Need Aquascaping Guidance

[Jallen]

So my planted tank currently has a lack of organisation and I don't really feel happy with how it looks.

I've looked at some aquascaping and I think I want one of the D shaped clearing designs like this:

Which I found in this thread.
Where it is planted either side with wood. A lot less bushy because I'm using a 20W bulb on my 95 litre tank and I'm not using CO2.

Tank dimensions: 80x30x40

My first question is to do with filters, airstones and heaters.
I have an elite Jet-Flo 100 filter with a 15" spray bar, a 12" airstone and a reasonably big heater (which I have read should be positioned diagonally).
Can plants be positioned so they are touching heaters? Is it alright to have plants really close to the filter? Will the bubbles from an airstone do damage to plants over time if the leaves of the plants are in the path of the bubbles? (I'm thinking of getting a 6" airstone to go next to the filter, out of the way of everything).

Here is a picture of my filter.

And my heater:

My next question is about my vallis - they look like they are dying but they are still producing new shoots which are growing away from the plant.

What do you think? Should I be doing anything?

Thanks.

 

[bagu]

hey

you could try what he has done. ill give it a shot at telling you on how i would try to do it.

get some nice big plants for the back; Vallis and amazon sword. then come forward with smaller kinds like java fern anubias

it isn't that hard imo. Go to your LFS or a few and take a look at some really nice big plants =]

 

[Jallen]

hey

you could try what he has done. ill give it a shot at telling you on how i would try to do it.

get some nice big plants for the back; Vallis and amazon sword. then come forward with smaller kinds like java fern anubias

it isn't that hard imo. Go to your LFS or a few and take a look at some really nice big plants =]

Alright cool, I made some changes given the plants that I've got and I'm ready to add some java ferns. on the bit of wood on the right.

I completely forgot about planting the Vallis with the padding stuff still on them, I unwrapped them and planted the shoots individually as you can see on the left (I didn't even know the shoots were so small and separate - It was awesome to see the structure was different to the cryptos clump roots). I put the anubis on a different, longer bit of wood (the bit I will be adding java ferns to) and moved the cryptos around, and I am much happier with the appearance now.

Remember it will be all nice and bushy when it's finished

And the replanted Vallis