In message , Reel McKoi
writes

"Peter Breed" wrote in message news:f2qhv8$l
...
However when I got
it home and read the small print the sequesterene says "Harmful to
aquatic organisims, may cause long term adverse effects in the
aquatic enviroment"

bevity snips
=======================
I use Ironite in the pots when I pot up my pond plants, plus a broken
bit of Jobe's Rose Sticks. I add 1 heaping tbs. of Potassium per 1000g
to the ponds as needed. For some reason this year the water lettuce
isn't going as crazy. I don't know what could be missing.


For those of us outside of the US of A, what precisely is the Ironite
you refer to?
(www.ironite.com lists a handful of general(ish) fertilizers).
Also what form do you use for your potassium input?

For Peter (who is UK based by the address), based on much research and
history of fertilizer threads in rec.ponds, I come up with this mix of
cheap readily available products :-

Potassium - Use potassium chloride, aka "Lo Salt" from the super market
(66% KCl, 33% NaCl, which of course added to the pond anyways for fishy
reasons). Also used Potassium Nitate sometimes to no ill effect.

Magnesium Sulphate / Epsom salts (Garden centre in JA Bower boxes).

Chelated Iron (EDDHA, 6% Fe).
Chelated trace elements.

These last two are available as ChemPak brand at some garden centres,
else both under trace elements on www.gardendirect.co.uk.

The chelated iron is what, I think, gives those expensive snake-oil pond
fertilizers from the pond shops the deep purple/brown colour.

Dosing : following is per cubic meter (1000ltrs), of dry product weighed
with electronic scales.
LoSalt 3ppm K equivalent, 8.7g
Chel. Iron, 0.1ppm Fe, 1.6g

I've seem 0.25ppm recommended for Iron, but never had the nerve to add
that much!

(1ppm = 1mg/litre = 1g / cubic meter)

The other two are a bit uncertain, generally I add Epsom Salts to about
half the weight of the LoSalt, and trace elements about the same weight
as the Chel-Fe. More or less once a week or two, or three.

Seems to work, but I'd welcome any other input on dosing levels.



--
Steven