# [Wet Thumb Forum]-what am i missing



## qbal18 (Jul 19, 2004)

my swords, java fern and a few other bit larger leaf plants are not growing properly all the new growth is growing very crinkly and twisted like. my tank is at kh30ppm(i add kent ph stable, basically baking soda from the ingredients, normal tap has 20ppm i try and keep 50ppm) gh20ppm presserized co2 ph6.5 NO31ppm Fe .1-.25ppm no trace of PO4 temp84 2.6wpg no floresent i add 1 teaspoon potassium sulfate 2x week, 2ml kent fertilizer daily, up until 3 weeks ago everything grow like weeds expecially the java fern but now my java fern is almost all dead even the old stuff got big dead spots on the leaf that looked like it was almost roting away and now i have no old leafs there was a big log coverd in the stuff and now the new growth has that odd groth.

tank specs are in my profile


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## qbal18 (Jul 19, 2004)

my swords, java fern and a few other bit larger leaf plants are not growing properly all the new growth is growing very crinkly and twisted like. my tank is at kh30ppm(i add kent ph stable, basically baking soda from the ingredients, normal tap has 20ppm i try and keep 50ppm) gh20ppm presserized co2 ph6.5 NO31ppm Fe .1-.25ppm no trace of PO4 temp84 2.6wpg no floresent i add 1 teaspoon potassium sulfate 2x week, 2ml kent fertilizer daily, up until 3 weeks ago everything grow like weeds expecially the java fern but now my java fern is almost all dead even the old stuff got big dead spots on the leaf that looked like it was almost roting away and now i have no old leafs there was a big log coverd in the stuff and now the new growth has that odd groth.

tank specs are in my profile


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## imported_Svennovitch (Feb 1, 2003)

You definitely need some macronutrients!
You are already adding Potassium, that is ok, but your plants also need nitrogen and phosphor. 
You can add KNO3 for nitrates (nitrogen) and KH2PO4 (or Fleet enema, check other threads!!) for phosphates (phosphor).

Try to keep 10 ppm of NO3 and 0.75 ppm of PO4.

Hope this helps,
Sven


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

Your kH is also very low as is your gH. Try getting them both up. Use some Epsom salts to raise the gH. And you really do need PO4 in the tank. Do you know what your nitrate levels are?

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[This message was edited by Rex Grigg on Sun April 20 2003 at 06:16 AM.]


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## imported_Svennovitch (Feb 1, 2003)

Rex,
if i am reading correctly, his NO3 is 1 ppm and his PO4 is unmeasurable.

Yes, his GH is low but plants shouldn't be troubled by it IMO. The macros (NPK) are more important.

Regards,
Sven


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## Vicki (Jan 31, 2003)

They'll be troubled by the low GH if there's not enough calcium and magnesium in the water--and in fact, the plant symptoms sound like a calcium deficiency.

http://www.wheelpost.com


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## qbal18 (Jul 19, 2004)

ok so i soudl add epson salt to the tank for GH is 50ppm good and is 50-60ppm KH ok? i do have a bmedium fish load i in it but i have 2 discus in there right now wil the epsom salt bother them? i will get some fleet enema from home depot this week for adding KNO3 when i add that woudl i not add potasium sulfate then? or do i need to add both? also for the time being i have 2.6wpg i think this this weekend i wil add more light to make it 3.1wpg may help a bit.

tank specs are in my profile


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## qbal18 (Jul 19, 2004)

for adding kh to the tank i kepp haveing to add more stuff to it almost daily to keep the kh at 50-60ppm it seems like the plants use it up faster then anything is there any stable way to us coral or what ever in the canister filter or wil i have to keep cheking that as well so t dose not keep changing climbing on me

tank specs are in my profile


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## wetmanNY (Feb 1, 2003)

Two teaspoons of potassium sulfate every week might be the source of the apparent calcium deficiency. Potassium competes with calcium. I'd simply increase the amount of crushed coral in my filtration and withold potassium until new growth straightens out.


That sulfate must be building up mightily in there too.


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## BenMontana (Feb 1, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by wetmanNY:
> Two teaspoons of potassium sulfate every week might be the source of the apparent calcium deficiency. Potassium competes with calcium. I'd simply increase the amount of crushed coral in my filtration and withold potassium until new growth straightens out.


That is interesting, do you know of any linked data I could read on that?


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## qbal18 (Jul 19, 2004)

ok i have ripped everything out and chucked what was bad only keeping the still good plants i sived of the top layer of sand to get al the surfas sand crap and it was all good for a few day plants alredy getting new grouth and all but the cynobacteria is starting to come back again on the sand where there is hte most light i have got all my nutrients to good levels and have added a power head to my CO2 to disolve the co2 better and add more circulation what am i missing dose the stuff liek dead spots in water more then moveing areas? were it is located is in the front center of the tank probally the most still of hte tank my hair grass thta is there dose not move from the current.

tank specs are in my profile


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## wetmanNY (Feb 1, 2003)

BenMontana: try googling "hydroponics nutrient competition calcium magnesium potassium'

There are even more sources among terrestrial agriculture for these well-established cation competitions, but not everyone understands their relevance to aquarium conditions-- that _all_ nutrient uptake occurs at a cell surface where ions are in solution. Thus "dry land" nutrition is just as wet at the cell surface as nutrient uptake in an aquarium.

Does one have to make a case that hydroponic solutions are comparable to fertilized aquarium water?


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## Mortadelo (Mar 14, 2004)

I agree with the above, I get calcium deficiency (distorted new growth) when I overdose K2SO4. Symptoms dissapear when I hold back potassium. An guy told me this happens first to calcium loving plants, I did not realized that until now, but it seems to be true. 

Saludos.


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