phosphate deficiency? something else?

HI all! So I've been looking at my plants and I'm not sure what exactly is missing. Some descriptions from various sites have made me wonder if I've got a phosphorous deficiency.

My tank readings right before a weekly water change (API master kit) are usually:

~10ppm nitrate
~ 1 ppm phosphate

Two T5HO bulbs over an 18" tall tank, four inches or so up off the top (propped on egg cartons); it's a fixture by FishNeedIt. I think it's on about 8 hours per day, from 9 - 7:30 with a 3-ish hour break in the middle of the day when there's a bit of sun hitting the tank (not much, quite indirect, and only a corner of the tank).

Every two weeks or so I scrub what seems to be GSA off my tank walls. It's not enough to make my fish not visible or anything, but I can definitely tell the difference after I've scrubbed XD Some older leaves of my pennywort also seem to have some GSA on them, but I think the growth has slowed down overall.

I have a DIY CO2 diffuser, positioned under the output from one of my HOB filters so the bubbles get pushed back down.

I feed my root-feeders with DIY root tabs once a month. It's Jobe's organics in pill capsules.

What I've been noticing on my plants is mostly on the swords. I've got a Rangeri, two (three?) Amazon swords, and two Ozelots.

- They are all growing AMAZINGLY. Visibly growing every week.
- The RangerI is doing its darndest to grow emersed. A bunch of its leaves were hopelessly lost to BBA so I cut them off and I think it was a little shocked by that, but it grew a new one right away.
- My most notable Amazon sword is growing hugely, but the leaves are narrow and long, and not so "leaf-shaped" as they were when it came in. When I planted it, it was probably only about 6-8 inches tall. Now its leaves are hitting the top of the water.
- The leaves on the Amazon are green, but they seem a little more translucent than they should be, maybe. Almost like it grew too fast and didn't have time to fill in the spaces (obviously not the actual reason, but it really does remind me of a "stretched" leaf).
- The Ozelots are growing well too, but the leaves aren't really oval anymore. They have a definite tip and are kind of long and a little crimpy around the edges.
- I used to have DHG, and it started to spread, but then it stopped and died.

Does this sound like phosphate (phosphorous?) deficiency, or something else? Recommendations? Advice? I'd love to get my plants growing the best they can!

 

1ppm phosphate is more than enough. I don't think that's the problem. What liquid ferts are you dosing with?

 

Well, I'm not, actually. Somewhere else someone (you? lol) told me that with my GH (9 drops?) and KH (6-7 drops? I might be switching the two, but I don't think so) where they were, I was probably beyond enough.

I used to dose with Flourish twice a week and my leaves still tended to be crimpy, at least on the RangerI (which was all I had at the time, plus a sad Amazon that I think died, or is still there, but wimpy).

 

Well, I'm not, actually. Somewhere else someone (you? lol) told me that with my GH (9 drops?) and KH (6-7 drops? I might be switching the two, but I don't think so) where they were, I was probably beyond enough.

I used to dose with Flourish twice a week and my leaves still tended to be crimpy, at least on the RangerI (which was all I had at the time, plus a sad Amazon that I think died, or is still there, but wimpy).

Lol! I hope not. I do rely on my gh to control algae as I have recorded a difference with rise and fall of gh in correlation to algae but not if you're having deficiencies in your plants. I've never had amazons before so I wouldn't know of their needs but you could be low on iron or potassium which I some times use if there's a plant deficiency and IME, fert tabs should be enough to keep most plants alive plus co2 as well as phosphates and nitrates from wastes and some minerals/nutrients from the tap. Weird how your hair grass died as well. How is your algae?

Just for your benefit, it helps to have flourish comp, potassium, iron and trace in the event you run into problems, as you're having atm.

I don't believe in fert dosing if plants are doing well with fert tabs and minerals from the tap but in your case, you're lacking something and it might be that you'll need to experiment with fert dosing (iron, potassium or trace minerals) to find the cause.

There is also the "estimative index dosing" guide. (Google for info) but it is basically a weekly routine of complete fert dosing, with weekly water changes to regulate nutrients in the water column. I don't think it's for everyone, with my planted setup for an example, is sustainable with minerals and nutrients from the tap, co2 injection and fish stock. As well as if you have established algae, adding nutrients to benefit plants will also benefit algae.

Which ever method you decide, understand how it works first and keep in mind it will take a few days for improvement to be noticeable.

 

Pictures would be most helpful but that does not sound like phosphate deficiency. Target range for phosphates is 0.50-3ppm or higher to control GSA in highlight tanks along with good circulation, proper fertilization and regular water changes.

Your Ozelots are supposed to have ruffled/crimped leaf edges. That is normal.

 

HI guys, thanks for the input. I'm going to experiment with putting in root tabs more frequently first, since most of my plants are very heavy on root feeding (swords, mostly, as in the description, plus a dwarf lily).

I've noticed that my swords seem to grow rapidly for the first two weeks after I put in root tabs, and then slow down for the next two weeks. I would assume this is negative, and that it would make sense for me to put in root tabs with less time between each installment (perhaps every 3 weeks, if not every 2 weeks). My pennywort has fabulous leaves going, my salvinia is just taking the place over, and the guppy grass is growing quickly as well, with no noticeable stunting, so I suspect it's maybe not the nutrients in the water column itself, but rather some shortage down below that the root feeders are experiencing.

Here are some pictures--not the best quality, sorry, my only camera right now is my phone:

Full tank:




Ozelot:




Amazon:




It's hard to see the translucency, and maybe it's not actually translucent at all and I'm just worrying too much! I definitely do notice a big rollercoaster in growth, though, and I feel like the leaves shouldn't be so thin-looking.

Also--are emersed leaves less translucent? My two points of comparison are 1. how they look when I first get them and 2. how my RangerI (very successful plant in my tank) looks--and it has been trying VERY hard to grow emersed. It stems up to my glass canopy and then basically the leaf grows smushed between the glass and the water surface. Its leaves are quite opaque (or were before I cut them off).

Would I be right in guessing, after your comment about Ozelot leaf shape and a little bit of internet reading, that a lot of places (my plant source is normally PetSmart, so wherever they get their plants) grow swords emersed, in something like 6 inches of water (with the leaves growing out the top)? Every sword I've gotten and put into my high light 29 gal has immediately grown an extra 10 or so inches. That Amazon in the last picture used to be no taller than probably about halfway up the picture. The Ozelot grew just a few inches, and it had very oval leaves when I got it. My Rangeri, too, grew about a FOOT when I put it in.

Again, thanks for your help and suggestions!

Also my apologies for the sideways pictures. My phone used to tell my computer which way they were saved automatically...