How to make the red in plants come out

[FoughtWand]

Hey Guys I have a 55 gallon with some red flame swords, crypt wendtti reds and a few other red plants but I am never able to get they to stay red they always go back to more of a green. I am using a fluval 3.0 s my lighting as well as use Easy Iron and easy green and even with changing doses and stuff I can't get the red. Any advice would be appreciated?

[Ben Ellison]

I totally miss read that 😜 I blame standing in the sun for to long today. Sounds like your are doing everything that jumps out at me. Is the spectrum adjustable on those lights?

Edited September 12, 2020 by Ben Ellison

[RovingGinger]

You are dosing with iron and your lighting is nice, so I would wonder if there is maybe something interfering with those plants experiencing enough light? 
 

I’m also reading that high nitrates can sometimes reduce redness. What level are you maintaining at and have you tried lowering it? 
 

[StephenP2003]

54 minutes ago, RovingGinger said:

You are dosing with iron and your lighting is nice, so I would wonder if there is maybe something interfering with those plants experiencing enough light? 
 

I’m also reading that high nitrates can sometimes reduce redness. What level are you maintaining at and have you tried lowering it? 
 

Yep, high light and good CO2 are the main requirements, and strategically low nitrates, but that's not necessarily a good thing for the other plants in the tank.

[ChefConfit]

Swords and crypts are primarily root feeding so what is your substrate?

Organic soil users often mix natural red clay into their soil before adding it to the tank for extra iron. Maybe you could try making small balls of clay to use as iron root tabs. I'd try to freeze them first so they stay solid long enough to get buried in the substrate. 

[Eclipse]

Lighting is actually one of the most important things for getting the red to pop in plants. A 55 may be too deep for your plants to get the intense light it needs. It might sound crazy, but you might have to double up on lights. 

Low nitrates is also important sometimes. Keeping it below 20ppm is what i usually do. I don't use CO² either.

[Alison]

I would guess its a lignting issue. The red pigmentation is caused by a chemical called anthocyanin.  This pigment is basically a response to the high light.