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Posting, Disinfecting and Dupla
Subject: Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V1 #321
> I'm not sure what you wrote in your original post but if you wan
> about this, feel free to mail me. I think all the "big guns" of
> are sadly gone to the evil wasteland of newsgroups.
Some of us have just been very busy in our real lives. Also, it
takes as long to respond to a post asking to post as it does to
respond to the post. Everyone is welcome to post here.
As long as there is an APD, I'll be here. That _doesn't_ mean I
have the time to respond to every post.
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Subject: How to Disinfect New Plants?
> What is a safe way to disinfect new plants? Jeff
Some people dip the plants in a solution of 1 part bleach to 19
parts water for 1-2 minutes, then rinse thoroughly in clean water
containing chlorine neutralizer.
I don't bother. I buy clean plants, check for snails and/or eggs,
remove any dead or damaged leaves and rinse in tap water. I've
never had a problem, even treating wild collected plants this way.
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Subject: How much Dupla fertilizer to use?
>
> I've been using DuplaPlant tablets and drops for several months
> but haven't had decent results at all. But I've only just start
> doing CO2 injection (in a totally new tank.) In this totally ne
> tank I've got CO2 injection, undergravel heating cables (DIY, 20
> in and it's 45 gal. Oh and it's also got Duplarit in the substr
> (again, all done according to the directions on the box.)
Trace element supplementation won't help if everything else is not
conducive to good growth too. You'll probably do better now.
> According to the box (or what I can make of Dupla's attempt at E
> I'm supposed to put in 1 tablet per 50l of water, my tank is abo
> so that's 4 tablets.
I believe that pertains to the water changed, so if you change
approx. 12 gallons of water, you'd use one tablet, not 4 for the
full volume in the tank.
> And I've heard alot of people say that the drops are necessary,
> needed in very small doses - I believe George B. said that he on
> 2-3 drops/day in his planted 75's.
I find that my optimal amount is 5 drops in my 7oG and 3 drops in
my 55G. Every tank is different, based on growth rates, plant
density and plant species used. Start on the low side, and work
up if needed.
> But even after putting in a double dose of both I'm barely getti
> hint of a reading out of my Red Sea fish pHarm ltd. iron test ki
> >From what I can get out of reading the Optimum Aquarium, I shou
> iron in the .2 - .3 ppm range.
>
> Is this right? I thought perhaps my test kit was faulty, but I
> if I crushed some of the tablets or put some diluted drops direc
> the tube I could get positive readings.
>
> About the only clue I've got is that this, the second bottle of
> that I've purchased, is *definitely* not as darkly colored as my
> Does anybody have any idea what the deal is here? And what leve
> iron do I want to maintain my water at?
I have found that if I can measure _any_ iron in the water, I seem
to have enough. Remember that iron is one of the substances
plants can store. So your plants will suck all of it out of the
water until the fill their reserves.
Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Assoc.
Boston, MA