Hi Brecon and Helen,
I am going through quite a difficult period at the moment and did not post on the new forum apart from one post in “introduce yourself” just before I had to go thousands of miles away to see my ill mother which still insists she is better off living where she does...
I decided that I would only post in the “planted tanks” section as all the other aspects are covered anyway and I have quite a lot on my plate just now...
Helen, I am glad you remember me and glad you use dosing regime! And thanks for your kind words – I think planted tanks are fantastic both aesthetically and with respect of health and wellbeing of fish and overall aquarium balance.
Brecon, yes, Helen is absolutely right about moss balls. Before experimenting with live plants in a dedicated tank, you could – it is just a suggestion – add some very-very easy plants into your existing tanks. The ones I would recommend are:
Egeria (or Elodea) Densa – this is sold almost everywhere, and often sold as a pond plant. It will do just fine in a tropical tank and enjoys hard water (tends to “melt” in soft water). It is a floating plant but you can “pretend” it is growing by weighing it down (I would avoid widely sold lead strips – although small amounts but lead is still leached from those – I am sure you have enough lead in your hard water anyway)
Hornwort (Ceratophyllum Submersum) is another very useful one. There are reports from fish breeders that fry do much better and have better survival rate in tanks with this plant.
Both are fundamentally “aquatic weeds”, so growing them should not be at all difficult but will provide your fish with much better and healthier environment. Just throwing a twig or two into your aquarium and watching their progress – that’s all it takes. They will help with excesses of Nitrate, Phosphate and many other things – they use them as food to grow. Just like the moss balls but even more efficient.
As for the micro and macro nutrients: yes, most test kits used are testing macro nutrients, although micronutrients are being tested as well – for example, Nitrates could be in the water in the form of Magnesium or Calcium Nitrates which effectively change the general hardiness of water.