[Italionstallion888]

My nitrate tests come out in the 40ppm range

Did not dose kno3 bc they were that high. Was just dosing k2s04, kh2p04, csm+b and fe.

Its starting at the tips, but new growth looks great, although a bit small. I have included photos of rotala that looks stunted.

Now the new growth
Ive been dosing kno3 based off deficiencyfinder info, since adding the kno3, ive had all that new growth in about 2-3 weeks. Maybe I miss understood, but having 40ppm nitrate meant I didnt need to dose until it dropped below 10ppm.

Is this a nitrate issue, or something else. Can someone explain the nitrate deal to me again?

Current placement

 

[jfynyson]

What's your lighting, CO2 & substrate situation ?

 

[Zapins]

Test kits are often inaccurate. Try calibrate the kit by adding a known amount of KNO3 to distilled water and test it to see if the kit matches. Alternatively you could just add nitrates and see if the growth changes back to normal. Not every stem will appear stunted when nitrogen deficiency occurs.

On a side note, I hate Tapatalk, tiny hard to see picture hosting and it uploads spam at the end of cellphone posts. Grr!

It does look like nitrogen deficiency from what I can see.

From: http://deficiencyfinder.com/?page_id=620

 

[Italionstallion888]

2 65w 6500k cfls, running from 3-9
Eco complete with root tabs
Co2 is sitting at 15ppm based off kh/ph chart using diy, I alternate out bottles so it doesny have much down time. Anubias, hygro, dwarf sag, stargrass all grow fine and at a steady rate. Ludwigia sp red has been very slow and looks a bit scraggly. I just added ludwigia repens on Saturday. As you can see in the photo below. Not sure how they are doing just yet.
Kh/gh hasnt changed, I test and log every sunday.
Phosphate according to the api test is at 3ppm

Im working on the k deficiency on the hygro. Its getting better. I just recently trimmed the giant hygro thats behind the center mopani. Its giving me about an inch every 2 weeks.

That link is what lead me to believe it was a nitrate issue. So I started adding it again. How soon, approx should I see the plant take off?
I use my tap water and r/o as a controls
R/O 0ppm
Tap is 15ppm
8.7g 15-20ppm
29g 20-40ppm like this one

 

[Zapins]

If you are using pressurized CO2 you should see a change quickly. The first photo with the before and after shot took 2 days to grow that much after nitrate was added. Up to a week though to be sure.

What are you dosing for phosphates?

 

[Italionstallion888]

Its a diy co2, im going pressurized this fall.

Here is my dosing levels

15ml daily for k2 seemed. A bit much. With as little of stem mass I have. Ive been doing the following

Sunday (water change day)
mon, wed, fri
Npk
7ml of k2so4
5ml kno3
5ml kh2po4

Tue, thur, sat
5ml csm+b
5ml fe

I take out 20ish gallons weekly. Its a 55g and with my sand bed i only put in 50g of water when I first set the tank up. I base all my numbers on about 45g of water after plant mass and driftwood. I top off every other day with r/o, tank temp sets around 79-80.

 

[ua hua]

While it may be nitrate, I doubt that is the problem. I actually think it looks like a co2 problem. You will have a hard time getting appropriate co2 levels using DIY. Rotala macrandra is a tricky plant in my experience.

 

[Italionstallion888]

It likes a LOT of light, I figured that out. Before I bought a stem, everything you see came off one stem. I did some research on it. My plan was to attempt this plant with my set up. In hopes that I have put together a nicely balance tank. Im learning now that I have the substrate, I have the lighting, and ferts. Pressurized co2 would pick the tank up a lot. Im just limited on room. I would like to run the 55g and 10g off one co2 system.

Im just having a hard time pulling the trigger on pressurized. I want to start with a simple paintball set up and eventually put a full co2 set on this tank. I want to learn on a smaller tank. Is that good reasoning? Or am I making it harder than it is.

 

[ua hua]

It likes a LOT of light, I figured that out. Before I bought a stem, everything you see came off one stem. I did some research on it. My plan was to attempt this plant with my set up. In hopes that I have put together a nicely balance tank. Im learning now that I have the substrate, I have the lighting, and ferts. Pressurized co2 would pick the tank up a lot. Im just limited on room. I would like to run the 55g and 10g off one co2 system.

Im just having a hard time pulling the trigger on pressurized. I want to start with a simple paintball set up and eventually put a full co2 set on this tank. I want to learn on a smaller tank. Is that good reasoning? Or am I making it harder than it is.

If it were me I wouldn't even bother with a paintball setup and just get the full co2 setup. You don't need to spend the hundreds of dollars for a dual stage regulator that is full stainless. You can build a decent single stage regulator for around $100. It might be intimidating at first but once you have one you will realize that it's fairly simple and not as scary as it may sound. I built a single stage several years ago using a Concoa brand regulator that they use for beer kegs and bought a decent Fabco nv-55 needle valve and a cheaper solenoid and it worked flawlessly until I sold it when I built my current dual stage. Some people will tell you horror stories of single stage causing an EOTD but I personally never experienced one in the 4+ years of using it. Read through the co2 primer sticky and ask lots of questions if you have them. There is plenty of helpful people on this community that would be more than willing to help you through the process and before you know it you will realize that it's not as difficult as you might have thought.

 

[Italionstallion888]

Im pretty handy, I would much rather rely on my own craftsmanship. I guess its just intimidating because there is so much information out there. I wade through slowly. I like to be informed before I make a purchase. Saves me money.