Low nitrate fert?

[Mychala]

I have pinholes in the leaves of my crypts. I'm currently dosing easy green 1-2x per week but my nitrates are wanting to stay over 40ppm. Is there a fertilizer I could add into my routine with much less to no nitrates and more of the rest? 

[Wes L.]

You're probably overdosing the fertilizer, which is why your nitrate level is a bit high. Crypts feed both from the roots and from the water column, however they are primarily root feeders which grow a complex web of roots which bring the nutrients to the rhizome....so the majority of the nutrients come from the roots and only a small amount from the water column. Are you using root tabs? That's the best way to make sure crypts get the nutrients they need. They won't get enough from just the water column. The melting is the crypt's self-defense mechanism. The plant looses less nutrients from the rhizome if it just eradicates the leaf instead of using valuable nutrients trying to save it.

[KBOzzie59]

Maybe go Easy Green once a week and get a potassium supplement.

[KBOzzie59]

2 minutes ago, Wes L. said:

You're probably overdosing the fertilizer, which is why your nitrate level is a bit high. Crypts feed both from the roots and from the water column, however they are primarily root feeders which grow a complex web of roots which bring the nutrients to the rhizome....so the majority of the nutrients come from the roots and only a small amount from the water column. Are you using root tabs? That's the best way to make sure crypts get the nutrients they need. They won't get enough from just the water column. The melting is the crypt's self-defense mechanism. The plant looses less nutrients from the rhizome if it just eradicates the leaf instead of using valuable nutrients trying to save it.

No rhizome on a crypt.

[MDoc]

Easy Green analysis says 2.66% Nitrogen
Seachem Flourish analysis only says 0.07% Nitrogen

So if Nitrates are your only problem, you could try that.  However, Flourish also is lower in phosphate, much lower in potassium, and lower in a lot of the micronutrients as well. It is higher in iron and boron though. A bit of trade offs with either.

1-2 times a week of Easy Green may just be overkill. 

[Wes L.]

6 minutes ago, KBOzzie59 said:

No rhizome on a crypt.

Crypts definitely have a rhizome. It doesn't look the same as rhizomes on other plants such as anubia, but they do technically and biologically have a rhizome. 

Cryptocoryne Parva's (for example) main method of propagation is through rhizomes. Rhizome is the term for a plant stem that has nodes that send out shoots and roots. Sometimes these rhizomes are called root stalks. The root stalks (sometimes also referred to as creeping root stalks) grow horizontally out of axillary buds. Shoots may also grow upwards. One method of propagation is through runners, which are stems that grow at the surface of the substrate or just below. In contrast, the rhizome is a root-like stem that can also grow underground, and can grow horizontally.

[Mychala]

@Wes L. my substrate is fluval stratum but I did put some root tabs in this morning as the stratum is getting a bit old, maybe that will fix the problem. I have been dosing higher to try and get more trace elements to correct the problem, knowing this makes the nitrates higher I have also been doing larger water changes. It's just become work to keep up with it. I was hoping there is a product that is more or less just the trace elements.  But I think I'll just hold off and see if the root tabs do the trick. This tank is heavily planted with vallisneria and stem plants as well, I'm afraid they may be sucking up the trace elements. 

[Wes L.]

23 minutes ago, Mychala said:

I was hoping there is a product that is more or less just the trace elements.

Seachem makes Flourish Trace, which is just the trace elements. I've never used it, but seen it in the stores. However I think now that you've used the root tabs I would also just kick back and see what happens. That could easily solve your issue.

[Mychala]

@Wes L. sounds like the easier option! I hope it does the trick , if not I'll try the flourish trace.  Maybe it's just about time for a complete rescape🤔 its been a while...

[Brandy]

Flourish also makes potassium alone and phosphate alone. Agree with @Wes L. that root tabs are the first step, but if you find you want to bump up just one component there are options. I have a tank with just anubias as a bonsai "tree" and it sucks up potassium and gets really cranky and full of holes if I skip the extra potassium.

[Wes L.]

3 minutes ago, Brandy said:

I have a tank with just anubias as a bonsai "tree" and it sucks up potassium and gets really cranky and full of holes if I skip the extra potassium.

@BrandyThis is why this forum is so brilliant, I constantly learn new things....this is off topic, but I grow aquatic plants fairly well, however I have always had a massive problem growing anubias....and supposedly it's one of the easiest plants. I've always been baffled by my inability to grow them. I have never heard of adding potassium before, however now I'm going to give it a shot. Also, would you mind posting a photo of your anubias bonsai? I have a bonsai that I made by cutting up marimo moss balls because I was too afraid to use anubias because I suck at growing them. I think the ones made with anubias look really cool. Thanks!

[Brandy]

@Wes L. here you go! Not the best angle, and I have since given it a hard trim, it is a little overgrown here.

EDIT TO ADD: My water is everything poor--very soft, almost RO water. I use a mineral supplement too, and an occaisional shot of easy green. I did not build this tank, I inherited it from a friend, but it has thrived significantly in my care.

Edited January 27, 2021 by Brandy

[Mychala]

Surprisingly I stumbled on a 0-0-1 fert, it's actually Aqueon, if anyone else is looking. 

[Kirsten]

14 hours ago, Brandy said:

@Wes L. here you go! Not the best angle, and I have since given it a hard trim, it is a little overgrown here.

EDIT TO ADD: My water is everything poor--very soft, almost RO water. I use a mineral supplement too, and an occaisional shot of easy green. I did not build this tank, I inherited it from a friend, but it has thrived significantly in my care.

OMG that's so gorgeous. So jealous of that lush green carpet! Is that dwarf baby tears? And what's your floating plant? Do you do any CO2?

[Brandy]

17 minutes ago, Kirsten said:

OMG that's so gorgeous. So jealous of that lush green carpet! Is that dwarf baby tears? And what's your floating plant? Do you do any CO2?

No co2. NOT baby tears! That's Monte Carlo, and the tree is Anubis Nana Petite. The floater is just water lettuce I had in there to make new fish feel safe. It is prettier without it but the fish feel exposed. The carpet took about a year to really cover. This tank is now so prolific that I hack mats out to put in other tanks, and trimmed about 16 Nana Petite plants to move to other tanks.

[Kirsten]

2 hours ago, Brandy said:

No co2. NOT baby tears! That's Monte Carlo, and the tree is Anubis Nana Petite. The floater is just water lettuce I had in there to make new fish feel safe. It is prettier without it but the fish feel exposed. The carpet took about a year to really cover. This tank is now so prolific that I hack mats out to put in other tanks, and trimmed about 16 Nana Petite plants to move to other tanks.

Well I for one am inspired to get some Monte Carlo at the very least! Great work!