120 Gallon ADA "like", ditched, Dutch style with lots of color instead

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by @marko@

man i wish my r. macrandra would look like that.

Just the long tops pruned way down.

It'll look like my older Mac in the prior pics, but I will trim it down more and make the row wider some, deflect with some wood perhaps.

We will see.

I will narrow the upper part and add downoi in a wider path in the front, narrowing towards the rear.
Likely will mow some of the UG on the Right side and replace with Elatine once again.
I did not think the UG would do well on that side, but it really has.

[theblondskeleton]

Tom, I love how every time I poke in here you have something new going on. Just a beautiful tank. Thanks for sharing with us!

[The Dude]

Absolutely stunning. You have tremendous talent.

[HybridHerp]

Originally Posted by plantbrain

There's actually a lot of fish, but they do not come out for the pictures

I am still waiting for some fish I ordered.

I tried blue fish, NG rainbows, they blended in too much.
Red fish tend to look good/better really. I also had blue tetras, but they are mean.

I've tried quite a few, the rummy nose looked the best, but trash the UG and shrimp.

Wasn't expecting any fish to bug the UG. What fish are you currently keeping in there, and I guess what shrimp as well? But the blue fish blended in with green and red? That's interesting actually.

[plantbrain]

Yes, the blue fish did not contrast well.

Silver is actually a pretty good color mix in this bright coloration of plants.

Sort of an opposite impact effect, the bland reflection colors off set the bright color.

[HybridHerp]

Originally Posted by plantbrain

Yes, the blue fish did not contrast well.

Silver is actually a pretty good color mix in this bright coloration of plants.

Sort of an opposite impact effect, the bland reflection colors off set the bright color.

Hrmmm, silver eh? That would work if I could get some larger silver tetras into my tank in a way that wouldn't break the bank.

[AdamF]

Wow dude - Ok, thats a new bench mark for me, and my perspective on what you can do with a planted tank.

Just getting that UG to behave itself in such a manicured fashion, is, in itself, a reflection of the time you inject into this beauty! Let a,one the rest.

Respect, all the way from Australia !!!

[plantbrain]

I'm mowing some of the UG today.

[plantbrain]

The UG has piled up and grown more aggressively than in the past. As such, it's not really a foreground plant for a long time frame nor is easy to keep that way in this tank.

I'll keep the bigger pile in the front middle section and then return to more group style with multiple species rather than a single foreground type.

It was well worth a try though with the UG. the problem side has always been the Left. I have Rotala macrandra there now, it'll grows very nice there, but it's a high current region, so it'll be all over the place. I'll move it to the rear behind the main tree trunk.

Some options for the last red row: Rotala butterfly, there's some at the end of the row , about 4 stems. Not sure if it'll do favorably in the row however.
Rotala sunset, I have some growing in another tank, problem: it does not like to be transplanted often which is required by this tank and the row in question. I can do it, but it's more work than it should be. Return the Lud sphaerocarpa back to that location. It does okay but is a pale red, I wanted something more intense. L peruensis does well,m but is very common etc and has the same color as the L. red next to it. I have L arcuata, but it's too spindly. L inclinata was okay, but gets ratty and grows too fast.

The search for the plant that goes there continues.









Some changes are afoot:

[jonathan]

So beautiful. Amazing contrasting colors. I think its definitely hard to replace the UG there because that spot looks like it demands small leaves. Choices are a lot smaller. I personally prefer white anubias in that spot because you could make a very dense population with that plant. Erio seems more limiting and it would be less striking next to that long leaf plant that already shows so much substrate. Just my very humble opinion.

I really want to try UG. I'm almost but not quite setup for it yet. Almost ...

[plantbrain]

Yes, I agree with the White anubias, that would be preferred.

[plantbrain]

I am removing the UG from both ends and am going to keep the large mound in the middle.

I'll sell off the UG, so if you are after it, now would be the time to ask.

[HybridHerp]

Originally Posted by plantbrain

I am removing the UG from both ends and am going to keep the large mound in the middle.

I'll sell off the UG, so if you are after it, now would be the time to ask.

After looking at your UG, I get the feeling it would be a bit overwhelming in a 10 gallon right? Although, since it seems to grow so well for you, it seems like an option for my 75.

Would you say that UG is better suited for larger tanks or smaller tanks where it is the predominant plant?

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by HybridHerp

After looking at your UG, I get the feeling it would be a bit overwhelming in a 10 gallon right? Although, since it seems to grow so well for you, it seems like an option for my 75.

Would you say that UG is better suited for larger tanks or smaller tanks where it is the predominant plant?

I grew it as a single monoculture in a 2 gallon tank.
Got hair algae since maintaining good CO2 was a PITA for such a small tank.

It works well depending on how you use it, and how you trim/if you want to sell, cuttings etc.

[plantbrain]

Pulled out and up the UG, will replant as labeled above.

Just one section.

Placed some L arcurata in the spot where R. macrandra was, moved the R macrandra to the rear spot.

Need to get some ET from Antbug.

Then the Anubias whites and the Elatine hydropiper.