Excess K and Traces
- Thread starter tackful
- Start date
You'll begin to see toxicity in your plants if you are overdosing.
Here's a reasonable chart of deficiency/toxicity targeted toward hydroponics. Every species can express differently but here are some general guidelines. The only way to really know what is going on is by doing some laboratory testing.
http://www.hydroponic-growing-systems.com/plant-nutrient-deficiency.html
Here's a reasonable chart of deficiency/toxicity targeted toward hydroponics. Every species can express differently but here are some general guidelines. The only way to really know what is going on is by doing some laboratory testing.
http://www.hydroponic-growing-systems.com/plant-nutrient-deficiency.html
No one has shown this to date. Lots of myths and belief, but no evidence when others repeated the same test on the same plants.
Research on submersed plants showed Fe dosing had a max growth rate for Hydrilla 6.0 ppm and a max uptake at 8.0 ppm(See Haller, 1977).
K+ is more a salt stress as you get "too high", same for PO4 at too high levels, this is over 100ppm for these........for example, non limiting hoalgands solutions, used for nutrient controls for research on plants........tends to have 210 ppm of K+ etc.
Folks have long dosed excess K+(over a limiting value) and most still do today.
I do not think there is any need to dose and lard on more than is needed, but doing so illustrates the myth and shows there's no risk.
My tanks have long had 20-30ppm of K+ and I've run it up into the 50-60ppm ranges, some have done 100ppm + for long periods as well.
These are way above limiting values.
I dose about 0.4-0.5 ppm of Fe as proxy for all traces using CMS+b 3-5x a week.
One of my tanks full of "Deficient, stunted" plants
Thanks a lot Tom. I do have an iron test kit, so I will use that as a guideline. Funny thing about your beautiful pictures, though. Much as I admire them, they do remind me of my own incompetence, for after several years and so many hours spent on just one tank, I haven't come close to what you can achieve with so many different setups. Upon reflection, perhaps I have simply been trying to do the same old thing harder and better, when what I need to try is to think outside of my own limited understanding.
Gotta be cause that just looks too good to be true.