FresH2O's 20g planted rescape

[Fresh2o]

What do you think of echinodorus quadricostatus?

Excuse me while I curl up in the fetal position and contemplate this.

I think you nailed this. I checked out E. quadricostatus on Google images and there is a strong resemblance to what I am growing. Botany was never a favorite of mine and I never questioned what I received from a vendor.

I will have to update a thread I started a few months ago entitled "Will the real Dwarf Sag stand up?"

Thanks!

 

[aqua_chem]

I ordered some dwarf sag a few years ago from Sweet Aquatics (when they were still in business, good riddance) that was in fact sagittaria platyphylla, which is in my personal opinion one of the most annoying species of plant in the hobby. The good new is that the genuine subulata you have is nothing short of an invasive pest in co2 tanks, so it will quickly fill in if you let it. I got some from Peabody's paradise a few months ago that's the genuine article, so assuming you got the same stuff, you should be in business.

 

[Fresh2o]

An OMG moment here...room is spinning. Okay, just a *little* dramatic.

When I placed an order through AquariumPlants dot com I thought there was some kind of mistake. I ordered 20 Dwarf Sag and 10 Broadleaf Chain Swords. When the order arrived I thought the dwarf sag were the smaller, bright green plants and the chain swords were the taller, thinner plants. I also thought the amounts were reversed. I did not complain since it was my first plant order and went about with the planting. It did strike me as odd in the back of my mind why the chain swords were called broadleaf when in fact they were quite thin and strap like. So when the order of dwarf sag arrived from Peabody Paradise, I thought something was not right with that order as well. They did not look anything like the "dwarf sag" I already had. In hindsight, the order of dwarf sag from Peabody Paradise is an exact match with the (now) dwarf sag from AP. I feel soooo taxonomically challenged at the moment.

Well then, I stand corrected. Thanks for pointing this out. I can go on with my life (okay inject drama here) and maybe do a carpet of broadleaf chain swords. Again, thanks.

 

[aqua_chem]

It might be a better use of space to let the (actual) dwarf sag run amok in the front of the tank and let the quadricostatus do it's thing in the back. That stuff's taking up a bit too much vertical space to be a foreground IMO.

 

[Fresh2o]

It might be a better use of space to let the (actual) dwarf sag run amok in the front of the tank and let the quadricostatus do it's thing in the back. That stuff's taking up a bit too much vertical space to be a foreground IMO.

Yes, I plan on taking out the Bacopa which currently occupies about 30-40% of the real estate and moving the broadleaf chain sword in its place along the back and leave a few inches at the front of the tank open. I miss seeing that part of the tank.
Might do a free RAOK for the plants (40-50 Bacopa and about a dozen chain swords) or throw them in a small water feature out back (I have some out there already).

 

[Fresh2o]

Rescape Day! Removed the Bacopa caroliniana, Broad leaf chain sword, and some dwarf sag. Going to separate the chain sword and replant it.

Here's a clump of 40-50 chain swords:

Dwarf sag, chain sword, and Bacopa:

Tank looks so empty now:

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Oh nice! Rescape days are fun!

 

[Fresh2o]

Yes they are!

Separating this mess is going to be fun:

 

[Fresh2o]

Rescape done! Reclaimed about 1/3 of the Broadleaf chain sword and moved it to the back / center of the tank. Moved the four leaf clover (more like one leaf clover) from the right front corner to the left side of the tank. So nice to see the front of the tank again.

Chain swords are pearling already...they must be happy.

I planted some of the dwarf sag in a pot of dirt and put in my ornamental tub outside. I tossed the rest of the plants in there as well (free floating).

 

[Fresh2o]

Here is a before and after shot:

 

[Billbug68]

You need some hardscape my friend! Looks good though. I'm sure that was a long day!

 

[Fresh2o]

You need some hardscape my friend! Looks good though. I'm sure that was a long day!

I was thinking the same thing. I have not had this much open space in about 9 months. I have a few interesting pieces of DW I picked up over the summer:

plus a piece of Malaysian DW, but maybe some nice, round, neutral colored stones near the front of the plants.
If I do more DW, I might use manzanita. Maybe I'll take it from the shrimp tank...

 

[Billbug68]

It's up to you! It'd all look great, I'm sure!

 

[Fresh2o]

It's up to you! It'd all look great, I'm sure!

We'll see. I am digging the open space.

Yeah, I mentioned the hard scape thing to my wife when we were walking the dog and she suggested a "pineapple under the sea" ceramic dećor piece (yes, from the SpongeBob SquarePants series). Smh.
Later I mentioned that I will be going to the LFS tomorrow to look at rocks/stones and the reaction I got from her was as if an invisible blow dart filled with elephant tranquilizer hit her in the neck and she played possum for the rest of the conversation (if you can call it that). Oh well.
That's why I like this forum.

 

[Billbug68]

We'll see. I am digging the open space.

Yeah, I mentioned the hard scape thing to my wife when we were walking the dog and she suggested a "pineapple under the sea" ceramic dećor piece (yes, from the SpongeBob SquarePants series). Smh.
Later I mentioned that I will be going to the LFS tomorrow to look at rocks/stones and the reaction I got from her was as if an invisible blow dart filled with elephant tranquilizer hit her in the neck and she played possum for the rest of the conversation (if you can call it that). Oh well.
That's why I like this forum.

I get the same reaction from my wife... We'd get along so much better if she was actually interested...

 

[Fresh2o]

Just an update on the planted tank. Added some stones in the open areas of the tank. Some are a little bright; hoping biofilm and/or algae (even diatoms) tone them down over time.

For some reason, groups of threes makes sense. It's what I do in the garden whenever possible.

 

[Mebbid]

I like the new additions but imho the rock placement seems... a little too planned out if that makes any sense.

The three groups of 3 stones all placed approximately the same distance apart and are all approximately the same distance from the front of the tank. I think a little more haphazard placement of the rocks would work wonders to make your tank a bit more natural looking. Or maybe even switching out some of the stones for something that's a bit more irregularly shaped.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Agreed... I like the addition of the rocks, but it needs more variation in the placement to look more natural. Unless you're going for a garden appearance rather than a nature one? Like sometimes when I decide to add a riverbed or what not, I know it's very unnatural looking.. but I like it (in some cases).

 

[Fresh2o]

I'm glad you guys mentioned the "planned" pattern. I recently added stones to my shrimp tank and the outcome was rather predictable as seen in the comparison shot below:

Funny, I asked my wife how the tanks looked and she said fine; then again she wanted the pineapple under the sea dećor so hmmm...
I need to check out other scapes to get a more natural layout. Thanks.

 

[aqua_chem]

Have you considered propagating that marsilea across the entire left third of the tank? Your foreground is ripe for development IMO. Alternately, you can look at another foreground to experiment with.