Target K ppm for java fern?

4516 Views 12 Replies 6 Participants Last post by In.a.Box, Jul 31, 2012

xjasminex

Discussion Starter · Jul 28, 2012

Hello!
I can't keep java fern alive to save my life.
My ferns always acquire necrotic spots and sometimes turn yellow.
I plan on starting with potassium to try and help and was wondering what a target K ppm would be for a low light tank not injected with co2.

I have two t5no bulbs on top of my 55 g 21 or so in high tank. I believe I run my lights for 8 hrs with a 4 hr siesta.

Any thoughts would be nice.

Thanks!

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happi

· #2 · Jul 28, 2012

xjasminex said:
Hello!
I can't keep java fern alive to save my life.
My ferns always acquire necrotic spots and sometimes turn yellow.
I plan on starting with potassium to try and help and was wondering what a target K ppm would be for a low light tank not injected with co2.

I have two t5no bulbs on top of my 55 g 21 or so in high tank. I believe I run my lights for 8 hrs with a 4 hr siesta.

Any thoughts would be nice.

Thanks!

you lights are too high to call your setup a low light tank, you should start to dose Excel. yellowing of plant indicate lack of nitrate or Iron, in most cases Nitrate. holes indicate lack of potassium, are you dosing any fertilizer??

there is no real number for how much potassium you should add, plant can handle the high potassium very well. if i have to give you numbers, i would say 20-30ppm total.

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xjasminex

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 28, 2012

If you have any faith in hoppy read this, my lighting is considered low.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105774

I do dose excel about twice a week.

This is a goldfish tank. My nitrates are at times way above 80ppm. I can't seem to get them below 20ppm, and when I get close it requires lots of effort.

I dose with flourish comp, excel and I recently added potassium and phosphorus. This is a dirt tank too btw.

20-30 ppm sound a bit much. EI low light dosing for once a week has a target K ppm of 10 ppm.

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rrastro

· #4 · Jul 28, 2012

Do you have a Fishneedit or a Catalina light?
I ask because, in Hoppy's updated thread, the difference between the two either places you in the top end of low light or in the midrange of medium light.
Also if your lights are on 8 then off 4 then on 8 your daily photoperiod is effectively 16 hours!
Unless I'm very mistaken that is a bit much. Most of the people I know have it in the 5-8 hour range daily. Could be that you're giving the plants more light so they need more or a balanced nutrient profile.
I hope this helps.

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happi

· #5 · Jul 28, 2012

xjasminex said:
If you have any faith in hoppy read this, my lighting is considered low.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105774

I do dose excel about twice a week.

This is a goldfish tank. My nitrates are at times way above 80ppm. I can't seem to get them below 20ppm, and when I get close it requires lots of effort.

I dose with flourish comp, excel and I recently added potassium and phosphorus. This is a dirt tank too btw.

20-30 ppm sound a bit much. EI low light dosing for once a week has a target K ppm of 10 ppm.

its not low as you think, after all its a T5 not a T8, it might not be high light but its high enough to cause problems for you if you dont balance everything now.

gold fish are never a good idea with planted tanks, IMO planted tank should never have any gold fish in it, it doesn't go so well with them.

there is no harm in extra Potassium, as i said before.

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xjasminex

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 28, 2012

Sorry rrastro my lights are on for a total of 8 hours with the siesta in the middle of that!
I have the deep blue professional t5no lights, with poor to fair reflectors.

Happi, goldfish are fine in planted tanks. It just requires more patience and time then other fish require, you have to find what works (or tastes bad) to your individual fish. Along with meeting the nutritional needs of them and the space capacity require.

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Seattle_Aquarist

· #7 · Jul 28, 2012

Hi xjasminex,

You are not alone! I have two tanks with java fern species and periodically in one of the tanks I will experience what I call "Java Fern Melt". The same thing happens that you describe; brown/clear necrotic spots develop in the leaves (both older and new growth) eventually killing the leaf over about a one week period. The condition eventually effects the entire rhizome and then the entire area killing the leaves (but the rhizome seems unaffected). I cut off the leaves when the condition occurs and the new leaves that emerge from the rhizome are typically fine.

I first thought it might be a disease or fungus issue but over the last couple of years I have decided it is nutrient related. I have very, very soft water where I live and I suspected that it is Mg, Mn, or possibly Ca related. Now when I spot an outbreak beginning I add Seachem Equilibrium which contains:

Soluble Potassium (K20)........23.0%
Calcium (Ca)........................8.06%
Magnesium (Mg)...................2.41%
Soluble Iron (Fe)..................0.11%
Soluble Manganese (Mn)........0.06%

First I trim off the bad leaves; then I do a 50% water change; and finally I raise my hardness 2.0 dGH degrees by adding 1.0 tablespoon (Tbl) of Equilibrium per 10 gallons of water. This seems to shorten the duration of the problem and promote new healthy leaf growth. Note there is a lot of Potassium (K) in Equilibrium as well.

30 gallon with 'Trident' and 'Windelov'

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xjasminex

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 28, 2012

Hmm, I'm glad to have more people in on this! Thanks Seattle_aquarist!
Although I have hard water.....the last time I checked both my GH and KH were 9 and my ph hangs out at about 8.
This seachem equilibrium looks promising, first there is no NO3 because I don't need anymore nitrate in my tank.

The only other thing would be if adding this to my tank would alter my GH/KH/PH. Or because my water is already hard would it matter?

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Seattle_Aquarist

· #9 · Jul 28, 2012

Hi xjasminex,

"Hard Water" does not mean that it contains all of the nutrients necessary for plant growth; you may have lots of calcium in you water but be low on Mg or Mn. Yes, adding Equilibrium will increase your hardness, but an increase of 2 degrees will not effect most plants nor fish and goldfish are very, very adaptable. Just be sure to do your water changes and add enough Equilibrium for the amount of water changed.

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xjasminex

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jul 28, 2012

Alright, that is a option to try! Thank you!

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kubalik

· #11 · Jul 28, 2012

I'm not sure if that can be the cause , but when I had high nitrates my java fern was slow and ugly , i put it some amazon frogbite floaters , to suck up the nitrates with a good success and now the fern is growing much healthier .

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xjasminex

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jul 31, 2012

Well I can tell you that the java fern in my ten gallon does the same and I have almost no nitrates in there, I add them during water changes by adding water from my goldfish tank.

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In.a.Box

· #13 · Jul 31, 2012

i heard high po4 help java fern grow/live

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