Who has had success with scarlet temple?

[Xr4tiCrew]

I’ve had this plant twice now. The first time it was in a 5 gallon tank and not so great of light. This time it’s in my 20 long with the ACO light and it still doesn’t look that great. Leaves are brown and way to much algae growing on it. I run the light for 7 hours a day, dosing EG twice a week. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

[Theplatymaster]

@Xr4tiCrew with the ACO light, what level did you run?

ive heard that it needs at least the fullest setting on the light to do well.

[Rube_Goldfish]

I've tried twice, once potted and once as a tissue culture, both times from my LFS. In both cases, it just melted away and never came back. I don't have any CO2 injection. Supposedly it can be grown in a low tech set-up, but I've never done succeeded.

[Xr4tiCrew]

On 3/8/2023 at 4:29 PM, Theplatymaster said:

@Xr4tiCrew with the ACO light, what level did you run?

ive heard that it needs at least the fullest setting on the light to do well.

It’s currently running at 3 clicks down from the highest setting.  I feel like it’s a pretty powerful light and that’s why I have it turned down. I’m afraid of additional algae problems if I put it on the highest setting but that is just me assuming. 

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/8/2023 at 6:37 PM, Xr4tiCrew said:

It’s currently running at 3 clicks down from the highest setting.  I feel like it’s a pretty powerful light and that’s why I have it turned down. I’m afraid of additional algae problems if I put it on the highest setting but that is just me assuming. 

yeah, there is the issue,

ive heard from @Coryon a livestream that these things need full blast, thats why they are not often the most beginner recommended plant.

[Tommy Vercetti]

Mine is under medium to high light of a chihiros wrgb 2 and co2 injection. But does very well even in my hard water.

This is 5 days after am major trimming. 

[JoeQ]

I failed with it twice from 2 separate sources. I belive Scarlett Temple is the advance variety of AR, more accurately named Variegated Alternanthera Reineckii. Regular Alternanthera Reineckii is much easier to grow. Ill probably try variegated AR a 3rd time, but ill plant it in a floating planter at the top of the water colum

[knee]

I grew it in a 5g with medium light and no co2. If it looks scraggly and is still growing taller then it needs more light. 

 

It was easy to give this tank enough PAR for the AR because it’s not a tall tank. 

[Xr4tiCrew]

On 3/8/2023 at 8:41 PM, knee said:

I grew it in a 5g with medium light and no co2. If it looks scraggly and is still growing taller then it needs more light. 

 

It was easy to give this tank enough PAR for the AR because it’s not a tall tank. 

I’ll bump the light up and see what happens. Did you use root tabs for yours? 

[knee]

On 3/8/2023 at 8:26 PM, Xr4tiCrew said:

Did you use root tabs for yours? 

No root tabs. Just some aquasoil with some life left in it and liquid ferts. Forgot the fert brand I was using tho.

I also changed 50% of the water twice a week.

[CT_]

I've failed twice at scarlet temple both times with co2.  I really don't think it should be listed as "not demanding" on the aco storefront.  Especially after all the failures I've read about on this forum in the past.

 

The second attempt I did have better luck by letting it root at a node BEFORE planting it in substrate. 

[Xr4tiCrew]

I’ve upped the lighting for now and hopefully that helps. Is there another plant that is red that is easier to grow without co2?

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/11/2023 at 8:01 PM, Xr4tiCrew said:

Is there another plant that is red that is easier to grow without co2?

a bunch of crypts you could do,

pink flamingo,wendetii red,tropica a bunch more i cant name off the top of my head that i bet @kneecould tell you.

dwarf aquarium lily, tiger lotus,red flame sword,

you have some options, though none are identical to scarlet temple.

 

[Xr4tiCrew]

Algae has increased dramatically since upping the light on the 8th. Not sure it will be staying in the tank. 

[knee]

Ludwigia palustris super red stays red in my tanks. No co2 on those tanks.

@Xr4tiCrew try removing the leaves with algae to promote new growth.

[Ninjoma]

I tried scarlet temple a few times and it always looked terrible and was an algae magnet. I think it actually did the best in my medium light tank ironically, but it may have just looked better under different lighting. Alternanthera are the only type of plant I actively avoid. I much prefer ludwigia and rotala for colorful stem plants. 

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/11/2023 at 8:17 PM, Xr4tiCrew said:

Algae has increased dramatically since upping the light on the 8th. Not sure it will be staying in the tank. 

ive had an outbreak of this stuff before, it stopped when i decreased my lighting intensity...

[Xr4tiCrew]

On 3/12/2023 at 5:02 AM, Theplatymaster said:

ive had an outbreak of this stuff before, it stopped when i decreased my lighting intensity...

This is where I get frustrated with this hobby.  What works for some does not work for others. Increase the light for better growth, but decrease it to reduce algae. 🤦🏻 I guess it’s all about balance. 

Edited March 12, 2023 by Xr4tiCrew

[JoeQ]

On 3/12/2023 at 12:50 PM, Xr4tiCrew said:

This is where I get frustrated with this hobby.  What works for some does not work for others. Increase the light for better growth, but decrease it to reduce algae. 🤦🏻 I guess it’s all about balance. 

Increase the light to increase nutrient uptake in plants. Reduce the light to slow uptake or if your plants are signaling they had their fill of light for the day. The turn down your light matra is a counterproductive feel good measure in the planted tank. Healthy plants need a healthy amount of light! Give them all the light they can handle, prestine water quality, and balanced nutrients. That's how you fight algae in a planted tank, that's the formula for growing healthy plants 

Edited March 12, 2023 by JoeQ

[PineSong]

On 3/11/2023 at 8:17 PM, Xr4tiCrew said:

Algae has increased dramatically since upping the light on the 8th. Not sure it will be staying in the tank. 

I believe the algae is so dense because the plant is stressed. Notice the other plants at the same level and the filter are not encrusted with algae like that.

I would cut each stem down so that there are only one or two sets of leaves, in order to give the roots time to spread and grow to better support the plant as it gets taller. I myself would also try a root tab while it is getting established, even if it will be able to feed from the water column once all is well. 

Edited to add: I have not had success with scarlet temple; tried it when my tank was new and haven't tried again, but the chop and fertilize method has worked well for me with a few other iffy plants. 

Edited March 13, 2023 by PineSong

[Tait_007]

I got my scarlet temple from ACO about a month ago, right before the price increase I believe. I planted mine in Eco-complete and just a couple days ago I noticed a few stems float up to the surface. I knew that Eco-Complete was known to break stems and I think that this has happened to these stems. However, the stems that are till I the gravel are growing great and have new growth on them. I do believe that getting rid of the most algae covered leaves helped and I just had some blackout days to keep algae under a little bit of control. Still try to keep some of the leaves on there as if they do die the plant will use upo their nutrients for itself. I know that Cory had just mentioned something similar to that in one of his latest videos.

[Rube_Goldfish]

Would something picky or delicate like a scarlet temple be more likely to succeed in a well-seasoned tank? If the tank has been running for, say a year, and you've got a good balance, would that make a picky plant more likely to root and grow without succumbing to algae?

[knee]

On 3/14/2023 at 8:11 AM, Rube_Goldfish said:

Would something picky or delicate like a scarlet temple be more likely to succeed in a well-seasoned tank? If the tank has been running for, say a year, and you've got a good balance, would that make a picky plant more likely to root and grow without succumbing to algae?

It'll definitely help if the tank is already balanced. It won't give the plant work too much stress if the tank has a good balance between ferts, water and light.

[OutBout]

Do you know if your plant started off in emersed form? Personally, I've tried Alternifolia reineckii a few times years ago with little success. The plants were emersed grown, I had poor lighting, and nutrients seemed to be an issue as well. Everything melted away eventually.

Last spring I randomly decided to pick up an AR tissue culture and grow it out in my emersed cryptocoryne tote. The plants did well enough to then transfer them outside to a shallow pond once the temperature allowed it. To my surprise the AR really took off, easily competing with its Hygrophila polysperma 'Sunset' pond neighbor.

The pond contained a nutrient-rich substrate made up of only miracle-gro gold, filled up with soft water, and exposed to full sun for at least 8 hours a day with the water temperature averaging at 70-72. At the end of summer I moved half of the AR plants to a 75 gallon tank I was setting up. I planned for this setup to have soil capped with crushed granite and Barrina grow lights. I expected sustained growth size-wise from the AR, but it actually increased in size and color intensified. This was all without supplemental water column CO2, though adding it would definitely accelerate the growth rate.

Long story short, from my year-long experience, AR is a heavy root feeder and thrives with good lighting. Here's how the tank looks currently.

Edited March 15, 2023 by OutBout

[Rube_Goldfish]

So it's reasonable to reach balance or seasoning with easier to grow plants, then start to add more difficult or more expensive plants? I've been holding off on stuff like Bucephalandra until my tank was more seasoned (not that buce is difficult, just expensive). So it's nice to get some validation for that approach.