40B aquascape help

[hpiguy]

Looking good.

 

[Jconner3]

Hi all, things are going good with my tank, just switched to pressurised co2 a few days ago and excited about all the potential growth. I have a couple of new questions.






I was thinking about putting some kind of carpeting plant (probably micro sword) in the open area in the middle of the tank, If I remove some of the crypts will the microsecond grow around the ones that are there? I am wanting a flowers in a field type of look.

Also, is PFS with root tabs suitable for carpet type plants? I feel like it would be an issue getting more tabs in the substrate once the plants fill in.

And finally I have what i think is a red tiger lotus that I let some of the leaves reach the top since my Angels seem to enjoy swimming between the stems. Would I need to cut all the surface leaves to make sure all of the potential carpeting plants received enough lighting?






Thanks in advance!

 

[Jconner3]

Anyone?

 

[Rivercats]

Micro sword will spread around other plants, no problem there. As for the lotus you can leave some of the floaters that stay more towards the sides where it won't block an over abundance of light. Plus if you start the micro swords alittle towards the right of the center you shouldn't have to do any trimming on the lotus (at least from what I can tell in the picture).

 

[Jconner3]

Micro sword will spread around other plants, no problem there. As for the lotus you can leave some of the floaters that stay more towards the sides where it won't block an over abundance of light. Plus if you start the micro swords alittle towards the right of the center you shouldn't have to do any trimming on the lotus (at least from what I can tell in the picture).

Fantastic. Is micro sword a good plant? Or is there something better you would recommend?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

As long as you don't mind very slow growth micro-swords are fine. I think it's worth the longer wait if you enjoy the look. It's very striking in my opinion.

 

[Rivercats]

I think it would look good in your tank because it will give that vertical grass look which is IMO a compliment to the other plant textures you already have.

 

[Jconner3]

Once the micro sword fills in, is it difficult to get more root tabs under the substrate? I think that may be my biggest concern about carpeting plants

 

[Rivercats]

I actually have two really thick, no way could I add root tabs under, carpets of Pogostemon helferi. The best I can do is put tabs at the edges of the carpets. But I have a dirted tank which helps. With carpets, and I could be wrong here, but I think using good liquid or dry ferts in the water and combining that with CO2 and higher light is the trick. Micro swords I'm pretty sure can tolerate lower light than most carpet plants but when I had them they seemed to do better when I used Excel. None of my tanks have CO2.

 

[Jconner3]

That's good to know. I'll definitely pick some up on my next trip to petsmart.