Sorry, forgot to mention it's a 20 gallon. I added all that stuff at the same time pretty much. Admittedly, I did an idiotic thing though--I cleaned my filter and the impeller and fan, probably getting rid of much of the bacteria that had grown. Basically, i figure my tank is now also cycling, and with massive ammonia spikes over the last couple weeks (despite a couple pwcs) both of my fish (oscar and pleco) got sick. Yes, I know, those are bad fish for a 20 gallon. The pleco has definitely grown to about 6 inches, and it's been time to give him back to the lfs, and I'm gonna do the same for the oscar, who isn't huge yet, but it's almost time.
The water is pea soup, with about 3-4 inches of visibility.
I don't have a kit to test phosphate levels, but I guess now that I have plants I'd better get one.
I have been adding what the bottles claim to be appropriate amounts of macro and micro nutrient fertilizers.
I tried keeping it dark for three days until today, to little effect. I didn't do the water change, however. I'll do that tonight.