Quote Originally Posted by bsfman
Thanks urbanfarmer, for the advice. I was basically just using the Maxicrop for it's iron content due to my high ph. Looks like the $5 per gallon price for chelated iron is WAY cheaper than the $10 per liter I paid at the hydro shop for the Maxicrop. I'm all about letting my fish provide the essentials for my plants, and I'm trying to avoid adding anything other than food for the fish to my system, but my high ph concerned me about the iron uptake thing. I am trying to gradually bring the ph down by using rainwater for the majority of my make up water rather than the high ph canal water. I don't wish to add any chemicals to lower the ph. I'm planting a variety of plants with the assumption some will do well and some won't given the particular water chemistry of my systems. When it becomes evident which plants do beat, I will concentrate on growing them. I don't wish to spend a lot of time, effort and $$ trying to fight the equilibrium of my water just to suit certain plants.
You're lucky. It's $25 at my hydro shop!

BTW, I think your pH is FINE. I probably wouldn't bother with it... How old is your system, exactly?