First Shot At A Planted Tank

[P&J]

I've sloooooowly been adding live plants to my tank, and I finally have something that resembles a planted tank.

Here's what it looked like in June 2009. Don't the plants looks so healthy?

Sometime in 2011, I started adding real plants, and hair algae took over. Here we are in December 2011. The hair algae is on the way out in this pic. Seriously.

And here we are in March 2012.

Hair algae is all gone, plants growing well. The floating plants aren't quite as brown as they seem in the pic. Next, I want to add something tall and bushy behind the vertical wood on the left. Any suggestions? I was thinking Hygrophila polysperma, then found out you can't get it in the US. The tank is low tech for sure; no CO2, not sure about my lights.

Some closeups (yeah, I need to clean the glass...):

Btw, can anyone ID those small plants in front of the wood?

So that's where it stands after months of slow evolution. It's amazing to me seeing the before and after--the change was so gradual, I didn't realize how stark it was. I'll post more as I add new plants, or as these evolve. Thanks for looking!

-P

 

[Biulu]

Well done! The plants in the front look like sagittaria to me, probably the dwarf variant.

Suggestions for the back: what about H. corymbosa? It is the asian brother of the polysperma and they grow well under moderate/low lighting.

 

[P&J]

Thanks Biulu! The H.corymbosa looks great, I might have to find some of that. Also considering just planting some of the floating stems, which I think are hornwort.

 

[LucyB]

It looks really nice!

 

[P&J]

Thank you!

 

[P&J]

A quick update! Pics are two weeks since the last set.

I haven't been out to shop for new plants, but I did plant some of the floating stems I have (hornwort?) in the back left corner. I like how it looks by itself, but I'm not sure I like it next to the other stems behind the wood. Maybe when those fill out some more? As they reach the top, I'm trimming and replanting to make it more dense.

I also divided one of the small foreground plants into three, replanted one where the original was and the other two on either side of the wood cave.

Full:

Left:

Right:

-P

 

[Biulu]

I think you don't like the hornwort where it is as it is next to the cabomba which is a similar type plant. Do you still have space on the right hand side behind the swords? If so, why don't you plant it there? I think it will do more justice to both the hornwort and the cabomba.

 

[P&J]

Now I'm a little confused, lol. Which one are you calling hornwort and which cabomba? I thought the one on the far left was one or the other, and the stems behind the wood were something else entirely, like elodea maybe.

Either way, I hadn't thought of planting tall stems on the right, mostly because I kind if like the slope effect, with the overall scape rather short over there. If I go for it though, what would you do with the back center? Tall plants there, too, or keep it low?

-P

 

[Biulu]

Sorry, the one in the middle is Egeria densa and yes, the one you recently planted is hornwort (Cabomba looks quite similar). If you leave an open spot at 2/3 of the back, you can create more depth, and it might be like a path leading into the distance. You will have to adapt the rest of your scape to that, though. Try to group the wood at the left hand side, and the rocks more to the right. Like you have 2 istlands, but making the path run from the front left to the back right.

 

[P&J]

Interesting, thanks! I might just remove the small piece of wood in the center-right. It was for my bristlenose, but he never went in and is probably too big now anyway. How bad is it to uproot swords to move them forward a bit? I was surprised with the extent of the roots under the smaller plants, I can't imagine what the sword roots are like now.

-P

 

[FishFanatic04]

Everything looks so green and healthy I'm especially jealous of your Egeria densa {I always call it anacharis} Its so tall and looks nice and green. I have a hard time keeping mine healthy.

 

[Biulu]

Interesting, thanks! I might just remove the small piece of wood in the center-right. It was for my bristlenose, but he never went in and is probably too big now anyway. How bad is it to uproot swords to move them forward a bit? I was surprised with the extent of the roots under the smaller plants, I can't imagine what the sword roots are like now.

-P

It is not bad; just be prepared for cloudy water as the roots will be huge! Before replanting, cut them off at a reasonable length.

 

[P&J]

Everything looks so green and healthy I'm especially jealous of your Egeria densa {I always call it anacharis} Its so tall and looks nice and green. I have a hard time keeping mine healthy.

Thanks! I'm either lucky or have fancy tap water

 

[ian]

looking very healthy and nice layout, well done!

 

[P&J]

looking very healthy and nice layout, well done!

Thank you!