Extra iron?

[colonel]

Just wondering if there is ever a need to dose extra Iron when using EI? I have a 75 g. 110 watts of PC, and 64 watts NO floro. I have been doseing as Tom had suggested over in the aquatic gardeners forum.....
1/2 t. KNO3 1/8 t. KH2PO4 3x a week
15 ml of trace 3x a week on off days
1/4 epsom salts at WC

some new leaves were coming in pale/light green or yellow and by the advice of others saying they needed much more iron that what the traces provided I started to dose flourish Iron ever day starting at the recomended dose which was 7 ml I think, but it didnt seem to help, so i bumped it up to 15 ml daily still with not much effect on plants. Do others find the need to have to dose so much extra iron? or could this be another nutrient or CO2 related?
I know lately CO2 hasnt been consistant I just had to go get the bottle filled and the needle valve needed tweaked a bit, so for about the past week or so there have been slow changes in CO2 levels getting back up to what PH/KH reading claim around 35-40 ppm ....... after I orignally over shot by a pretty big margin when I first hooked it back up. (oppps! dont think my fish were to pleased about that!)
Just curious to see if all that extra iron is really needed because since I bumbed it up to 15 ml it has been making a haze to the water, which i have read in others post on APC, apreantly others have had this problem also and secheam didnt really have much to say other than that it could be due to high KH or PO4, my KH is 4, and I would imange my PO4 shouldnt be to high.....
That haze really takes away from the tank thats for sure, i would really like to cut back on the iron or take it out completely.... any advice? thanks all
Matt

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: Extra iron?

I had 3-4x more light and did not need more.
Will adding more hurt? no.


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[colonel]

Re: Extra iron?

Thanks Tom, I really didnt think it was iron related since after adding extra for some about a week or so didnt really seem to help the light leaves coming in, and im sick of that haze! LoL, I just posted over in aquatic gardeners forum about whats going on with my tank.... but I sort of stepped back a bit, carefully went back of you EI article and locked things in. Now its just a matter of keeping them consistant and letting the plants have a stable environment for a few weeks to see how they respond..... and then see if anything needs changed.
funny thing is I have a little 5 g. that has been dosed consistant, pretty much the same as the 75 g. routine now. which is how you originally recomended..... with the addition of .5 ml of iron a day, and excel since its yeast CO2, and its doing great, BBA is dieing off, glosso is carpeting BEAUTIFUL, Lagarosiphon madagascariensis is looking better than ever, and best of all my crypt is melting its thriving and there is NO algae at all growing.
Leads me to believe that had I just followed your advice to begin with, stopped reading to much into it, and stopped looking at what others dose.... the 75 g. would probably being doing pretty well too LoL, oh well its a learning process, as long as I learn from my mistakes gonna cut back on that darn Iron and get rid of that haze when this bottle is gone then Guess ill just go with out it and see if its really even needed in my tank, though im thinking not..... thanks a lot Tom, happy holidays to you and everyone else also
Matt