Plants Dissolving

OK, I am stumped here. I was originally maintaining a 37gal before the seals failed leaving me with an empty tank and very wet floor. I transferred two cory's, a pleco and all of my plants to a 5gal "aquarium-only" bucket and ran a small heater and filter for a day while I purchased a new 55gal tank. I transferred the original substrate (20lbs.Eco-Complete) to the new tank and added another 20lbs to compensate for the larger footprint (probably still need another 20). Filled tank and ran for a day before putting plants back in. I rested my 30" Planted+ 24/7 on the versatops while the new 48" version was on its way. I've since added a few more plants.

My swords used to spawn new plantable, rooted sprigs and my bananas would shoot pads to the surface within 24hrs!. With the 55 setup, my plants are literally falling apart, losing leaves or dissolving! I am doing everything the same. Same lighting (and the 37gal was taller!), same dosing of Flourish and Flourish Iron, neither tank was dosed with CO2. The original 37 had a QuietFlow30 HOB, which I transferred to preserve bacteria while adding another HOB, a QuietFlow50. I've just added Flourish Root Tabs within the last 2 or 3 days. See picture - not sure if these will be salvageable, or if I should start gutting and starting all over My API tested water params have always been spot on and steady throughout - pH: 6.8, NH3:0, NO2-:0, NO3-:5, Temp:79

 

Is the pH the same as it was in the old tank?

Sometimes plants need time to adjust to new parameters or from being moved. Give them a week or two and they may perk up on their own.

 

Yes, I have a huge piece of driftwood that keeps the pH in check pretty nicely. Adds some tannins, but I like the look. Can Purigen or the AC in the filters be removing my nutrients?

 

Not sure about the filters removing nutrients, but it sounds to me like your plants are in shock. When you move your plants around like that they need time to adjust, its happened to me too. I agree with the post above, they should come back in a week or two. I would trim dead leaves and wait

 

Those just take out impurities. They shouldn't be impacting your plants.

Over time, driftwood lowers pH, especially if it's a big piece like that one. The pH in your original tank may be lower than the tap water pH. Not much you can do about it, though.