New low light rescape planning

[fishenthusiast]

I will not. I don't want to go through the hassle of removing all my substrate. My current blend of fluorite and Eco-Complete, along with some root tabs and Osmocote, are what I'll be using. The pressurized CO2 should help with bringing lush growth. I'll try a dirted tank one day though ?, just not now.

I like high-tech in that the plant variety is greater and they can look fantastic, but algae can become a huge issue and the growth rate is huge. Weekly or biweekly trimmings are almost necessary, along with weekly water changes that can be big. It's hard to have 8 hour photoperiods too.


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[Heck09]

I will not. I don't want to go through the hassle of removing all my substrate. My current blend of fluorite and Eco-Complete, along with some root tabs and Osmocote, are what I'll be using. The pressurized CO2 should help with bringing lush growth. I'll try a dirted tank one day though ?, just not now.

I like high-tech in that the plant variety is greater and they can look fantastic, but algae can become a huge issue and the growth rate is huge. Weekly or biweekly trimmings are almost necessary, along with weekly water changes that can be big. It's hard to have 8 hour photoperiods too.


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That's what I love about my low tech setups, before I sent about half my crypts off to people from my ten my nitrate was always below 20ppm with about monthly water changes

Now that the plant load is down I'm back to weekly

I don't know how yall can do those massive water changes all the time in those big tanks

But the plant variety isn't huge to me because swords and crypts are my favorite plants to look at( especially the awesome roots when you move them around)

But then again my tanks will never look as good as the high tech setups I've seen on here


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[Fresh2o]

High light can be tricky if the other parts aren't in balance. If you are switching from high to low, you should be able to keep the substrate as is. Even if it is packed with nutrients, uptake is driven by light.
I agree crypts look better in lower light. When I had some C. wendtii red under medium light with ferts and CO2 it grew pretty large but it was not pretty. When I moved it to my low tech low light shrimp tank, the colors improved and the leaf/stem size was pretty consistent (which made for a compact, more uniform looking plant).
That high light analogy is spot on. Cheers! ?


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[skylane]

Oh, and I might actually get some swords for the tank. I was thinking that I could put a couple Red Flame or Ozelot Swords in the right corner. I believe that it would look better aesthetically that way. I could put a big piece of driftwood that has Anubias and some other plants on it in front of/next to the Swords. I could then move the DW w/ Java Fern to the left side, unattach the Java Fern, and then attach a more unique Java Fern to that driftwood. Crypts could make up the middle of the tank, while a big Crinum calamistratum could be slightly off center. I'm start to get scape visions haha!


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You can try marble queen sword or melon sword. I just planted these in my new aquascape.
Just a thought guys. [emoji225]

 

[fishenthusiast]

You can try marble queen sword or melon sword. I just planted these in my new aquascape.
Just a thought guys. [emoji225]

All suggestions are welcome! Thanks.

High light can be tricky if the other parts aren't in balance. If you are switching from high to low, you should be able to keep the substrate as is. Even if it is packed with nutrients, uptake is driven by light.
I agree crypts look better in lower light. When I had some C. wendtii red under medium light with ferts and CO2 it grew pretty large but it was not pretty. When I moved it to my low tech low light shrimp tank, the colors improved and the leaf/stem size was pretty consistent (which made for a compact, more uniform looking plant).
That high light analogy is spot on. Cheers! ?


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Sounds like the crypts will be happy ??. I might try a rare Anubias. It's called Anubias 'Pinto'. The price tag is daunting though--$50 on Han Aquatics. Maybe I could find a better deal on TPT when the time comes.

Edit: Scratch that idea. If there is ever a price drop, I'll get the plant. I'm not spending $50 for one plant ?.

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[Heck09]

All suggestions are welcome! Thanks.




Sounds like the crypts will be happy ??. I might try a rare Anubias. It's called Anubias 'Pinto'. The price tag is daunting though--$50 on Han Aquatics. Maybe I could find a better deal on TPT when the time comes.

Edit: Scratch that idea. If there is ever a price drop, I'll get the plant. I'm not spending $50 for one plant ?.

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That must be one bangin plant to have a 50$ price tag


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[fishenthusiast]

That must be one bangin plant to have a 50$ price tag


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Yeah, I thought money like that could be put towards rare crypts. I compiled a list of Crypts that I want to put in the tank. I not sure I'll get all of them, and I might get some different from what I listed.

Crypt sp. "Flamingo"
Crypt wendtii "Florida Sunset"
Crypt wendtii "Bronze"
Crypt wendtii "Green Gecko"
Crypt nurii
Crypt Metallic Affinis Red
Crypt pontederifolia

Maybe Crypt balansae if I can find a nice place for it.

This tank should have a nice variety!


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[Heck09]

Yeah, I thought money like that could be put towards rare crypts. I compiled a list of Crypts that I want to put in the tank. I not sure I'll get all of them, and I might get some different from what I listed.

Crypt sp. "Flamingo"
Crypt wendtii "Florida Sunset"
Crypt wendtii "Bronze"
Crypt wendtii "Green Gecko"
Crypt nurii
Crypt Metallic Affinis Red
Crypt pontederifolia

Maybe Crypt balansae if I can find a nice place for it.

This tank should have a nice variety!


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The balansae gets quite tall if I remember correctly, and rather large leaves if grown in lower light, mine were in too high of light and didn't do well if I recall correctly

But I have seen photos of it nice and tall with the big leaves and it looks awesome, been thinking about trying it again so I'll definitely have to see how it works out for you


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[fishenthusiast]

I've decided that I'm not going to keep the Dwarf Hairgrass. I'm thinking Marsilea minuta would be a nice plant to have, along with some other low growing (not necessarily carpeting plants) plants. Maybe Crypt parva would be worth a shot (I know that it is extremely slow, but I could always buy a lot of it).




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[fishenthusiast]

I'm currently drawing out the first plan for this tank. What plant would look good in front of Ozelot Swords and to the right of a piece of driftwood? Red Tiger Lotus maybe? Crypts? This plant would be at the right side of the tank.


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[Heck09]

I'm currently drawing out the first plan for this tank. What plant would look good in front of Ozelot Swords and to the right of a piece of driftwood? Red Tiger Lotus maybe? Crypts? This plant would be at the right side of the tank.


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One of the crypt wendtii varieties you were planning would do well I think

Sunset maybe? They stay lower so it's a good midground option


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[fishenthusiast]

One of the crypt wendtii varieties you were planning would do well I think

Sunset maybe? They stay lower so it's a good midground option


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Nice suggestion! I might just do that.


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[fishenthusiast]

Crypt balansae will be one of the main background plants. It will go behind a driftwood piece and to the left of the swords. By the way, I've decided that there will be no stem plants in this tank...so no Hygro, S. repens, Ludwigia, etc.

So far my background plan consists of (from left to right): Driftwood w/ Trident/Windelov Java Fern, FILL IN THE BLANK, FILL IN THE BLANK, Crypt balansae, Ozelot Swords.


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[Heck09]

Crypt balansae will be one of the main background plants. It will go behind a driftwood piece and to the left of the swords. By the way, I've decided that there will be no stem plants in this tank...so no Hygro, S. repens, Ludwigia, etc.

So far my background plan consists of (from left to right): Driftwood w/ Trident/Windelov Java Fern, FILL IN THE BLANK, FILL IN THE BLANK, Crypt balansae, Ozelot Swords.


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I just moved some that I had into the 29 from the 25tall, it's doing much better in the lower lights

Will red tiger lotus get big enough for one of those fill in the blank spots ?


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[fishenthusiast]

I just moved some that I had into the 29 from the 25tall, it's doing much better in the lower lights

Will red tiger lotus get big enough for one of those fill in the blank spots ?


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I've decided against the tiger lotus so that I'll have more room for hardscape and crypts. Speaking of crypts, here's my updated list of what I expect to put in there crypt wise:

Crypt wendtii "Florida Sunset"
Crypt wendtii "Bronze"
Crypt wendtii "Green Gecko"
Crypt balansae
Crypt nurii "Rosen Maiden" (take a look at this one...it's a beauty!)
Crypt Metallic Affinis Red
Crypt pontederiifolia
Crypt parva
Crypt wendtii 'Mi Oya'


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[Heck09]

I've decided against the tiger lotus so that I'll have more room for hardscape and crypts. Speaking of crypts, here's my updated list of what I expect to put in there crypt wise:

Crypt wendtii "Florida Sunset"
Crypt wendtii "Bronze"
Crypt wendtii "Green Gecko"
Crypt balansae
Crypt nurii "Rosen Maiden" (take a look at this one...it's a beauty!)
Crypt Metallic Affinis Red
Crypt pontederiifolia
Crypt parva
Crypt wendtii 'Mi Oya'


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You sure are right about that nurii, you will have to share where you got it from if you order online, would love to try it


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[fishenthusiast]

You sure are right about that nurii, you will have to share where you got it from if you order online, would love to try it


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Sure will!


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[fishenthusiast]

I'll be getting Windelov Java Fern to be the type of Java Fern that will be in this tank. I'll get some TC Windelov Java Fern from Petsmart and float it until I decide to pull my current Java Fern off of my driftwood.


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[fishenthusiast]

I'll also be incorporating Dwarf Sag into the scape. I think it looks very natural, and it'd contrast the other plants well.


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[Fresh2o]

These are all good selections for the tank you are setting up.
Set it and forget it!


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