Fert deficiency - Alternanthera reineckii

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JAY973

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Dec 24, 2005
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Can you help me identify what the deficiency is with the Alternanthera reineckii?

I thought once I had the BBA under control the plant would do a full recovery everything else in the tank is doing great except new growth for this plant. (It's driving me nuts this is suppose to be an easy plant and it was, it grew like mad once upon a time in this very tank see Old FTS.) I really like Alternanthera reineckii and I want to keep it as an accent plant but not in this condition.




NEW FTS I have 5 stems Alternanthera reineckii in different spots hoping it would improve. It did a little for algae on the leaves but nothing for the new growth.


OLD FTS Alternanthera reineckii in center.... My colorata was RED then too not anymore.


current
KNO3 15-20ppm
P04 .5-1ppm
Co2 30+ ppm (PH7.4-7.5 w/C02) indicator 4dk 30ppm
CSM+B x2 week
 

JAY973

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plantbrain

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Thank you, Perfect just what I suspected... I was trying to originally experiment the CA theory with Equilibrium but it was affecting everything and I already have hard water. I think I need a CA fert.

Thanks again.
No ya don't, that entire thread was full of rubbish and speculations.
K+, Ca++ etc........

How the heck do not know if you just needed to stay up on the CO2?
When you double the plant biomass, what do you think happens as the plants get closer to the light and a lot more biomass with respect to CO2 demand????

Does it go up or down?

Clearly it goes up, WAY UP.
If you do not adjust for the change in CO2 demand or keep up on pruning, then you run a limitation for CO2.

And this plant really shows it good, Ammannia does as well, another so called suspect with Ca/K+ quackery.

P stellata was another, and yet here I manged to grow it and many others at very low Ca+ levels. Adding more Ca+ will not hurt, but it's not the reason/cause for the tip issues, that's CO2.

I've never once seen a confirmed Ca++ deficient aquatic plant in 20+ years. Not saying that they are not out there, just never seen it. Virtually all of the claims are based on pure speculation, nothing more than a guess.

CO2?
Easy to induce these morphologies using that.

Ca++? All you do is add it, if there's no recovery, then that's not it.
Even if there is recovery, it does not imply that adding more Ca++ was the cause, which many seem to assume it the case.

I've never been able to induce Ca++ deficiency, but I've not driven the Ca++ below 2-3ppm either. I doubt many others have for that matter.

CO2 is far more likely and much harder to measure.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

plantbrain

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current
KNO3 15-20ppm
P04 .5-1ppm
Co2 30+ ppm (PH7.4-7.5 w/C02) indicator 4dk 30ppm
CSM+B x2 week

Water changes 50% weekly (recently change to every 2 weeks no difference)
Lights are 3 80w T5HO on a 660 icecap (8hrs)
CO2, CO2 and CO2, the drop checker is not the most accurate method, there's no way you can say much within 10ppm at best, and most folks are more in the 20ppm range or error.

I keep 50-80ppm and have loads of fish, but I measure it very critically and calibrate.


Other so called Ca++ sensitive plants:


........hopefully folks will learn there's much more to CO2, plant biomass and current etc.

regards,
Tom Barr
 

coach_z

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Jan 12, 2009
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Chris
CO2, CO2 and CO2, the drop checker is not the most accurate method, there's no way you can say much within 10ppm at best, and most folks are more in the 20ppm range or error.

I keep 50-80ppm and have loads of fish, but I measure it very critically and calibrate.



Other so called Ca++ sensitive plants:


........hopefully folks will learn there's much more to CO2, plant biomass and current etc.

regards,
Tom Barr
Tom - Can you clarify this? why isnt it as accurate as most think? how do you test and measure?
 
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