ForestDave
Member
Hi.
I got a bargain price on 5 bags of Dennerle Scapers soil, but after reading a few reviews questioning the amount of nutrients in it I probably stupidly thought I'd try sprinkling what I believed was a tiny amount of Osmocote underneath my Dennerle Scapers soil when I built my scape. I think it was about 19g worth over a 100x40cm base judging by the weight difference between the 2 packs I had delivered. It hasn't been helped by the fact that I did a re-scape after 1 week as some things didn't go to plan and some of the Osmocote was probably brought higher up in the substrate. The tank is looking ok but most of the stem plants are struggling to put down good roots and are sometimes rotting away in the substrate. They continue to grow but very slowly, getting their nutrients from the leaves I presume. Indian Swampweed is living up to its name and seems happy enough. Rotala sp Colorata is doing ok but the leaves are small. Most of the other stem plants seem to be stuck at the same height, or growing painfully slow.
I don't fancy another re-scape. If the plants tough it out for another 3-6 months, will the excess nutrients in the soil dissipate, and hopefully, could things improve from then on?
Tank 200L
4 weeks old although FX6 filter has been running for 2 months, (4 weeks with plants and no substrate).
Ammonia/Nitrite 0
Nitrate, 0ish. Pretty much running clear on the test with the very slightest pink hue if you strain your eyes.
KH 3-4
Tap/tank water 7.7ph
Dennerle Scapers soil
Mini Landscape Rocks
Temperature 23 degrees C
EI fertz, 40ml macro/micro on alternate days basic APF mix for the moment.
4ml of Glute
The only algae issue so far was some green thread algae spirogyra on some high-up weeping moss. I removed the moss so I could blackout and nutrient starve it separately and that is back in the tank. There have also been a few diatoms in the last few days when I switched to water changes every 3 days.
Lights are 2x 38w T5. for 6 hrs per day, for the moment. The front one has a reflector on it as my carpet plants needed more light.
Water changes were 50% every other day for the last 2 weeks and every day before that. Although as mentioned I've just switched to water changes every 3 days.
I had that feeling of dread when I was debating with myself whether to sprinkle the damn things in, I always seem to go heavy handed with these things. I killed a load of strawberries with them last year and should know better! 😭😄
I got a bargain price on 5 bags of Dennerle Scapers soil, but after reading a few reviews questioning the amount of nutrients in it I probably stupidly thought I'd try sprinkling what I believed was a tiny amount of Osmocote underneath my Dennerle Scapers soil when I built my scape. I think it was about 19g worth over a 100x40cm base judging by the weight difference between the 2 packs I had delivered. It hasn't been helped by the fact that I did a re-scape after 1 week as some things didn't go to plan and some of the Osmocote was probably brought higher up in the substrate. The tank is looking ok but most of the stem plants are struggling to put down good roots and are sometimes rotting away in the substrate. They continue to grow but very slowly, getting their nutrients from the leaves I presume. Indian Swampweed is living up to its name and seems happy enough. Rotala sp Colorata is doing ok but the leaves are small. Most of the other stem plants seem to be stuck at the same height, or growing painfully slow.
I don't fancy another re-scape. If the plants tough it out for another 3-6 months, will the excess nutrients in the soil dissipate, and hopefully, could things improve from then on?
Tank 200L
4 weeks old although FX6 filter has been running for 2 months, (4 weeks with plants and no substrate).
Ammonia/Nitrite 0
Nitrate, 0ish. Pretty much running clear on the test with the very slightest pink hue if you strain your eyes.
KH 3-4
Tap/tank water 7.7ph
Dennerle Scapers soil
Mini Landscape Rocks
Temperature 23 degrees C
EI fertz, 40ml macro/micro on alternate days basic APF mix for the moment.
4ml of Glute
The only algae issue so far was some green thread algae spirogyra on some high-up weeping moss. I removed the moss so I could blackout and nutrient starve it separately and that is back in the tank. There have also been a few diatoms in the last few days when I switched to water changes every 3 days.
Lights are 2x 38w T5. for 6 hrs per day, for the moment. The front one has a reflector on it as my carpet plants needed more light.
Water changes were 50% every other day for the last 2 weeks and every day before that. Although as mentioned I've just switched to water changes every 3 days.
I had that feeling of dread when I was debating with myself whether to sprinkle the damn things in, I always seem to go heavy handed with these things. I killed a load of strawberries with them last year and should know better! 😭😄