So I decided to check my CO2, because I hadn't messed with it in at least a month, and my PH drop wasn't as much as it normally is. Normally I drop it to 5.6-5.7, and it was only about 5.9, so either because of my increased plant mass it wasn't dropping as much, or (what I think is more likely) there was a bit of drift with my needle valve. Moving forward, I think I'll check my PH drop at least every 2 weeks to keep an eye on any possible drift.
The limnophila vietnam needs to be trimmed, kind of taking over the middle of the tank too much. Probably going to mow it on Wednesday pretty brutally take away some of its width.
Replanted the Meta and Pantanal.
Restarted the lobelia cardinalis mini.
Mowed the Rotala Blood Red SG--sloping it so that its cut lower in the front and taller toward the back. Looks a bit scraggly for a few days to a week but then grows in really nice and much easier than individually replanting. Very tolerant towards being mowed like other rotundifolia/h'ra rotala variants.
Noticing signs of growth on the downoi
. Buying submerged from a reputable seller/hobbyist makes a huge difference when buying plants.
As promised
@plantnoobdude @_Maq_ , I got some new syngonanthus--lago grande. Replaced the penthorum sedoides with it. I think I have too many light green plants though and a darker green would go much better here, so I am leaning towards switching it out once it grows in with either a moss, blyxa japonica, or some other dark green plant (suggestions welcome). Already I can see some possible issues with contrast between it and the downoi too.
Think I'm seeing some signs that the .3-.4 per week isn't enough for my tank, but probably still too early to conclude for sure. Still seeing some algae on some of the leaves of the Hygro 53b that I didn't see before lowering the micros. Also I think some of the newer tips of the Ludwigia Palustris were showing some unhappiness. Hard to say though because of the possible CO2 issue, so we’ll have to see how things go over the next 2ish weeks.
In regards to what I've noticed with my KH
@GreggZ--even though I do two 50-60% water changes per week with RODI water that I'm not adding any KH to, I've noticed my KH hangs out around 20-30ppm during the week. My theory was that my aquasoil had absorbed some carbonates during the 2 years that I only used tap water in my tank and was leaching some back into the water during the week, but I spoke to Vin and he said that's not possible. Vin said the only possibility is that my RODI isn't getting rid of all the carbonate from my tap water, so I'm going to test the KH of my reconstituted RODI water before doing my water change on Wednesday to see what the KH is. Otherwise, I have no idea why my KH isn't lower--there is nothing in the tank that could be raising the KH besides the 7-9ppm or so that is added from ferts per week. I thought that maybe the fluctuating KH could be the source of the Meta's fussiness, but Vin said a KH fluctuation of 1-2kh per week won't bother plants at all, so there goes that theory.
Right now my main theory for Meta's fussiness is that the aquasoil may have absorbed some funky stuff from the two years I was using just Los Angeles tap water that has built up over time and may be causing some minor issues.