Easy Iron

[TMartins]

Hello everyone, I had purchased Easy Iron mainly for Bacopa but since it never took off I was wondering if I should still dose with the Easy Iron for the other plants like Amazon Sword, Valisneria, Baby Tears, Water Wisteria and Java Moss.  I am using Easy Green 4 squirts 3 times a week in a 20 gallon tank because I never have nitrates, it’s a cycled tank with low stock at the moment.

[Rory Waliser]

What is the lighting like in your tank? Are the plants growing or sort of stalled?  Your dosing seems massive to me, but your plants are may loving it if they are in high enough light to consume that much and grow.

[TMartins]

I leave my light on for 10 hours a day and I’m just using an old fashioned hood with a 6500k fluorescent bulb.  The Amazon Sword has quadrupled in size since I bought it from the Co-Op.  The Valisneria is growing but very slowly and the Baby Tears and Wisteria are moderately growing.
 

I go by what the Co-Op says as recommended and I bought the Easy Iron for the Bacopa but for whatever reason the stems of the Bacopa kept dying and I finally gave up.  Since I have the Easy Iron I was wondering if it would help the plants I have in the tank since Easy Iron is not recommended by the Co-Op and not just dosing to grow algae.

[Patrick_G]

@TMartins your Easy Green dosing seems really high for a 20 gal. The instructions for low light indicate two pumps per week for a 20 gal. What Nitrate test are you using? The API liquid test requires you to follow the instructions exactly or you can get a false results. It had happened to me and several other forum members. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Patrick_G

[TMartins]

Thanks @Patrick_G for the tip.  I am using API testing solutions and went back and followed the Nitrate steps and I got back 5.0 ppm for Nitrates.  I was doing the Ammonia and Nitrites right and following the same for Nitrates.