New lighting + nutrients

[newworldan06]

I have a 30 gallon tank with driftwood, rotala, cabomba, java ferns, crypts, and amazon sword. I just purchased a coral life nutri grow bulb. It is 30 watts and I will also be putting my 20 watt flourescent on along with it. My question is about nutrients. I have the two kent products the go along with each other (The freshwater plant, and pro plant). How much do you think I should be in of these on a regular basis. I also have R/o water for my fish Should i just add nutrients when I add the R/O. It is only 1.7 wpg.


thanks for any advice

 

[aspen]

are you injecting co2? i would check the ingredients and see if they are adding calcium and/or magnesium. this will cancel out the benefit of using r/o, depending on how much you are using.

rick

 

[newworldan06]

Yes I am injecting C02, and how would those elements cancel the R/o?

 

[aspen]

by using r/o you are using water that is devoid of the hardness metal elements, like calcium and magnesium. some ferts like f/i tropica master grow have these in them, so you are simply hardening your water a bit by using them. see what i mean? i'm not sure how much the fertilisers have in them but i know they are listed as ingredients.

rick

 

[aspen]

as for how much fert to use and when well, that is a personal issue. i like to use no added ferts for the first couple of weeks in a planted, then use them as the plants take hold and start showing deficiencies. others add right to the levels right from the start.

how much to add is completely dependant on how much the plants are using. measurements need to be taken till you get the hang of the specific bunch of plants you have and how fast they are growing under your light set-up. after a couple of weeks i check iron, gh, kh, and if injecting co2, then ph from the very start till i get it set up the way i want it and i'm sure the levels are correct.

rick

 

[newworldan06]

Alright cool thanks. And well I have to add back some hardness and i do that with a type of chemical so it might be cool if i had some ferts it adds the hardness i need. I will have to do some test on the water before i put it in. Also wat signs should i be looking for in nutrient diffencency?

thanks for your help

 

[aspen]

all planted tank owners should have http://www.thekrib.com bookmarked and you should browse there now and again or do searches on particular questions. unfortunately they are down right now, something i can't remember happening before.

there is a document entitled 'common symptoms of nutrient deficiencies in aquatic plants'. i printed this off and keep it pinned to my bulletin board. however if you are adding a good fert with everything to grow plants like tropica master grow, all you really have to check for is iron, and if the levels of iron are where they should be, then you can be sure that everything else is likely where it should be. be sure that you can spot iron deficiency- the pale green colour of new growth. this is almost always the first thing to check for, as it is the most important element after the NPK nutrients.

when you are at the krib, read some of their other articles about growing plants and water chemistry, they are really good. you can do searches for a specific topic and get a bunch of replies about that q from other planted tank owners.

rick