You may want to look at the species at this site.
http://www.dennerle.de/ENGLISCH/e_frameset.htm

They list growth expectations in some detail. For example, here is your
amazon sword.

E 20 Echinodorus amazonicus
Former: Echinodorus brevipedicellatus
Slender-leafed Amazon Sword
Tropical South America
Characteristics: Rosette plant. Mature specimen can have up to 50 lanceolate
leaves. Height: 50 cm. Growth rate: Monthly 2 - 3 leaves. Propagation:
Adventitious plants on flower stem. Requirements: Needs regular iron
fertilization.

You may find that your plants are growing at the expected rate.

chet


"Michael" wrote in message
...
Richard, what I can tell you that, you surely need to add Iron for the
plants, there is no other source for it and personally I don't think the
DIY
CO2 systems are so great, from the other side spending a lot of money on
such small tank? you have to think for your self.


"Richard Krush" wrote in message
...

Hi,

I would like to have a moderately planted aquarium, since the fish I
keep
like having a lot of foliage. However, the plants don't grow as much as
I
would like them to.

Currently I have one Amazon Sword (Echinodorus amazonicus), two
"Compact"
Amazon Swords (Echinodorus amazonicus "compacta"?), one Rosetta Sword
(don't know scientific name), and two Anubias barteri var. nana. From
the
above plants, only Anubias is in nice condition and one of the plants
has
a
new leaf every few weeks. The rest I manage to keep more or less alive,
but besides of that, they aren't doing very well.

I will try to take a few pictures soon, but perhaps it will be possible
to
determine something from my general aquarium characteristics:

Tank: 20 gallon (24" x 12" x 16")
Substrate: 15 lbs of Flourite mixed with 20 lbs of fine gravel (about
2.5
in deep)
Lighting: A fixture holding two 48" 32WT8 fluorescent bulbs with color
temperature of 5000 dK and CRI of 86. However, there is no
reflector and the lamp is suspended a foot above the
aquarium.
Duration: The light is on for about 12 hours every day.

pH: 7.4
KH: 4.0 dKH
GH: 6.0 dGH
CO2: 4.8 mg/l[*]
Nitrate: 15 ppm

Does anything look suspicious above? I'm adding no fertilizer of any
kind
and no trace elements.

[*] The measurement is based on KH and pH. I have a DIY yeast-based
CO2
generator, but it seems that the reactor isn't doing a very good
job,
since in another aquarium (30 gallon) the CO2 level measured in
the
same way reads about 9 mg/l, even though no CO2 is injected.

Thanks in advance!

Richard

P.S. Excuse me if I didn't provide some vital info, I'm not sure what
would
be needed and what not.

--
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World
War
IV will be fought with sticks and stones." -- Albert Einstein