Crikey! Iron deficiency serious or just temporary?

["Charter" <charter at charter-terminal_com>]

Hi all!  I have been lurking here for several months, and made careful note 
of many, many morsels of information.  I haven't posted yet, because I've 
never really had a serious problem.  (Lucky me!) 

Here's the deal: my little plant friends have clearly outstripped their iron 
supply.  New leaves have grown in a very pallid shade of green - for 
example, new java fern growth is an alarming #66CC66, as opposed to its 
normal lush, dark #336600.  (Snork!  Sorry, I'm a web nerd.  Can't help it.) 

I will be waiting outside the LFS tomorrow waiting for their doors open to 
pick up a bottle of iron supplement, but I must ask: is this a reversible 
condition, or should I pluck off the pale leaves, thereby encouraging the 
plants to expend their energy growing nice new (iron-rich) leaves? 

Now granted, if I were a better aquarist, I would have noted this condition 
before it arrived at such a dire state.  But in my defense, I just finished 
a cross-country move, and it wasn't until I went in there and cleaned off 
all the dead leaves (Meltdown!  Aooga!  Aooga!) earlier this evening that I 
noticed the sorry state of the living ones.  I know that's a pretty lame 
defense, but I'm sticking to it. 

FWIW, here's a picture of the sole remaining tank currently in my 
possession; a 10-gallon number which made the cut because it fit neatly in 
the back seat of my car.  I include the link as an ironic counterpoint to 
all the pictures of lush, beautiful tanks I've enjoyed on this list in the 
past.  Look upon my works, ye mighty, and... uh... be glad you're not me.  
:) 

http://fisherking.org/atlanta/archives/firsttank.jpg 

 - Erika