Need plant suggestions, and bit of an advice...

[Jinx_]

I don't even know what I want...

I just need to fill out this back hole here in between if the water sprite and amazon sword:

And the hole of the mid-background, something behind the wall of helanthium "seedlings":

Would love a red plant that would thrive in hard alkaline water with no CO2 supplements. Probably impossible since they seem to absolutely need soft water and CO2..

I do have my eyes on cryptocoryne crispatula, limnophila sessiliflora. Mostly my issue is, I don't even know how to trim my plants

And need bit of an advice regarding light. How bright should my light ideally be?
I'm using Fluval Aquasky 2.0, and this is how I have it set up:

My plants are:

- Hygrophila polysperma
- Cryptocoryne beckettii
- Cryptocoryne undulatus (I think that's how it's called)
- Java moss
- Giant vallis
- Amazon sword (bleheri)
- Water sprite
- Moss balls
- Bucephalandra wavy green
- Helanthium tenellum green & h.quadricostatus

How intense should the light be for them, and how bright should all be the RGBW?

 

[MattW]

Would love a red plant that would thrive in hard alkaline water with no CO2 supplements. Probably impossible since they seem to absolutely need soft water and CO2..

Ludwigia repens 'rubin' could be possible. I never had good luck with true red plants. I do have Ludwigia repens that has pink/red under leaves, which does well under high light.

As for gap fillers. L.sessiliflora is a good option. I love using Pogostemon Q. 'Octopus' to fill gaps. @CassCats helped me with picking plants. I bet Cass has a much better idea of what to choose over me!

 

[seangee]

What are your tank / light dimensions. I have the same light and on the auto settings I set everything at 40-50%, I have 40 now but on custom settings, pretty sure I started at 50 and dropped to 15 when I used it on auto. My tank is 40cm high and 1m wide.

For the stemmed plants (l.sessiflora, hydrophilia etc) when they get too tall cut off the tops, pull out the roots and replant the tops. If you want them to bush out just cut off the tops (optionally plant the cuttings if you want more. These only need liquid ferts such as TNC lite. For the crypts and swords you should use root tabs as these are heavy root feeders.

The red in mine is alternanthera rosaefoli but I do have very soft water. I have also removed it from this tank as the leaves are too delicate to cope with the attentions of my bristlenose

 

[seangee]

Same tank a couple of weeks ago before its recent big trim. I haven't bought any new plants for years. Previous pic was around 3 months earlier - with several trims in between.

 

[Jinx_]

Ludwigia repens 'rubin' could be possible. I never had good luck with true red plants. I do have Ludwigia repens that has pink/red under leaves, which does well under high light.

As for gap fillers. L.sessiliflora is a good option. I love using Pogostemon Q. 'Octopus' to fill gaps. @CassCats helped me with picking plants. I bet Cass has a much better idea of what to choose over me!

Ooo, I do like the ludwigia! I'll see if I can get a potted one. Hopefully it won't die on me

I was looking at p.stellatus but it seems to need CO2 unfortunately

What are your tank / light dimensions. I have the same light and on the auto settings I set everything at 40-50%, I have 40 now but on custom settings, pretty sure I started at 50 and dropped to 15 when I used it on auto. My tank is 40cm high and 1m wide.

For the stemmed plants (l.sessiflora, hydrophilia etc) when they get too tall cut off the tops, pull out the roots and replant the tops. If you want them to bush out just cut off the tops (optionally plant the cuttings if you want more. These only need liquid ferts such as TNC lite. For the crypts and swords you should use root tabs as these are heavy root feeders.

The red in mine is alternanthera rosaefoli but I do have very soft water. I have also removed it from this tank as the leaves are too delicate to cope with the attentions of my bristlenose

My tank's a 60L Dennerle Cube. Dimensions are (LxWxH): 380mm x 380mm x 430mm.
Asking about the light cause I'm wondering if it has any effect on plants, or it just doesn't matter.

Thank you for the trimming tips
My tank has a tospoil layer, amazon sword and crypts are loving their lives. The sword has had bit of a "shed" when it comes to leaves, but that's perfectly normal. Especially that it grew few new leaves since putting shrimps in the tank.

Alternantheras look really nice, but I don't think they'd fare well for me

 

[MattW]

Ooo, I do like the ludwigia! I'll see if I can get a potted one. Hopefully it won't die on me

They are great-looking plants. Probably won't be very useful, but I use this eBay seller a lot for plants. They don't have as big a range of plants as other sellers, but the quality of cuttings I have received has always been great, + the plants are grown close to In-Vitro conditions as possible. That's what makes the price a bit more expensive.

Another plant that can get somewhat reddish/purple is Rotala. I've had H'ra and Rotundfolia do well in my tanks previously. I am actually thinking of buying some to give my tank a bit of colour. CO2 will give the plants the best colour, but a pink look can be achieved with just high lighting IME.

 

[Jinx_]

They are great-looking plants. Probably won't be very useful, but I use this eBay seller a lot for plants. They don't have as big a range of plants as other sellers, but the quality of cuttings I have received has always been great, + the plants are grown close to In-Vitro conditions as possible. That's what makes the price a bit more expensive.

Another plant that can get somewhat reddish/purple is Rotala. I've had H'ra and Rotundfolia do well in my tanks previously. I am actually thinking of buying some to give my tank a bit of colour. CO2 will give the plants the best colour, but a pink look can be achieved with just high lighting IME.

I've seen that seller around, but I mostly keep to Tropica's potted and 1-2 Grow pot plants. Or potted plants at the very least, I found these do very well for me. But I'll get the ludwigia from that seller and see how it goes for me

I think I'll also go for the rotala, and see how that one goes for me. Then the l.sessiliflora for the back and might as well leave it at that.

 

[fishorama]

I'm trying a newer plant samolus parviflorus (but really likely Lysimachia cf. parvifolia). It gets red/pink leaves tending toward green/pink without enough ferts. It's a stem plant that stays low in a dwarf sword-like way. I don't use co2 & my lights are med-lowish. I'm not sure how common it is in the hobby but if you can find it, it might work for you. I'm liking it a lot after a year or so. It's bushy but only ~2 inches tall

I've tried alternanthera without long term success. My water is pretty soft, my lighting might be an issue too. If you try it, I wish you luck, it's a pretty plant.