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Re:Tap water

> I am hoping that someone might help me out with some difficulty- About six
> months ago I moved from an area with softwater (Vancouver BC) an area with
> moderately hard water (Prince George,BC). All the rules have apparently
> changed and where I previously had wild success growing my plants, I am now
> stumped and most of my plants are stunted. My 90 gallon tank has a moderate
> fish load, weekly water changes of about 20-25% (75% tapwater 25% DI- to
> achieve a GH of 5 and KH of 3), I use continuous CO2 injection (15 ppm), 2.5
> watts full spectrum fluorescent per gallon, nitrates have been around 10
> mg/l, I use PMDD (original recipe- without nitrate) about 2 ml per day to
> achieve a little less than 0.1 mg/L, Phosphorus is less than 0.05.  My H.
> polysperma is growing moderately slowly (bi-weekly trimmings), however
> everything else  (Rotala, Java Fern, Crypts, even water sprite, Vals, and E.
> tenellus) are languishing. Particularly puzzling is the rotala- multiple
> little deformed buds appear at the shoot tips- without growth.
> The only thing I can think of is that I am lacking a macronutirent-

P perhaps, it is low. K+? Plants like it lots.

Is it
> possible that my GH is not what I think it is-

Gh is not going to hurt your plants in any way. The only **possible**
exception is Eustralis stellata. I'm not certain as of yet whether it is or
not. All other's though are not sensitive to  24GH. I'd look for another
culprit. Try P additions(check out some info before trying it though). See
what it was prior also. See what you had in your old tap and what is in your
new tap.
Lower your NO3 and raise your P and see if that helps. Water sprite and java
fern are not growing well something has to be a big issue(Macro-NPK or CO2
etc). Add more feedings for the fish since it has a fair amount of P or add
H3PO4(pH Down or we use monobasic phosphate from Hach testing down in CA.
I don't use PMDD but TMG. I have a much higher level of Fe as well. You may
wish to try to see if the mix you made of the PMDD is good or not. Often
when you try harder waters you need more Fe/trace mixes(2x or more in some
cases) to meet the same level for the plant's needs. Claus of Tropica
mentioned this to me on a couple of occasions. Testing the water won't tell
you this part. My Fe is 1ppm or more. I think you might try adding more
PMDD's and perhaps find some source of P. I assume your K levels are fine or
are in excess of 15ppm. Take it a little at a time though and see what
happens. I bet it's both more P and the PMDD.
Double check stuff and make sure your readings are on target before changing
anything.
Regards, 
Tom Barr