Feedback / Ideas On My Tank

I'm pretty happy with how things are going. I started out with a lot of fake plants and decorations and have gradually been going more natural. The only fake thing left in the tank is the fake wood structure in the middle. I'd like to replace it with something though I'm not sure what yet (a similar real wood structure maybe, or a rock structure).

Plant wise I'm pretty happy though I'm not loving the hornwort due to how much it sheds needles all over the tank. Is there something similar I could replace it with? It's a little hard to tell here's my plants so far:

Background from left to right:

* hornwort
* wisteria (still pretty small)
* sword
* water sprite (still pretty small)

Fore / Mid left to right:'

* java fern
* dwarf sag (not doing so hot, not sure if it will make it)
* 2 banana plants
* anubias
* small mopanI wood with java moss

Open to any suggestions on ideas to improve things, I think it should look pretty good once the plants grow in. I think at this point I'm most interested in replacing the fake wood structure.

 

I absolutely love it!!! I'm thinking either a few more small foreground plants or a patch of moss on the driftwood in the centre will really make this tank pop!

 

Personally, I would let the hornwort go WILD on the back of the tank, but just trimming it below surface level. Fish would love that but it's personal preference too. I have always kinda liked the dense growth.

 

Yeah I do actually really like the hornwort, it just sheds quite a bit and traps a lot of debris too. If I touch it, it sends needles and gunk out everywhere! It looks really nice otherwise though.

 

I reccomend replacing the fake wood with a mixture of the real wood you have on the right and some nice river like boulders/rocks, or go fancy with rocks lile seriyu or dragonstone.

The problem is that many fine leaf plants do better in higher lighting conditions and are prone to being leggy if not given the right care. Another fine leaf plant I would reccomend is elodea - which from my experiences appreciate cooler water - and cabomba - which seem to have mixed results in low light tanks.


Instead, I'd reccomend planting plants like American val or the larger crypt varieties, which have thin long leaves. Still equally as striking, but a lot more user friendly- in terms of not shedding uts leaves everywhere and gunk buildup.

Likewise, I'd also reccomend looking into adding crypts in general to help tie in the background to the foreground, which form a good intermediate plant by growing 6 inch or so. Other good plants I would suggest to add around the tank are mosses (mentioned above, just steer clear of java!), Bucephlandra, bolbitis, tropica swords and other java fern varieties!

 

I like the faux wood, looks natural.

 

So I am thinking about the cabomba... I've given up on the hornwort though I have some floating in there now. I keep running into the same problem with it as I had with anacharis, which is that the part weighted down on the bottom dies off and sends debris everywhere and let's loose the plant all over. So for now I'm just floating some.

I'd still like a nice tall plant for that corner. Cabomba looks pretty good. I should have decent lighting, the light is a Finnex Planted 24/7 SE + light on the 24 hour cycle. Might be worth a shot! Myrio also looks like a decent option. I'll see what the local fish shop has and see what grows well.

 

Sorry, I should mention that high light often means a higher intensity light, but also the use of CO2 and ferts. Cabomba is a needy plant, and can suffer from nutrient deficiencies rather easily in comparison to other plants.

From my experiences, myrio has been the same success as you with hornwort - its rots very easily.

 

Well I fertilize currently with flourish and root tabs. How hard would CO2 be? I have a CO2 tank for kegging beer that's not in use. Not sure how much other equipment I would need and how difficult it is to manage...

 

Well I fertilize currently with flourish and root tabs. How hard would CO2 be? I have a CO2 tank for kegging beer that's not in use. Not sure how much other equipment I would need and how difficult it is to manage...

You already have the tank, so you may have a lot of the other components. Solenoid, valves, tubing and either a diffuser or reactor and your good to go. Drop checker is a must so you can dial in the CO2, and highly reccomend using a bubble counter.

 

In my experience floating hornwort drops a lot less leaves if it is allowed to float.

I actually like the fake wood. At least in the photo I can’t tell it’s fake.

My recommendations is to float the hornwort, add Italian Val and give the plants time to grow in. I have some chain pigmy swords that are sending runners all over. That would look good in the foreground if they will grow in your substrate.

 

Yeah I've let the hornwort free and 'floated' it, though it doesn't really float that much. Mostly wraps itself up around the spider wood, which I'm ok with. I imagine I'll have to prune it down regularly so it doesn't take over but I'm ok with that, I want it to keep growing to suck up nitrates anyway so I figure a regular thinning of it will keep it growing and eating.

I like the look of the val and chain swords, I'll have to give those a try!

 

As far as hornwort trapping debris. I have a tank with BDBS over potting mix with only sponge filters. That tank has a lot of peat from the potting mix and without a hob to collect that stuff, some accumulates in the hornwort. About once a month when doing a water change, I remove the floating hornwort and put it in a bucket. This makes some of the debris waterborne which gets removed during the waterchange. And I rinse the hornwort is tank water. When I replace it, it has no debris.

Kinda messy with getting water everywhere but effective.