[FlyingHellFish]

Picked up a GH/KH kit, tap water turns out to be 10.

Flourite Black Substrate
GH 10
KH 4
High Tech/1.5bps

Yellowing Problem:
i. Extra Iron = no result
ii. Extra K = Some results
iii. Extra K and Mg = Fixed

So I reduced my Flourish dosing and I see no different over a 2 week period. No yellowing and I been doing only N,K,P and Mg. Co2 reminds the same.


Question:

1.So do you guys with hard tap water dose Micros? I read that Hard water would require more Micros, which doesn't make much sense to me.

2.How do you keep plants that require soft water per EI dosing?

3.Is there such a thing as over fertilizing with micros, and what results does this produce?

 

[steven p]

answer to #3 is heavy metal poisoning

 

[FlyingHellFish]

Ah, I see.

Thanks for the heads-up, I'm going to remove that Iron Crowbar I left in the tank.

 

[micheljq]

Question:

1.So do you guys with hard tap water dose Micros? I read that Hard water would require more Micros, which doesn't make much sense to me.

2.How do you keep plants that require soft water per EI dosing?

3.Is there such a thing as over fertilizing with micros, and what results does this produce?

1. GH 10 is not that hard, some tests may tell it's hard water though. For me hard water would be 15 or even 25 GH.

2. Most plants will grow in GH 10, but you should also check your pH.

3. Basically with GH 10 your water must have enough magnesium and calcium, it will have some micros. But it's better to continue dosing micros most tap waters have some micros but may lacks some others. Overdosing micros can lead to algae issues (for example too much iron can induce algae).

Correct me if I am wrong.

Michel.

 

[jmhart]

Question:

1.So do you guys with hard tap water dose Micros? I read that Hard water would require more Micros, which doesn't make much sense to me.

2.How do you keep plants that require soft water per EI dosing?

3.Is there such a thing as over fertilizing with micros, and what results does this produce?

1. Yes, you should dose micros. Hard water will be high in primarily in Magnesium and Calcium. If you are wanting to dose EI, I would stick to the same recommendation for micros. In EI, you are "overdosing" on ferts to make sure that the plants always have plenty of what they need...and then you reset with your weekly water change so that you don't get into bad levels.

2. Well, that can be a bit of a challange. It will really depend on what type of plants you're talking about. Let's assume difficult, soft water plants. You'll have a hard time growing these using just tap water. The easiest solution is to not try to grow these :flick:, but just above that is to purchase RO/DI water from your local aquarium store and cut your tap water with that to get to your desired GH level. 25% RO/DI will drop your GH by 25%, and so forth. Of final note, crypts do well in high pH/high GH water. I had a buddy with pH 8+, GH 10+ tap water that had some lovely crypt only tanks.

3. As I said above, in EI you essentiall "overdose" your plants. You are giving them more than you need to ensure they always have enough. There is another system, PPS, which claims to give plants exactly what they need (without water changes). However, yes you can add too many micros, however if you are following the standard EI instructions you won't get anywhere near to a bad level no matter what your tap water is.

 

[Hoppy]

1. GH 10 is not that hard, some tests may tell it's hard water though. For me hard water would be 15 or even 25 GH.

2. Most plants will grow in GH 10, but you should also check your pH.

3. Basically with GH 10 your water must have enough magnesium and calcium, it will have some micros. But it's better to continue dosing micros most tap waters have some micros but may lacks some others. Overdosing micros can lead to algae issues (for example too much iron can induce algae).

Correct me if I am wrong.

Michel.

I don't believe it has been demonstrated that overdosing any of the nutrients will lead to algae issues. Algae problems aren't caused by overdosing, but by having too much light for the amount of CO2 you have in the water, by not maintaining consistent levels of CO2 in the water, by poor cleanliness of the tank, filter, and by having too little of some nutrients.

 

[Diana]

GH tests both Ca and Mg, and does not tell you which you have.

Since you are seeing positive response when you dose Mg, I would wonder if either of 2 things are going on.
Either the tap water is weird and has a LOT of Ca and very little Mg, which sure is possible, or there is something stopping the plants from getting whatever Mg there is, and dosing more makes it more available.

The very low KH also suggests something a bit odd.
Water companies sure can alter the water, or perhaps it is coming out of the ground or river that way.

 

[FlyingHellFish]

The very low KH also suggests something a bit odd.
Water companies sure can alter the water, or perhaps it is coming out of the ground or river that way.

No, that my tank's water. The tap comes in at GH 10 and KH 6.

Tank is GH 11 - 12 and KH 5 with pH 6.6 - 6.4,

 

[airdrieaquarist]

I don't believe it has been demonstrated that overdosing any of the nutrients will lead to algae issues. Algae problems aren't caused by overdosing, but by having too much light for the amount of CO2 you have in the water.

Actually, I don't believe this is a complete statement. Phosphate levels and other Macro nutrient levels are a major part of this equation.