# Rotala Magenta question. (updated pics)



## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

I noticed my Rotola magenta is really really bright magenta underneath the leaves but on top where you normally see it its redish-green.. (see log for pic).Did I plant it upside down or something cause underneath the leaves looks like the color they should be.


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

i've noticed that my rotala macandra japan red doesnt do too well with high nitrates. dont lower them too much, just dose a little less. what are you dosing for ferts?

and no they dont look like they are upside down


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## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

Great name (my dog's name is chewie)!!

I just briefly looked at the first post and a few pics in your journal. Don't worry, you you didn't plant it upside down.

If you are using the fert solution that you mentioned in journal post 1, your nitrates are probably way too high relative to your phosphates to have nice coloration on r. magenta. 

For getting the red out, I prefer NO3~10ppm, PO4~0.75, good iron and trace dosing (I don't have an Fe kit), and a photoperiod of 10 hours.


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

Right on thanks , Weird cause I was checking my cabomba and they were yellowing out a bit so I raised my No3.


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

Could it be cause of my hard water? It is very hard 220ppm+


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

Here are some pics from today



















Why is it soo green?


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

snausage said:


> Great name (my dog's name is chewie)!!
> 
> I just briefly looked at the first post and a few pics in your journal. Don't worry, you you didn't plant it upside down.
> 
> ...







What do you think my k2so4 ppm should be at?
And when you suggest 10ppm of n03 are you saying to dose 10ppm 3x a week?


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## joeydee (Feb 15, 2011)

Had a similar issue with another plant. Was told red plants need alot of lights. At the buttom of my plant its green than brown, as it gets closer to the light its bright red.


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

are you dosing ei?


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## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

Chewyy said:


> What do you think my k2so4 ppm should be at?
> And when you suggest 10ppm of n03 are you saying to dose 10ppm 3x a week?


By 10 ppm NO3, I mean that you should only dose to maintain an NO3 reading of approx 10 ppm.

I've never plugged my K values into one of those dosing calcs, but I generally aim to have the N:K ratio around 1:2.


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

timwag2001 said:


> are you dosing ei?


yes and if you check my log that solution I made was wayy off and had wayy too much fertz. So starting today I am dosing to reach no3= 10 ppm , K = 20 ppm , P = 2ppm . dosing around .2 grams dry of kno3 and k2so4 and .1 grams of kh2p04 every 3 days does that sound right?


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

you probably dont need to dose k2so4. you should be getting enough k with kno3 and kh2po4. i'm not saying not to but if i were you i would hold back and only start dosing if you have a def (little holes in the leaves)

if you were way off and had to much trates i can def see the color being messed up.


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

So you are suggesting dose just kno3 and khpo4 at the doses I listed but cut out the k2so4?


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

i would recommend that you dose according to http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/2819-EI-light-for-those-less-techy-folks. follow that for about two weeks. see how things are going and adjust your dosing from there.


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

Ok I need to go get some spoons!


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

i used to sell them but i'm gonna be out for a little while. i think you can get some from ebay


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

Thank you for all the help!


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

snausage said:


> By 10 ppm NO3, I mean that you should only dose to maintain an NO3 reading of approx 10 ppm.
> 
> I've never plugged my K values into one of those dosing calcs, but I generally aim to have the N:K ratio around 1:2.


Ok but if I read correctly from what E.I. recommends is 1/8 tsp KNO3 (N) 3x a week which would give you around 30 ppm Kn03 if you had 50% uptake changing the water each week 50% I am confused.Am I suppose to dose 10ppm 3 days a week or what?


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

ei is a start. when you use ei, you dose more ferts than the plants will likely be able to uptake in a week. so what you do is follow that recommended dose to start with. and then dial it down after that. it'll take a few weeks before you notice the full effects of what you've changed. and just fine tune it.

ei is just what most of us follow. you dont have to. you can try to dose to a target like snausage does. its more work, and you have to test your water frequently. with ei, you dump the ferts in and fahgetaboutit


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

Thanks I just wasn't sure I wanted to understand everything, appreciate for the fast reply.Im just trying to understand snausage and maintain 10ppm No3 instead of 30ppm which regular E.I dosing would do correct? I just want my plants red again and if its high no3 that is causing it I need to figure out if I need to dose 10ppm 3x a week when I dose or just dose around 4ppm a week of no3 to maintain 10ppm overall?? or just say forget about it and do the E.I. for less techy folks and just lower my dosage of no3 here and there?


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

personally think ei and lower it would be best. when you start trying to limit ferts things get tricky. if you were dosing a ridiculous amount of ferts before, just adjusting it should def help out. just out of curiousity, what were you dosing before that had you wayy off?


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

I put 55 grams of kno3 , 6 grams of kh2p04 , 85 grams k2so4 (lol yeah I know) into a 1000ml bottle 5ml dose everyday.In another 1000ml bottle I put 9 grams of plantex csm+b and I dosed 5ml everyday trace every other day... now I am looking back as to wth I was thinking lol.


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

well the good news is that you really werent dosing that much as its impossible to dilute that much into suspension. you probably have an inch of wet powder at the bottom of that bottle, lol. once you get your hands on some spoons you can just dump it right into the tank every day


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## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

Chewyy said:


> Thanks I just wasn't sure I wanted to understand everything, appreciate for the fast reply.Im just trying to understand snausage and maintain 10ppm No3 instead of 30ppm which regular E.I dosing would do correct? I just want my plants red again and if its high no3 that is causing it I need to figure out if I need to dose 10ppm 3x a week when I dose or just dose around 4ppm a week of no3 to maintain 10ppm overall?? or just say forget about it and do the E.I. for less techy folks and just lower my dosage of no3 here and there?


Just to clarify, I don't dose EI. I'm just saying that in general, to have better red coloration you don't want to maintain a high NO3 level. When I refer to NO3 level, I mean the reading you get with an NO3 test kit, not the estimate you get from using dosing calculators and standardized dosing regimes.


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