Tank Re-do Needed!

[goin_all_out]

currently i have a 20 gallon "tall tall" tank. its in all descriptiveness two ten gallons stacked ontop of each other. the dimensions are 10x20x22. the current set up is posted below. please ignore the algea infestation i have, all will be explained later.

my paint program of what its like lol

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the driftwood is in the middle of the tank. my original thought was to fill in the center part of the tank and have the java fern.(windety or what ever.) growing on the driftwood to fill in the top, with nana around the base to fill in the bottom. in the back left corner is a amazon sword. and just in front is some kind of crypt (name escapes me.)

current occupants are 4 cardinal tetras and one lyretail swordtail (female). i moved, lost some fish, and was very close to tearing down the tank to get another gecko! but then i realised that it wasn't the tank i was fed up with just how it looked. i know i would like to take the driftwood out. maybe replace the bottem with sand and get some corries. more cardinals are also on the list. i also plan on getting some ottos, and maybe some amano shrimp.

as for plants i want to keep the sword, and maybe one or two nanas. the crypt would be great to keep but im having a ton of trouble getting it to grow. mostly cause i moved it just as it started to settle in. one thing i would be looking for is a fast growing plant that grows tall, but isnt going to over run my tank too fast. if that is even possible.

seeing that the base of the tank is so small and it is so tall drawing up ideas is proving very difficult for me. if anyone has any input i would love it. names of plants would be great, as i love researching things before i go about getting them. even pictures of your own tanks would help me gather ideas.

also i want to upgrade my lighting from the two 14" lights to two 24" tubes that would sit 8 inches above the tank. i have one fixture sitting around doing nothing, and id purchase another one later on. my question is if 8" is to far away from the tank? would the light do what its supposed to do that far away from the tank?

thanks in advance, i know this is a challenge, nothing i like more!

 

[goin_all_out]

oh come now, no one has anything?! not one idea?

 

[rdd1952]

Hygrophilia meets one of your criteria but not the other. It is very fast growing but unless you keep it pruned, it will indeed overrun your tank. You might also try anacharis, wisteria or val grass. All grow relatively quickly and tall but shouldn't take over your tank as long as you prune regularly.

As a side note, if you think you might have to order plants, I have ordered plants from the site I linked to twice and been very satisfied with both the service and the plants. I'm not certian if they will ship to Canada or not though.

 

[Biulu]

I don't think it looks bad at all, but understand that you might want a chance after a while. The advantage of the wood is that you are able to create layers on which you can grow different plants.

Apart from the Vallis, you can also use sagittarias, they can also get pretty big. Rotala is similar to Hygrophila in that it grows fast and long, but will take over your tank if you do not prune.

Why don't you have a look at the tropica site for plants you like: www.tropica.com. All the plants come with a picture and a description.

 

[goin_all_out]

its not the look i thought i would get really. or maybe im just out for a change i dunno. i wanna lean more towards a natural setup i think. also part of my original intent wasnt to fill the center but the back instead. but those pieces of wood are mounted on pieces of slate and im not sure if they would sink with out them.

 

[rdd1952]

It depends on how long the wood has been in the tank. It may still stay submerged without the slate but there's no way to know except to try.

 

[goin_all_out]

a year, think thats long enough?

 

[rdd1952]

It's really hard to say but it definitely should be waterlogged and stay submerged after that long.