wondergro mirco and macro

[ongtw]

hi guys,

anyone been using this fert? if yes how are you dosing? i'm currently using it and since this is my first time doing up a planted tank, i'm not sure whether the growth that i'm experiencing is good.

i noticed that the new shoots of my red plants are turning green. only the bottom portion is red. so its now like half red and half green. anyone know why?

[medicineman]

I assume you are keeping red stem plants like rotala macrandra or alternanthera.
Such plants are usually farmed emmersed under sun intense lighting, under such optimum condition they turn red and proliferate well.

In a planted aquarium where the condition suddenly change, the plants will start to adapt, new leaves turns out softer (submersed form), roots sometimes grow from the stems. When the intensity of light and nutrition is not up to the condition required, plants will also adapt to survive by creating more of the green chlorophyll which is more efficient at utilizing the intensity and quality of the existing light instead of retaining the light-demanding red chlorophyll (which makes the plant appears red).

If you happen to receive the plant in submersed form, it is likely that the plant has been cultivated under water in optimum condition (light, nutrition, water chemistry, etc).

Some aquarists find that by meeting the lighting intensity demand and trying to reach certain chemical parameters may help red plants retains its colours.

Having red plants in a setup does not depend solely to nutrition (fertilizer), though it cannot be denied nutrition factor is an important precursor.

[torque6]

Ong,
Evolutionz is selling both these ferts together with his granite rocks at B/S, can check with him as well.

[ongtw]

thanks medicineman,

i will see what's wrong with my tank..

hi torque, i'm not looking to buy it. rather, i'm using it but i don't see lush growth. i was wondering who's using it and wanted to know their experience. hm.. evo is selling. let me ask him why

[torque6]

Evolutionz did have a couple of scenerios with his tanks indicating clear fert regime, might want to look for it. He didnt mentioned any slow growth using them.

[Quincy]

Any infomation on your lightings and whether you are using CO2? I believed these are also quite vital for plant growth.

[ongtw]

hi guys,

co2 is manual regulator set to about 1bps for my tank.. which is about 1.4 ft cube tank. as for lighting i'm currently using a 11+11 watts light and a 11 watts light. going to get a 36 watts light soon though.

as for photoperiod i'm having 5 hours light + 5 hours break + 5 hours light without cutting co2 during the break because no one at home

[EdwinL]

Hi, What did you use as substrate? Did u hv any Iron Fert or other add-on?

[ongtw]

alright below are the details

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH, specify units): 16 x 16 X 16 inches
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 11w x 2 + 15w
Number and type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL
Age of light bulbs : 2/12/2007
No. of hours your lights are on : 5 hours light + 5 hours break + 5 hours light
CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : ~1 bps
Type of CO2 (DIY/Cylinder) : Cylinder
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) : diffusor
Other fertilisers (Product name. E.g. Root Monster) :
ADA Power Sand Special
ADA Amazonia 2
ADA Amazonia 2 powder
clear super - 2 scoops
bacter 100 - 2 scoops
penac p - 2 scoops
tourmaline bc - 7 scoops
penac w - 2 scoops

Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister, Product name/model if possible) : Canister - dolphine c-500

Fan: normal Cooling Fan

Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) : since 13th April 2008

Water change frequency : Every week
Amount changed : 3 inches of water

Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) : Gentle
Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) : Gentle

Tank Temperature : 29 degree celcius at this moment w/o fan turn on

[Quincy]

I had read that if you want plants to have red leaves, you must dose sufficient iron, have high lightings and low content of PO4 and NO3. I believe micro has iron but don't think its enough.

[ongtw]

hi quincy,

does it mean i need to dose more iron? where do i get it and what brand?

[torque6]

Ong,

As i have learnt from the gurus here some weeks back when i first started using pressurised, dont focus on bps, aim for 15-30ppm co2 in your tank. You didnt indicate both PH/KH. If KH is too low; common trend in pub waters, grab a good PH drop checker and maintain green->dark green to ensure optimum co2 concentration.

[ongtw]

torque,

yes i've been wanting to get a drop checker. which one should i get and how to use it? i recently purchased a dymax version (which i started a thread to ask for help). but unfortunately after reading some other forums, i realized that i need kh solution to make it work.

are there any drop checker that just uses their solution and the water from my aquarium and that's it? or is it a must to use the kh solution?

[o2bubble]

There is no such drop checker that shows accurate result with just your tank water. The better ones are Aquamedic and Dennerle drop checker tha comes with the ph reagent + standard kh solution already mixed together. So, you just put in this solution and no need for tank water or other standard kh solution.

[Quincy]

Im not so sure myself. I used Seacheam Iron before and iron tabs both not bad.

[ongtw]

hi o2buble,

thank you for the info.in that case for kh solution do is buying online the only option? any other place to purchase it? i'm not too interested to DIY it.

please advice

[PeterGwee]

It doesn't take a lot of effort to do mix the 4dKH solution but if you think it is even a hassle, you might consider dropping the usage of CO2 since plants trimming and weekly tank maintenance might be a hassle as well once the plants grow well.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[o2bubble]

What u need is just a bottle of distilled water, kh test, baking soda powder and 2 hours of your time to get a bottle of kh 4 solution to use for 1-2 years.

[ongtw]

sorry guys,

i just googled and found some recipes for the kh water. it is really pretty simple think gonna mix my own. thanks!

peter, i hope my earlier post didn't offend you in any way. cheers.

[torque6]

There is no such drop checker that shows accurate result with just your tank water. The better ones are Aquamedic and Dennerle drop checker tha comes with the ph reagent + standard kh solution already mixed together. So, you just put in this solution and no need for tank water or other standard kh solution.

Agree with bubble, you cannot use tank water. Must diy with distilled water + sodium bicarbonate. There are several methods to do this, normally i used 1 pinch of sb into 5 ounce of water, test the KH, double the volume, test KH, repeat till i get to 4dkh. I have close to 300ml which will last me for at least a year or so Its easy.