OP
OP
Marconis
Aquarium Advice Addict
Thanks guys. Any suggestions? Still deciding if I like it or not...
My ten gallon low light
- Thread starter Marconis
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Coleallensmom
Planted Tank Enthusiast
Looks nice!
daileene
Planted Tank Addict
looking good nick....+1 with fort...it will bounce back when it is more settled.
OP
OP
Marconis
Aquarium Advice Addict
Thanks. How are your new plants?
daileene
Planted Tank Addict
i have some pics in my 5g thread...they were good when they arrive, although some of the leaves turns a little brown in the very edge for the past 2 days so i just cut the bad parts and hopefully the rest will bounce back too...
OP
OP
Marconis
Aquarium Advice Addict
Throughout the next week, I am going to try and think of some other way to scape my tank. When I do find that other way, I'm going to uproot everything and replant. For some reason this scape isn't sticking with me!
OP
OP
Marconis
Aquarium Advice Addict
Rainy, bored, procrastinating, water change day, and longing for my new light, I decided to rescape.
Here, I made a jungle of sorts on the right. I am loving the density. I moved the Java Fern up front...it's a beautiful plant, so I like it to be seen. I split a third crypt to make four. On the left, I plan on having low-growing plants to fill in the space. Probably going to get 2-3 more Vals for the back. What do you guys think? I'll take a better picture on Saturday night when I get back from work. Sorry about the debris.
Here, I made a jungle of sorts on the right. I am loving the density. I moved the Java Fern up front...it's a beautiful plant, so I like it to be seen. I split a third crypt to make four. On the left, I plan on having low-growing plants to fill in the space. Probably going to get 2-3 more Vals for the back. What do you guys think? I'll take a better picture on Saturday night when I get back from work. Sorry about the debris.
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
Looks like the perfect excuse to buy some more plants. A dark forest of tall stems on the left side would provide good contrast to the shorter rhizome plants on the right.
OP
OP
Marconis
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hmm, that actually isn't a bad idea. Gonna have to browse. Speaking of rhizomes, I always worry about the rhizome on the crypts. It's really hard to spot and I get nervous that I bury it.
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
I bought my first crypts a few months ago and I was worried about the same thing. I buried mine so I can see the ends of the leaf stems on the edges. My Lutea wasn't bad, Parva was a real challenge. The Lutea has quadrupled in size and the Parva is still hanging in there and it's put out some new leaves since I went to the LEDs. Parva is supposed to be a slow grower and like more light than most crypts though.
Coleallensmom
Planted Tank Enthusiast
I liked it before, but this looks good too!
OP
OP
Marconis
Aquarium Advice Addict
Thanks. I liked it before, too, but there wasn't much room left to add plants. That whole left side is wide open for planting now, though. As stated, I wanted to put lower plants, but a dense grouping of taller plants, maybe some broad leaf mixed in with Val-like plants would look great as BigJim suggested.
daileene
Planted Tank Addict
+1 to BigJim with another reason to buy more plants...LOL...i am still waiting for my second order from sweetaquatics. it has not shipped out yet and i am getting antsy..HA!
OP
OP
Marconis
Aquarium Advice Addict
*Sigh* I HATE it. Lol. I need to do another rescape. When I had rocks for my cichlids, this was no big deal. How will this stress the plants if I pull them again today to rearrange. What do you guys think? I really need to get it right this time.
OP
OP
Marconis
Aquarium Advice Addict
I like it, but what matters is if you like it
With your plants it should hurt to move them. Just be gentle with the roots and everything should be fine.
Did you mean shouldn't? Lol
I mainly worry about the Crypts...stupid notorious crypt melt. They always bounce back, but still. I'll rescape tonight. Too much HW to do today. I hate being obsessed with this hobby; I can't focus on HW.
LOL yes I meant shouldn't...
Crypts can melt on you... but I have always found when moving them within the same aquarium, if you are gentle with the root system, they do just fine. If they do melt some, they will bounce right back.
Crypts can melt on you... but I have always found when moving them within the same aquarium, if you are gentle with the root system, they do just fine. If they do melt some, they will bounce right back.
daileene
Planted Tank Addict
+1 with the obsession nick..i cannot concentrate on other things as well..
so you are not alone.
so you are not alone.
OP
OP
Marconis
Aquarium Advice Addict
Alright, so, here we are. I found out what was bugging me so much: The dwarf sag. It wasn't attractive. I did a huge, dramatic rescape. I removed all of the dwarf sag I bought. I reverted the driftwood back into its original position, only pushed back more and angled more towards the front. I put the Java Fern back in the little wood "nook", left the Vals in the back and moved all (now 5) crypts to the left side.
There's a method for this, because I have plans. Since I am getting my 27W CF fixture over the weekend, I am assuming I will have a slightly larger selection of plants. My plan is as follows:
Purchase 4 more Jungle Vals to keep the height with the height of the wood. I'll cluster them together. Towards the front right, near the Java Fern, I want 2-3 broad-leaf plants that get pretty tall. Which plants, I am unsure. For the left side, I want to plant something that stays low, and keep that entire left side a minimal height area. Right now my tank is baron and bland, but with the addition of more plants, it will look spectacular if everything goes the way I want it to.
My plead for advice: Recommend me medium-high height broad-leaf plants, and several "ground cover" plants for the left to coincide with the crypts.
Thanks guys.
I took three photos so you can get a sense of the open space left for planting.
There's a method for this, because I have plans. Since I am getting my 27W CF fixture over the weekend, I am assuming I will have a slightly larger selection of plants. My plan is as follows:
Purchase 4 more Jungle Vals to keep the height with the height of the wood. I'll cluster them together. Towards the front right, near the Java Fern, I want 2-3 broad-leaf plants that get pretty tall. Which plants, I am unsure. For the left side, I want to plant something that stays low, and keep that entire left side a minimal height area. Right now my tank is baron and bland, but with the addition of more plants, it will look spectacular if everything goes the way I want it to.
My plead for advice: Recommend me medium-high height broad-leaf plants, and several "ground cover" plants for the left to coincide with the crypts.
Thanks guys.
I took three photos so you can get a sense of the open space left for planting.
There are a lot of different species of crypts out there. They would be good for medium height. You could also check out a few different kinds of anubias. Unfortunately the choices are a bit limited with a lower light setup...
Ground cover will be difficult too with low light. There are some creative things you can do with moss... anubias nana petite is also a very neat plant that will grow in low light... although you would need a ton of it to make it ground cover, and it is usually not cheap. It would be a good option to use the space though, if you aren't interested in maintaining some kind of moss setup.
Ground cover will be difficult too with low light. There are some creative things you can do with moss... anubias nana petite is also a very neat plant that will grow in low light... although you would need a ton of it to make it ground cover, and it is usually not cheap. It would be a good option to use the space though, if you aren't interested in maintaining some kind of moss setup.
