AndreaW Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 I've only had these Java Fern plants since the end of January so they are still adjusting (dark spots on original leaves). However, I'm seeing quite a bit of new growth (roots and new leaflets growing from the tips) so I added some fertilizer: 3/5 .7mL Flourish 3/8 5mL Leaf Zone A few days after adding the fertilizer, I noticed the young leaf tips on my Javas were beginning to darken. I haven't fertilized since then and have been watching the new growth, which has continued to darken at the tips. I finally got my Easy Green fertilizer, so I was going to switch over to that, but wanted advice before I add any more. Here are my current tank parameters: 10 Gallon corner tank with original LED lights built into lid (12 white & 3 blue LEDs) all in a row, and water lettuce shading most of the tank surface. Lights are on a schedule 11am-7pm and it does get natural light in the morning and about 20 minutes of direct sunlight that hits the front corner of the tank. pH 7.6 KH 7° (125ppm) GH 16° (286.4ppm) Ammonia 0ppm Nitrites 0ppm Nitrates <5ppm Phosphate .5ppm Temp 79°F Plants in the tank: Java Fern, "Windelov" Java Fern, and some other unknown plants that might be Anubias, Crypt & Sword? All other plants are beginning to put out new growth and I think are doing fine so far. Sorry, some of the pics are sideways and I can't get them right-side-up. I'm assuming I need to add more fertilizer since my Nitrate/Phosphate is are low, but when the tips started turning dark I worried I might have overdone it. I've tried researching but some people say it's typical Java growth and others say its a nutrient deficiency. If this was a houseplant, I would think I over-fertilized or over-watered it! Can you over-fertilize aquatic plants? I would assume you would just grow algae at that point since the plant only absorbs what it needs, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Both of those fertilizers don't have a significant source of NPK. You will need add that along with either of those. But only use flourish or leafzone, not both when you begin using a NPK source. I personally would use flourish over leafzone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaW Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 On 3/14/2022 at 12:33 PM, Mmiller2001 said: Both of those fertilizers don't have a significant source of NPK. You will need add that along with either of those. But only use flourish or leafzone, not both when you begin using a NPK source. I personally would use flourish over leafzone. Originally I bought the Flourish (advised by the LFS), but then I read that Java Fern need more Potassium so I got the Leaf Zone. If I use Easy Green, I won't need the Flourish or Leaf Zone, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Easy Green is low on P, K and Fe in my opinion. You might could use both. You would just need to calculate totals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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