[APD] K+ and Color (it's the Mg!)

["Rachel Sandage" <rachelsor at hotmail_com>]

A couple of days ago I posted about this subject. I had recently switched 
from raising GH with Equilibrium to using CaCO3, and an unexpected side 
effect was that all of my red plants got redder. This was very exciting, 
since in this tank all red plants turned green.

Experimentally it appears that the issue is Magnesium, not Potassium.

When I used the CaCO3 for the first time, I had no MgSO4. After about 2-3 
days, the plants got the beautiful red color. On Saturday, I went and got 
some MgSO4, and dosed it at about 7 ppm. In 3 days, the plants went back to 
their pre-Mg deficiency coloration.

Our water here is very soft, although we're on winter water, so KH=GH=2, not 
<1 as I had previously reported.

I'd be interested to know if a high Ca:Mg ratio in water with a greater GH 
affects color.

-Rachel

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