Sanity-check my 20gal plant plans?

Hello!

I've been planning a fun aquascaped 10gal tank for a couple months now, ordering supplies, etc. and preparing a planting layout for the finished tank. I got all the way to beginning to prep the old 10gal we had laying around in the garage yesterday to put in the built-in filter subdivision, when I discovered a problem with the 10gal--it's not gonna hold water safely. Shoot.

Luckily, Petco was having a sale on tanks, and told my husband that it just makes sense to upgrade to a bigger tank, because obviously bigger is better, and it'll save money in the long run so we don't have to upgrade as soon, etc. etc...Anyways, long story short, I have an extremely patient and understanding husband and a 20gal long!

Unfortunately, that also means my plans are now insufficient for the space we have, which obviously means more plants. (Also: It means my (extremely patient) husband now has a woodshop project, since the tank also needs a stand. Have I mentioned how patient he is?)

This is a primarily shrimp tank, so the planned specs are:
Temp at 78 F
dGH will be 6 to 8
gKH will be 2 to 4
PH 7 to 7.5
Lighting will be a Finnex Planted+ 24/7 HLC, using some risers to lift it several inches above the water to achieve medium-ish lighting
No CO2 system
Water turnover will be around 80gph
Black Diamond substrate
ThriveS liquid fertilizer
Hardscape is slate, no wood
Filter is going to be a built-in filter with mechanical and bio-ball/seachem matrix. I wanted to learn more about filtration, and what better way than to DIY it?

I'd planned a partial moss-wall along the back (likely a mix of Christmas moss and Mini X-mas moss), a nice hardscape with plenty of anchor space for rhizome plants, and space for a carpeting plant and some stem plants to be rooted in substrate. Several plants (moss, anubias) will be growing emersed atop the hardscape.

Plants I (know I) want:
Christmas Moss
Mini Christmas Moss
Pearlweed
Anubias Nana Petite
Anubias Nana
Dwarf Saggitaria Subulata
Nymphaea Rubra
Ludwigia Super Red mini
Ludwigia Peruensis

I may or may not put some water wisteria in there.

I'd like a little backup on my plans here. I know most of these would benefit from CO2 injection, but right now I really don't want to go down a high-tech route. My skill level is truly beginner, but I'm willing to put in the work to learn about how to care for low-level intermediate plants, if you recommend them.

Is this plan reasonable? Am I getting in over my head with any of the plant species listed? Or are there aspects of these plants that I'm not thinking of which would make them a poor choice? (I've read that some plants shed horrifically, for example) Or, can you think of any additional species of plants that would be small-scale and would work in my setup?

 

Sounds good. Hygrophilas are also a good choice for low tech.

I would use ThriveC instead of ThriveS, sounds like you want it to be pretty well planted

 

-Mak-

Thanks! Good to know I'm not straying outside my wheelhouse. I'll look into some more hygrophilas, for sure!

I'll look more into ThriveC, thanks for the recommendation

 

I have hygrophila compacta in my tank. It’s not so “compact” in my tank but I was using it as a background when the tank was heavily planted. It grows like crazy! Doesn’t need much and will get a reddish tint to the top leaves if you dose with iron.

 

Katie993
Ooh thanks for the tip, I looked into it and the compacta looks like a nice option! About how big is it in your tank? I'm trying to stick with smaller plants to keep things in scale, but it seems like most of the really tiny plants are either demanding in terms of light/CO2 (dwarf baby tears, etc.) or reaaaaallly slow growers (some of the mini buces, and anubias nana petite). I'm super willing to dose with iron if I can get away with it without hurting the shrimp!

 

Katie993
Ooh thanks for the tip, I looked into it and the compacta looks like a nice option! About how big is it in your tank? I'm trying to stick with smaller plants to keep things in scale, but it seems like most of the really tiny plants are either demanding in terms of light/CO2 (dwarf baby tears, etc.) or reaaaaallly slow growers (some of the mini buces, and anubias nana petite). I'm super willing to dose with iron if I can get away with it without hurting the shrimp!

It can get pretty tall and grows fast but you can trim it and keep it trimmed at the height you want it. If you google it, most of the pictures that come up are little foreground like plants but I have to cut mine to keep it in the tank. It grows out of the water regularly in my 10 gallon betta tank. I also have a little bit in my 29 gallon tank. I have shrimp in my tank also! Haven't noticed any issues with dosing iron. Its growing like crazy in my 29 with medium light and no CO2. It actually seems to not grow as well in my 10 gallon with high light and no CO2.

 

Katie993
I like that it grows fast actually, I'm hoping it can help keep algae in line during the first few months of setting up the tank (outcompeting for nutrients and whatnot). It'll also be nice to have it fill in quickly. Glad to hear it responds well to trimming! Definitely wouldn't want it as tall as that. Awesome, thank you so much for the rec!

 

Katie993
I like that it grows fast actually, I'm hoping it can help keep algae in line during the first few months of setting up the tank (outcompeting for nutrients and whatnot). It'll also be nice to have it fill in quickly. Glad to hear it responds well to trimming! Definitely wouldn't want it as tall as that. Awesome, thank you so much for the rec!

It definitely fills in quickly lol No problem! I'd love to see pictures of the tank once you're done!

 

Katie993
I'm definitely gonna be posting a thread on the builds forum! Still have to pick up a handful of stray items before I can really start the build, but I'll probably be able to get going building the hardscape this weekend.