Redid my Tank

[Angry_Platy]

I finally decided to put the lilaeopsis I ordered last week in my tank. Its been sitting in a bucket of water since Wednesday. While I was at it I removed some plants and added some new ones....new plants are Blue Stricta, Foxtail and Ludwigia. I removed the Baby Tears (was looking sick) some sword plants and moved a few others.

BEFORE

AFTER

Close up of my last remaining sword plant. I kept this one as it is in a shadier area of the tank and was the only sword without algae on it. It grows a little slower than the other swords did but looks a lot healthier.

Close up of my water cabbage/samolus plant. They are apparently really demanding plants and I was planning on ditching it when I did the rearrange. When I took it out I saw a lot of new growth so took all the dead leaves off and now it is looking great. I must be doing something right

Close up of my anubias attached to driftwood. This is also in a lower light area of the tank. It is starting to flower so I am happy. It has no algae growing on its leaves (which apparently it is notorious for) so I am happy At the front of the photo is my Didiplis diandra...the spiky green looking one. It was looking a bit sick but now looks great The black thing behind the anubias is Eichhornia diversifolia. I bought it through EBAY and it arrived ALL black Since I put it in the tank the new growth is green so I think its gonna be OK.....as soon as there is enough green I will replant the green stuff and ditch the black....

And finally, my lilaeopsis. I got so much of this that I could have put it in the tank and it would have been a carpet. Then I read that algae can grow easily on it so I separated it out and planted little clumps. Probably not as little as I should have but it wa a pain doing it this way as it was. I am hoping with my high light, CO2 and fertilising regime that it will take off quickly and make ne a nice, short, lush carpet!!! (now thats geeky planted tank talk if I ever heard it).....

 

[Ethos]

 

[Lenna]

Do you know what type of sword you have? It's just that I have the exact same one but I don't know what kind it is because I bought it from a place with no labels. BTW the tank looks really nice.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Ive seen these pics somewhere before! Still good to look at though.

 

[Angry_Platy]

Most pics were taken today miagi

The sword is Amazon Sword I assume.....

 

[Ben]

Looks awesome
Well done chook

DD

 

[Angel Lady]

I love it I think it looks great before and after myself. The after pictures are much better, But I like the before pictures also. Great tank. And Great Pictures/

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

its looking a lot better
i love the sword. i used to have one just like that for just over a year. but it withered away and died and i havent been able to find another one like it since

also in the forth pic whats the furry looking grassy plant growing on the bogwood?

ive been inspired to go buy more plants

 

[Angry_Platy]

Th furry plant on the bogwood in the 4th pic (which isn't actually bogwood, it is a ceramic log ) is riccia. It is precariously tied down with hair net at the moment

Thanks for the compliments peeps

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

(which isn't actually bogwood, it is a ceramic log )

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well its convincing then isnt it

 

[zig]

It looks great AP, i dont think your out of focus pics always do your tank justice, although the closeups are nice and sharp and you can see everything looks very healthy indeed, as soon as i get a decent digicam (old one is bust) im going to do a guide on how to plant hairgrass properly, and if you think that was a pain wait until you see how it should be done

Your anubia is in the right spot, if you keep it shaded it will help it to avoid spot algae (along with dosing phosphate) the lilaeopsis is prone to this as well but having said that mine doesnt have any and it gets direct light.

I think the tank needs to grow out a bit more to give it a more natural look, it still looks very recently planted and ordered but its certainly on the right track and i will be interested to see pictures of it in a few weeks

The right back may get a bit overcrowded as the tank grows in a bit, also the plant directly behind the sword type plant is probably to high IMO, something a bit lower may balance the setup a bit better.

When you get the pressurised co2 you may notice some of the stem plants in particular will grow more compact leaves as they will be getting consistent co2 levels.

Other than that i think its a major transformation in a short period into a tank that has the potiential to look even better than it does now.

Ow yeah and i prefer the new setup its much better when the grass grows in it will look better still, well done.

I dont know what the sword is, i thought when i seen it first it was a species of echinodorus maybe gf will know.

Last thing.......what are the things hanging from the front of the tank.....are they breeding nets or something.

 

[Angry_Platy]

Plant behind the sword plant? Are you referring to my green sword plant or my red sword plant. There is nothing behind the green sword plant however it has mayaca to its right and the red sword has blue stricta and foxtail next to it.

As for my blurry photos, they were taken without flash with a tripod.....I think the water spots on the glass may be affecting the quality of the shots mroe than anything.

And yeah, the things at the front of the tank are breeding nets filled wi th platy, swordy and guppy fry (soon to be moved).

As for the tank growing out, the photos seen here are on pruning/water change day.....I tend to overprune as my plants grow so quick

I can't wait till the lilaeopsis fills out

Thanks for the constructive comments zig.

 

[jimbooo]

that looks beautiful AP, what a difference. the sword looks healthier than mine now, time to pull my finger out and start EI i think.

the riccia looks really bright as well i bet your fish have found a new lease of life since the rebuild.

 

[red-devil0602]

looking good ap keep us updated as the plants settle in