SJ fishing Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Looking for some suggestions on what I may be doing wrong please. I have a number of planted tanks and have been successfully growing a large number of plants but really struggling with red stem plants such as different types of ludwigia, rotala hra. The stems continue to rot and the plants slowly die off. All tanks are low tech, and I have several different lights from hygger to led flood lights, using easy green and Coop root tabs. Substrate in all tanks is eco complete with sand on top. Wondering if it’s an iron deficiency? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 What is the KH and pH of the tank? Has the sand filled in the gaps of the Eco Complete? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Without knowing water parameters, lighting, etc my first instinct was it could be a flow/compaction issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ fishing Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 On 2/19/2022 at 10:03 AM, Mmiller2001 said: What is the KH and pH of the tank? Has the sand filled in the gaps of the Eco Complete? Kh is 120, ph 7.6. I’m sure it’s possible the sand has filled the gaps, but I do have a number of other stems that are doing well. Ambulia, pearlweed, rotala rotundifolia, bacopa, myrio, pogomon stella, to name a few….and it’s consistent over 12 different tanks. Only the red stems struggling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Okay, sometimes the stems can get pinched and rot right at the substrate. It's possible iron is low as EG is EDTA chelated and after a pH 6.8, little Fe is getting to the plants. I don't use root tabs, so I can't speak to what form/ if any chelates are used in them, but with a pH of 7.6, I'd look to DTPA chelated iron. This will make it more available at your pH zone. Another alternative is Ferrous Gluconate, Seachem Iron comes in this form. It's more expensive, but easy to use. There are also dry versions, which I use, but require a bit more measuring input from the user. How much Easy Green are you dosing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ fishing Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 Had to read that a few times to process all that lol. Lots of info I didn’t think to include with my original question, so the stems don’t rot at the base, it’s happens halfway up. Not sure if it helps but I am able to grow AR mini easy green dosage varies per tank, I have a platy tank that they breed so much I only dose once a week. Other tanks are more lightly stocked and I dose once or twice a week, could probably do more frequently as some tanks stay right around 0 nitrates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 If this was me, I'd stop root tabs going forward and I would dose 2 to 3 pumps per 10 gallons of Easy Green. Example, using a 40 gallon tank (about 35 actual gallons) 7 to 9 pumps per week. I would also change 50% of my water weekly. If I did less water changes, I'd reduce pumps accordingly. I would then dose about an additional .1 to .3 Fe from DTPA or Ferrous Gluconate. On 2/19/2022 at 12:03 PM, SJ fishing said: some tanks stay right around 0 nitrates This is likely the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ fishing Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 Ok thanks for the guidance! I’m quite jealous of your plant knowledge, I need to up my game pics of a few of my tanks just because lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 @Mmiller2001 fertilizer knowledge is scary so I wouldn't second guess his conclusion that its an iron deficiency. I just wanted to chime in and say that I use Mexican Pottery Clay in my substrate to supplement iron instead of liquid dosing. I have but it always seems to cause a water silk breakout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Those tanks look great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 Im not exact sure if this was because of too much iron in the water column or because of other issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 iron is the key to get red plants to really get good color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ fishing Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 On 2/19/2022 at 4:12 PM, JoeQ said: @Mmiller2001 fertilizer knowledge is scary so I wouldn't second guess his conclusion that its an iron deficiency. I just wanted to chime in and say that I use Mexican Pottery Clay in my substrate to supplement iron instead of liquid dosing. I have but it always seems to cause a water silk breakout. Yeah it is, I had to google info as I was reading his/ her response On 2/19/2022 at 4:14 PM, Mmiller2001 said: Those tanks look great! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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