Still Missing Something- Plants Dying

[markinnc]

5-6 year old aquarium-45 gallon working on fourth attempt at raising plants. This time I thought I did it right by doing my homework first and making plant friendly changes. Tank params are fine, the tank cycled a couple of months after start and ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are where they should be. I do have high pH, now at about 7.8. Temp stays at about 78.

Lights are either too much or fine depending on who you listen to. I have two T5 bulbs of different spectrum selected for fresh water plants. I replaced the bulbs at start of this effort. I added two LED light arrays designed for fresh water plant growth.

I listened to input from others and decided that my PetSmart pebble substrate was not good so I bought new plant friendly substrate from aquarimplants.com and changed substrate, that was a job. When I planted my plants from aquarimplants.com, their hardy low tech assortment, I added a neut. pellet at each plant.

I had issues determining what my CO2 level was and I believe that was because my pH was so high. Bought a pH meter thinking my test kit was old. Bought a KH test kit. Bought a DH test kit. All of the normal tests for CO2 depend on pH level and KH levels and my pH remains high enough that tests showed no CO2. Had a friend from the local University bring her CO2 meter and it said I had 2-3, below the minimum of 5 normally stated for plant growth. Bought a CO2 kit from Green Leaf and have been injecting CO2 for a week now.

Bought a drop checker at same time as the CO2 system. It came with a KH 4.0 test solution. I run the CO2 with the lights only from 4pm-11pm. The drop checker has never changed from its out of the bottle blue indicating I have low CO2. pH is still high and I have to believe that the pH level is what I am reading, not the CO2 level.

The score is now mystery culprit 4 and plants 0. One by one my new plants are dying. I have removed six of the twenty or so I planted this time and the remaining plants are all looking very poor. I have managed to change things so that I am now growing algae at a much higher rate than ever before and even though I dipped my new plants I have hundreds of snails. I assume that the added light and no plant growth I have made a better environment for algae.

Any ideas?

[dmagerl]

First off, you need to forget everything you've read on the internet regarding KH, pH, and CO2 concentration. You cant calculate CO2 from pH and KH.

Second, you all ready have everything you need to do the job.

You've used a CO2 meter to measure your initial CO2 concentration and found it was 2-3ppm. You have a pH meter and have measured your initial pH, 8.3.

Now all you need to do is crank up your CO2 until you see a 1 point drop in PH, to 7.3. That gives you a 10 times increase in CO2, to 20-30ppm, which is roughly in the ball park of what you want. The fact your drop checker is staying blue says you are not anywhere near the required CO2 injection. Up your injection until you see a 1 point pH drop and then borrow the CO2 meter again and see what it says. BTW, the drop checker reacts really slowly to CO2 changes, it takes several hours to react after making a change.

Your symptoms all point to a lack of nutrients for the amount of light you have. Substrates, unless its a soil type substrate, all lack nutrients and must be supplemented with fertilizers (unless using really low light), either via water column dosing or with root tabs. You mentioned using a "neut. pellet" but I dont know what that is. More details would be nice.

I'm on the "you have way too much light" side of the debate.

[Lady Hobbs]

Depends on the plants you have as well. Some do better in less light and others want the high light. Those that do not do well for you, get rid of them and stick with those that do work well in your tank.

I have aquariumplanets substrate in my planted tanks. I run 108 watts T5HO over a 55 gallon tank, 10,000k bulb and a 6700k bulb, no CO2 and it's actually more light than I need. Lights on 8 hrs daily.

I find no need for CO2 unless you are running high lights needed for high light plants. Sounds as you have too much light to me, as well. Too much light requires far more nutrients and that CO2.

[smaug]

A dual t5 fixture wouldn't be tto much light for anything but java ferns and mosses but I don't know what the led is doing to the plants . I assume you have about 8ow right now and that is very good for many plants and would not warrant the use of even diy co2. Check your water for copper. Do you use any salt for meds? Give us a list of all the plants you have now and have tried in the past. How about some pictures. Go into more detail about how the plants themselves actually look and how and where you have them situated. Growing plants isn't about numbers,having them all inline doesn't mean you will have an aquatic garden of eden.

[Trillianne]

What kind of plants did you buy?

-- Some plants are well known to wilt back when adjusting to a new environment. Cryptocorynes are notorious for doing so. The plant doesn't really die, so much as put all its efforts into the roots instead of the leaves for awhile.

[markinnc]

OK, I will try and post more information about what I have.
-I bought an assortment of plants from aquariumplants.com and the individual plants are not identified, they have this description: 20 gallon aquarium

Note: The 24 plant assortment contains different plants, with some grouped for best effect. (EXAMPLE: two bunch plants of same variety)The plants in all assortments contain a beautiful variety of bunch plants, swords, crypts, etc. As always, the selection is great, the quality is impeccable, the value in unbeatable (anywhere!), and satisfaction is GUARANTEED!

- The substrate I switched to was also from aquariumplants.com here is their description:
AquariumPlants.com's own: Freshwater Plant Substrate®
Used as a complete system with our exclusive: AQUARIUMPLANTS.COM'S own "Substrate Vitalization System", (and proper water conditions, lighting etc), we guarantee total success of your planted aquarium. (if you follow our recommendations and purchase your equipment & plants from us)

(ask our tech guys if you have the proper water conditions & lighting etc.)

All natural. No artificial coloring.
Contains minerals and nutrients and rich in iron. Provides optimum fresh water aquatic plant growth.
Used with our exclusive "Aquariumplants.com's own Substrate Fertilizer Pellets" we GUARANTEE success.
NEW: 3 colors to choose from; Black Diamond, Natural Amazon, Red River
Will not break down or dissolve or turn to mud like others do.
Does not cloud water
Granular Size: 1.2mm to 2.8mm
outperforms ALL other planted substrates (guaranteed)

TYPICAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
component weight %
volatile free basis
SiO2....................................76.72
Al2O3..................................11.28
CaO......................................0.63
MgO.....................................2.04
Na2O....................................0.10
K21O....................................1.26
Fe2O2..................................6.51
MnO.....................................0.01
P2O5....................................0.11
TiO2....................................0.52

I used substrate pellets and here is that description:

TOTAL SUBSTRATE PELLETS

Total Pellets provide all essential macro and micronutrients for luxuriant Aquarium Plant Growth. Iron and other essential micronutrients are chelated to assure effective uptake by plants. (Total Pellets do not contribute to Phosphate levels.)

Directions: Inject one pellet under a single plant or group of plants within an area of 3in by 3in square. Inject no more than 1 pellet per each 3in by 3in area of aquarium bottom per month. Plants should be growing in at least 2in of substrate. With the injector angled at least 30 degrees off vertical, inject pellets into the substrate to about 1/2in under the plant root area.

Chemically Active Ingredients: Hydrated Magnesium sulfate, Potassium nitrate, Potassium sulfate, also trace amounts of; Cobalt EDTA, Copper EDTA, Iron EDTA, Magnesium EDTA, Zinc EDTA, Manganese sulfate, Sodium Borate, Sodium Molybdate, (Chelating Agent: Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid)

Physically Active Ingredients: Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) Magnesium Carbonate (MgCO3) Calcium Carbonate Equivalent (CaCO3) Calcium Sulfate (CaSO42H2O)

-My first two attempts at plants used the lighting that came with the tank. Everything I could find indicated that I did not have enough light so I purchased the current two lamp T5 set and fitted bulbs which were recommended by the mfg. The LEDs were free and I have turned them off for now.

Today, I have removed two more plants, pruned many dead leaves, turned up my CO2, and scrubbed my algae which loves what I have done so far. I tried a few pictures but I will have to experiment as they did not come out right. Either too much glare or exposure so bad you can't really see anything.

The drop checker is telling me I don't have CO2 so maybe turning up the CO2 will do something. I also moved my drop checker over to the side of the tank where my CO2 diffuser is located.

[Lady Hobbs]

I read recently you are not supposed to use T-5's and LEDS at the same time but don't know why. Perhaps someone can elaborate on that?

My anubias even do poorly under my fixture. They do great in much lower light so all this depends on what kind of plants are you trying to grow. Knowing that may help a bit more with what answers people can give you?

[markinnc]

I read the same thing and investigated before installing them. The T5s generate a lot of heat and that heat was cooking the LEDs. I thought I had enough separation but I added some insulation. In any case I have turned the LEDs off for now.

[Lady Hobbs]

Thank you. I wondered what the deal was!

[Trillianne]

Which plants are dying off in the pack? All one type, a variety?

How are they dying off? Melting away into flimsy tissue/growing holes/turning brown/etc

[Lady Hobbs]

And one more thought.....How did you dip all these plants and in what?

[markinnc]

I have to admit that I do not know the names of my plants, I still have a lot to learn. So, I am going back and forth using pictures for reference.

It appears I have several different types of Java Ferns, Anubius, Cryptocoryne wendtii, and several that I can not match up with pictures.

The Java ferns, at least 3 kinds seem to be the best of what I have. They have brown spots and brown leaf tips, but are in one piece.

The Anubius plants are also better than some with brown around the edges and some leaves having fallen off.

I had a bunch of Tiger Lily Red and that just melted away to nothing.

Vallisneria americana has changed color from bright red to brownish red.

Can't find a picture of what looks like a wild onion bulb, these have the top 3" brown

Can't find what looks like a variegated lily leaf, dark green and light green and it is turning transparent.

Some sort of Java Fern? with the leaf tips curly cued, the curly cue has shriveled up and started turning brown.

Another observation. I originally had two predominately red plants and these have done the worst. I had three brown plants and these have done almost as poorly as the red. The rest are green and have not deteriorated as far or fast as the colors.

[Trillianne]

I like to use plantedtank.net to help id plants. Frequently have several pictures to choose from, which I find helpful.

For your rhizome type plants, like the anubias and the java moss, they require that you do not cover that long stemmy bit that the roots and leaves grow from. For reference I can only offer my recently butchered anubias, where you can see the long rhizome I'm talking of:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-s53esBpiqOI/UA8cTDNcBOI/AAAAAAAADRI/-dL8OctKhEQ/s1138/IMAG0608.jpg
If your Rhizome end seems mushy, then trim it back to a part that is firm. And trim it with a sharp straight edge.

I couldn't find Tiger Lily Red.. perhaps it has another name.

The Vals may be altering color based on what lighting and nutrients they have available. Reds can sometimes turn greenish, based on the nutrients and lighting. That doesn't mean the plant is dying.

Trim the tops of your Vals and Onion Bulb leaves that are dead... leaving them on means the plant will still keep trying to help those areas, when the nutrients it sending for "repair and grow leaf" might be better sent to "expand roots/Put out new leaves"

Red plants generally need more attention than green plants... more light, more iron to keep their red color.

[smaug]

For certain none of those plants need co2 and very little in the way of ferts either. Half the usual dose of root tabs and no liquid fert at all if you have fish. The led lights can be turned off and just use the t5 fixture for 8 hrs a day. All those plants do ok in hard water with high ph,I know that from experiance.

[Akran]

I know you've already invested a lot of money so I hate to tell you to buy more equipment, but in my experience my drop checker stayed blue until I got a reactor. It forces all the CO2 to get dissolved in the water instead of just bubbling up to the surface and escaping. Granted, I have a larger tank (90 gallons) and CO2 is pretty cheap so I would try cranking it up first, but you may find it's not enough if you're trying to get to ideal CO2 levels.

Other than that, it may just be that your root tabs hadn't had time to dissolve or the plants are just adjusting to the water parameters in your aquarium. Root tabs aren't really going to do anything for ferns and anubias because their rhizomes aren't supposed to be planted. They get their nutrients from the water column.

What does the algae that's growing look like? Knowing what kind of algae is prospering will tell you a lot about what's going on with your nutrient levels.

[smaug]

I know you've already invested a lot of money so I hate to tell you to buy more equipment, but in my experience my drop checker stayed blue until I got a reactor. It forces all the CO2 to get dissolved in the water instead of just bubbling up to the surface and escaping. Granted, I have a larger tank (90 gallons) and CO2 is pretty cheap so I would try cranking it up first, but you may find it's not enough if you're trying to get to ideal CO2 levels.

Other than that, it may just be that your root tabs hadn't had time to dissolve or the plants are just adjusting to the water parameters in your aquarium. Root tabs aren't really going to do anything for ferns and anubias because their rhizomes aren't supposed to be planted. They get their nutrients from the water column.

What does the algae that's growing look like? Knowing what kind of algae is prospering will tell you a lot about what's going on with your nutrient levels.
Co2 is a wasted element in the OPs tank,the plants are not of the variety that really need it.
again I ask the op to get a cheap cu test kit and use it. Its not usual to have loads of cu present but if you do then it is a plant killer in higher amounts,other metals are too but short of getting your water tested by a pro I dont know how you would know.

[secuono]

I am not finding any mention of how many watts you have....
So how much watts for the tank do you have?

Tiger lily needs higher light and tends to be more of a pond lily than a tank plant. But people trim it down and give it lots of light to get it to 'fit the tank.'

Plants with rhizomes should not be planted, just tied to rocks or wood. The actual roots can be buried, but not the rhizome itself.

Most plants that are red or pink will require a lot more light than green plants.

Can you post a pic of your tank, how many hours a day the lights are on and pics of the plants??

[smaug]

If its a std 36 inch fixture with t5ho bulbs the op is using about 80 watts.It is a general rule that plants that have lots of red have been given lots of light,it is not a rule that plants with red in them must have lots of light.

[markinnc]

Light fixture is 48" and each bulb is 54watts for a total of 108 watts.

I have been running my lights from 4-11pm so only 7 hours a day.

I'll look at the suggested website and attempt a better ID on my plants.

How do I test for copper content? Is there another reagent test for that?

Earlier today I cranked up my CO2 and it has been running like that since about 10 this morning with my lights on all that time. I just looked at my tank and the color of my drop checker has changed to a lighter shade of blue. I tested my pH and it is now 7.4 which is the lowest I have seen it ever.

I'll get my camera again and see if I can manage a picture that is usable.

thanks for all the help so far,

[markinnc]

The color in my drop checker is now green.

Looking at my plants closely they are all producing bubbles. I assume that they are now producing O2 and that they have enough CO2. I turned my CO2 down from about 4 drops per second to 2 so that I don't get too much CO2 in the water. My pH has also dropped one more tenth since I looked a half hour ago.

[smaug]

I have never seen sick plants pearl before. At my peak planted tank days I had 300 watts of asstd lights including t5 and pc over a 36 inch tank and never NEEDED co2 to get a plant healthy. If its a neccesity in your tank there must be something out of whack that makes it so. I suppose the much higher hardness could be the culprit for that. Be careful adding a lot o co2 if you have fish.

[markinnc]

I suppose pearling means bubbling out O2? I do have fish and have been watching them closely and they are why I turned my CO2 down late yesterday. No additional dead plants this morning but I assume I am not out of the woods yet. I'll have to regulate the amount of CO2 and the length of time it is on to some level. Guess I will try and target the color of the Drop Checker fluid and/or pH level by meter.

I will also want to see how this new set-up, (CO2), plays with the stability of the pH. Seems there is a consensus that pH stability is more important than absolute value. I saw yesterday while adding a lot of CO2 the pH drop from 7.8-7.9-8.0 down to 7.4 and that is a large bounce. Lights off, bubbler on, and CO2 off overnight and my pH is now at 7.7 and my Drop Checker is light blue. This morning no bubbles rising from any of the plants so that was a result of lights and CO2.

I have wanted to add fish for the past year or so but knew I would be attempting plants again. I'd like to figure out plants first, and then consider some more fish. I lost four Corys about 18 months ago, unexplained, and four fancy guppies also unexplained. Now I have 5 barbs, one fancy guppy, and two clown loaches.

I forgot to answer the question about how I dipped my plants. I followed directions found on aquariumplants.com, Potassium Permanganate Dip

The first dip is milder and safer for the plants. It is a Potassium Permanganate dip. Potassium Permanganate is available at Sear's and Ace Hardware in the area where they sell water softener's and supplies. You can also purchase Potassium Permanganate from chemical supply companies, both local and online.

[smaug]

If you want to do the whole co2 thing and feel its the way for you then I recomend an electronic regulator that is controlled by a ph monitor. This will provide you with consistency and bare in mind that it is ok and unavoidable to have the ph change during the day due to photosynthesis. Put the system on a timer to shut off c02 an hour before lights off and maybe a hlf hour before lights on.

[Akran]

I couldn't explain the scientific reasoning but from what I understand pH swings from CO2 are not really dangerous for your fish. If your fish aren't gasping for air at the surface or breathing very rapidly, your CO2 levels are safe.

[dmagerl]

If you're only seeing a .4 drop in pH, then I'd say you're not injecting enough CO2. As I said in a previous post, a 1 point drop is 10 times the CO2. So if you're starting at 3ppm, 1 one point drop puts you at 30ppm. A .4pt drop is only a 2.5 times increase in CO2.

Increase it SLOWLY, like over several days. Fish will be gasping at the top if you do it over a couple of hours.

And dont worry about the pH swing. pH is used as a proxy to measure the concentrations of dissolved minerals, like KH & GH. Changes in minerals cause changes in osmotic pressure within the fish which causes problems. CO2 doesnt do this. As long as GH and KH are constant, dont worry about the pH swing caused by CO2.

[smaug]

But a ph monitor can be used to turn the co2 off and on which is a more reliable way to do it then by memory.

[Lady Hobbs]

If using CO2, make sure you add air pumps at night or you may wake up to a tank of dead fish as I did. Or turn the CO2 off at night. But to ditto Smaug, you have listed only slow growing plants and CO2 is not needed with them. You may want to add some fast growers to the tank if using CO2.

I do have the same light and wattage as you and I can only say that I tried my anubias twice under that lighting and each time they stopped growing and both times got green spot algae on them. Put them in an area of the tank that gets less light, like in a shaded area produced by another taller plant.

[markinnc]

OK, I've had my CO2 system running for three days now. Happy to say that I do not have any more dead plants in that time. I do have to make a clean up evening this weekend as I have some dead leaves and stalks to clean out. And a new, for me type of algae. This algae is dark gray or black and likes the glass. It is translucent at least at this point.

Lights off and air bubbler run over night. CO2 is on a timer now and it starts a 4pm and shuts off at 11 along with the lights. The tank goes back to a pH of 7.8...7.9 overnight. At the setting I have now it takes about 3 hours of CO2 to bring the pH down to 5.4-5.5 At that point it acts as if I have switched a switch on. The plants begin to make bubbles, even some of the roots make bubbles. The drop checker follows the meter although slow response. Blue at start of cycle, turning lighter blue, then finally green after about 2.5 hours.

I will keep my fingers crossed but it appears my plants may be starting to like my tank.

[Trillianne]

That is good news then!

Try not to feel too much like a butcher over the pruning :)

[dmagerl]

I cant tell from your last post if you are doing this, but you really should consider turning on the CO2 1 to 2 hours before the lights turn on.

You might be seeing the beginnings of black brush algae, one of the causes of which is unstable CO2 during the photo period.

[markinnc]

That makes sense to me, I will have the CO2 turn on an hour before the lights come on.

[Goes to 11!]

When did these plants get put into the tank?

[markinnc]

I had to look back at my emails to see when I received the plants. I hope that the date has not caused issues but they arrived on Friday the 13th, so about two weeks ago.

[Goes to 11!]

Two weeks.... Oh boy.

Then my advice is for you to chill out for the next 3 weeks and wait for these plants to acclimate and settle in.

All this messing with your water [CO2 up and down - pH up and down... ect] is as if you are trying to adjust the drivers seat for comfort before the driver is in the car.. So to speak.

Your plants are not even gotten past their potential melting stage yet so you really need to apply some patience here and [I strongly emphasize this] Leave them alone.

I don't know what you were expecting in two weeks but I repeat--> Just leave them alone.
:22:


Stop everything but light ferts and let them acclimate.

[markinnc]

No doubt that is good advice as I understand that it takes a while for plants to adjust to a new home. Part of the history here is that over a five year period I have three previous failed attempts at plants. I knew that I was missing something. Cilling and waiting would simply make this my forth failed attempt. I planted about 25 plants and watched 9 of them wither away to zip and did not want to wait. The remaining plants all seemed wilted, discolored, and generally unhappy. The timing is not right to conclude anything but my remaining plants seemed to have perked up and look healthier.

[Goes to 11!]

No doubt that is good advice as I understand that it takes a while for plants to adjust to a new home.

Yes it is, Having read the rest of that post I am not clear on whether you are taking it or not?

[smaug]

How about that CU test? I know Im harping on that pretty hard but its one of the few things that would "melt" plants that quickly. 850R's advice is pretty good but the type plants you are talking about are very hardy and do not normally go through a dying back stage when introduced,the exception to that is the crypt. You have an issue with your water that is killing your plants. I would suggets saving the money on future plants and electricity not to mention co2 refills until you get a relaible full spectrum test done on your water. How about some pictures,test results and any other question you have not answered yet. Not to get short it crappy with you but we have bent over backward to help you with this tank and frankly there is nothing more we can do if you dont take the advice.I can come back to help more if I see a current fts of this tank .

[markinnc]

The very last thing I wanted to do was to get anyone upset with me, particularly for inaction.

I have ordered a CU test kit, I live about 45 miles from the nearest store that resembles a lfs, Petsmart. I have been buying most of my stuff on-line.

Copper, a common treatment for many parasitic infections, must be monitored in an aquarium or a pond. The copper level can drop too low for the treatment to be effective, or can increase to a point that is detrimental to fish health. Copper may even be present in your tap water. This kit allows you to easily and accurately monitor copper levels to maintain copper-based fish treatments at therapeutic levels.

Tests copper levels from 0 to 4 ppm
Measures both free and chelated copper
Performs 90 Tests
For use in Freshwater or Saltwater Aquariums or Ponds

I did spend time and looked at pH regulators to control my CO2 system. I have not spent the money on that yet but thinking about it.

I did take more pictures and have attempted to discover how to post pictures. I do not know if they will show up below but if not they will be in an album I named Mark's Aquarium.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/1188/thumbs/July29Aquarium6sm.jpg (http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/showphoto.php?photo=22708)http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/1188/thumbs/July29Aquarium4sm.jpg (http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/showphoto.php?photo=22712)http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/1188/thumbs/July29Aquarium3sm.jpg (http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/showphoto.php?photo=22711)http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/1188/thumbs/July29Aquarium2sm.jpg (http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/showphoto.php?photo=22710)

In terms of taking action on advice it is somewhat problematical as some of it is contradictory. Over the past month I have received a great many pointers from this forum and based on that I have:
-changed my substrate.
-changed my lighting.
-added fertilizer pellets.
-added a KH test to my normal tests.
-added a DH test to my normal tests.
-replaced my reagent pH test with a pH meter.
-added a CO2 system.
-added a Drop Checker.

No excuses offered for not following all advice. Time is at a premium for me as it is for you, (I work 60-70 hours a week running a small company). Some of the advice I have received is expensive and I am still considering the expense. Some of the advice I don't understand and I am researching. I understand I have a lot to learn and it is taking more time than I thought it would.

I will follow up and find out who in our area could do a full spectrum test on my water. I will start with the water company in the morning. I do not know of any other questions that I have left unanswered.

[Stitch]

Sorry to hijack this thread. I've been following along with interest and will be picking up my own CU test later today (if available).

I'm guessing the idea is to have a low copper value.

What types of things cause a high copper value? From the intial water source? Or something that has changed / been added to the water?

I've read Ammonia can sometimes cause plants to melt, could copper do the same?

[smaug]

The cu kit is about the last thing I could think of to recomend to the op. I came off rather strong on that last post and what I meant to say was that I'm out of ideas! Cu should not just be low,it needs to be zero,in small amounts its a slow poison to fish and a fast one to inverts. In larger amounts its lethal to fish over time and immediatly damaging. I have never had cu read in any of my tanks except for qt tanks I have treated bad ich and or velvet. I see your pictures now,are these recent pics with the plant substrate? I'm on my cell so its hard to see but are the plants covered inalgae?

[wijnands]

I've been keeping planted tanks since I started with the hobby. Testing for copper is never something that crossed my mind.

If OP wants help.. some overal shots of the aquarium and some closeups of the problem plants would help loads. My gut instinct tells me someone's overcomplicating things and perhaps also bought plants what were grown emersed and are now adjusting to live underwater.

[smaug]

I've been keeping planted tanks since I started with the hobby. Testing for copper is never something that crossed my mind.

If OP wants help.. some overal shots of the aquarium and some closeups of the problem plants would help loads. My gut instinct tells me someone's overcomplicating things and perhaps also bought plants what were grown emersed and are now adjusting to live underwater. 99% of aquarium plants are grown emersed but I have never had any plant but crypts die back when planted in my tank. CU does not need to be tested for in a fw tank unless you have an issue like the OP is having. Op did post pictures and to be honest they look ok to me. Somebody may be a perfectionist.

[wijnands]

Depends on the supplier how they grow them. We now also have suppliers switching to almost full emersed because they do better and the plants are sold at better prices. Anyway...

Ah, here

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showpost.php?p=1055002&postcount=38

Well.. I don't see a clear issue with those plants. Could be because it's overview shots. I'd call the light level medium. An arrangement like this is not something I'd use CO2 on, all seem fairly easy plants to me but that's a matter of opinion I suppse.

[smaug]

Depends on the supplier how they grow them. We now also have suppliers switching to almost full emersed because they do better and the plants are sold at better prices. Anyway...

Ah, here

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showpost.php?p=1055002&postcount=38

Well.. I don't see a clear issue with those plants. Could be because it's overview shots. I'd call the light level medium. An arrangement like this is not something I'd use CO2 on, all seem fairly easy plants to me but that's a matter of opinion I suppse.
Id say your right! This is not a co2 needed set up. Been saying that from my first post.