Planted Tank - Rear Plants

[Craster]

I have a 4' tank that I've just finished the initial planting on and have started cycling for fish. I am going for a low-med light setup, dosing TPN+ and EasyCarbo with a substrate of TetraComplete topped with Eco Complete. I am very happy with how everything looks at the moment, except for the centre middle.

Because I have quite a thin layer of 'plantable' substrate at the back in the center, it's tricky working out how to plant it to get decent coverage. I've got the one Aponogeton at the centre that will need to come out, as it looks pretty awful and didn't really survive transit. Can I have any suggestions for suitable plants at the back there?

Thanks.

 

[Smoothy]

Amazon Sword?
Narrow Leaf Java Fern attached to some Bogwood?

Tank looks very nice by the way

 

[stang1]

As Smoothy said, Amazon Swords would look great at the back of the tank.
I also found Hygrophila Guanensis to be a fast growing plant and it looks good too.
Great looking tank by the way!

 

[Craster]

Thanks folks - I've got a number of swords in there already, and I'm not sure they fill in the middle-height enough for that space at the back. I'll check out the Hygro and try a few things with some ferns.

 

[Rlon35]

I like the tank. I think the rocks in the foreground, with the moss, should be increased in number and moved. You can move these rocks to the borders between the sand and the ecocomplete. A thin piece of driftwood, with riccia attached, would add to the border coverage. You could also leave this piece of driftwood plain. I too would go with some narrowleaf java fern on one of the other pieces of wood. Just started using this plant, and it is special. So, I'd cover up the borders, and in the bare sand foreground, I'd plant four patches of downoi nor something similar. That would look really good, but the tank looks good already IMO.

 

[Craster]

The rocks aren't actually 'scaped' yet - I just dropped them in the tank when they arrived. Thanks for the other suggestions, and the nice comments!

 

[Craster]

One other quick question - the tank has 4x30W T8 tubes, it's around 100G so that makes it about 1.2WPG. I'm OK with that as I have nothing particularly light-demanding in there. My worry though is that the tank is quite deep for a 4' - it's 70cm. Will I have issues with that amount of light penetrating to the low-growing plants at the bottom of the tank?

Thanks.

 

[Rlon35]

One other quick question - the tank has 4x30W T8 tubes, it's around 100G so that makes it about 1.2WPG. I'm OK with that as I have nothing particularly light-demanding in there. My worry though is that the tank is quite deep for a 4' - it's 70cm. Will I have issues with that amount of light penetrating to the low-growing plants at the bottom of the tank?

Thanks.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I hate that darn metrix system...confuses me, so I need to think in inches. That's slightly more than 27 inches, which is the depth of the tank I am setting up. Now, keep in mind that I am not the expert that others are here. I have 1 watt per with T8s on a 90 gallon tank. I added reflectors to them, and although it is not up and running yet, I think I'll be fine (I would make sure you have reflectors to help penetrate and cover larger area). Perhaps you'd have challenges growing glosso, hairgrass, and/or microsword, along with many 'red plants', but you should be OK in general. Again, trying to reassure, but I defer to the experts on here.

In my new tank, I am planning on using anubias, crypts, ferns, mosses, swords, etc., so I won't have a problem. I was suggesting that you use downoi in the sand foregroundbecause it is so attractive, but I don't have experience with it...yet . My whole foreground will be white play sand, over flourite that is heavy toward the rear of the tank and yielding towards the front. I was looking for an attractive, small plant that can spot the foreground sand and thrive in it. Maybe someone out there has suggestions for each of us. I originally thought you were going to leave the moss covered rocks where they were, which is surprising due to the fact that the layout tells me you are better at this hobby than I am. But, when you move the rocks and add to the border, do you intend to leave the sand foreground clear or add some small foreground plants to it as highlights? I'd love to see pictures when you are finished.

 

[Craster]

I want to leave the sand fairly clear - mainly because it's there as a 'sandpit' for the large group of cories that'll be going in there when it's fully cycled. I might break it up a little bit with one or two non-spreading plants, we'll see.

I'll definitely post pictures when it's 'done'.