[plantbrain]

It'll stay nice and green in lower light areas and it'll get bigger generally.

If I put it under a MH, it's a weird red/purple, i lik ethe CP's effect on the plant personally though.

That pic is with normal high NO3 dosing, about 30ppm or so per week.
That does not include a sizable bioload.

Try more traces, PO4 and higher GH's.
You can lower NO3 as well, but make sure that the other parameters are non limiting first, then proceed.

You will learn more and be better able to isolate variables and not have confounding effects.

Otherwise, you are not fairly judging the effects and not doing a manipulative test.

Think about it like this:

More rain fall occurs up a mountain, but as you go up, the temp is also lower.
You might conclude that more plant growth occurs since there's more rain.

However, if you go to measure the plant growth up the mountain at different rain fall locations, you find that the plant growth is the same.

How might you test that the plant growth is due to temp or rain?

You'd have to manipulate the sites, adding water to the lower water lower elevation sites on the mountain, and place temp controlled chambers that allow rain in for the other sites.

Most plants grow faster at warmer temps.
Most plants that are under some water stress grow better with less water stress.

But if you measured just the mountain and only observed there, and never bothered to do any manipulations, you'd never see nor know this.
The mountain is very similar to most folk's tanks.

You can easily think it's one thing, and not doing a careful test, assume it's something else.

And you cannot measure light (at least I've yet to meet an aquatic plant grower who uses a light meter measuring PAR to date).
So these are issues.
Then there's the issue of photo's and reality, photoshopping, even your computer screen settings etc, perceptions etc.

Another question: is redder better? Does it mean better health? More biomass? More efficient growth?
Why not chose a nice red plant rather than ones that are color variable?
Bulb choice can also alter perceptions as well.
9235K vs a 5000K etc.


Regards,
Tom Barr