[APD] EI approach with liquids

[<daphne_freeman at charter.net>]

Tom wrote:
"I just take what I'd normally add for a week(or 2,3,4 etc), toss
it in there, and then set the pumps to dose a bit more or
whatever is easiest to set with the pump, top off the rest with
DI water.

Mix the Macro's together anfr the micro's seperately."

I didn't realize I needed to use DI versus tap.  My water is soft but if DI is preferable, I can do that or add more tap to avoid precipitates, I don't really care how long the pump runs.

Tom then wrote:
"NH4, low O2, that will cause discus problems.
I've messed with this in the past had much higher levels of
CO2/NO3 than any Discus zealot and several client's proved this
to themselves recently.
 
Same with NO3, at 20-30ppm."

Amen to the too little oxygen combined with discus being very, very bad!  Moving the Eheim return where it causes a little movement on the surface cured that.  That was a horribly painful lesson unfortunately.

My tank parameters are as follows:
92 gallon corner 
250W Iwasaki metal halide w/spider light reflector
Dupla cables
84-86 degrees
Eheim Pro provides filtration, it also contains a mesh bag with about 1/2 cup crushed coral
pH controller hovers at 6.5-6.6
CO2 is injected via an Eheim Classic canister containing 2/3 filter floss and 1/3 Eheim media
fish load is moderate plus but not heavy.  4 discus, dozen cardinals, farlowella, few other small but assorted things (ottos, cherry shrimp, adolofo cory, couple dwarf frogs...)

Haven't checked in awhile but my KH and GH stay around 3-4 due to soft water.

I can't grow mosses, java fern or bolbitis for squat.  In the distant past, I have successfully done so but can't figure out what I am messing up now.  Even checking back through my log, nothing stands out.   My money is on potassium and nitrate but I could be phosphate limited which messes up the nitrogen uptake.

Any suggestions would be wonderful.  The java fern is dark with holes (assumed potassium deficient) but the leaves don't even look like leaves anymore, it is like they are just disintegrating away and very dark.  You would not easily identify it as a java fern and I don't mean curled up like a calcium deficiency although my MTS's never have the very tip of their shell intact.  There have been a few times through the years where the ammania's new growth has been distorted so perhaps I am letting my GH/KH drop too low as well.

Water changes  are once a week and approximately 18.5 to as much as 30 gallons.  At that time I add:
4 tsp Equilibrium (every other week I add 3 tsp)
3 tsp Alkaline Buffer (every other week I add 2 tsp)
30 mL Flourish
50 mL Seachem Potassium
30 mL Seachem Iron
20 mL Seachem Nitrogen
50 mL Excel

I wasn't adding phosphate (since I never knew when they would hit our water with it) and perhaps that is the problem.  By the end of the week, there is a green coating on the front glass that I assume is green spot although it isn't spots. I have had green spot through the years but by water change day, you can't even see through the center front of this tank and it was never that bad.  This is the worst my tank has ever looked and while some things like cape fear and downoi  are growing like weeds, the tonina, java fern, moss and Hydrocotyle vulgaris is almost gone.

A few weeks ago, I started the "every other day" dosing.  I only added the Equilibrium/Alkaline Buffer on water change day but increased the Flourish to 60mL/week and the nitrogen to 40mL/week.  The amounts for everything else stayed the same.  It hasn't been going on long enough to see if it helped.

Thanks for any help.  

Daphne


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