Freshwater Aquarium Plant Growth & Nutrient Deficiency Issue...

[LabTest57]

Very Interesting....

So, if I had already tested for iron deficiency and my plants still did not show any sign of improvement, then it's likely that it's some other deficency like CO2 or Potassium, right?

Seachem has only Iron, Excel, Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorous as parameter specific supplements, and I know both Iron and phosphorous has been tested in my tank and my plants haven't showed any improvement. Since Excel is carbon based, it would only be necessary if I have plants that require a lot of light, which I don't or preferably choose a low-light environment to restrict plant growth. Right now as a nitrogen source in my tank, ammonia and nitrites are zero, and nitrates are quite high but I've noticed my plants aren't utilizing it.

Which supplement is more important for growth and/or chlorosis, Potassium or Nitrogen? Should I just use Flourish, instead?

[Tech Support DD]

If you have tested for iron and the level is adequate and your plants are still not showing signs of improvement, it is possible that it's some other deficiency.

Both nitrogen and potassium are important for growth, although chlorosis is more often a sign of a nitrogen deficiency. Since you already have a high level of nitrate, and if you aren't dosing potassium, I would recommend dosing Flourish Potassium and seeing if that helps matters (Tech Support EH has already pointed out the important roles that potassium plays in plants :-). You can use Flourish; however, you will probably only want to dose it once or twice a week as it does contain some organics.

[LabTest57]

No offense, but Flourish Potassium isn't as concentrated as "API Leaf Zone". If Seachem can make Prime so concentrated, why not aquarium plant supplements? Flourish Iron and Excel seem to have a good concentration, however, Flourish Nitrogen, Phosporous, and Potassium are too diluted. I know Seachem has made Flourish Phosphorous 0.3% because of costumer comments and suggestions, but Seachem can just make it/these more concentrated and just lower the dosage (e.g. 1 capful for every 80 gallons of water).


API Leaf Zone Chemical Composition,etc.: http://cms.marsfishcare.com/files/msds/leafzone_2457.pdf

API Leaf Zone contains 6.2% of soluble Potash (potassium sulfate). It states that 5ml treats 10 gallons of water, when in reality (comparing to Flourish Potassium) 5ml can treat as much as 30 gallons of water. API expects that 5ml per 10 gallons or 6 ppm of potassium per 10 gallons is enough, which indeed is; however, you end up buying more because it runs out much quicker this way. Logically both products can be dosed at 5ml per 10 gallons or 5ml per 30 gallons. It depends on what concentration of potassium one wants in their tank. Only true difference between API Leaf Zone and Seachem Flourish Potassium is 0.4% in soluble potash (K2O or potassium sulfate).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________


Suggestion: To make a plant supplement formula that contains plant-preferred ammonia (Nitrogen), Potassium sulfate, and Iron. Iron and Ammonia should yield something as high as 2%, and Potassium above 6% in concentration. I know it's possible, because API Leaf Zone contains both Potassium and Iron (soluble potash 6.2% and chelated Iron 1.5%). So, it should be possible to mix liquid supplements in high concentrations.

[Tech Support LK]

This product MSDS is listing 6.2% concentration of K2SO4, not soluble potassium. If you want to know how much actual potassium you are getting out of this product, then you will need to do a bunch of math, which I have already done for you (see results below). We list our products' actual potassium content rather than leading someone to think there is more than there really is.

API Leaf Zone soluble potassium content: 3.352%
Seachem Flourish Potassium soluble potassium: 5.8%

Thanks for your suggestion. The reason why we do not mix these elements does somewhat have to do with concentration, however, the other part of it is that we feel these should be dosed separately for maximum success. One may need one element and not the other and this gives the hobbyist the opportunity to dose accordingly.

[LabTest57]

Although, if I knew the math, I would be even more confident with your answere.

So, as a personal opinion, what would you recommend the most: Flourish Iron, or Flourish Potassium?

[GTR]

[QUOTE=LabTest57;6391]

So, as a personal opinion, what would you recommend the most: Flourish Iron, or Flourish Potassium?[/QUOTE]

Won't that depend on what the tank needs? I think that's a question formed just to ask a question and impossible to answer, don't you?

[LabTest57]

The thing is, Potassium and Iron have different effects on plants.

[QUOTE=Many planted tanks thrive with only the addition of a broad spectrum supplement, such as Flourish or Flourish Tabs. However, in our experience, as tanks become more heavily-planted, one will begin to notice limiting factors of growth. Let's take potassium as an example. Potassium plays many roles in the cells of plants:
*Enzyme activation
-K activates at least 60 different enzymes in plant growth by altering the physical shape of the enzyme, therefore, the rate of enzymatic activity is limited by the rate at which K enters the plant cell
*Stomatal Activity
-K regulates the opening and closing of stomates, the pores through which leaves exchange CO2, water vapor, and oxygen
*Photosynthesis
*Transport of sugars
*Protein synthesis
*Starch synthesis[/QUOTE]

I didn't know potassium does this much in plants, so I was wondering about the other elements - how they function in a plant.
It seems like people use Iron most of the time for yellowing problems in a plant, however, I wasn't asking which supplement would be best in my situation (I want to know which supplement does more for any plant).

[Tech Support DD]

Here is the math:

From the API Leaf Zone MSDS (http://cms.marsfishcare.com/files/msds/leafzone_2457.pdf), we have that the product is 6.2% potassium sulfate.

Because of various state fertilizer laws, we report our potassium as potash, K2O. We have 5.8% potash. To convert the API potassium concentration, we do the following:

6.2% K2SO4 x (94.2034/174.2656) = 3.351556934% K2O

The molecular weight of K2O is 94.2034, and 174.2656 is the molecular weight of K2SO4.

Yes; potassium plays many roles in plants (it is a macronutrient, meaning it is required by plants in relatively large amounts). However, iron (a micronutrient) is also important in plants. Iron is a metallic component of cytochromes, which are the proteins that function in the electron transport chains of chloroplasts and mitochondria. Iron is also a component of enzymes, which are proteins that serve as catalysts to change the rate of a reaction. So, they really are both important (along with many other elements :-)

[LabTest57]

Thanks for all your help. Hopefully, I have all the information I need to make my plants "Flourish". I won't be bothering you guys in a while. I guess next year, when I convert my tank to saltwater, the questions will build up again.

Again, thanks and all of you have a great weekend! =)

[Tech Support EH]

You're very welcome! That's what we're here for, after all!