it would also raise the Ph. Is this possible? Thanks.


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## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

TonyVideo said:


> I wasn't aware phosphates could buffer at a lower ph. Is this possible? I also thought using baking soda would raise the Kh and provide a buffer for the Ph but was not aware it would also raise the Ph. Is this possible? Thanks.


I couldn't tell ya. Just a newb trying to gain some knowledge. But I'll tell ya in a day or two if they buffer at a lower ph. I have 2 tanks. One had some old carbon in the filter media. I removed it and rinsed the container, then did a 25% water change. If the plants are able at this low of a ph to absorb it it should go away, and we'll see what that does to the ph.


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## TonyVideo (Aug 11, 2010)

rpmsongs said:


> I couldn't tell ya. Just a newb trying to gain some knowledge. But I'll tell ya in a day or two if they buffer at a lower ph. I have 2 tanks. One had some old carbon in the filter media. I removed it and rinsed the container, then did a 25% water change. If the plants are able at this low of a ph to absorb it it should go away, and we'll see what that does to the ph.


I wouldn't use carbon in a planted tank unless you are trying to clear up the water and use only for a couple of days maximum. Carbon in your filter will take in some of your micro nutrients if I am not mistaken. Below 6 is REAL low. How are your fish handling it?


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