High K needs to be balance with Mg & Ca

[PeterGwee]

Well...didn't know that with high level of K we need to dose Mg and Ca so as to have a balance if not problems of Mg and Ca deficiency will come...[] ...
That explains why my "umbrella" looking plant is having Ca deficiency...supplement K to solve K deficiency only to face another problem...[]

[Allen_1971]

Yes thats true... in fact an imbalance (too much of nutrient X without nutrient Y) of nutrients (can't remember which) can inhibit plant growth. This is even in cases when both nutrient X and Y are above the critical concentrations.

Also, I was poking about the net and I came across a nice short description of what minerals are needed for plants, and how they are used. I thought this might come in useful... (this is written for normal land plants, but I'm pretty sure its still relevant)

Here it is.

[benny]

How do we ensure there is sufficient Mg and Ca?

[PeterGwee]

Allen..is there any other means of adding Mg+Ca other than adding coral sand or seachem equilibrum. Seachem products too far for me to get leh..Going to Nature only once in a while to get PLs and accessories as the distance is pretty far...Any products sold in Keong Seong or C328 can elevate this 2 nutrient problem?

[PeterGwee]

Benny, GH test is one way to find out the levels of Mg and Ca...but is no fool proof test though...Mg could be the in abundance while the other nutrient near zero or vice versa. The only way is to judge your plants...

[Allen_1971]

One thing you can try considering is Marine aquarium products... Interestingly enough, quite a view calcium additives for marine aquariums also contain magnesium. So this is a possible alternative... I believe Keong Seong carries quite a bit of coral life products so you can check that out. But read carefully. Some also contain strontium... which I have no idea what it will do. Alternatively, you can also try kalkwasser (for marine tanks) which also will boost calcium... however I suspect that will affect your GH as well.

For me, I use Seachems Calcium liquid (marine), and so far I have seen no change in my GH... however at the levels I'm dosing, it probably won't affect my GH even if it did.

for Magnesium alone, I am using epsom salts, which you can get from your pharmacy or Dr Mallick (which is where I got mine). Basically its just MgSO4.

[CK Yeo]

Yup, the marine stuff can be used also.

Epsom salt can be bought from pharmacies all over Singapore. Cheap too. Look in the section where they sell all the chemical stuff, like Potassium permagenate, Hydrogen peroxide, iodine etc.

For Ca, you can try sea shells also, like "hum"?

oh, as a side note, I think Dr Mallick's fertilizers lack Ca (TMG also), so watchout...

ck