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Dupla tablets
FORWARDED MESSAGE:
>Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 10:29:16 -0800 (PST)
>From: Roxanne Bittman <rbittman at spock_dfg.ca.gov>
>To: aquatic-plants at actwin_com
>Subject: Dupla tablets
>
>Gerry asked about the dosage of Duplaplant tablets (and drops?):
>
>I have been Dupla fertilizer for about 5 months. The suggested dosage (on
the
>package) may be quite a bit higher than you would want to use. I have two
>tanks, a 20 and a 40g. I change 10g/week in the larger tank, and 5g/week
in the
>smaller one. I add 1 tablet to the larger tank and 1/2 tablet to the
smaller.
>This is half the recommended dose.
>
>Even so, after fertilizing with the tablets, green spot often appears on the
>front glass (within hours). Using the LaMotte test kit, I usually don't
have to
>add the Dupla Drops (which are mostly Fe) until 3 days later. I definitely
>don't add them every day; this results in horrendous hair algae!
>
>This brings up a thought: I am personally not than impressed with the Dupla
>fertilizers. First of all, the dosage needed seems radically different
from the
>published information on their product. (I might add that I am using them
in
>high light, high CO2 tanks with fast growing plants, so uptake is not an
issue).
>Secondly, the tablets provide quite a bit of iron, which doesn't dissipate
for
>many days; the drops are very concentrated, and at the rate I am using
them I
>will never run out. I guess this could be thought of as a good thing.
However,
>sometimes my plants show signs of iron deficiency, but when I add a Dupla
drop,
>algae develops. I have pretty much eliminated other nutrient
deficiencies. I
>just feel the Dupla system is too touchy.
>
>Also, I have found that there are serious disadvantages to adding ANY
fertilizer
>to the water. I seem to have better luck in my own tanks adding
fertilizer to
>the substrate (which also contains Duplarit G) and very little to the
water. I
>seem to remember a comment in one of the Aquatic Gardner journals by Diana
>Walstad to the effect that Dupla tanks probably have many SAEs in them!
Point
>taken and point definitely understood!
>
>Comments?
>
>Roxanne Bittman
>
>