Extensive Hygrophila Growth
It's been awhile since I've posted an update. A lot has happened since the beginning of December although the general makeup of the tank hasn't. The Crypt Wendtii has completely died out and I pulled the remnants of the root system out. I may try again with Crypts but not for awhile. We'll have to see. The Hygrophila has grown extensively and is almost to the top of the tank again after being cut down in half. I've cut some of the stems out and put them on the left hand side where the Crypts used to be. I've also relocated the Vals to the left side to see if they grow better. I have a hypothesis that the constant stream of water from the filter wasn't allowing them to grow.
The temperature theory I had earlier hasn't been proven true or false. I assume it helped but not in an observable way. My new theory is the hardness of the water is hurting growth. I had some guppies which quickly died and I assume it is because Boston water is incredibly hard. I bought a pillow softener which I plan on using whenever I do a water change. It's turned the water a little brown but hopefully it will help.
Besides the hygrophila, the Anubias Nana has a new leaf which is growing quickly. Additionally although the Java Fern is struggling itself, it has two daughter plants which are growing well. I'll probably wait until after Christmas and then disconnect them and put them somewhere. Now for some pictures:
Entire Tank
Left side
Right Side
Center Close-up
Post-Thanksgiving Update
I left the tank by itself over thanksgiving break with a timer setup for the lights. After coming back it appears the hygrophila has grown a little bit. Also the Anubias Nana is starting to grow a new leaf. The Val is still not doing too well and neither is the Java Fern. Hopefully things begin to take off but I may have to buy dry fertilizers. I don't really want to have to because it's kind of a pain but we will see. Here are the latest pictures:
Entire Tank
Right Side
Left side
Cut back the Crypt Wendtii completely
So the two Crypt Wendtii I bought were melting completely so I decided to completely cut them back to the roots and see if they grow back. In the pictures I'm attaching you can't see what is left but there are two small stems on the left side of the tank. Hopefully with Flourish Excel dosing and light they will grow back.
Left side of the tank
I'm also getting a little bit of white/grey fuzz algae. I'm slightly overdosing on the Flourish Excel to attempt to get rid of this. Additionally I removed a decent amount and scrubbed some of the plant leaves to get it off. After this I did a 40% water change so things should improve, especially as the tank cycles.
Whole Tank
On the right side of the tank the Val in the back had some leaves that were cut when I got them. These leaves were deteriorating and although they were pearling it didn't look pleasant. So I pruned the leaves that were brown and all that is left is healthy, shorter, growing leaves. We'll see how that goes and whether it grows high. My only worry is that it is planted directly under the filter output so it may grow weirdly or be pushed into the tank and not grow straight up. We'll see how it goes.
Right Side with Trimmed Val