the truth about red plants

[plantnoob]

do red plants such as , say Alternanthera rosaefolia for example ,really require strong light to show the lovely red colours , or is it just a case of requiring good levels of a specific nutrient ?

 

[Alastair]

If you search on here youll find quite a lot of varied answers, high light, low nitrates, extra iron etc.
Different people got different results.
Ive had high light in my old co2 tank made my ludwigia really red, but on the other hand in my last tank it was low light rare dosing no co2 and the echinodorus tennelus went almost purple anf rotala very red

 

[plantnoob]

well i certainly havent got high light , with 2x24w t5 over a 125L tank . have to admit though im really tempted to try 1 while in my experemental phase

 

[linkinruss]

I've had no success with red plants. Never seem to root and I get a number of holes appearing - could be a potassium issue but all the green plants show good health

 

[Alastair]

well i certainly havent got high light , with 2x24w t5 over a 125L tank . have to admit though im really tempted to try 1 whIle in my experemental phase

You can still grow red plants under the lighting you have I just wouldnt advise to go upping your lighting levels just to make the plants red as you could end up running Into algae problems

 

[The Doctor's Companion]

It's actually very different from plant to plant what they need in order to get that amazing red colour. We think of the red colour as being a sign of health, but in nature it's a sign of stress. But for most plants think of the red colour as humans getting a tan. It's actually to protect from the light. which is why light is often the limiting factor when dealing with red colours.

But as stated above, remember that your tank needs to be stable. Your plants needs the right temperature, light and the right mix of nutrients (think of CO2 as a nutrient)
If you only raise one bar it won't help the plants one bit, because the lowest bar will always be the limiting factor. However it will help the algae who aren't as demanding.

Low light and high CO2 is just a waste of CO2, because the plants cant utilize it's full potential.
High lights and no CO2 and low nutrients is going to give your plants damage, as the light will give them `sun burns´ but they lack CO2 and nutrients to repair the damage.
You see?

 

[ceg4048]

Low light and high CO2 is just a waste of CO2, because the plants cant utilize it's full potential.

Yet this approach offers the best chance of success for a planted tank and maximizes the potential for plant health.

Approximately 90% of the CO2 being injected into the tank is wasted anyway. Therefore it is a very narrow view to assume that one must always have high light when using CO2.

Cheers,

 

[The Doctor's Companion]

I completely agree that plants benefits from co2 with any amount of light which is why I phrased my response as carefully as I did.

 

[kirk]

I think it also depends on the plants, for example our lugwi struggled to the point I gave up and slung it out but the lotus is loverly and red purple. Two ft deep tank 220ltrs running 2xt5 =48watts injected c02 and pro fito. Taking on board a lot of what ceg4048 says about light has changed my thinking from I must recreate sun bed levels of light above the tank to grow plants to just sticking with what I have and being pacient. The only thing I'm going to try is changing my ferts for the ei approach. When the lights are on in the tank later il put a pic up of the lotus.

 

[kirk]

. Tanks a bit of a mess as just had a trim, but you can see how red it is

 

[plantnoob]

I think it also depends on the plants, for example our lugwi struggled to the point I gave up and slung it out but the lotus is loverly and red purple. Two ft deep tank 220ltrs running 2xt5 =48watts injected c02 and pro fito. Taking on board a lot of what ceg4048 says about light has changed my thinking from I must recreate sun bed levels of light above the tank to grow plants to just sticking with what I have and being pacient. The only thing I'm going to try is changing my ferts for the ei approach. When the lights are on in the tank later il put a pic up of the lotus.

i was going to have really powerful lights , but it was cegs advice that steered me away from that . i have no intention of increasing my lighting levels , as at the moment the tank is going really well . steady but healthy growth . granted its only been planted for a week , so there is plenty of time to encounter problems . i rekon the only way il find out for sure is to try a red plant and see how it does .

your lotus looks lovely by the way !