OK so I figured that this should be in the advanced strategies section because I hope that this thread will eventually be a strategy to bring out plant color.
My favorite genus of plants is Rotala............. currently I have two 10g tanks devoted just to these plants. Both tanks have aquasoil as the substrate, use a drop checker to show CO2 levels and have 36watt AH supply light systems with 6700K bulbs. Additionally I use RO water on both tanks (50% WC weekly with 1/2 tsp GHbooster). The diferences between the tanks are the fertilization methods used and the filter. On tank number 1 I use a canister filter and ADA products and on tank number 2 I use EI dosing and a hang on back filter. I don't think the filter matters except that tank number two uses more bubles per second to maintain the proper CO2 level so the only difference between the tanks is truly the fertilization method used. For the record the aquasoil is several years old so I doubt it has any nutrients left in it (well at least in the ADA dosing side)......both tanks are fish free also so no nutrients go in except what I dose.
So with all that stuff out of the way I would like to share my experience and follow with a few questions. Tank number one has super red plants and slower plant growth. Tank number two has way faster plant growth but alot of the plants show way less red / orange coloration. I assume this to be because I am severly limiting the nitrogen supply to the plants in tank number 1 (I only give the tank 2 pumps of Lights 3x weekly which equals about 1-2ppm weekly). This is most evident with the wallichii and the sp. colorata. In the nutrient limited tank 1, the colorata is super pink / red while in the EI tank the new growth is completely green while the older growth has some red coloration but not very intense (I will post photos sometime this week if I get a chance).
So here is my question.......how can you increase red coloration of plants while still using the EI method????? Is this even possible?
My assumtion(s) here (which could be completely wrong) is/are that red coloration is due to the accessory pigments that collect light and these pigments are produced to either 1) collect more light in lower lights systems (light limited) or 2) collect light when chlorophyll cannot be made (nutrient limited).
If this is true is there any way besides either starving the plants or reducing light to trick the plants to produce more of these accessory pigments?
Isn't it a myth that adding more iron will increase coloration?
What about adding Ca or Mg.........would increasing GH help coloration?
This was posted by tom a while back:
"Not sure about individual coloration with respect to each , Mg and Ca.
But with both, it seesm higher GH's seem to help.
Likely due to enzymes that make the red colored pigments.
In ADA soil and soft water, the plants are nice and grow well, but are pale.
I get blood red color with less light and more GH."
Thanks in advance for any help / discussion,
Ken T.
My favorite genus of plants is Rotala............. currently I have two 10g tanks devoted just to these plants. Both tanks have aquasoil as the substrate, use a drop checker to show CO2 levels and have 36watt AH supply light systems with 6700K bulbs. Additionally I use RO water on both tanks (50% WC weekly with 1/2 tsp GHbooster). The diferences between the tanks are the fertilization methods used and the filter. On tank number 1 I use a canister filter and ADA products and on tank number 2 I use EI dosing and a hang on back filter. I don't think the filter matters except that tank number two uses more bubles per second to maintain the proper CO2 level so the only difference between the tanks is truly the fertilization method used. For the record the aquasoil is several years old so I doubt it has any nutrients left in it (well at least in the ADA dosing side)......both tanks are fish free also so no nutrients go in except what I dose.
So with all that stuff out of the way I would like to share my experience and follow with a few questions. Tank number one has super red plants and slower plant growth. Tank number two has way faster plant growth but alot of the plants show way less red / orange coloration. I assume this to be because I am severly limiting the nitrogen supply to the plants in tank number 1 (I only give the tank 2 pumps of Lights 3x weekly which equals about 1-2ppm weekly). This is most evident with the wallichii and the sp. colorata. In the nutrient limited tank 1, the colorata is super pink / red while in the EI tank the new growth is completely green while the older growth has some red coloration but not very intense (I will post photos sometime this week if I get a chance).
So here is my question.......how can you increase red coloration of plants while still using the EI method????? Is this even possible?
My assumtion(s) here (which could be completely wrong) is/are that red coloration is due to the accessory pigments that collect light and these pigments are produced to either 1) collect more light in lower lights systems (light limited) or 2) collect light when chlorophyll cannot be made (nutrient limited).
If this is true is there any way besides either starving the plants or reducing light to trick the plants to produce more of these accessory pigments?
Isn't it a myth that adding more iron will increase coloration?
What about adding Ca or Mg.........would increasing GH help coloration?
This was posted by tom a while back:
"Not sure about individual coloration with respect to each , Mg and Ca.
But with both, it seesm higher GH's seem to help.
Likely due to enzymes that make the red colored pigments.
In ADA soil and soft water, the plants are nice and grow well, but are pale.
I get blood red color with less light and more GH."
Thanks in advance for any help / discussion,
Ken T.