Ross Vandegrift wrote in message
...

In my 20 gallon I've got some really nice looking Sunset Hygro
that grows in a brilliant red...

The most brilliant I've been able to get Sunset Hygro is under a mix of GE
Chroma 50 (Sunlight) and Ultra Daylight (6500K). This mix of lamps will
cause the Hygro to look almost neon pink.

Second-best shade of red comes with a mix of GroLux and Designer Warm Whites
by Philips/Sylvania.

It's not too hard to keep the Sunset red, but the shade _does_ change with
the light temperature.

...I also have a bit of Bacopa planted near it. As the
nutrients in the tank get lower (in the week or so between
water changes), the youngest leaves of the Bacopa turn
a very nice red. It matches the hygro wonderfully.

I fertilize during weekly water changes - half of a single dose
of Kent FW Plant supplement and half of a single dose of
Flourish Trace. Within a few hours the red in the Bacopa
has faded completely back to green.

First, why does this happen like this? I've heard of nutrient
deficiency causing red plants to turn green, but not vice versa.
Second, any way to keep the Bacopa more on the red side?

Bacopa seems to be at its reddest during the first couple of hours of
"daylight" - almost as if the red were caused by the absorption of CO2
during the night (although I know that's not the reason). But it rarely
*stays* red through the course of the day unless you have a little green in
your lighting. Here, the Chroma 50s seem to work best.

Bacopa also doesn't seem to respond as well to phosphate pulsing as quite a
few of the other red plants do, like Ludwigia or Rotala...


--
-Y-

Nestor 10

".chkr" is for mail-bots