37 gallon Tall Rescape

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10 days since I thinned the Rotala. It's grown since last photo update...three more inches and it will be to the top of the tank.

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Nearing two months since planting and the tank is a bit of a mess right now. My alkalinty and PH had dropped drasticly since I added the driftwood to the tank. My nerites were having a heyday laying eggs and pooping all over it. It started growing some yummy looking brown colored hairy type algae on it and even the purigen in my filter was not quite taking care of all of the tannins from it, so I decided I had enough and took it from the tank. I ended up finding some Lousianna driftwood at my LFS that looked nice, was pre-washed, and guaranteed not to change the color of my water, so I picked up a piece of that to replace the old wood. I completely planted my new 20 gal and added new rotala to that tank, so I took some of the cuttings from that tank and added them to either side of the rotala already in this tank (you can see some of them on the right hand side in the pic below) so that the wall of rotala would continue further down the back of the tank. Will be glad when the rotala fills in the back wall so it doesn't look so random and spacey. The original rotala plants are very close to the top of the tank now and are curling around trying to get to the light...The tips of the plants actually have some very pretty color at the moment. I think the java fern is going to go. My son got a 20 gal guppy tank for his birthday and has been begging for his own plants, so I think I am going to give those to him and replace them with something else. Maybe some Crypt Wendtii..(I bought some red wendtii for my 20gal that I really like). My nitrates were starting to get low as I had taken some fish out of the tank for my 20 gal so after much debate, I ended up picking up a Gourami. Not sure exactly how things will work out as I've heard about them occasionally being messy in planted tanks, but so far s/he's been doing well with the plants. She's a very inqusitive fish and loves swiming through the rotala and even nibbles at the algae growing on them, but they seem to be rooted well enough that it doesn't bother them. The java moss has completely taken over the top of the bridge. My zebras love chasing each other though it all day. Fish all happy but I'm a bit frustrated with getting the tank just the way I want it. After experiencing the ease of caring for my 20 gallon, I've vowed to never get a tank as tall as the 37 gal again..Shorter tanks are so much easier to take care of! :crazyeyes:

Anyway, some updated pics-

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Tips of the rotala...pretty color :)

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Updated pics 2/4. Still a work in progress. Removed the java fern. Rotala has been planted now for almost two months (2/10?) and much of it has now reached the top of the tank. Yellowing issue with the swords seems to have been resolved with the extra dose of Fe and K.

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I knew this tank was going to look great as it grew out! Diggin' those long rotala stems. The coloration looks really nice too.

One word of caution, as you trim and replant the rotala, keep the stems separated just a little bit... if they all grow together, the leaves toward the bottom will die/fall off because they don't get light.
 
:D

I've been doing all sorts of rearranging and I think I am finally starting to get a *little* more happy with how everything looks. Will be even more so once the Rotala completely takes over the back length of the tank.

I will definitely keep that in mind about the Rotala, thanks! Right now I have it thinned fairly well in attempt to make it cover more space across the back. With all the new shoots growing though, I am sure trimming/replanting time will be coming soon.
 
2/9/11 Update. Woke up this morning and decided to do some major rearranging in the tank. Went to my LFS and come home happy with $15 worth of new plants. Looked for some Moneywort but they were out of stock so I bought two bunches of Broad Leaf Ludwigia. I know this is a medium-high light plant, but the plants they had were already quite tall, so I decided to give them a go...at $1.99 I am not going to be out a whole lot of $ if they don't do well. I also got a nice sized bunch of Crypt lucens. A bunch of Crypt wendtii bronze and a bunch of the Sagittaria (which was also quite tall).

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Removed my bridge and added some rocks I found and washed. I didn't want to lose the java moss on the bridge, so I took some rocks, wrapped them in the moss, and then dropped them in an inexpensive hairnet (2 in a pack for $1 at my dollar store) to keep the moss in place. Threw everything together and I'm pretty darned pleased with how it turned out. Will take some pictures tomorrow after the water clears, but here is a first peek..


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Close Up-

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Cloudiness is completely gone! Just added a new album of pics from this tank to my profile...check them out and tell me what you think! :)

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Stunning!! Truly one of the best "new" tanks I have ever seen. You went from 0 to 100 rather quickly :)
 
Thank you, Fort! I think I am finally satisfied with the way it looks!! Now to keep it that way....Hopefully I can keep everything green and growing. :)
 
hello alisha....this tank is one of the gorgeous ones i have seen so far....very good job...you definitely have a green thumb. ;)
 
Thank you! This wasn't the easiest tank to work with since it has such a deep depth, but I'm very pleased with it at the moment :)
 
That's good. I will keep on following this thread. Your rotala is growing like crazy but in a beautiful way. Is that kind of plant okay in a 10G? Is it a low-medium light plant?
 
It will grow in medium light and can get quite tall. You'd have to trim it back regularly, but I wouldn't see why you couldn't put it in a 10 gallon.
 
Love your tank :). I just started with low light plants but Love the look of your tank...maybe another tank should be in the works for me now...it's addicting!!!
 
Thank you, Fred...yes, it certainly is addicting! Mine would be considered a low-medium light tank..low light is a great place to start and grow from, IMO. :)
 
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