FresH2O's 20g planted rescape

[TMaier]

I'm sure whatever you do will be lovely.

 

[Fresh2o]

Thanks for the encouragement.
I've done the Dutch theme (or close to it) for over two years now. Growing plants is one thing; mixing and matching colors, textures, and shapes and getting something pleasing to the eye is another thing. Hardscape and interesting slopes have always been a challenge for me. Much easier to just throw plants in there and call it a day.
Aside from the deeper substrate on the left and the DW poking out, the tank currently seems "flat".
What I'm thinking of doing is moving the heater to the left rear corner, removing the plants along the right, rear of the tank, placing a couple of flat rocks on their edges and backfilling with substrate (I have a bunch of EcoComplete laying around). I can replant most of the plants in the spaces between the rocks. They will just be kept shorter due to the newly raised areas.
If I find a picture of this, I will post it.

 

[Delapool]

Looking forward to seeing this

 

[Fresh2o]

Looking forward to seeing this

Me, too. I'm thinking mountains and cliffs.
In a few weeks I will be getting some new plants. Don't know what they exactly look like but I trust the seller.
I need to pickup a spare CO2 paintball tank, a better diffuser, and maybe a small power head (hello e-bay).

 

[bullyboy]

Sounds awesome, im excited to see how you use perspective comming from a Dutch background

 

[Fresh2o]

Duly noted: DBT / HC Cuba is not a big fan of hydrogen peroxide. I was looking at the carpet and notice some of the plants had brown leaves. Never the first pair but the second and third pairs. Then I just remembered that yesterday I was spot treating some BBA and got carried away.
Will post updates on its recovery.

 

[Delapool]

I found that as well when I let the h2o2 go to close to fine leaf plants

 

[Autumnsky]

Just got back into town. I will be digging out those stones to send you this week (most probably)...

 

[Fresh2o]

Update on the HC Cuba: The portions on the leaves that were brown simply "went away". The remaining leaves are green and new growth is present. Ok have to be more careful with spot treating.
When I swapped the CO2 tank, I left the timer on the "ON" setting since it was off hours. Several days later while doing a morning water change I noticed that the drop checker was lime green and the plants were pearling. The one set of lights had only been on about 5 minutes. That's when I discovered the timer setting. Oops.
Still going through possible designs in my head of the new scape. Procuring the right hardscape will be key.

 

[Delapool]

That sounds really good on plants coming back. Mine struggled for a few weeks - depended on the dose they got I guess.

 

[Fresh2o]

Last weekend I did a 5x dose of PPS-Pro and was away for the holiday. Upon my return, no apparent losses in stock and there was quite a bit of growth with the plants. Several Ludwigia stems have grown up to the surface. The Pogostemon erectus have opened up and the ammania bonsai and AR mini look healthy. Several clumps of HC Cuba have lifted up; I will replant then were SS squares and fishing line. The existing carpet is due for a trim.
The CO2 bubble count is around 4 bps; a bit higher than I usually set it. Going to scale it back because I just remembered that the last refill was a free partial refill (about 20%) and there might not be too much left in this tank. I am going to ordered a second PB tank this weekend.
Oh, a pic:

 

[Caliban07]

Last weekend I did a 5x dose of PPS-Pro and was away for the holiday. Upon my return, no apparent losses in stock and there was quite a bit of growth with the plants. Several Ludwigia stems have grown up to the surface. The Pogostemon erectus have opened up and the ammania bonsai and AR mini look healthy. Several clumps of HC Cuba have lifted up; I will replant then were SS squares and fishing line. The existing carpet is due for a trim.
The CO2 bubble count is around 4 bps; a bit higher than I usually set it. Going to scale it back because I just remembered that the last refill was a free partial refill (about 20%) and there might not be too much left in this tank. I am going to ordered a second PB tank this weekend.
Oh, a pic:

Looks well as usual. I think I'm going to order another fire extinguisher soon so I can rotate which will put less pressure on an instant refill.

Just looking at your scape. I don't know what you have planned but the for me the left side is faultless and if it were me I wouldn't change it. Wood seems to work well in this shape tank and so I'd be tempted to add a similar piece on the other side that reaches over towards the first creating some kind of ledging for a planted cave perhaps?

 

[Caliban07]

Something along these lines

 

[Fresh2o]

Cal - I appreciate the insight on the scape, especially on the right side. The pic you have shows elevated terrain along the sides and back and a commitment to the DW theme. That is along the line I think I am going for, with or without the DW on the right side. Terraces, cliffs, and plants growing/creeping along the slopes.
I don't mind pulling out the plants along the back (and part of the carpet) since they readily grow back.
The left rear corner is a hodgepodge with some stray dwarf sag and crypts growing. I pulled the crypts out at least a year ago but it apparently regrew from the roots left behind. There are probably a dozen dwarf sag plants lurking back there.
I just trimmed the Ludwigia red and ammania bonsai for a plant swap. I will have some new plants coming in (not sure what I'm getting...it's a surprise) so the Ludwigia might go bye bye. It really only looks good as it approaches the surface.
I added some root pellets for the first or second time this year. Either the EC is doing better with nutrient management than I thought or water column ferts are really where it's at. Or both.

 

[Caliban07]

Cal - I appreciate the insight on the scape, especially on the right side. The pic you have shows elevated terrain along the sides and back and a commitment to the DW theme. That is along the line I think I am going for, with or without the DW on the right side. Terraces, cliffs, and plants growing/creeping along the slopes.
I don't mind pulling out the plants along the back (and part of the carpet) since they readily grow back.
The left rear corner is a hodgepodge with some stray dwarf sag and crypts growing. I pulled the crypts out at least a year ago but it apparently regrew from the roots left behind. There are probably a dozen dwarf sag plants lurking back there.
I just trimmed the Ludwigia red and ammania bonsai for a plant swap. I will have some new plants coming in (not sure what I'm getting...it's a surprise) so the Ludwigia might go bye bye. It really only looks good as it approaches the surface.
I added some root pellets for the first or second time this year. Either the EC is doing better with nutrient management than I thought or water column ferts are really where it's at. Or both.

Even if the plants are a hodgepodge, it's obvious there has been some consideration when planting the stems. The arrangement is good. I think it needs elevated terrain on this side to match the right. This will give the tank more character and a touch of naturalism that can be hard to achieve when going Dutch. Mainly because naturalism is not usually high on the priority list with this method but I feel it could be achieved especially since you have the length.

 

[Bert2oo1]

You've been very quiet laterly fresh! Any progress on the rescape yet?

 

[Fresh2o]

You've been very quiet laterly fresh! Any progress on the rescape yet?

None at all, sadly. I have a few ideas. Something, perhaps along these lines. Maybe not the blue background. With the right hardscape, I will easily part with the manzanita branches. I have no shortage of HC Cuba to fill the slopes.
I am also contemplating a canister (sunsun 302b) and some type of reactor.

 

[fishenthusiast]

I know that you are planning on using HC Cuba, but are you thinking of using the same stem background plants or new stem plants? I look forward to seeing what this tank becomes.

 

[Fresh2o]

I may keep a few stems of AR mini and pogo erectus. Definitely the Ammania bonsai. Fissidens fontanus and staur repens in the mid ground. I might be on the lookout for reds and pinks.
The rest of the stem plants would go.
I have some crypts and dwarf sag that need to be re-homed (these can go any time).

 

[Autumnsky]

There are some nice pink, burgundy, purple/blues in Buces.