Tips/Help on Jungle Val growing and not looking good

I recently upgraded my existing tank containing gravel and jungle val to a new one - I did keep all the existing substrate but just added more new gravel substrate for the size. I'm trying to figure out why my jungle val looks like this and isn't growing great - is it still adjusting to the new tank I upgraded about a month ago? Should I be doing something else to help besides my current routine below? Given this is low tech and not looking to set up CO2 or dirt gravel additions.

I do once weekly liquid fert, aquarium coop root tabs about twice a month, light is running about 12 hours on lowest 25% setting.
Levels are normal with 0 amm/nitrite and usually around 10-15ppm nitrate.

I'm not a Val expert, but I can relay my experience with it.
I didn't grow Val with root tabs. I just used water column ferts. But good ones, not Aquarium Coop . I used NilocG.
Inert substrate. 8 hours of light, but at a higher intensity.
I swapped out substrate in my aquarium in March. I went from aquarium gravel to black diamond blasting sand.
Val in April


Val in July

I didn't have any melt when I swapped substrate, but when I originally planted it in March 2025 I had significant melt and it took a couple of months for it to come back.
What's your water paramaters like? I've read Val likena bit harder water and that seems to jive with my experience as I my water runs around 6°GH.

What's your water paramaters like? I've read Val likena bit harder water

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I do have harder water in my area - I don't know the exact metrics but I know it's harder not soft water.

I didn't grow Val with root tabs. I just used water column ferts.

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Interesting did you find water column ferts better even though they are planted with roots into the substrate? I would have thought dosing more root tabs in the gravel would help nutrients since they wouldn't be pulling as much from the water.

I used NilocG.

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I've seen this brand in passing - do you have a link to the kind you use?

Interesting did you find water column ferts better even though they are planted with roots into the substrate? I would have thought dosing more root tabs in the gravel would help nutrients since they wouldn't be pulling as much from the water.

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I quit using root tabs altogether after using them and getting green water. The problem with root tabs, especially in gravel, is the fertilizer will leach out into the water. So I went to strictly water column ferts.

I've seen this brand in passing - do you have a link to the kind you use?

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NA EI BASED DIY DRY TO LIQUID FERTILIZER SET – NilocG NA EI BASED DIY DRY TO LIQUID FERTILIZER SET

I think the plants are getting used to their new environment.

I think the plants are getting used to their new environment.

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I think this is likely too. One month isn't all that long for plants to adjust...especially in a low light, no added CO2 tank.

Give them some time.

I have been having troubles with Val also. About 9 months ago was able to pick up about a 5 gal bucket full of Val very cheap, owner had a tank leak and was just wanting to get rid of it. He had Val in most of his other tanks, it was 2' tall. He was using gravel for a substrate and Aquarium Coop liquid freterlizer.

I place the Val in my Walstead tank (just set up) 1" potting soil, compost, and a bunch of ferts tabs broken up with a 2" sand cap (Father Fish method). The Val initally sent out numberious runners, but then died back to 2" or less in height. I have tried various light level, amount of liquid ferts, root tabs (Seachem), nothing really works. I was running lighting 2, 4 hrs cycles ( 4' LED strip light) tank 70G. Have changed to a Hugger full light LED with 24 hour cycle (12 hours on, 12 off). Green algea started taking over the tank. Have reduced liquid frets levels initally then stopped all togather. Green algea seams under control.

Was advised when Val has high level of light available will not grow to high, have to have lower light levels for it to grow to top of the tank. As I have basically had poor experence with this plant cannot confirm or denigh. What has grown well for me is plants that take their nutrients from the water column. Anubious has done very well. Guppy grass and Hogswork basically grow like weeds in the tank. The only substrate plant that has done well for me is Cripts (pruchased as Aquarium Coop). They have done well with root tabs. Got a Amazon sword from them also, it really has not grown much...but still alive.

I believe Aquarium Coop is a good place to souce aquraium products and plants, a lot of this hobby requires experence. I hope you Val adjusts to your tank and grows well and tall.

Rusty_Shackleford vals look more like vallisneria spiralis on the left and vallisneria torta (corkscew) on the right then vallisneria americana (which is normally sold as jungle val); its been a while since i've grown jungle val explicity but it grew slowly in my tap water. which is on the harder side of soft - if i remember correctly it is a bit more sensitive to heat then some of the other species so you want to keep it in the 70s; excel will kill it pretty quickly so don't use excel (or similar 'bottle co2' products); and it grows fine in inert substrate.

You are correct, V.spiralis and V. torta.
Also I will add Hydrogen peroxide will make it melt.

I had a 55 gallon tank that was a jungle of vals when I had hard water, TDS 380+. When I started mixing tap and RO filtered water to cut that in half, the vals melted away over a period of six months.

Our jungle val did that when we first planted it. All the leaves it came with died off over time. However, new ones grew out as the old ones died. Is yours doing that?

I also found that it likes plenty of light, and not too much fertilizer. When we added our fish, all the plants exploded in health, and I stopped all fertilizing, both root tabs and liquid.

Idk if this helps, but we have very hard water, and the tank is unheated and hovers around 76 in summer. We have yet to get through a winter.

Most plants will 'melt' if growing conditions change but that does not mean it died - however it can take months to recover.

When i grew it - i had relatively soft tap water at 130 tds (gh 6 kh 3).

One thing that comes with the replant rather than with the new tank: how deep the crowns are sitting. Val rots off if the pale collar where the leaves meet the roots ends up under the gravel. Roots go under, crown stays on top of it.

Adding new gravel on top of the old bed is how they get buried without anyone deciding to bury them. Worth pushing a finger down to one and checking before you change anything else.

Well I have extremely soft water and my vals grow tall and multiply, I seem to remember they were a bit slow to take off and grow initially, but once they got going there was no stopping them. I’ve used them in several tanks and given and thrown loads away too over the years. I haven’t ever used root tabs but did use to use liquid fertilizer sometimes. I’ve not used any for ages though, just once in a while a little potassium. The substrate is sand…it always puzzles me when people say they need hard water…and they seem to grow both in low and fairly bright light, for me one of the easiest plants.