What's a good way to supplement with iron?

[Dave M. Picklyk]

I got an iron test kit today and found out that I do not have any amounts of
traceable iron in my 48 gal. planted tank. I've added some liquid fertilizer
that is iron-enriched. I've tested the water again in a hour and there is
about .35 to .4 mg/L now...which I've heard was good.

Is liquid fertilizer a good way to supplement iron to a system? How long
will it be till I usually have to add more in? (Or I can continue testing
every 3-4 days for chelated iron levels)

thanx!

[tcbiii@NOSPAMearthlink.net]

Adding it every 2-3 days is about best.
Don't worry if it's 0.0 for a day or two, doesn't matter.
Main thing is to add it regularly.
I use 5mls per 20 gallojns every 2-3 days at the highest normally used
light levels(a bit higher really, 5-6w/gal) to get the best use from a
trace mix.

This works well and doesn't have a testing issue(What is a good
bioavailable level and is the decline in iron due to plant uptake?).
You'll find the answer to the above questions rather difficult to
answer.
Regards,
Tom Barr

"Dave M. Picklyk" > wrote in message >...
> I got an iron test kit today and found out that I do not have any amounts of
> traceable iron in my 48 gal. planted tank. I've added some liquid fertilizer
> that is iron-enriched. I've tested the water again in a hour and there is
> about .35 to .4 mg/L now...which I've heard was good.
>
> Is liquid fertilizer a good way to supplement iron to a system? How long
> will it be till I usually have to add more in? (Or I can continue testing
> every 3-4 days for chelated iron levels)
>
> thanx!

[Dave Millman]

"Dave M. Picklyk" wrote:

> I got an iron test kit today and found out that I do not have any amounts of
> traceable iron in my 48 gal. planted tank. I've added some liquid fertilizer
> that is iron-enriched. I've tested the water again in a hour and there is
> about .35 to .4 mg/L now...which I've heard was good.
>
> Is liquid fertilizer a good way to supplement iron to a system? How long
> will it be till I usually have to add more in? (Or I can continue testing
> every 3-4 days for chelated iron levels)

Tom described dosing in his reply. As far as a good source, Flourish Iron from
Seachem is extremely convenient, as it is just Iron in liquid form. Also, the
trace mixes used by many here (like Plantex) contain Iron premixed with the rest
of the traces in fixed ratio.

[Dave]

"Dave M. Picklyk" > empowered us with this mighty blow
against the Patriarchy:

> I got an iron test kit today and found out that I do not have any
> amounts of traceable iron in my 48 gal. planted tank. I've added some
> liquid fertilizer that is iron-enriched. I've tested the water again
> in a hour and there is about .35 to .4 mg/L now...which I've heard was
> good.
>
> Is liquid fertilizer a good way to supplement iron to a system? How
> long will it be till I usually have to add more in? (Or I can continue
> testing every 3-4 days for chelated iron levels)

You might find this helpful:

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_fertilizer_intro.htm

(along with the other articles at Chuck's website!)

I add Tropica Master Grow and am happy with the results.