Thanks for the great advice, really appreciate it.
I *%&^ed up a bit for my first go, I got really ancious when my tank was cycled, I had purchased a small amount of fish to cycle.. None died.. I wanted to fill the tank up more so i decided on tryin plants, researched a bit got to know the basics (read your basic approach to a natural planted aquarium) then i added laterite to the top surface of my previouse gravel which was about an inch of 1/8 sized pebbles... i added mmore than i should have.. not byy much tho
What should i doo? my plants are aready anchored, seem to be doin fine.. other than darker crypt leaves.. Would it be a good idea to get more substrate pebbles smaller in size?
What are the effects of high iron?
thanks
I had a look at API's site for info but didn't get much; I can't zoom in on the photo clear enough to read what is on the box they show. So no way of telling how much actual iron might be in this stuff. Presumably they provide data on how much to put in the aquarium, and if that is not exceeded there should be no issue.
Iron is a micro-nutrient for all plants. It is also a heavy metal; iron, copper, zinc, manganese, nickel are all micro-nutrients but heavy metals, and all heavy metals are toxic to all life--fish, animals, plants, bacteria, etc. Sometimes one or more of these metals occur in our tap water, which is why water conditioners detoxify heavy metals. While water boards monitor the level in tap water, what is "safe" for humans is often not safe for fish. All of these metals are in Flourish because plants need minimal amounts of them for various functions. Care must always be taken not to exceed the amount the plants can utilize.
Plants also have the incredible ability to "take up" heavy metals and detoxify them, much the same as the water conditioner does. Plants do this if the level exceeds what they need to assimilate for growth. However, there is a limit to how much they can take up, just as there is a limit to how much heavy metals a water conditioner can detoxify. I had reason to contact Seachem about this issue, and they informed me that the detoxifying property of Prime (their water conditioner, accredited by many aquarists as one of the best on the market) with respect to heavy metals would only work for trace amounts, such as would normally occur (or might occur) in tap water. As I mentioned, water boards ensure (hopefully) that levels of heavy metals in tap water are no greater than what could be termed "trace amounts."
When we start adding individual micro-nutrients like iron to an aquarium, there is always the possibility that we may overload the system. That is why we should never exceed the dose of any fertilizer recommended by the manufacturer. The 17 nutrients plants need are needed in certain proportion to each other, some more and some less; when some are in excess, plants may respond by shutting down assimilation of other nutrients. For example, an excess of potassium causes plants to shut down assimilation of iron, even though iron may be present. So it is important to ensure we maintain a balance and not overload any one nutrient. This is one reason I do not recommend Excel; more CO2 will not necessarily result in increased plant growth if all the other nutrients and light are not balanced.
I tried laterite several years ago in one aquarium and could see no benefit compared to the others. As long as you remained within the recommended amount, there is probably nothing to worry about. But having it on the top of the substrate is something I would not want, especially with substrate feeding fish. I would attempt to mix it in, perhaps using the gravel vacuum.