Re: E. Stellata & Willow hygro

["Giancarlo Podio" <gp at isaconsulting_com>]

I had some problems recently with E. Stellata and A. Gracillis, both were
showing damaged leaves with new growth, they were bent and little compared
to normal growth. I took a photo of the A.G. you can see here:
http://67.89.4.174/aqua/photos/04_2003/Image3.jpg clearly showing some signs
of pain (and a little algae). Nutrients were rather high with the exception
of phosphates which I was keeping low following the "phosphate limited"
concept. Steve Maier who had initially sent me these plants suggested
looking into the phosphate and nitrate level. Nitrates were there so I
started adding phosphates (Flourish) at the same dose and frequency that I
was using for nitrates. Both the plants have recovered and are growing very
nicely now. The Eustralis did not continue to grow from the damaged tip,
instead it branched out many new shoots as you can see in this photo
http://67.89.4.174/aqua/photos/04_2003/Image24.jpg that was taken about a
week later.

I haven't seen any changes in algae growth, I get a little thread algae and
spot algae on the glass as usual but haven't noticed any changes due to the
added phosphorous. On the other hand, I've seen an increased amount of
pearling and better growth in general of most of the plants. Oh yeah, I also
tried the mega dose idea the day before a water change, it's amazing the
amount of pearling I get when I do this, I nearly had second thoughts about
changing the water the first time I tried it, the plants were really
enjoying the feast. It's tempting to give them a mega dose each day :-)

Giancarlo Podio

----- Original Message -----

  a.. To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
  b.. Subject: Re: E. Stellata & Willow hygro
  c.. From: "Rachel Sandage" <rachelsor at hotmail_com>
  d.. Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 07:57:20 -0700

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----
Larry,

thanks for your reply. My nitrates are generally around 5, even with the
huge amounts. I'll let Tom Barr do his phosphate rant, if he would, to
explain why I keep adding phosphate even with algae.

But I was curious about what you said at the end: "Finally ,although
unlikely with your GH around 4.5, you may have a Calcium def which could
give the contorted growth. Always good to double check. Your KH and GH may
be off?"

What are you suggesting I double check?


Thanks,
Rachel