# What is Potassium and how it is harmful for plants ?



## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

Hi Guys

I went to BA today and explained my problems with plants not growing very well in my 30Gl tank (getting a lot of algae and plants getting yellow / brown when getting adult age) dis-pate using Flourish, Excel and Iron and they told me that most likely I have a lot of Potassium in the water and recommended to use *chemi-pure elite* filter insert for next two weeks. They said that it will kill all the algae on plants and stabilize the water. So I'm trying to find out what is Potassium and how it is harmful for plants ? Also want to find out if anybody used *chemi-pure elite* filter insert and if it safe to use for fish, plants and shrimps ?


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

Hi there,

I'm not an expert on aquatic plants, but all plants (and algae) use potassium in order to grow. It is a vital component of fertilizer. What the people from the store may be suggesting is that you have too much of it in your water, and that the excess potassium is fuelling an algal bloom. Too much algae can block out the light for your vascular plants. The solution they proposed would entail temporarily removing some of the potassium (and other things) from the water so that the algae would starve and die. Your regular plants would be able to survive the temporary dip in potassium levels. After the algae is gone, they would have more access to the light they need to grow.


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## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

characinfan said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I'm not an expert on aquatic plants, but all plants (and algae) use potassium in order to grow. It is a vital component of fertilizer. What the people from the store may be suggesting is that you have too much of it in your water, and that the excess potassium is fuelling an algal bloom. Too much algae can block out the light for your vascular plants. The solution they proposed would entail temporarily removing some of the potassium (and other things) from the water so that the algae would starve and die. Your regular plants would be able to survive the temporary dip in potassium levels. After the algae is gone, they would have more access to the light they need to grow.


Thank you very much for your help. Have you ever used chemi-pure elite ? And do you know if it will hrm the plants or not ?


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## balutpenoy2oy (Feb 17, 2011)

That's another marketing strategy. If you really are in suspicion of too much fertilizer, do your WC diligently. No things can replace this WC...And beside it is *too much* phosphate that leads to algae bloom...IMO


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

post your setup so experienced members can point out problems. I don't know why you would have ton of potassium unless you are adding them regularly.


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## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

Setup:

30Gl Planted tank - established 1 year old with two filters AC30 and AC50
Plants:
Java fern - getting brown when reach adult stage
Java moss - getting brown and dies
Amazon sward - getting yellow when reach adult stage
Criptocorn - growing normaly

PH - 7
Ammonia - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 0
Light - Aquatic Life fixture with two T5HO 24W 24" daylight 6400K florescent lamps on for 7 hrs each day.
Water changes, 25-30% every two weeks (use to do it every week but now trying to rise my NO3)
Fertilizers - Flourish root tabs - 2, Flourish, Iron and Excel 5-10Ml each dozing every water change.
Picture of it in this thread: http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43665
Now let me know what is wrong with my setup ????


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## greg (Apr 29, 2012)

Agree with above poster. If you have too much of a fertilizer in the water column, do some water changes.

Also Chemi-Pure Elite is for phosphate and silicates removal according to specifications not potassium.

Plants need potassium, phosphate and nitrogen - are you adding those nutrients to the tank - you only mentioned Flourish which is just low amounts of micro nutrients, excel and iron.

Nitrogen (nitrate kit) and phosphate levels are pretty easy to test for using test kits. Have you tested your levels?

Other helpful info. would include your fish load and feeding habits - i.e. do you tend to overfeed? Also what is your typical water change routine - how much and how often? What kind and how much lighting is on the tank? 


Edit: Didn't see your latest post with your setup info. You have a lot of plant material as per link and are not dosing macro nutrients - phosphate, nitrogen and potassium. How many root tabs did you place in tank and how long ago?



Greg


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## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

greg said:


> Edit: Didn't see your latest post with your setup info. You have a lot of plant material as per link and are not dosing macro nutrients - phosphate, nitrogen and potassium. How many root tabs did you place in tank and how long ago?
> 
> Greg


I put 2 root tabs under root of each Amazon about a month ago or so. What other ferts should I use beside regular flourish, Excel and Iron ? And should I use Iron at all as it may promote algae and be harmful to fish ?


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## greg (Apr 29, 2012)

ppaskova said:


> I put 2 root tabs under root of each Amazon about a month ago or so. What other ferts should I use beside regular flourish, Excel and Iron ? And should I use Iron at all as it may promote algae and be harmful to fish ?


I'm not an expert so hopefully some more knowledgeable planted tank hobbyists will chime in, however I do have some comments.

I think your excel dosing is insufficient at 5-10 ml every two weeks. I believe it should be 5ml every second or third day and a higher amount following water changes.

Iron should be fine with your plant load and use of tabs.

Likewise Flourish dosing level is fine.

Root tabs usage is helpful.

I think you should be dosing the water column lightly with macro nutrients. Potassium, nitrogen and phosphate. Don't rely on not doing water changes to add nitrogen. I'd go back to weekly water changes since you're only doing 25-30%. Add the three macros according to directions, err on the low side and measure the nitrates for guidance - you want to be around 15 ppm.

If the cost is a problem you can buy potassium nitrate and potassium phosphate at hydroponics shops and mix with distilled water. This way you'll likely get years worth of the macros for under $15.00.

Edit - regarding iron I mean that your dosing level is fine. It will not be harming the fish or causing algae - 5-10ml of iron every two weeks is not a lot - although I'd switch to weekly - every two weeks is too far apart. So 5ml every week would be okay.

Greg


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

ppaskova said:


> So I'm trying to find out what is Potassium and how it is harmful for plants ? Also want to find out if anybody used *chemi-pure elite* filter insert and if it safe to use for fish, plants and shrimps ?


As mentioned, potassium is not harmful to plants. You will likely run into other toxicity issues before running into potassium toxiity.



characinfan said:


> What the people from the store may be suggesting is that you have too much of it in your water, and that the excess potassium is fuelling an algal bloom.


I have never seen high levels of potassium causing algal blooms. Tom Barr has dosed potassium levels in excess of what is normally found in the aquarium, with no ill effects (he has gone into the hundreds of ppm).



balutpenoy2oy said:


> That's another marketing strategy. If you really are in suspicion of too much fertilizer, do your WC diligently. No things can replace this WC...


+1. Water changes will solve many problems.



balutpenoy2oy said:


> And beside it is *too much* phosphate that leads to algae bloom...IMO


I disagree; it is often an imbalance of nitrates and phosphates that lead to algal blooms. I have kept aquariums with 5 ppm of phosphate with no algae problems.



ppaskova said:


> Water changes, 25-30% every two weeks (use to do it every week but now trying to rise my NO3)
> Fertilizers - Flourish root tabs - 2, Flourish, Iron and Excel 5-10Ml each dozing every water change.





greg said:


> Plants need potassium, phosphate and nitrogen - are you adding those nutrients to the tank - you only mentioned Flourish which is just low amounts of micro nutrients, excel and iron.


+1. As mentioned, you do not seem to be dosing very often. If you are trying to increase your nitrate levels, just dose more. Once every two weeks is insufficient, especially with the high light you have.



ppaskova said:


> What other ferts should I use beside regular flourish, Excel and Iron ? And should I use Iron at all as it may promote algae and be harmful to fish ?





greg said:


> I think you should be dosing the water column lightly with macro nutrients. Potassium, nitrogen and phosphate. Don't rely on not doing water changes to add nitrogen. I'd go back to weekly water changes since you're only doing 25-30%. Add the three macros according to directions, err on the low side and measure the nitrates for guidance - you want to be around 15 ppm.


+1. Regular macro and micronutrient dosing is required for healthy plant growth.


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## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

greg said:


> I think you should be dosing the water column lightly with macro nutrients. Potassium, nitrogen and phosphate. Don't rely on not doing water changes to add nitrogen. I'd go back to weekly water changes since you're only doing 25-30%. Add the three macros according to directions, err on the low side and measure the nitrates for guidance - you want to be around 15 ppm.
> 
> Greg


Interesting. I was paralytically advised on this forum to switch to every two weeks water changes as I do the gravel cleaning as well and people suggested that maybe I'm removing the bacteria needed from the plants. So now is my question:
1. Should I change back to change water every week but do gravel cleaning every two weeks and doze ferts every water change ?
2. or do water changes and gravel cleaning every two weeks but doze ferts every week ?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

ppaskova said:


> Interesting. I was paralytically advised on this forum to switch to every two weeks water changes as I do the gravel cleaning as well and people suggested that maybe I'm removing the bacteria needed from the plants. So now is my question:
> 1. Should I change back to change water every week but do gravel cleaning every two weeks and doze ferts every water change ?
> 2. or do water changes and gravel cleaning every two weeks but doze ferts every week ?


I wouldn't say that water changes/gravel cleaning will remove a significant amount of bacteria from your system - you would probably lose more if you were to rinse out your filter media.

If you have a heavily planted aquarium, then there really is no need to do a deep gravel vacuum; I usually just do a light sweep over the surface of the substrate to pick up any loose detritus/mulm.

More water changes are always beneficial. Fertilization should be scaled to the amount of lighting you have; if you have a high light aquarium, you may require dosing 3 times a week. Lower light aquariums might get by with once a week dosing.

If you are noticing deficiencies in your plants, then it is time to increase your fertilization (and rather than increasing the amount dosed, it might be prudent to increase the frequency).


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## Sameer (Sep 30, 2007)

Took a quick glimps at your pic. you have low light plants. So you dont even need t5ho. I think you should keep one bulb on? Keep on dosing the rec amount of co2 (excel) and just a low amount of nutrient dosing. On the weekends, Just do one 40% water change. Dont bother with the gravel, just siphon it if its dirty.

Now you use bottles and I think there are directions on them. The trace element + iron bottle will tell you to dose twice a week and macro thrice. Follow that. Once a week dosing is not enough. If you dose both trace and macro they will precipitate. Also, when you dose iron, it is taken up instantly by plants and the rest is not used. So if you dose once a week, it wont do much help.

Again, I didnt read much in this thread and Im assuming this might be the cause.

EDIT: I would strongly recommed that you buy dry ferts and make your own mixture. It will be a 1000000000000000000000000000 times cheaper than those rip off nutrient bottles you buy. You can buy cheap ferts from any aquaphonic store. Also look into the EI Dosing Method. Thats the method majority of people follow and its alot easier to follow.


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## ppaskova (Apr 27, 2010)

Sameer said:


> EDIT: I would strongly recommed that you buy dry ferts and make your own mixture. It will be a 1000000000000000000000000000 times cheaper than those rip off nutrient bottles you buy. You can buy cheap ferts from any aquaphonic store. Also look into the EI Dosing Method. Thats the method majority of people follow and its alot easier to follow.


When you talking about the aquaphonic store, which one is i, can you give some examples, like names. Is those the same that specializes in the plant grows ? Also what is EI Dozing method and where I can find about it ?


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Only do wc enough to keep nitrates in check and just make sure you change at least a bit once a month.

If nitrates are going up, increase wc, if they are going down too low, less wc. Let your nitrates be your guide wc wise.


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## Sameer (Sep 30, 2007)

upon google search, heres a link

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilizing/27190-ei-method.html

There are several in that thread.

Yes the stores that are about growing plants, they have all sorts of liquid ferts, lights, stuff like that. Research into EI dosing and then you will know what to do. Its not hard at all.


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## greg (Apr 29, 2012)

ppaskova said:


> When you talking about the aquaphonic store, which one is i, can you give some examples, like names. Is those the same that specializes in the plant grows ? Also what is EI Dozing method and where I can find about it ?


I buy from Second Nature Hyrdroponics. Its on Royal Windsor Drive. As an example 500g of their potassium nitrate is $5.00. It would last you for years if you're just dosing a 30g tank.

Greg


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