Iron/Fe Deficiency?

[aquafan1885]

I recently managed to get my hands on a CO2/Fe test kit...After testing both, I discovered that I was lacking in both in my planted tank. The CO2 problem I've taken care of...I've got a CO2 injector now, and the CO2 levels have leveled off to appropriate levels. The iron problem, though...I'm not sure how to correct that. The tank appears to be lacking in iron. I know that one way to correct this would be to change my substrate...however, I'd prefer not to do that...is there some kind of liquid additive I could add, or maybe something I could place in the gravel bed, without disturbing it too much, to fix this problem?

[djlen]

Fe test kits are notoriously undependable so don't put too much credence in your results.
You can however maintain a level of Fe in your tank by dosing Flourish Iron. Something I found out a while back is that rather than dosing, for example 15 mls., once a week or 7.5 twice a week, I got much better results by dosing this particular element on a daily basis. I dose 2mls. a day for a total of 14mls/week. It made a big difference in my plants in general and my Crypts. in particular to dose that way.

Len

[promethean_sprk]

If you've low on iron, your plants will barely be growing, and new growth will be white/yellow.

Be careful adding iron, it really makes hair algae explode if there is alot of iron. I've been considering using a syringe to inject it into the substrate. That way it'll slowly leech out into the water over time, but immediately be available to plants roots.