Re: [APD] Water soluble micros needs low pH?

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

Are you keeping the aquarium at a pH of 4 or are you only concerned about solution in storage for a prolonged period?
 
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----- Original Message ----
From: Daniel Larsson <defdac at hotmail_com>
To: aquatic-plants at actwin_com
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 11:31:37 AM
Subject: Re: [APD] Water soluble micros needs low pH?


Nick Ternes said:
>If you're dosing so much iron per week and seeing deficiency symptoms
>that weren't there before, it's probably because you're overdosing.

The dose started off as normal 0.1 ppm dosages and slowly I upped the 
dosages
to overcome the micronutrient deficiencies. When I dose about 1 ppm every
other day I get less micro deficiency symptoms than with 0.1 ppm.

That made me believe the micro-solution was messed up somehow and
started looking into it.

S. Hieber wrote:
>I'd say that whatever the logic in the article, if it leads to requiring a 
>pH of 4 to add ferts

That was not at all what the reference said.

It said that if the micro-powder comes in contact with water of pH greater 
than say 4-5
it will be lost. It will not bind with the Fe, Cu and so on. You will get 
unchelated
rust instead of chelated iron.

But IF you mix the micro-powder with a water of pH 4-5 the chelating agents 
will
bind with the micro nutrients and THEN it will be less pH-dependent (DTPA 
works
fine up to pH of 8 I think).

This means that if you mix CSM+B with tap-water of pH of let say 8 the 
chelate is
rendered useless and you dose rust instead of chelated iron. As you say this 
might
not be entirely wasteful as it is there. In the tank. Only as rust instead 
of something
easier to take up by plants.

--

I made a batch of 300 ml battery-water and 1.5 tsp Citric acid and it pH got 
around
4.5. Then I added 2 tablespoons NutriSi and low and behold the mix has a 
completely
different brown color instead of the intense blood-red I got with tap-water.

If this solution will make all my new shoots go from pale white-green to 
ordinary deep
green in a couple of days I say it should be looked into a bit further?


best regards
Daniel Larsson



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