If you aim for 0 nitrates, what do you feed your plants?

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Two cents from me. Iron. Its the only must have IMO. If you have iron,so many other problems go away. I think the chelation also works to allow other nutrients to become available in the water to the plants. Just an observation.
 
I am inclined to agree with you but getting just iron, I have a rusty nail, or iron tablets, (for humans) but somehow I don't think they will work. I have used the iron tablets in tomato plants on my aquaponic tray. Worked there.

There is iron IN the supplement I bought yesterday, which was Flourish. I saw new red cyano this morning, wiped it off the glass and filled the CO2 generator. I did a water change last night and potted my crypts. Put plant food tablets in their pot. The crypts looked iron deficient, pothos died, I can't kill a pothos in Fort Worth water but I killed one in that aquarium, and I've putting in tanks for years. The mossy stuff died back heavily too, only a couple strands left, but the frogbit is going wild, which makes me wonder who's eating all the plant food
 
The iron didn't kill the moss. Could have been the tablets. Were they for aquariums or houseplants?
Chelated iron in liquid form works for me. Steven F. uses a pellet iron that also sounds good. I need to order that. I mean of the 16 nutrients and spices Tom Barr says all water plants need ( a huge claim to make for ALL water plants?) I've found only iron to make a real difference..much more than the runner-up,potassium.
 
I didn't use the iron. and I just put Flourish tablets, for aquariums, in the pot around my crypts late last night, only 2 tablets a few inches apart.
Nitrates and phosphates on the tank weren't high, my living plants look like they have iron deficiency. I think the plants are starving, just not sure what for, although iron tops the list. I may not have enough fish in the tank. It's a 55 with about 20 guppies and a clown pleco
 
The whole iron issue is blown out of all proportion. Back in the 1980's "iron" was the solution to all plant problems; fish magazine authors recommended laterite substrates for increasing iron. No one advocates this any longer because it is not relevant nor safe. Iron is a micro-nutrient, and it is a heavy metal. Conditioners detoxify iron. This is where Prime fails, but that's another issue. The amount of iron in a comprehensive fertilizer is more than sufficient. I was persuaded many years ago (about 12) to increase iron, so I did; my floating plants turned to mush. I repeated the iron, same thing. Iron deficiency some think they see is more likely due to other issues.
 
so I have just done all tanks water changes. I need to redo the little 10 with catfish this afternoon, their ph had gotten to 6, the frogbit has totally covered the water's surface. I didn't test anything but pH on any of them. I have a history now with the 29 and the 55, and I don't worry about the others, one is older and 2 are basically quarantine tanks, all fish healthy. So plant food on those isn't being used.

I have the crypts in the 55 doing poorly and in the 29 doing well. I am beginning to suspect whatever is wrong with the 55 is coming from the big piece of brown driftwood I have in there, which my clown pleco adores. The LED lights I removed probably started it, but something is feeding it. and nitrates and phosphates were both plenty low.... the whole out of balance for minerals is a possibility, except it's only one tank and Fort Worth water has a very GOOD mineral balance. Alkaline yes, but I grow pond plants without pots.

@StevenF I'm not sure I need a fancy fertilizer. I think I have a bad piece of driftwood.

Interestingly enough, I used water and a sponge from the 55 to start the top 10, with the tetras, because I planned to quarantine panda garas in it for the 55. and interestingly enough, there isn't cyano in the 10 gallon tank. I am getting a couple more tank pics, will post them on this thread.
 
Clown on his driftwood, 55 with bright. Hex has a centered plant and a pleco cave. 29 is healthy and last, the 10 that should have cyano and doesn't
 

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