Well, I just did not like the general feel of the ADA like minimalist display prior, so I tore the entire thing down.
Here, I wanted to add lots of color, contrast, display the nice Manzy wood I have, make it a lot of stem plant and pruning type of tank(yes, work:icon_roll), but somewhat manageable still.
I have enough plants to fill it, but I'll remove some plants on the sides(Erios and Compact the Crypt parva down some, I have a few small divider pieces of Manzy wood I'll add this week to make a better dividing line for some of the groups.
I'll change the groups of plants around till I'm happy(often a long process), to achieve the best contrast based more on Dutch rules, rather than ADA aesthetics. Right now it's fairly simple red green red green layout, and less textured contrast. Most of these species are easy to sell also, so they are good "crop plants", 500 or more of the fire cherry shrimp makes it a good shrimp factory.
I have an ADA style tank and my 180 is somewhat loosely based on ADA style, A reef and a Rift cichlid tank. I want a nice style and method for each tank that is different, not all planted tanks with one style.
Tank is not that old after complete tear down, maybe 4 weeks or less.
Expanded the Fissidens on the wood dividers that keep the groups/rows in their shapes.
This was actually the original plan.
I would like to do this with Mini Pellia as well for the rear corners.
I have some Alteranthera roseifolia(this is super red) I took out and then tried to grow emergent to see if it would grow faster(yes, it does). It turns green, but when you place it back in water, it narrows up and turns a wonderful blood red color. It did well in the rear shaded section. The normal A. reineckii does well in the shaded sections. But I like this one:icon_roll
I plan on removing some of the UG where the downoi are now and expanding this to break the continuous line of UG in the front.
I want a wide path that tends to narrow some towards the back of the Downoi. I've not tried the Red macrandra in the left side before.
We will see how it does in the higher current.
The Ludwigia tornado looks nice from above and contrast well once it's dense enough.
Top view. You can see the new Rotala macrandra I added in the lower left side, very mauve colored, this is typical in very high light tanks. it's a freaky color.
Most seek/expect a more red blood or red cherry color generally.
Side view, shows some recently UG replanting.
Shows a close up on the UG and some other species.
do you keep any fish in this tank? Every time I see this tank, feel like an electric blue fish would look AMAZING (in terms of color and all that). I really hope I can one day replicate your range of colors and brightness in my own tank.
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.
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.
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.
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 ...
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?
Juan has some he's going to drop off. I can use some, but I'll let you know if Jan's does not work etc. All I need is a small amount, 2 weeks later............so I think he's got it covered.
Hey tom, does all of your flow come from your filtration output ? Its hard to tell for sure. Its a slow process, but I'm trying to test the best flow configuration for my tank. Your tank is much wider, more square. Does that pose any kind of extra challenge ?
You've grown a lot of UG and downoi - from your experience, do you think UG and downoi BOTH need to be planted where there is high flow and high light?? How do they grow if placed in areas of the tank with less water flow and lower light (via floaters)? Do they both need high flow/high light or is one plant more demanding than the other?
Got the white Anubias in, they are in excellent shape.
Hacked the UG out and put into one section(where the downoi is in the above pic).
Tied some Mini Pellia to a couple of small pieces of wood to make dividers.
Moved the Downoi over back to the far Left section.
Moved the R macrandra back behind the main trunk, doing well back there.
Placed ther Ludwigia acruata between the Mimi Myrio and the downoi.
The L. sphaerocarpa is back where the R macrandra is.
I'll be getting some Elatine hydropiper sometime coming up in the next 2 weeks.
It will go in the middle front area.
Once the Rotala sunset grows out more, I might add that back to this tank somewhere. It was nice in the front where the Rotala macrandra is in the above pic.
I also have good current, wet/dry filters etc.
The light intensity is programmable, so I match the CO2 and the light as they both come on and shut off.
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