Soft water and Plants

[Billinet at aol_com]

Hi,

I'm sure that this has been answered before, but I'm unable to find anything 
in the archives that addresses it, so . . . .

I recently set up a tank with water from a small brook that flows out of a 
swamp.  The pH is 6.5; the KH and GH are less than 1, according to the 
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals kit.  Except for easily removed "sheet" algae which 
grows rapidly on everything, the plants (swords, vals, crypts) are slowly 
declining, which is why the algae is doing so well, I assume.  Lighting is 
about 2 watts per gallon; there is no CO2 injection nor are nutrients added.  
The tank contained a moderate load of fish.

Is there a minimum hardness below which plants won't thrive?  If so, what 
would that be?  My tap water, from a well, has KH and DH of around 10; I 
could I mix that with the brook water to improve the hardness, but that will 
raise the pH to above 7.0.  Should I be concerned with this?  My impression 
is that most plants do better in acid water.  

Thanks for your help.

Bill

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