20 Gallon Planted Aquarium Build Beginning - Need Help

Hello everyone! I am now posting a picture of the start of my 20 gallon planted aquarium that I would really like to add more plants to, but have no clue what to add, or where to put it. As of right now I have a relatively large piece of Malaysian driftwood and two anubias (nana?). Please provide a lot of feedback! I need help making it look great. Thanks!

 

I would put some tall stem plants in the back left behind the driftwood, something easy like wisteria, bacopa, moneywort, or ludwigia repens. Maybe a large amazon sword in the back right, or some bronze wendtI for some color. then a dwarf sagittaria carpet around the foreground. all of those are easy plants. I'd play around with putting in a handful of river rocks around the back right area too. Also it looks like you have anubias plants right now. So I would tie them to the left, right and backside of the driftwood. you can use some brown colored sewing thread...it will disintegrate over time and the anubias will attach itself to the driftwood over time (months) Those plants will die if you have them planted in the substrate like it looks like you do. they need to be tied to driftwood or rocks to live.

 

I'm having a little trouble seeing if the anubias' rhizomes are buried or not. If they are, please lift them out of the sand. You can tie them to the driftwood with some fish line or put something on their roots to hold those down while leaving the rhizomes uncovered.

The tank looks brightly lit enough to put in some Amazon swords. Do you have soil under the sand? If so, swords would like that. You could also do some floating plants such as frogbit or red root floater. Some people hate duckweed and hornwort, but I like how they just soaks up nitrates, too.

 

I'm having a little trouble seeing if the anubias' rhizomes are buried or not. If they are, please lift them out of the sand. You can tie them to the driftwood with some fish line or put something on their roots to hold those down while leaving the rhizomes uncovered.

The tank looks brightly lit enough to put in some Amazon swords. Do you have soil under the sand? If so, swords would like that. You could also do some floating plants such as frogbit or red root floater. Some people hate duckweed and hornwort, but I like how they just soaks up nitrates, too.

I will probably just remove the anubias. I do have a good amount of eco-complete underneath the sand. The sand is simply for the cory catfish and possibly some snails that will appear in the future.

 

I would put some tall stem plants in the back left behind the driftwood, something easy like wisteria, bacopa, moneywort, or ludwigia repens. Maybe a large amazon sword in the back right, or some bronze wendtI for some color. then a dwarf sagittaria carpet around the foreground. all of those are easy plants. I'd play around with putting in a handful of river rocks around the back right area too. Also it looks like you have anubias plants right now. So I would tie them to the left, right and backside of the driftwood. you can use some brown colored sewing thread...it will disintegrate over time and the anubias will attach itself to the driftwood over time (months) Those plants will die if you have them planted in the substrate like it looks like you do. they need to be tied to driftwood or rocks to live.

Great ideas! I will definitely look into the plants you mentioned and see what I like best. I will probably end up removing the anubias.

 

I will probably just remove the anubias. I do have a good amount of eco-complete underneath the sand. The sand is simply for the cory catfish and possibly some snails that will appear in the future.

OK, good to have sand on the eco complete (I learned the hard way when all my cories lost their barbels). Eco complete is great at first for plants, but then after a while, they will need some ferts. Are you going to use the anubias elsewhere? They're such great plants and would do find below taller ones that might shade them.

 

OK, good to have sand on the eco complete (I learned the hard way when all my cories lost their barbels). Eco complete is great at first for plants, but then after a while, they will need some ferts. Are you going to use the anubias elsewhere? They're such great plants and would do find below taller ones that might shade them.

I love the anubias, though they seem to me to be too large for the aquarium, and make it look quite smaller than I'd like it to look. I might try moving them around once I get some other plants, not sure yet.

 

you can even just trying to just gently shove the anubias in nooks and crannies in the driftwood. I think it would look nice just the stems and leaves were peaking out around the sides and behind the drifwood.