RE: [APD] RE: K+

["Wise, Nicholas" <Nicholas_Wise at lgeenergy.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rachel Sandage [mailto:rachelsor at hotmail_com] 
> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 9:29 AM
> To: tcbiii at earthlink_net; aquatic plants digest
> Subject: Re: [APD] RE: K+
> 
> 
> My own experience:
> 
> When I first started keeping aquatic plants I followed the 
> "Tom Barr Method", which *at that time* suggested dosing 
> K2SO4 - a lot, too, if I recall it was (for my tank) 1/2t of 
> KNO3 and 1t of K2SO4. Some plants did not seem to do well 
> under this regimen. After a while, Tom dropped the K2SO4 from 
> his own recommendations.
> 
> Our water here is very, very soft GH=KH <2 (sometimes <1). I 
> had been using Flourish's Equilibrium to raise the hardness. 
> Equilibrium has a lot of K.  When I switched from using 
> Baking soda + equilbrium for raising KH and GH to using CaCO3 
> + MgSO4, plant growth increased and algae growth decreased. 
> Since I do not know what other things are in Equilibrium, I 
> had to wonder if it was too much K.

I think you answered your own question right there.  You started adding
CaCO3 and MgSO4.  I think that most likely, your plants were suffering
from a lack of Mg or Ca, both essential micro nutrients.  I have never
in my life dosed too much K and I have put some absolutely insane
amounts in.  I have had levels near 100 ppm without a single problem.

 
> Could it be possible that in my very soft water, an 
> interaction occurs which makes excess K a problem? Could we 
> be lacking a micronutrient that allows the plant to handle excess K? 
> 
> I have often wondered, since I am not a scientist, if there 
> *is* something magical in Tom Barr's water - not a snake-oil 
> kind of magic, just coincidentally that the water he has been 
> using is better balanced in some undetermined nutrient.

Yes, there is something magical in Tom's water - experience,
persistence, patience and understanding - none of which somes from the
tap!

 _______   __        __     
 \      \ |__| ____ |  | __  
 /   |   \|  |/ ___\|  |/ /  --------------------------------------
/    |    \  \  \___|    <              LG & E Energy
\____|__  /__|\___  >__|_ \             Asset Information
        \/        \/ __  \/  __ __      Nicholas_Wise at lgeenergy.com
Nick Wise           /  \    /  \__| ______ ____  
(502)627-2992       \   \/\/   /  |/  ___// __ \            
                     \        /|  |\___ \\  ___/  (">  <")
_____________________ \__/\  / |__/____  >\___  >_(_)__(_)_________
                           \/          \/     \/   W    W
                                                   "    "

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