i never had CO2 in my tanks and my plants do really well.

regardless of your piping u should get the best for your plants and stop
guessing on the rust in the pipes. maybe by doing that you introduce
something not so good in your tank. think of a good plant fertilizer, with
micro and macro trace elements. Kent I think is a good choice, their new
line Botanica.

take care
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"Eric Schreiber" wrote in message
...
Ben wrote:

Was wondering something the other day. Now I know that to keep
plants happy in a tank you want to keep trace amounts of iron in the
tank. Now here is the thing, the house I live in was built in 1923 and
has old iron pipes. Now is there going to be enough trace iron in the
water or am I going to have to add it.

Try without adding any first, and see how your plants do. Plant
keeping is as much art as science, and it seems to me that you have to
experiment a bit to get the right mix.

I was adding DIY CO2, potassium, trace elements, fertilizer and iron
to my tank for awhile, with the chemicals going in religiously every
week. I've been cutting way back on them for awhile now, and haven't
run any CO2 for a couple of months, and my plants are doing great.


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www.ericschreiber.com