You added a cover glass, I’m willing to bet that keeps more CO2 in the tank. How much of the top gets covered? And the condensation of water on the glass would also help bring down the amount of light getting to the plants. There was this tank I looked at one time, it had 450w of led lights on it. They were ecotech radions, and the guy who was looking after the tank was wondering why he was pulling fistfulls of hair algae out of the tank every week. Without a par meter it’s hard to say but I think the glass reduced the light on your tank more than you might guess. I’m glad the nightmare is over for you!
You could test it and see if it was light related, just take the cover glass off, and bring the light back to the level when the problems started happening. See if things repeat themselves. I can’t speak what might be happening physiologically, but it could be a neat little experiment! Then you’ll know for sure.
Hehe, maybe in a few weeks I'll throw that monkeywrench in the works! For now I think I'll just sit back and enjoy the cleanliness!
The tank is doing quite well. I still have some pale and lanky UG in tangled masses. I've been chopping them up and replanting them. Its been tough to get larger bunches anchored at the front of the tank. ADA powder is only about 3cm deep at the very front. Smaller bunches are holding much better.
I had similar problems with ADA powder type in another tank. 7cm deep and was finding it nearly impossible to get Nesaea crassicaulis cuttings to stay put. They're super buoyant. I tried planting at an angle, leaving lower leaves on and, in the end, I had to jam them up against other, established stems. Anyone have any tips regarding this? I'd much appreciate!