[MarkM]

I have two low tech planted tanks. Each has a medium fish loading, medium to heavy plant load, low light, reasonable filtration, substrate, and temperature. Plants are all low light and are growing OK, though slow. Algae is under control. I am dosing with the dry ferts specd in PPS as below but once a week or 10 days not daily as that program is for CO2 and high light.

K2SO4 potassium sulfate
KNO3 potassium nitrate
KH2PO4 potassium phosphate
MgSO4 magnesium sulfate

I have to perform a 50% water change each week to keep my nitrate level in check, under 20. I assume that my plants are not using the nitrates produced by the bio load and that my dosing additional KNO3 is putting too much nitrate in the mix. Should I reduce or eliminate the KNO3 in my fert mix?

thanks,
Mark

 

[MarkM]

More Info

OK, more information on my tanks. First I have a 120 and a 50. Fifty has been up for about 9 years with plants for about 1 year. The 120 has been up for 8 months.

Here are picts of the 120 and 50.

Both tanks have LED lighting set a a Par level of 20-25 at the substrate. The 120 gets light for 8.5 hours a day and the 50 for 7.5 hours a day. I do dose with TE once a week at the same time as the macros. I have been using the base PPS formula which provides an ingredient amount of each element to dose on a daily basis. As I am low tech I expect slow growth and I cut the frequency to once a week or ten days from daily but kept the mix the same.

In terms of plant names, I am lost beyond wisteria, madagascar lace, anubias, java ferns. I do have about a dozen other plant types.

Fish load is I believe medium. 120 with six juvi Angles, a dozen Tetras, and four Corys. The 50 has 18 Tetras and 3 Corys.

Mark