My Nitrate/phosphate levels are 0 and maybe that is some of the problem...

That is definitely a problem. Nitrate and phosphate should not be zero in a
planted tank.

I bet it will make a world of difference if you add some.

I'm going to purchase all of the "Flourish" products and start dosing
appropriately to see if that helps any..

Their Nitrogen and Phosphorus products are new. I've never used them, but I'd
like to. Haven't seen them for sale yet, though.

Plus I've had a
good number of species die-off over the last 8 months..

Might be a nutrient problem. Fast-growing plants like Hygro can hog all the
nutrients and starve the slower growling plants.

But it might also be that the plants you bought weren't suited for your tank.
A lot of the plants sold for aquariums are in fact bog plants, and will die if
you keep them submerged for too long. Some LFS staff will even tell you that
they're annuals and they're supposed to die -- and you're supposed to buy new
ones regularly, of course!


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/