Hi

1. started to add Flourish Excel 2-3x week
2. started to be more routine about adding Flourish 2x week
3. started to add Flourish Iron whenever I add Flourish
4. reduced the amount of natural lighting (not completely out, but
closed
some of the shades)

You are making forward progress. Unfortunately, we cannot diagnose without
the
full range of tank parameters and measurements:

Tank size, lighting, substrate, weekly water changes & water source
KH, GH, pH
NO3, Fe
Fish load and plant load
Any other chemicals added (make this one easy: just stop adding any
buffers, pH
adjusters, etc.)


let's see..

tank size: 37G (with the thick gravel, it's actually about 30G actual
volume)
Temp: ~78-80F
lighting: 55W CF (ahsupply retrofit)
substrate: 2.5" thick pea-gravel UGF (I know.. very bad for plants)
misc: two bog wood that leeches tannin (water is yellow..)
water change: 20-25% biweekly (sort of averages out to about every 1.5weeks)
water source: tap water conditioned using AP Plus+
KH=GH=3 (using AP test kit)
pH = 7.5-ish (hard to tell since it's smack between the limit of the high
and low range pH indicator)
NO3 = unknown (test kit on the way)
NH3, NO2=0ppm
Fe = don't have test kit
fish load: 2 lace gouramis (juveniles), 7 danios, 7 white cloud, 4 oto (and
bunch of hydras and snails that I'm trying to pick out daily..)
plants: 5 large swords (ozelot, amazon), ~8 crypts, bunch of foxtail, rotala
indica, lysmacia, anacharis, anubias, A. boivianus bulb, 2 small sword
plants (E. parviflorus?), java fern
chemicals added: once in two days or so ~3ml flouish excel, 2x week ~1ml
Fourish, 1-2x week ~1ml Flourish iron, each sword plants and the apongeton
has Flourish Tab near its roots. no buffers or adjusters.. just plain ol
tap...

linda