Teach me about iron …

[*Ci*]

I have 3 large tanks, med. tech, mostly undemanding plants. For micros I have been dosing CSM+B, which I’m pretty sure has some form of iron, and because I have some vague notion that it might not be the right kind, I also dose Seachem Iron. These micros and iron are dosed daily. I’m getting tired of the expense of the Seachem product, and I need to know, a) if I really need it, and b) what dry iron compound can I mix myself, that is cheaper and available in Canada?

So, can someone please explain, in simple to understand terms, about the different chelates of iron and which kind is needed and when? And then help with my questions?

 

[GreggZ]

To make it simple.

CSM+B uses EDTA as a chelating agent. It is most effective at pH 6.5 and below.

DTPA is most effective at pH 6.5 and above.

And then there is Ferrous Gluconate which is non chelated and only available for a short time.

So which iron will be most available to your plants depends on the pH of your water. Lower pH EDTA, higher pH DTPA. And plants love some Gluconate but more so with higher light fast growing plants.

If you want to stick with CSM+B, and your pH is on the higher side, then you could add some DTPA to your mix which will be MUCH cheaper than any liquid iron supplement.

If you want to dig in deeper into micros here's a link to a post from my journal.

GreggZ Custom Micros

 

[JayP]

To make it simple.

CSM+B uses EDTA as a chelating agent. It is most effective at pH 6.5 and below.

DTPA is most effective at pH 6.5 and above.

And then there is Ferrous Gluconate which is non chelated and only available for a short time.

So which iron will be most available to your plants depends on the pH of your water. Lower pH EDTA, higher pH DTPA. And plants love some Gluconate but more so with higher light fast growing plants.

If you want to stick with CSM+B, and your pH is on the higher side, then you could add some DTPA to your mix which will be MUCH cheaper than any liquid iron supplement.

If you want to dig in deeper into micros here's a link to a post from my journal.

GreggZ Custom Micros

Well, that's much better than my suggestion which was to just throw in a Flintstones vitamin each day.

 

[Unexpected]

GLA sells a mix with both EDTA and DPTA. It's still CSM+B though. And I think, if I recall correctly, Joe telling me it's low on boron. If you are in the USA, I highly recommend grabbing Micros from him. He has several options.