JamesC said:
Aeropars said:
Would you be in agreement that is PO4 causing my stunting? I'm slightly confused as you said that PO4 can be limited without too many problems.
Lee
IME I've never seen low PO4 cause stunting as long as you don't bottom out. Limiting means keeping a constant low level without letting it bottom out. My test tank reads 0 on my PO4 test kit and everything grows really lush with not a single GSA spot in sight. Lighting is 4.4wpg T5 with CO2 diffuser. I know PO4 test kits are a bit unreliable but I use it to get an idea. My main tank does read PO4 levels and gets small amounts of GSA. I do dose 7 days a week to maintain levels.
James
Well, I'm not even go there with the test kit. I'll just get all riled up.
James have you ever considered the Hanna PO4 meter?=>
http://www.hannainst.co.uk/acatalog/HI- ... Meter.html They've come down in price but the reagents are still expensive. I recall Barr saying they were OK. If your kit says your PO4 is zero yet you have good growth and no GSA, and just the opposite in the other tank then I really wouldn't know what to think honestly.
Barr explains the stunting/reduced growth issue as low PO4 limiting the uptake of NO3. Also P. stelleta is one of those inefficient feeders that seems to need more of everything but once it gets what it needs grows like a bonfire. I think Lee stated that he did have a bit of GSA so that seems to corroborate the low PO4.
Hey Lee, after I sent you and a couple of other people the clippings, I was left with two crowns which I replanted in the front as shown here:
So with unlimited PO4 as well as unlimited everything else except for maybe CO2 (which I can't really achieve) that scene was obliterated since that time to look like this. I dose 5 days a week (Macro 3X, Trace 2X) and I don't have to test anything to maintain any specific levels of anything. I just don't care about any levels because I know what levels I'm dumping into the tank:
I mean, it doesn't even seem like we are talking about the same plant. From my point of view your plant looks MAJOR stunted, and, OK, James might not agree, bu for better or for worse I'm blaming low PO4.
Growth is ridiculous in my tank and I've had to hack all that back. Twice. The stem that was on the right was cut to the nub (you can see where bright green new stems have emerged (bottom center of the frame) and the left one was shaped as best I could so it looks like this now. All of those crown heads are the tips of branches emanating from the pruned stem (on the left in the first shot):
At the end of the day everyone has to choose their pill. You can take the Blue Pill, wake up in your bed tomorrow morning and believe...whatever you want to believe, or, you can take the Red Pill and we can show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
To the best of my knowledge this is what God/Nature intended Pogostemon Stelleta to look like: It'll be hard to achieve that by limiting PO4.
"
The Flowing Robes of Lady Stelleta" Courtesy of EI. Is this worth doing a 50%-80% water change once a week? Yes, I definitely think so.
Cheers,