Iron supplement dosing? HELP!

[Meghanbridget33]

I fell in love with the red rotala, i knew it would look great with the purple on the ludwiga. So I ended up with a little starter one.

told that to get those nice red leaves, that I need to use an iron supplement.

I forgot HOW OFTEN I am supposed to give the dose.

Ill take a picture of the bottle in a second

(Can someone reassure me that this is a red rotala)



View attachment 20160615_000405.jpg

 

[Meghanbridget33]

This is the iron stuff

View attachment 20160615_000405.jpg

 

[mrrobxc]

It's hard to tell. Macranda has a similar lead shape but the leaves are much thinner and emote delicate. Hard to tell from the picture. Macranda and species Japan are more demanding species. I recommend you look into EI dosing. Good it. It's called estimative index. That seems to be the most simple way to keep up your ferts on the more demanding species.

Lastly, i have always preferred ADA Iron. It's pricey but I got much better results than using seachem or Brightwell. If you dose dry ferts in an EI basis, you can simple get an iron mix.

 

[mrrobxc]

*macranda leaves are more delicate. Not emote delicate. The damn auto spell drives me crazy.

 

[Meghanbridget33]

How much tho

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

Lighting has a more profound effect on "red" plants then iron does, this is because of the MYB proteins within a plants cell structure... This image will help...

Lighting helps the pigments proteins in live plants, by targeting the chlorophyll peaks in both both chlorophyll stages, and in the pigment proteins not only improves the plants health, growth, etc... it also has a profound affect on the pigment coloration of the plant...

 

[mrrobxc]

How much tho

It depends on your tank size, plant load, and lighting. Google EI Method for planted tanks.

 

[Meghanbridget33]

I have six vallisneria, a ludwigia, pond penny, watersprite, Brazilian penny wort, a random thing, and the red rotala. 75 gallon and just your basic bulb. I am going to upgrade my lighting, but my filter stuff is first priority.

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

Personally I would upgrade the lighting before filtration... You can always add a powerhead or 2 to help with water circulation, but lighting is a major key component when it comes to planted tanks!!!

 

[Meghanbridget33]

Yeah I need to upgrade to some new bulbs