[APD] RE: Crypts and K+ test kits

["Thomas Barr" <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

Tom W.

The AL K kit as the Lamotte kit as well are both turbimetric test. They
have good resolution at low levels but 10+ppm at high lever of K+, say
10ppm and above.

This makes them poor for measuring close ppm ranges at higher K+ levels.
The test are good if you want to see if you are running out of K+ or want
to run them very low.

If you use KNO3 and add/derive at least 25% of your total N from this salt,
then you have enough K+ relative to N.
So you will run out of N before you will run out of K+, if you use KNO3 in
most cases. This assumes you have no K or NO3 from the tap water and water
changes.  

While many might scoff at high prices for rare Crypts, they really are the
plants that a real plant collector would have, who cares about a stem plant
of the month that everyone will have in 6 months? Rare Crypts are not
plants you will see very often in a well aquascaped tank.
This makes them a great choice for centerpiece plants. Swords are too
weedy. 

Folks that are excellent aquascapers should use these types of plants more
often.
If you enjoy the growing aspects more: emergent growth will allow you to
grow many species and also grow Anubias at much faster rates at a greatly
reduced cost and expense.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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