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Re: [APD] supposing "intake rate"



Mariano F. Bonfantesaid:

>>Well, I did it with precision reactives and I found low
nitrates 
and high
phosphates in my current schedule. I was supposing an intake 
rate that was
not true. >>

You also said that the other person was dosing 2x as much
KNO3........how much is this amount?
How big is your tank?
Have you calibrated the NO3 test kit?

Careful when making assumptions as to what is or is not true.

I do not know how many times someone thought their test kit was
"true", or their "CO2 was over 30ppm".

I have tanks with no fish load at all, 450 umols of light,
that's close to where the max amount of usable light is for
aquatic weeds.

Beyond that, with all the CO2/NO3 etc in the world, they will
not take up more CO2/NO3 etc, they have their limits.

In order to maximize these rates, you need to provide non
limiting levels for each nutrient and CO2 and then add the high
light to determine the rates.

These rates are based in continuous levels of PPM's of PO4/NO3
etc averaged over week time frames, not discrete pulses, where
the rates may be higher temporarily.
 
Denitrification may play a role in older "stale" substrates. I
suggest vacuuming them once a year at least(also drains the O2
levels in the tank when substrates accumulate too much organic
matter).

GDA is generally induced by: high light, some neglect to the
tank(dosing) and perhaps some substrate disturbance. I'm not
sure how to induce it specifically yet, but I can culture it at
least and watch it over time, thus the wait 14-20 days, wipe
clean and keep on dosing thereafter routine working for many.

GDA will re appear/reattach to the glass rapidly after wiping,
generally in 30-90 minutes and anice green film in less than a
day after cleaning it off.

It is bright green in color.

Low NO3 often stunts most plants, BGA shows up often in such
cases.

I'm not sure why so many people try so hard to limit nutrients,
and fudge their CO2 and not limit their lighting........ instead
they go to opposite way.

EI nor any method is going to be all that good if you do that.

By limiting say PO4, that will reduce CO2 demand, so that wimpy
CO2 system, ppm, level in the tank might now be able to handle
plants greatly slowed demands for CO2, since the CO2
requirements are down regulated by the lack of PO4.

This may be referred to as "The Weakest link" methodology.

It's not the PO4 dosing that is doing it, or the NO3, itt's the
lack of another interconnect nutrient, generally CO2 that's the
issue, we assume the CO2 is right way too much in the hobby.
We use a lot of light in general in the last decade or so, most
did not prior.

5.5 w/gal is a very high light tank, most thought that was nuts
years ago, yet many have similar wattages today.
Ugh.

Still, EI is very good because it isolates the CO2, I'm not so
sure you are following EI here(full EI means you are dosing 30+
ppms a week), something does not add up and it sure seems like
CO2.

Unless your plants are going faster than 5 ppm a day of uptake
and the bacteria denitifyers are adding to this as well(these
can be removed via deep vacuuming and thus=> accounted for), you
should not have any issues.

BTW, that 5ppm per day, that does not include the fish
contributions as well, so think about the max rates of growth of
a plant, do you really think they can use that much every day?

I don't think so over an extended time frame.

Regards, 
Tom Barr

www.BarrReport.com

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