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Micronutrients
> Steven Dixon wrote about TMG and micronutrients:
>
> So with a bit of hesitation, 10 days ago I doubled my TMG dosage to 60 ml
> per week. I have one of these Eheim Liquidosers so I programmed it to add
2
> ml. 4 times a day starting just before the lights come on and ending a
few
> hours before they go off in the evening. So these nutrients hit the tank
> just as the light cycle fires up and the plants need them, and they
continue
> to be available throughout the day. Better conditions for the algae to
grow
> in as well, right Roger? That's my view anyway. With a dose every couple
> of hours at least the TMG nutrients are not limiting, I would have
thought.
Always willing to hop on the bandwagon, I followed Steve's lead about four
days later. I've doubled my TMG dose from 15ml/week to 35ml/week in my 50g.
I do not have an Eheim Liquidoser <sigh> so I dump in 5ml/day manually,
usually just as the lights are coming on, though sometimes as late as just
before they go off.
> The result: Plants are growing very well and coming in much greener. To
> use one of my favorite scientific terms, the tank has even more 'sparkle'
> than before. The growth is not faster, just richer.
This is my experience as well. The plants simply look better. My Estrella
stellatta is a deeper green (though still not red), and the Java fern looks
more lush. In fact, everything seems more lush except the slow-growers
(Anubias and Cryptocorynes) and my Rotala macranda. Nitrate and phosphate
consumption are unchanged, as are overall plant growth-rates. I have a
Flourite substrate and haven't added any iron directly in months, but this
larger amount of TMG supplies enough iron to the water column that it now
tests as 0.1ppm (Hach color-wheel). I think this is the amount of iron that
Karen says she maintains? Another side effect, probably due to the
Magnesium content in TMG, is that my GH has risen. If this is due to Mg
then I'll ignore it and continue to add Ca (by way of dolomite powder in a
nylon bag) as I have for half a year. This may account for the poor showing
of R. macanda - the plant may not like the harder water (7.5dGH, 4.0dKH with
2.2w/g PC lighting).
> And to my amazement,
> there is even less algae on the glass (the plants have always had very
> little visible algae on the leaves). In fact, almost no visible green
algae
> on the glass after 10 days.
Again, this mirrors my own experience. I see a reduction in the amount of
GSA on the glass. I had an outbreak of hair algae and had been at my wits'
end trying to defeat it, stopping just short of purchasing Rosy Barbs for
the task. All of a sudden the algae outbreak is in check. I still remove
it manually whenever I can, but there isn't much new hair algae being grown
now.
Like Steve, I'm baffled by these results. The only thing that makes sense
to me is that the plants are now out-competing the algae for nutrients
(probably macro-nutrients) in the water column.
Has anyone else tinkered with higher doses of TMG or PMDD?
-------------------------------
michael rubin
michael at rubinworld_com
http://www.rubinworld.com/aquarium.htm