Re: name that deficiency

["Wayne Jones" <waj at mnsi_net>]

Jeff Vamos wrote:

iron O
30ml tmg 3x a week
shouldn't this be enough traces? Is it unusual not to get an iron
reading? I
could add iron every day and the next day the reading will be zero. I've
never tried this for an extended period of time, should I? all test kits
are
lamotte. could it be magnesium being blocked by the potassium? There is
basiclly no algae in the tank

I reply:

I don't get anything out of the pictures but from your description it
sure sounds like a lack of trace elements. Then when I read that your
iron is zero that certainly helped to confirm it. If it were magnesium
deficiency I wouldn't expect it to show in the tips. Magnesium is pretty
mobile. I really have never had any success trying to guess nutrient
deficiencies by the look of the plants though. I would tend to believe
your test kit. It's supposed to be the best. Why is your nitrate so
high? With that much light you should have to add nitrate very often to
keep it from bottoming out.

This is complete speculation but I notice that when I use triphosphor
lamps I have to add more traces out of proportion to the amount of extra
light these lamps produce. I am beginning to wonder if triphosphor lamps
can destroy chelated trace elements. Also with a 100% flourite substrate
you can expect to have to add more traces than you would with laterite
or soil. If you have a lot soil in your substrate it is amazing how
little trace you have to add. Not advocating soil substrates as I don't
like mine. 30 ml TMG 3x a week seems like a lot and I am trying to
figure out why your iron reads zero. Is this a new tank? I notice that
plants in newly set up tanks show deficiencies like this but it goes
away after a while. If your lights are new you are going to have quite a
bit more light during the lamp burn in period.

I say you should double check your iron test kit with a reference
solution. I think TMG has the iron content on the label. You can dilute
some of the TMG to make a reference solution. If the test kit checks out
then I would trust the test kit and add traces until you do get a
reading. If that doesn't work only then would I start looking for some
weird explaination.

Wayne