[ldaniel]

This morning I added enough FE to raise the amount of iron in my 55g tank to 1.0ppm. When I took a sample and tested it 10 hours after I added the Iron my levels were 0.07ppm. Before adding the Iron my levels were 0.04ppm.

Could the added bentonite in my water be eating up the Iron I am adding.

Also on a side note, the turbidity in the tank went from 0 NTU last night to 3 NTU tonight. The only added fert was Iron.

Thanks

 

[Hoppy]

I assume the bentonite is part of the substrate? It is a clay, so it has a high CEC. CEC means the particles can adsorb lots of positive ions (cations), like Fe+++. That could remove some of the iron from the water, but it would then be even more available to the plants through their roots. That is the reason why high CEC is a desirable attribute of substrates.

But, from what I have been reading for a few years, when you dose iron the level in the water doesn't stay there very long, because the plants quickly take it in, apparently storing it for future use.

 

[ldaniel]

I have been doing a lot of research here in the past weeks. From what I can gather, my tank is the low on iron even know why does additional iron everyday. I dosed 2ppm this morning and will check the levels again tonight when I go to work.
my lights are currently on a 4 on 4 off schedule, between when I left for work last night and got home this morning I have seen substantial growth in my Cabomba and Mexican oak.
I will be taking iron concentrate and bentonite with me to work tonight and see what type of experimentation I can come up with.
Thank you for the reply.

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