a few questions to see if im doing things right

[monlov]

Im sorry for the novel here but i have been doing some research and seem to only be making my self more confused. some of this stuff i think i understand but im looking for a little reassurance, so please bare with me i have a 55 gallon tank with two 40 watt bulbs (1.45 wpg).
plants are(have had about a month):
1 red melon sword
1 micro sword
2 crypt wendtii
1 anacharis bunch(
i have just ordered(should be here wednesday)
1 java fern
1 java moss
1 Anubias frazeri
1 Anubias hastifolia
2 Cryptocoryne retrospiralis

ok now the questions
1. right now the only fert i am adding is leaf zone, and just the recomended dosage (5ml per gallon once a week). but i have noticed that the red mellon sword and the micro sword (i know they are faster growing plants) have brown on the tips of a few of the leafs. the red melon does apear to be growing though with a few new leafs poping up. also there is a very fine "hair algea" on the plants(except for the anacharis which is growing pretty fast). should i be adding more leaf zone, or another fert? should i add more when i add the other plants?

2. i have two penguin 350 biowheel filters on my tank at the moment, i know its way to much filtration, but i had one and was seeding one for my friends tank i noticed how clear it made mine so i bought another one for myself. i know in the sticky about filtration it said to keep below a 5x turnover will this much filtration be an issue on a low light setup? the sticky also said not to use carbon, but the filters replacment already have the carbon in them, will this be an issue? is there another filter cartridge i could by or make? in the future im thinking of selling both and getting a canister filter so this probably wont be a long term issue.

3. i do regular 15% water changes once a week. it has been one week sense i proformed one and i have a nitrate level of 10 ppm. what level should you aim for with a low light planted tank?

4. what kind of supplies/tests would you recomend purchasing?

if you made it this far thank you for looking.

 

[rich311k]

The brown tips sounds like potassium, to me. You may want to dose 10 ppm twice a week and see how your plants respond. With your lighting you shouldn't have to do much more than that.

 

[frostby]

Leaf Zone is mostly potassium and iron right? I"m having similar issues, would it be best to double up on dosage - and would this cause too much iron?

 

[jcarlilesiu]

How long have the plants been in the tank? Plants will take a little time to get going. When I first plant, or replant for that matter, even in a med/high light tank, i get significant die off until the plants take hold again. during this time, extra nutrients cause fuzz algae. This same condition can happen if you don't have enough plants in the tank to uptake the nutrients in the water column or substrate.

A low light tank many times will look like its just sitting there, with little to no growth. Snap a picture though and look at it again in a couple months, you will see growth then.

 

[rich311k]

I wouldn't double up on the leaf zone. You may want to cut back to once every two weeks. That could be causing your problems. All those extra nutrients can be causing your algae problems. You can go to the grocery store and get yourself sone No-salt which is KCL and add little of that once or twice a week and see if it helps.