actually: maybe....
I will try to write about it in my topic as well in a couple of days.
but in short: up to 2 weeks ago, it was really crap: stunting, pale plants and in general not healthy. just as the last 4 years. as you know I tried everything but nothing resulted in healthy plants.
two weeks ago I was really really fed up and decided that I wanted to do something drastic:and I did!
-lights: from 8 to 10 hours. and way more light. from 150 umol at the surface to 200-300 at the surface in addition to 3 peaks of 400 umol at the surface for 30 minutes per peak.
-CO2: decreased from 90 to 55 mg/l
-NO3: the same: 10 mg/l
-PO4: the same: 1 mg/l
-TMG: increased from 10 to 20 ml per day (hey, I increased the light period and intensity)
-flourish iron: from 5 ml to 10 ml per day (hey, I increased the light period and intensity)
so apart from the light adjustment nothing that I have tried before.
Since my plants looked crap, I bought some rotala vietnam (which never looked nice in my tank and ALWAYS stunted within 2 weeks after buying)
lo and behold: in the two weeks that I have this plant in the tank, it has actually grown! and looks healthy with a nice golden shade. This makes me happy! although it is early, I can already say that this plant has NEVER looked this good. and trust me, I have bought it numerous times.
Interestingly, one stem stunted: a stem that was half the size and completely shaded by the other stems. it was also completely green. I found out yesterday and I put this stem in another place to receive more light. two more weeks and then I can draw the final conclusion.
but for now: since I decreased CO2 and increased light period/intensity, I am now sure that it was NOT a CO2 deficiency. All the parameters described above I have tried in the past, apart from the light. thus: my early premature conclusion is that I had a "light deficiency" .
One little thing, which is not very surpisingly, is that green thread algae and fuzz algae are really taking of. And due to the heavy micro addition, the TDS is now also rising above 600 uS. (used to be 350-400). So for the further future I think I will to cut back the trace fertilization a bit.
And probably ask some advice about what and how
greets,
yme