po4 dosing

[Cornhusker]

tom, i have a tank with mostly crypts. co2 pressurized,110 watts of light over 55 gal.i've been giving higher doses of po4 and growth is great and leaves shine like gangbusters. is it true that crypts like a lot of po4? they are my favorite plant,bar none. thanks, cornhusker

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: po4 dosing

Not sure if they take in more than others.........
But adding high traces and PO4 does seem to help them.
They tend to be more N tolerant than many species.

Copper has a positive effect on them also. Bob Gasser use to add very high levels of copper to his Crypts. He perhaps the best Crypt grower to date.

I like TMG for Crypts personally.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[travis]

Re: po4 dosing

That is valuable information. When you say 'high' PO4 doses what are we talking about - 1 ppm, 2 ppm?

I've also noticed that keeping K levels high (15-20 ppm) seems to extend the life of my Crypt leaves and prevent the inevitable pinhole damage as they age. This is of course only observational data and isn't backed up by any true empirical testing.

Tom, is there any source for bulk TMG? I would love to give it a shot. Steve Hampton swears by it. I've been using Plantex CSM+B from Greg and couldn't be happier but I'm always curious. I've got a 125G that eats micros like crazy

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: po4 dosing

T-
Yes, 1-2ppm is a good range, we used to be rather conservative with PO4, these days folks have really gone up rather high, but Green spot algae goes away also, that is my personal most hated algae of all.

Crypts like harder waters, higher GH's and traces, K+ as well.
Many of outr memebership locally have been keeping high K+ levels 20-50ppm for many years without issue.

Submersed growth requirements are different than the emergent Crypt growth, I do both and they work for different reasons.

TMG is available from BigAl's online for 49.99 for 5 liter jug.

It has a different chelator than Flourish.
More copper also.

I've noticed a nicer sheen on the plants than with Flourish.
Holes means either low K+ or NO3.

Better coloration is generally a trace issue.


Regards,
Tom Barr