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[APD] Poor growth of Alternantheras



Hi everyone!
I am not quite new here but have been off this list for some five
years. It feels so nice to be back!

I presently own a heavily planted tank (sized LxWxH  43x20x16) - about
60g with bottled CO2 (no pH controller yet), 2x150W MH lights (Osram
HQI WDL), daily change of about 10% water, daily EI, homemade
microelements mix (Ferrous gluconate, H3BO3, MnSo4, ZnSO4, CuSO4,
(NH4)2MoO4, Na-EDTA), glutaraldehyde.
I dose EI mix to about 0.5-1ppm phosphate and 5-10ppm nitrate,
microelements supplied through a dripper maintaining about 0.05-0.1pm
of Fe in the tank, glutaraldehyde dose is 15ml/day with water change
and another 15ml mixed with the microelements in the dripper (I hear
it prevents Fe II from oxidizing).
My water hardness is quite high off the tap, about dH 10, so I mix it
with deionized (I presently use kati resin but plan switching to RO
soon) water 1:1. Water temperature varies from 24 to 27 C (75-80F)
from night to day. Filtration is by two Eheim Classic canisters (2011
and 2013) filled with lava plus a powerful internal filter.
With this background, Cabomba, nomaphila, glossostigma, red lotus and
tiger lotus, java moss, crypts are doing just fine, but althernanteras
are growing very slowly in my tank. I have 3 different types (one is
Lilancyna, 2 others unidentified), none of them do well under water
but they look much better as soon as their tips get out of the
surface. They do not die off under water but I hardly notice any
growth in months whereas I prune huge bunches of other long stems
every week. Aponogetons too aren't feeling much well - Ulvaceus grows
better than the rest but its older leaves turn sort-of brownish and
crispy, Crispus (which was growing like a weed in a simple tank
without any high-tech equipment when I was a kid) has become a small
plant of just 2" in height, its leaves are also brownish. Madagaskar
lace bulb sprouted a couple of leaves which then browned and died off,
and there is no growth afterwards.
I can't understand what is wrong with my setup. All these plants -
they are not new to me Madagaskar lace used to flowering regularly on
summers when I kept it 6-7 years ago. I was pruning Althernaneras
weekly when I had them some 10 years ago without any CO2, in a small
20g tank with guppies under a 60W incadescent light...
I first thought that was my hard water keeping the growth of
aponogetons and althernanteras and started softening the water about a
month ago. Since that my glossostigma started to grow well but the
madagaskars and althernanteras did not react to this. Another strange
thing is that my ludvigia grows quite slowly (compared with how
quickly it should normally grow), its leaves are not green round
leaves with red underside as I used to know it but they are somewhat
smaller elongated reddish leaves (they somehow resemble rotala by
color and appearance - I would bet it is some rotala if not the roots
on the stem)
I would really appreciate if anyone here could direct me what else to look at...

Thanks and regards,
Vahe
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