Excel/CO2 deficiency

[FriendsNotFood]

If my plants are showing signs of CO2 deficiency (I dose tons of ferts/potassium but they're still getting holes in their leaves) can I dose more Excel than it says on the bottle to make up for it, or can plants only absorb so much Excel and the extra Excel is going to poison my critters? Otherwise, I'll just lower my lighting even more than I have already, but I wanted to know if Excel was something that could be "bumped up" like CO2.

[wizza]

yes you can use more excel but i dont feel that to be your problem.


i think there is more of an underlying cause.

Are the holes like pin heads or are they large.

if they are large, are they being eaten? Have you got a plec or similar?


Mark

[HD Blazingwolf]

mark, he is probably correct most deficiencies are signs of low c02 /carbon. some plants react differently to it. it is 80% of the time the underlying cause of problems in this hobby combined with light.

excel can be upped. but remember it is a disinfectant. too much can harm everything including ur filter bacteria.. less light is much easier to accomplish and requires less dosing, maintenance, etc

[wizza]

ok then fair enough.
in that case then co2 is the limiting factor (because all other bases are covered) which as we know excel is no real substatute for compressed co2.
so either like he said limit the lighting(something closer to what the excel is suitable for) or ofcourse go the co2 route... maybe?!


mark

[djscotty]

Now I am having the same problem as well. You say limit the amount of lighting. Can you just run your lights for less time per day? Like I have mine set for almost 8 hrs and have very little algae in the tank but also have holes in the leaves. I am not able to change my lighting per say besides just limit the length of time they are on. Hope that makes sense.

[Rockhoe14er]

Originally Posted by djscotty

Now I am having the same problem as well. You say limit the amount of lighting. Can you just run your lights for less time per day? Like I have mine set for almost 8 hrs and have very little algae in the tank but also have holes in the leaves. I am not able to change my lighting per say besides just limit the length of time they are on. Hope that makes sense.

yes you can lower your photo period. Some people only have their lights on for 5 hours.

My question to you and the op is how long have conditions in your tank been the constant. This means how long have you been dosing excel/ EI fertilizing?

the plants in your tank are showing how you're tank conditions were two weeks ago. Even if everything is perfect in your tank now it'll take time before your plants will show this. Also plants are really picky and need conditions to be the same day in and day out so try to do that as much as possible and over time you're plants will adapt and grow much better assuming you've don't have any deficiencies.

[FriendsNotFood]

I put a metal screen under mine to reduce it. My light sits directly on top of the glass lid of my tank so I put the screen between the lid and the light. Works really well, cut my lighting by about 60%. You can also add floating plants but I know those are not everybody's cup of tea if you don't like the look of roots.

[FriendsNotFood]

I've been adding ferts for at least a month now but I'm not terribly consistent with them. I started out dosing N and Micros, then I tested my nitrates and they looked to be in the 40s so I stopped dosing N and started dosing K. So now I dose K and Micros 4-5 times a week, 1-2 pumps from a pFertz bottle, for the past couple weeks. I lowered the light sometime before the holidays so that's been stable for a couple weeks now.

Here's my full tank specs just in case:

36 gallon
4x24w t5 for 6 hours, 2x24w t5 for 4 hours, but there's a mesh screen under my lights that cuts them by about 60%
No CO2, Excel daily
Plants: It's turning into a hygro collector tank. Hygro Tiger, Hygro Augustifolia, Hygro Bold, just added Hygro Pinnatifida yesterday. Also crypt balansae, some other crypt, weeping moss, lilaeopsis mauritiana, frogbit, marsilea minuta, and java fern. The hygros are the only ones with pinholes in the older leaves.

This is what my hygro looked like before I reduced the lighting. It looks way better now.

[djscotty]

Originally Posted by FriendsNotFood

I've been adding ferts for at least a month now but I'm not terribly consistent with them. I started out dosing N and Micros, then I tested my nitrates and they looked to be in the 40s so I stopped dosing N and started dosing K. So now I dose K and Micros 4-5 times a week, 1-2 pumps from a pFertz bottle, for the past couple weeks. I lowered the light sometime before the holidays so that's been stable for a couple weeks now.

Here's my full tank specs just in case:

36 gallon
4x24w t5 for 6 hours, 2x24w t5 for 4 hours, but there's a mesh screen under my lights that cuts them by about 60%
No CO2, Excel daily
Plants: It's turning into a hygro collector tank. Hygro Tiger, Hygro Augustifolia, Hygro Bold, just added Hygro Pinnatifida yesterday. Also crypt balansae, some other crypt, weeping moss, lilaeopsis mauritiana, frogbit, marsilea minuta, and java fern. The hygros are the only ones with pinholes in the older leaves.

This is what my hygro looked like before I reduced the lighting. It looks way better now.

I also have a 36 gallon.

[happi]

Originally Posted by djscotty

I also have a 36 gallon.

this rather looks like co2 problems, plants are not taking up those nutrients due to lack of co2. that is why you also have high N levels.

[djscotty]

My tank has been setup since Oct and is fully planted. I started dosing excel per the bottle every other day and for the last month stepped it up to daily as per the recommendations. I use Rootmedic ferts weekly with the water changes. I have been pretty much on the same routine. Not all of my plants have holes but I have started to notice them just recently.

[JoraaÑ]

Increase Kno3.

[FriendsNotFood]

How high of nitrates do people usually aim for? I checked mine a few times last week and they were between 20 and 40 (I honestly couldn't tell because the orange color in the test tube seemed darker than the orange on the chart but it wasn't pinkish like the next level up...)

[FriendsNotFood]

So I went ahead and cut my lights even more. All the hyrgos turned light green and grew vertically towards the light, but still get holes like crazy, even in leaves that are a couple days old. I dose 3 pumps of pfertz K every day and my nitrates are between 20 and 40. Getting ready to give up on the hygro ):

[HD Blazingwolf]

ok nitrates between 10-20ppm nitrate is reasonable for the beginning hobbyist. its a safe range that will grow just about anything.
are u dosing phosphates?
how much water do u change per week

and good the fact that reducing lighting made plants respond positively means there was a deficiency related to carbon and, or fertilizer