How much iron to dose?

[gchoo]

Question for you gurus....

How much Fe does one have to does in order to get plants like rotala macrandra to turn red for a 4x2x2 tank? How many ppm?

[PeterGwee]

Low nitrate and high trace(not just iron)...How much traces? Make sure the other nutrients are in good range and experiment with the dosage..

[Plantbrain]

Generally about 20mls 3x a week(say of TMG, Flourish, Sera etc) for this size tank is more than enough iron.

I will not give you a ppm reading since it does not tell you anything useful.
Red color, namely from the presense of anthocyanins possess no iron whatsoever....
Lower NO3 levels, but not zero ppm will promote really red color but too little NO3 will stunt your plants. Less NO3 diverts some of the N away from chlorophyll(the cause of the green color) exposing the red more in some plants like Ludwigia and Rotala's.

FYI, achieving deep red color is easier with LESS light since the NO3 is easier to keep at a relative low level than in a high light tank which removes the NO3 very rapidly and needs checked more often less the plants become stunted.
2 w/ gal is enough to grow most any plant. A good fish load supplies some NH4 to supplement the NO3 should it run out so that can help also.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[gchoo]

----------------
On 8/22/2003 8:46:04 AM

Generally about 20mls 3x a week(say of TMG, Flourish, Sera etc) for this size tank is more than enough iron.

I will not give you a ppm reading since it does not tell you anything useful.
Red color, namely from the presense of anthocyanins possess no iron whatsoever....
Lower NO3 levels, but not zero ppm will promote really red color but too little NO3 will stunt your plants. Less NO3 diverts some of the N away from chlorophyll(the cause of the green color) exposing the red more in some plants like Ludwigia and Rotala's.

FYI, achieving deep red color is easier with LESS light since the NO3 is easier to keep at a relative low level than in a high light tank which removes the NO3 very rapidly and needs checked more often less the plants become stunted.
2 w/ gal is enough to grow most any plant. A good fish load supplies some NH4 to supplement the NO3 should it run out so that can help also.

Regards,
Tom Barr
----------------

So assuming that I use Seachem for NO3, how many ml do I need to add in (Forget the formula, its not practical.)

[Plantbrain]

I don't use SeaChem Nitrogen(it adds both NH4 and NO3).
So you can either test or eyeball and play with their instructions for usage with CO2.

I only use KNO3 for a N source and some fish for the NH4.
I add about 3/4 a teaspoon 3x a week for a 4x2x2 tank(120gal, 450L) running well, 2x a week if get getting the tank going.

Regards,
Tom Barr