What is lacking?

Two things going on since I started using CO2 and all the ferts last week...

1 - The parts of my guppy grass and pennywort which are directly under the light (these plants are floating) are turning reddish brown. They are shooting roots towards the substrate, even the parts that have turned colors.

2 - My jungle valisneria hardened... really hard like it's petrified.

I am supplementing with Excel still until my CO2 ladder gets here, which should be today. I'm using Eco-Complete substrate, dosing all ferts, and also adding Kent's liquid calcium for my snails (about 1/2 the marine dose).

I increased phosphates, potassium, traces, and iron to see if the reddish-brown coloration corrects itself on the plants that are just inches away from the lights. No idea why the valisneria is hard.

rich311k said:

2. Are the leaves discolored at all?

Click to expand...

The valisneria hasn't been doing good lately anyway, but the ones I noticed being hard were actually the greenest ones left. A few leaves were dead on the ends (I've been pruning the dead parts), and the roots are all alive with no rotting. The plants aren't growing as fast as I've seen them grow in the past. How can they if they're hard, though?

I always see people saying Excel is bad on Vals, but I don't know if "Vals" is valisneria? I always thought the effect of Excel on such a plant would just be dying, not hardening. I don't really care if I lose the valisneria, but am curious what made them hard.

I've been adding baking soda to the water to raise kH so that very well could be it I guess. Higher kH since last week, Vals hardened since last week..