Why are my plants turning white?

[steven45]

I've had my tank for a year now and I'm stumped - my plants have been turning white over the past couple months. I just started using Easy Green a couple weeks ago, before that it was Fluval Gro+, which only had micronutrients. Not sure if that's the issue or something else entirely.

[coltin]

Can we get a pic of the plants from the front of the tank?

What type of plants are you working with here?

It's possible they were grown above water and have terrestrial leaves. When submerged, they might be shedding those old leaves and growing new aquatic ones, using up the nutrients in the process.

[FishArch]

The Java fern on the right seems fine to me. I'd double-check that all your plants are actually aquatic, as they might have been grown above water at the nursery, which is pretty common. Like @Colin-T said, they could be adjusting now that they're submerged.

[TankWarrior]

It seems like something's missing for the plants. Could be the water chemistry's off, or maybe they need a CO2 boost or some other nutrient. Plants require nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to thrive. Lighting's also crucial - low-light plants are fine with what the fish provide and 3 watts per gallon, but more demanding ones like anubias will benefit from CO2 and stronger lighting, around 4-5 watts per gallon. Research the specific needs of your plants to figure out what's lacking.