Please read my floating plants

[LMuhlen]

Something curious happened in my 2 tanks. Yesterday I did water change and today the floating plants took a noticeable turn for the worse.

One tank is a small ~35L former shrimp tank, now preparing to try shrimps again, lowtech, plants not so happy, algae not so under control. Yesterday I did a massive ~85% water change, cleaning the substrate and removing algae as much as possible, and filled it back with water from the main tank. After the water change I dosed ~5ml of my macros mix.

The main tank had only a simple 50% water change as I always do. I then added salts for GH, 120ml of the macros mix and my standard dose of Fe EDDHA (~0.05ppm Fe). On the 325L tank, this macros dose added 10ppm NO3, 4ppm PO4, watever K comes with the nitrate potassium and phosphate potassium used.

Yesterday the floating plants looked OK. There were small white marks, like injuries, on some of the leaves. This morning, the plants look much worse, with large white marks, even some holes.

Small tank:

Large tank:

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

and today the floating plants took a noticeable turn for the worse.

That looks like it may have been iron (Fe) deficiency, but that the plants are now recovering. Have a look at <"Frogbit taken a turn">.

There were small white marks, like injuries, on some of the leaves.

Have a look at <"Micronutrient toxicity.. or deficiency.. ? Pls help.">

I'm not sure which one it is, but it either iron (Fe) and/or Magnesium (Mg) deficiency. It looks like it might have been iron deficiency, but a little while ago? Mainly because the newest leaves look healthier.

Magnesium (Mg) is the other option

I then added salts for GH, 120ml of the macros mix

Does that include magnesium?

cheers Darrel

 

[LMuhlen]

Since the older leaves were looking ok before, I thought it might be a mobile nutrient that was drained from the old leaves. Or is this not how it works?

Wouldn't those leaves be in a bad shape from their "birth" if it were an iron deficiency?

For GH I add calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate in roughly equal amounts, bringing the GH from 3 dGH to 6 or 7

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Since the older leaves were looking ok before, I thought it might be a mobile nutrient that was drained from the old leaves. Or is this not how it works?

Yes, that is how it works, plants can shuffle mobile nutrients from older to newer leaves, and real deficiency symptoms only occur when the plant has really run out entirely.

Wouldn't those leaves be in a bad shape from their "birth" if it were an iron deficiency?

Yes and no, you can get a situation where a non-mobile nutrient is unavailable for a limited time period, <"and then becomes available again">. That might give you the same effect as a mobile nutrient. Have a look at @Zeus. 's <"future of Aquascaping picture">.

This is Limnobium laevigatum, but I'm pretty sure it is the same deficiency, you just get a much more obvious net vein effect with Amazon Frogbit.

I've seen this on my own Pistia plants, but <"I don't know what causes it">. Pistia is more problematic for us in the UK to grow (than Limnobium laevigatum), because it doesn't tend to enjoy the winter. I'm not sure whether it is light or air temperature issue, but rosette size and health tends to decline through the winter. The other issue <"is leaf colour">, which makes it more difficult to see early deficiency signs.

This was what @rusticdr <"found">.

2. Regarding the duckweed index: Massive massive help. If any of u have any doubts whether u have issues either due to co2 or nutrient def.. this is a life saver. the reason for my frogbits to die off earlier was not due to high surface flow. It was insufficient phosphate. Looks like phosphate at EI recommended dosage isnt sufficient in my tank. I almost dose 10 ppm per week. And you can see those results in the pics attached here.

cheers Darrel

 

[LMuhlen]

Thanks for all the help Darrel.

The plants on the main tank are stable, just a little roughed up, but nothing to really worry about. The ones on the small shrimp tank, on the other hand, are looking pretty bad, and they are declining really fast. Yesterday night, 30 hours after the water change, all the small new plantlets that were spawning were looking completely shriveled. Just in case, I sprayed a squish of micros... I think it is really weird, since I literally replaced the tank's water with the water from the other tank, and the plants are so much worse in this small tank.