floating plants, CO2, trickling water, and picky family members. HELP!

not sure where to put this thread it has a lot of topics for a complicated problem. I'm trying to come up with a solution that balances multiple needs. This is for my 20gal. high. because this is a long post, all questions to the reader are starred.
fish needs:
Surface cover(currently water lettuce)
oxygen(2 splashing HOB filters)
Plant needs:
CO2( DIY, tube going in can be taken out of water very easily)
light(will upgrade bulb soon)
Sister needs(she uses room with tank as study room, the room is also a guest bedroom):
NO more splashing filters!(complaints also heard from others)
better aesthetics (roots of water lettuce are too ugly; she felt it looked "too pond-like and not very pretty")
Doesn't like the way light coming through water cabbage makes the tank look yellow/green.
This may seem insignificant, especially to those who, like me, see the plants as primarily for the fish, then for aesthetics, but for a girl considering cosmetology or interior design careers it's a big deal.
I currently have the fish and plant needs met.
Here are some of my ideas for hopefully pleasing all three:
Splashing water solution:
riparium under HOB outlets, so water flows over outlets, into gravel, and into tank rather quietly. plants in riparium would be Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea')

and/or Dwarf Hygrophila (Hygrophila polysperma)

with possibly a spider plant joining it eventually(lighting would be fairly low).
*Those plants sound like they would work, as near as I could research, but does anyone have any input on that? *good, bad idea, different plant would work better?
setup would be a acrylic mesh box with gravel( or I've toyed with the idea of filter media ;D ) inside. The roots would be planted in the substrate, and would grow out over the tank/top/lighthood.
The lack of oxygenation would be made up by taking the CO2 output out of the water a few hours before lights-out.
*does this sound like it would work?
You might be wondering "why not just fill the tank?!" One of my HOB's has a very short output, and I just don't have time to constantly top off the tank so it never trickles. The tank is also leaning forward slightly, so it is a little lower in the back than the front. this worries me a bit, but there isn't much I can do about it.

As a replacement floating plant, I'm thinking about water sprite or water wisteria.
*Any input on which would be better?
A really fun (and possibly expensive) idea I had was making an island(post#6, pic#3):

I would use a small platform of hard acrylic mesh(have on hand), put java moss on the bottom, a little substrate on top, and plant these little (probably expensive) beauties on top(Hoping putting them 5" from the surface may give them enough light, I'm already dosing CO2 and should soon be dosing ferts):

given time, the java moss would cover the platform and... well, I can dream, can't I?
*feel free to tell me this idea is ridiculous, though I'd love to hear that it would work. ;D
I'll post pics of the tank today, though it looks like a royal mess because its where I'm stock-piling plants to decorate the 10gal. when I set it up.
Oh, and please no cracks about who owns the tank(I do own it, and all therein); the room is not mine, so the opinions of others who live in it must be taken into consideration.

 

HI Gemstone

Complex issue - I hate to suggest it, but maybe duckweed for surface cover? Short roots and you still get the surface almost totally covered by this indestructible, low/no maintenance stuff. Still a bit 'pond-like though', and regardless of what you choose the filtered light will be somewhat yellow coming through leaves. Watersprite also has long trailing roots, so you'll have the same aesthetic issue if you leave it on the surface.

HOB riparium is a cool creative solution - but what about just hanging a wide strip of clean ribbon/plastic from the outlet down to the water? The water would cling to it all the way down (you may need to turn the flow down a tiny bit) and it should blend in well to the tank if you use a black piece or a compatible colour. Should be easy to install, just cut to size and tuck one end under the sponge in the HOB to hold it in place, then trail the end from the outlet into the tank.

To solve the CO2 issue, try using Excel. Fairly cheap, no CO2 buildup issues, easy to does daily with a 50c plastic syringe from the pharmacy (I dose every day before the lights come on in the morning while feeding my fish). Considering the high amount of planting, the use of 2 x HOBs, and especially if you have a low fish stock you can stick with your normal CO2 as there should still be more than enough O2 provided by the plants and filters. I'd still take it out at night though to be safe .

Yes i've seen that island scape before, so wonderful! I think your plan sounds great, and javamoss is great for this. On top, i'd stick with a mix of small leaved glosso, riccia and or maybe some pygmy chain sword for strappy yet small leaved contrast. search around on planted tank (yes I love to lurk on that site!). Tiny rotala look lovely too, but could be hard to find?

Get a good liquid fert and search up on Tom Barr (Barr report is also good). A strong lesson i've learned is that a little overdosing ferts with larger WCs almost always is a winner for beating out algae (not a big OD though, bad for the fishes!). I struggled with algae at the start, until I realised my nitrates were too LOW as I understock and I had to add a liquid fert to boost them up! As guru Barr notes, when the plants are getting what they need, algae won't take hold.

But, plants will be fed by CO2 availability, and demand ferts accordingly, so unless you really want to supercharge your plants, maybe wind back the CO2 a bit, or dose every other day with Excel, and then you can keep the ferts lower and the WC% lower too. FYI, I do dose daily with Excel, have quite O2 supplied via a powerhead pointed at the glass so it creates agitation on the wall without splashing and blowing my betta around (and I have a HOB in my other tank), and dose liquid ferts every 2 days for a constant supply. No algae at all (touch wood ;D).

Looking forward to seeing your results, hope all that helped! I'm sure others will chime in soon with other great suggestions

 

Good morning,

Since the topic is fish related, I have moved your thread from General Discussion to More Freshwater Aquarium Topics.

Thanks!

Ken

 

I hate to suggest it, but maybe duckweed for surface cover? Short roots and you still get the surface almost totally covered by this indestructible, low/no maintenance stuff.

my problem with the stuff is that it will be similar to baby water lettuce: I can't contain it and it gets pushed under the surface by my HOBs. at best, this simply looks untidy, at worst it gets caught on the java moss and rots and pollutes the tank. Also, it doesn't provide much vertical coverage, which the DG seems to prefer.

but what about just hanging a wide strip of clean ribbon/plastic from the outlet down to the water? The water would cling to it all the way down (you may need to turn the flow down a tiny bit) and it should blend in well to the tank if you use a black piece or a compatible colour. Should be easy to install, just cut to size and tuck one end under the sponge in the HOB to hold it in place, then trail the end from the outlet into the tank.

a brilliant idea! but I don't have any non-mesh aquarium-safe plastic/acryilic on hand.

To solve the CO2 issue, try using Excel. Fairly cheap, no CO2 buildup issues, easy to does daily with a 50c plastic syringe from the pharmacy (I dose every day before the lights come on in the morning while feeding my fish). Considering the high amount of planting, the use of 2 x HOBs, and especially if you have a low fish stock you can stick with your normal CO2 as there should still be more than enough O2 provided by the plants and filters. I'd still take it out at night though to be safe

my concern was that I would have too much CO2, not too little. If it looks like I'll have enough oxygen I'll keep doing what I'm doing

On top, i'd stick with a mix of small leaved glosso, riccia and or maybe some pygmy chain sword for strappy yet small leaved contrast. search around on planted tank (yes I love to lurk on that site!). Tiny rotala look lovely too, but could be hard to find?

This would be what I'd do for near-suface cover instead of floating plants.. after all, my DG just wants a safe place near the surface. I'll look into your other suggestions, I didn't really look around to see what else wold work there. I could just shove some java fern on top, but I wanted to put something special there as it would have really good access to light.
Oddly enough, I'm have almost no algae problems. Call me weird, but one of the reasons I went to more hassle with my planted tank was to get algae to grow- before there was absolutely NOTHING and I worried my nerite snail would starve.

 

my problem with the stuff is that it will be similar to baby water lettuce: I can't contain it and it gets pushed under the surface by my HOBs. at best, this simply looks untidy, at worst it gets caught on the java moss and rots and pollutes the tank. Also, it doesn't provide much vertical coverage, which the DG seems to prefer.

Fair enough - i'm not a big fan of the stuff either, but its the only cover I can think of withwout big hanging roots. Maybe tease out a bit of javamoss? . I think I missed that you wanted vertical cover, if so then watersprite is wonderful for that and very ahrdy (I have it in 2 of my 3 tanks, but planted), but leaving it floating all over the surface will show exposed roots. Depends on the look you're after .

a brilliant idea! but I don't have any non-mesh aquarium-safe plastic/acryilic on hand.

Thanks! I actually think a plain piece of material or cotton ribbon would be best. Easier to obtain and replace when it gets dirty, and water should cling to it more on the way down as the weave provides a larger surface area (and it's not water-repellent like plastic).

my concern was that I would have too much CO2, not too little. If it looks like I'll have enough oxygen I'll keep doing what I'm doing

Yes I understand that - the O2 shouldnt be an issue I think, but if you're worrried about too much CO2 use excel or reduce the bubble rate on the CO2 line (and leave it out overnight ).

This would be what I'd do for near-suface cover instead of floating plants.. after all, my DG just wants a safe place near the surface. I'll look into your other suggestions, I didn't really look around to see what else wold work there. I could just shove some java fern on top, but I wanted to put something special there as it would have really good access to light.

Yes I think javafern would also get too big on an island, but have fun looking about for plants, either way your DG should be happy with it! (Especially if watersprite, hyro or other stem plants etc are available in the tank)

Oddly enough, I'm have almost no algae problems. Call me weird, but one of the reasons I went to more hassle with my planted tank was to get algae to grow- before there was absolutely NOTHING and I worried my nerite snail would starve.

You'd be the first to miss algae in your tank! . Half your luck having so little issue, but rather than wanting ugly algae maybe spoil your nerite with sinking wafers/lettuce etc instead .

All the best with it!

 

I think I missed that you wanted vertical cover, if so then watersprite is wonderful for that and very ahrdy (I have it in 2 of my 3 tanks, but planted), but leaving it floating all over the surface will show exposed roots. Depends on the look you're after .

yeah, my failure to communicate. I'd probably have to come up with a way to hide the roots, so I'll probably go with the "island ideas". that said, I'm seriously considering planting some in my tank, it looks so lacy!

Thanks! I actually think a plain piece of material or cotton ribbon would be best. Easier to obtain and replace when it gets dirty, and water should cling to it more on the way down as the weave provides a larger surface area (and it's not water-repellent like plastic).

hmmm.. once again, I've nothing on hand that fits that description.. maybe I'll find something... and get around to the riparium eventually anyways- I still really like the idea! ;D

Yes I think javafern would also get too big on an island, but have fun looking about for plants, either way your DG should be happy with it! (Especially if watersprite, hyro or other stem plants etc are available in the tank)

unfortunately most of my plants are young aponogetons, cryps, swords, etc., I really need more bushy plants. like, um.. water sprite I am currently looking on aquabid for other cloud-top ideas. There is a lot of rotala wallachi(pink, fluffy), but that requires high-very high lighting, and I don't think sticking it close to the surface will make up for the fact that it is still under an 18W light-bulb. I'm enjoying investigating my possible options.

maybe spoil your nerite with sinking wafers/lettuce etc instead .

I've tried that, it refuses to touch them. anyways, I'm seeing a few spots of algae, and my snail is zipping around more, so I'm happy. It's not much, and the snail keeps it under control pretty well. He also has pond snails, MTS, and a rabbit snail(who also eats plants when there isn't any algae:mad to help him with the job. unless you're looking for it, the algae isn't really visible, so my tank algae level still looks pretty good.
Yeah, I should totally join planted tank, I creep around on it often enough anyways.
Thank-you for your help!

 

Oh derp - I forgot to multiquote

My responses are within that big quote, sorry!

With the ribbon I mean just the ordinary type like you use for wrapping gifts, put in your hair etc. Still, don't let me put you off the riparium idea, that would look so wonderful!!

Do indeed go for the watersprite then, it IS a beautiful plant, easy to grow and it goes banannas with ferts and CO2 - DG will love it! My honey gourami loves it in my 10g, and it's the perfect betta plant in my 5g.

Grr, silly nerites - well, at least you know you'll be algae free should any occur... hey it means you'll be able to light your tanks longer to get some algae growth or them, and give you more them to enjoy them too .

Yes the rotala is so lovely, I do saay go for it if you find it! Glad to be of any help at all regardless how you go keep me posted on this project, you have fine plant taste and i'm sure it will look stunning in the end with island, riparium and lacy 'sprite all over .

 

I found(and bought) some tiger hydrophila off of aquabid! $2 + s/h. the seller has a really good rep, and it will look amazing(cream veins w/ red/purple) under brighter lights, and work(but look green) in a lowlight riparium .
doesn't mean I won't get the rotala minI if I find it, but in the meanwhile there will be something kind of special. it'll probably be a rather short stem, but I figure it'll grow, and if it gets "deposed" from the island, it will not die. I also really like the idea of the dwarf pygmy chain, but I'll probably wait a bit to buy it- seems to always be available, and I need to budget how much I spend at once.
I'll probably tackle the riparium idea first, simply because it would take a fair amount of jury-rigging to make any ribbons we have work(anything we have is very brightly colored, and difficult to hide)... and I'm slightly worried about being hassled for wasting perfectly good ribbon.
my current problem is finding watersprite that is sold in a small quantity(1-3plants). I don't want so much that you wonder if anything else is in there.
here are some pics to give you an idea of where I'm starting from. unfortunately, the camera is still unavailable, so these were taken on my phone. a little messy, but not a terrible-looking tank, IMO. any holes you notice in leaves were caused by my rabbit snail(). He is why the sword in the photo of the bottom right of the tank is nearly invisible- the largest intact leave is a little under 1/2" long, and it has grown since I started CO2!

 

And I just found out that the plant I ordered is on the U.S. Federal Noxious Weed List, and is illegal to ship across state lines. ops: It is also illegal to buy, sell, or trade this plant -another ops:
However, it is not illegal to have this plant in MN because it cannot survive the winter. Lawmakers are brilliant.
Anyways, the plant is on its way, so what is done is done, but I can't in good conscience sell it on b/s/t. Or anywhere else for that matter.
I've started construction on the riparium. my sister's spider-plant had babies, and I've stolen (with their permission) quite a few, so hopefully some of them will develop into lovely, rooted plants that I can put in my riparium.
The riparium pieces have been cut out and whip-stitched together, and are awaiting silicone. The mesh is soft enough I wasn't sure they would hold their shape while the silicone cured if I didn't sew them together first.
also included are some pics of my baby spider-plants!

maybe I'll start a thread in the DIY section.

 

Whew - busy busy, sorry for the delay in reply.

Yikes, that's irritating about the plant, but at least you can keep it quiet

The rig for the riparium sounds wonderful, the tiger hyro is a gorgeous plant, so whether it thrives or not it will be lovely in the short term (or long if it goes well). So interested to see how this all turns out, your plan sounds good.

Odd the LFS doesn't have watersprite, it's so common. I'd gladly give you a handful of mine it I wasn't on the other side of the globe .

Great to see pics.. yes I see your issue with the roots and the yellow. Removing that will tidy it up amazingly, and with a bit of playing with the woodscape and pots, and some strategic planting of stem plants on the side back it should look wonderful, and as the stem plants fill in the DG will be in heaven, you won't need anything actually 'floating' as the stems will be right to the top of the tank. Maybe give a thought to mounding the soil to get a slope higher at the back and/or at one of the sides? I've been reading a great series in TFH by Amano on his aquascaping techniques and scaping the soil is really something that is always done first to give depth and interest, and something i'm surprised i've overlooked doing myself for so long (though I do have wood and moss sloping up at the back of my 5 gallon to give depth). Look up 'rule of thirds' or 'golden ratio' too, very neat basis for a good scape! It should also leave a nice empty space at one side perfect for your island.

Keep us posted

 

The LFS may have watersprite, but their website is down and I can't get to the store.
thus, I'm limited to online stuff.
Yes, I do plan to re-aquascape soon.
I'm hoping to see if the LFS will take my water cabbages for store credit before I dump them in the trash, 'cause that would be fantastic! my younger sister has her license, so I might be able to talk her into taking me to the LFS.. she kinda owes me because I bought her car for her so she wouldn't have to take out a loan(though she will be paying me back, but without interest), as I have a higher-paying job and don't have to pay for car insurance( no license yet)... I'm also saving up for a car of my own (as I talk of buying fish things).
anyways, I've attempted to make mounds and dips in the gravel before, but my MTS level it out in no time flat. or something does, I assume it's them, and I don't have time to fiddle with constantly re-scaping gravel. This same force also digs up rooted plants, and does not permit my aponogeton bulbs to remain planted- and this problem has been around longer than my DG! maybe it's my Bolivian Ram?
Oh, here is the link to my riparium project(may it work
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/diy-riparium.108054/