[APD] RE: K+

["Thomas Barr" <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

> I also think that there have been a few good observations of real
problems 
> that probably are potassium:calcium antagonism.  Because of those cases
and 
> because plants don't need particularly high potassium concentrations for 
> healthy growth I think it is advisable to be pretty conservative when
dosing 
> potassium.

It sure will not HURT and there would not be any negative effects by
reductiion of K+ dosing.
Might __save__ folks having to buy and dose K2SO4/KCl also.
Those are often harder to find. This part is appealing to me and most folks
keeping plants.
PO4/KNO3 sources are easier and the traces are widely available.

The other thing for folks making liquid solutions for K+, 
K2SO4 is a pain to dissolve unless a finely ground powder and only so much
will dissolve in a small amount of water. 

> Intenet forums (all of them, as near as I can tell) are pretty strange
when 
> it comes to things like this.  When a new mechanism comes up that might
cause 
> problems some people over react.  They assign problems to that mechanism
even 
> when there is no indication for it.  Some people even invent problems so
they 
> can jump on the bandwagon.  It's all a little weird.

Certainly true and well put. Almost to the point of religion. 

For several months at a time, even a year or so, there were chants, "Add
more Traces/TMG", or "Add K+" or "Add more PO4" for __almost__ any problem
aquarist were having with plant health with the SFBAAPS group:) It was kind
of funny and we all laughed about it sort of.

Folks that get to the point where algae is not an issue, only a few plants
give them trouble etc, may want to do some more critical test to try and
find the problem.
I think many issues with subtle picky plant problems are solved eventually
by adding more traces/keeping the tank in good shape pruning wise/adding
enough NO3 without running out/ having some fish load and of course CO2(if
you use this method) levels in good ranges.

Finding out what is not true and seeing if someone else is having success
will help(no matter what method, in _many_ respects, they are all very
similar).
This sometimes takes a bit more critical/careful approaches and work and
might cause algae blooms/dead or stunted plants. Most folks are not
interested in doing that, but some do more conservative test. Testing is a
key issue and knowing what the actual levels are but different approaches
to solving the problem will help also.
 
Regards, 
Tom Barr
 
> Roger Miller




_______________________________________________
Aquatic-Plants mailing list
Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants