[fish_4_all]

Here is my experience with Wisteria:
Your nitrates are most likely not 10 even with a good liquid regent test kit, dose them at up to 10ppm 3x a week if you have at least 2 watts/gallon. I know your test kits says it does but you likely need more, especially at higher than 2w/g. I have around 3 and my wisteria used up nitrates way too fast.
Second, Wisteria also sucks up iron, PO4, and K. They need to be dosed at an equitable ratio with NO3.

Before changing anything, how many watts do you have right now? If you have the standard fluorescent then it shoud be about 1.5 w/g in which case you will need fetilizers to keep everything happy, especially with that light of a bioload.

 

[fish_4_all]

If this a 10 gallon tank then yes you can dose nitrates and probably need to as well as almost everything else. I would start with pottasium and nitrates for certain as this sounds like a shortage of possibly both. daose lightly until you find the plants are responding. Then tweak them if you don't see much growth. Don't forget the water changes! Weekly if you can.

The main thing, don't give up! We will help you find the problem and correct it. It takes time and can be a headache but it is well worth it.

Ok, crypt rot is normal in a changing tank, I have had it happen 6 times with same crypt and now it is huge and GEORGEOUS!
I also forgot one key thing, in all planted tanks you need a micro fertilizers, Seachem Flourish, Leafzone, CSM+B, anything that will provide iron and other needed traces. This could also be a trace deficiency especially with the droopy stems.

 

[fish_4_all]

DOH, missed that, you need more light for Wisteria. 0.75 watts/gallon won't grow it unless you have an absolutely perfect tank and do perfcet dosing which I can't even come close to.

At that lighting, you can grow crypts, anubias and other really low light plants but not much else. To grow wisteria you really need at least 1.5 w/g. Is it a possibility to upgrade your lighting?

It is odd but plants will thrive for a time because they will live off their reserves but when they are gone they won't do well and will basically fall apart.

There are easy ways to upgrade lighting if you have a second hood, maybe a hood with sockets for screw in bubls where you can use 2, 20-25 watt compact flourescent screw in bulbs, making sure they are 6500K. I use a 48 inch shop fixture over my two 10 gallon tanks and i can grow just about anything. They are only $20-25 and would give you about 5 w/g of light which on a 20 gallon gives you medium to medium high light depending on if it is a long or tall 20 gallon.

If you can I would recommend upgrading the lighting. I hate to see someone get excited about plants and then submit to low light plants and hate their tanks because they don't grow plants. Let me know what you can find and i can do whatever i can to get you the light you need and the advice you need to grow plants quickly and if you want, as easily as possible.

 

[fish_4_all]

It will only take 15 watt bulbs unfortunatley. Until you can gte another fixture, do you have a desk lamp, a reading lamp or any light that you can out a screw in compact flourescent in? If you do, get a 25 watts 6500k bulb and place it over the tank, in front of it or wherever it seems to give the most light on the wisteria.

Before you get a new light, what are you looking for as far as growth? mild and noticeable/ medium to fast/ wild and trim every other day?
Can you afford to buy a fairly lagre amount of fertilizers? I know a site that you can get enough fertilizers of everything you ned for about $40 with shipping and that will last over a year, some of it lasting 2-4 years.

Let me know what you really want and we can try to get you there with the least painful headache.

 

[fish_4_all]

Ok, 15 watts. Is this a 20 tall or long? What are the dimensions of the top?

 

[fish_4_all]

Talk with yur friends and see what they can do for you. Even if you have to go with a standard light strip for screw in flourescent bubls for the time being, it will work. you would want 2, 25 watt bulbs which isn't actually 50 watts but more like 30ish because of the inefieciency of the bulbs.

Anything they can help you get that will put either 35-40 watts fluorescent or 50-60 watts of screw in compact florescents over the tank. At those levels, you will need fertilizers but they can be bought slowly in order of most important.

If you can find a standard screw in aquarium fixture you can out 2, 25 watt screw in bulbs, 6500k, in it and suffice until you can upgrade.

Recommended Wattage Lighting Level
Compact Fluorescent
61W VeryHigh
46W High
31W Moderate
15W Low
T8 Fluorescent
59W VeryHigh
44W High
29W Moderate
15W Low
Hagen T10 Fluorescent
78W VeryHigh
59W High
39W Moderate
20W Low
T12 Fluorescent
82W VeryHigh
62W High
41W Moderate
21W Low

Show them this chart and let them try to get you moderate light.

http://woo.gotdns.com/Aquarium/Lighting.htm

That is a really good link and it works.

 

[fish_4_all]

The width and length of the top of the tank. Go to the site and put in the measurements for the top of your tank. Take the chart to your friends and see what they can do.

Let us know what you find. Then we can go from there.

 

[fish_4_all]

All I know is if you use those tabs I would bury them very well and make sure not disturb the location you have put them for at least a couple week. I have never used anything but a basic iron tab, no NO3 and no PO4 so I am not the best to advise there.

The Leafzone should be fine dosed according to the label.

 

[fish_4_all]

I agreew with Blue, and would add anacharis and most Hygrophyla polysperma species. But I will add that my crypts are very much in direct light, Becketti, Wendtii and Lucens and they love it. I also have an Anubias nana in direct light although it does get a little more algae this way it grows rather quickly. I have had it for about 3 months I think and it has tripled in size, put out 3 rhizome splits and has massive amounts of leaves. I have to work to get it and keep everything as algae free as possible but they do love it. My Crypt Red Wendtii was cut back to almost noting not 6 weeks ago and it is absolutely huge right now. Could probably split it into 20 plants. Crypts also love plant tabs and I use them under all 3 of them.