[jake21]

This is my high-tech 120. As you can see it is a bit out of control. One of the issue I run into is that it is really difficult to trim sword plants; a second issue is that because it is 24 inches high it is difficult to replant stuff (hard to reach the substrate - esp in the back since i can't get a stool behind the tank); Two obvious issues I run into is the jungle val runs wild even with monthly trims (i trim them down to 2 feet which is basically the height of the tank); the swords are closing in on 24 inches height; even the nana anubia which is 3 years old has gotten quite large (over 8 inches long). That b. anubia was tiny when i planted it (the one in the front left).
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Can you spot some very easy ways to clean things up without a total rescape ?

 

[ElleDee]

You're tying your hands by ruling out a complete rescape, but I quite like the colors and chunky leaf textures you've got going on.

Simply put, as long as you have amazon swords and val in your tank you're going to have to work to keep them under control. That's just their nature. Remove or maintain, there are no other options.

Without making big changes, there are two things I would take care of. I would address the large dark spot in the front right corner. A little bit of darkness in the corner is ok, like you have on the left, but the front of your tank is precious viewing space. If it were me, I'd put some non-green crypts there because they can handle getting shaded and won't need constant maintenance or get too tall, but I'm biased towards crypts generally. Obviously you should plant to your own taste.

The other thing I would do is get rid of whatever that stem plant with the small leaves in the back right and center left because it's not contributing anything visually. It is out of proportion with everything else in your tank and I think it looks a bit messy.

You aren't going to get a manicured look without a redesign, but look into jungle style aquascapes for ideas since that's fairly close to what you have anyway.

 

[jake21]

Thanks. That stem plant was just a test plant - but i'll pull it soon - it is mexican oak. The right front 'black' spot is a wall of java fern - i should probably thin it and do as you suggest and plant some crypt wendtii bronze. I wish the camera hdr did a better job to show the right front - the left front is bare. The angels won't let me plant anything there.
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The reason I don't want to rip up the swords and jungle val is in 14 months I will move and at that time I will do a complete re-scape. The jungle val i can train a little since it is cut-able and can be thinned. I have no clue what to do with the sword plants since they grow large and you can't exactly cut leaves in half.

 

[Tiger15]

Every competitive aquascape has an empty open space and you have none. I would thin out the middle to open up and turn it into a Central Valley with backlight shining through.