FresH2O's 20g planted rescape

[Old Scales]

Fresh, I'm very interested in seeing how the AR mini grows outside. Keep me posted through the summer. Cool idea! You should put a couple of trios of guppies in your pond and see how many you end up with by fall. OS.

 

[Fresh2o]

Hopefully it stays warm enough...still dropping into the 40s at night. Years ago I had black mollies in an outdoor pond. The multiplied and did well until the temps started to drop in the fall. The challenge was trying catch them all.
Guppies would be nice but I would be bringing them in at the end of summer (not sure if I want any more fish).
If I were to get different fish than I have now, I think I would like two schools of tetras: black phantom and red Serpae. I believe they are similar is shape and size; just contrasting colors. But I'm attached to my current ones for some reason.

 

[Old Scales]

The black skirt tetras look like a black version of the Serpaes when young, but their black fades to silver when they get older and are not much to look at.
Do you have any LFS's that would take the guppies after the summer?
OS.

 

[Fresh2o]

Fresh, I'm very interested in seeing how the AR mini grows outside. Keep me posted through the summer. Cool idea! You should put a couple of trios of guppies in your pond and see how many you end up with by fall. OS.

OS - I started a pond thread called "Fresh2o's Pond". Maybe I will do guppies in there. I simply need mosquito larvae control and the rosy reds (rip) weren't doing it.

 

[Old Scales]

OMG, you will have some of the nicest guppies by summer's end. When I was 14(1962) I buried an old washing machine tub in the backyard and put in 3 M & 8 Fe red Veiltails about March 1st. That early November I got around a hundred guppies of every size out of it. I lived in Houston, TX at this time so season was long and mosquitoes were plenty. They also had plenty of algae to nibble on. The tub was white(well green) and I remember laying on my belly in the grass peering over into the tub and watching them many times. OS.

 

[Fresh2o]

Nothing much to update on this tank. The star repens appear to be settling in and the new growth is nice and green. Will be trimming and replanting these soon. The AR (regular and mini) are so so. Maybe a third to half of them have wrinkled new growth. I never had this when I dosed with API Leafzone and Seachem Flourish Comp. I went back to the standard PPS Pro dosing since the plant biomass was reduced significantly. Been keeping the trates at 10 and phosphate at 4. DC stays greenish during the day. Bps at either 1-2 or 2-3.
Got some new food from mudraker from a swap and the fish love it.
Since the broadleaf chain sword were removed, the maintenance on this tank has dropped. All for now.

 

[Fresh2o]

Update: it's been about a month since the last rescape so I thought I'd post a pic. The upper image is the tank in late April and the lower image is from today (~4.5 weeks). Taking pics and comparing them is probably the easiest way to appreciate growth.

The AR mini appears to be bouncing back slowly and the star repens cuttings are rooting and growing. I don't care for the crypt in the rear center. I might move it to the shrimp tank or the pond outside and fill the space with something "different".

 

[Krissycakes]

Wow, looks really good! I like the fill-out.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Yeah I like before and after pics.. they really do show the difference in growth. What are you thinking of replacing the crypt with?

 

[Jkeating8]

I think a plant with a yellow hue would do well there. You have one green and one red on each side, and I think a yellow would offset the colors well.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Yeah I agree with Joey. Either that or something with a fine leaf structure like rotala wallichii.. or if you want green, I'd go with a long grassy look like cyprus helferi.

 

[Fresh2o]

Not sure what I want to replace the crypt with and was seeing what suggestions you guys (and gals) would come up with.
I like the Cyprus but it might be too tall for the tank. Gets 8-20"; shipped @ 12"
Do you think that a Finnex FugeRay would provide enough light for the Rotala wallichii? It is 12" from fixture to substrate with an offset of 3-4".
Other plants that I might consider (need to research first) include:
Cabomba purple
Didiplis diandra
Echinodorus angustifolia Vesuvius
Myriophyllum hererophyllum Foxtail red
Heteranthera zosterifolia Star grass
Hygrophilia pinnatifida
Limnophilia aromatica Hippuroides
Nesaea pedicellata Golden
Rotala rotundifolia
Any feedback or experience with these plants is most welcome! Depending on the space I might have room for two types of plants.

 

[Sk3lly]

How about aponogeton crispus red??

 

[Sk3lly]

Even pogostemon erectus would bring something different

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

How about aponogeton crispus red??

I love the look of this plant! I've had it on my radar for years but haven't seen it available in the US (yet). Have you tried this plant before Sk3lly?

 

[Sk3lly]

I love the look of this plant! I've had it on my radar for years but haven't seen it available in the US (yet). Have you tried this plant before Sk3lly?

Funny you should ask Brian. I have it on order! Should hopefully arrive today or tomoz i will plant up and take photos for you. Its a great plant, looks so different to others

 

[Fresh2o]

I love the look of this plant! I've had it on my radar for years but haven't seen it available in the US (yet). Have you tried this plant before Sk3lly?

Is the A. crispus 'Red' a variation a A. crisp us or is it the same plant? I am getting mixed results on the size of this plant.

 

[Fresh2o]

Even pogostemon erectus would bring something different

I looked it up and the colors and texture may make this a center piece for the tank.
I've been using plantedaquariumscentral.com's plant listings as a guide and somehow missed this one.

 

[Sk3lly]

Aponogeton crispus is light green in colour with long thin crinkled leaves. Similar leaf shape to crypts.

Aponogeton crispus red is similar in shape and leaf structure. The difference is it has greenish leaf stems but a dark deep reddish/putple crinkle leaf

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I like the Cyprus but it might be too tall for the tank. Gets 8-20"; shipped @ 12"

I've seen someone use it in a 60p which is only 14" tall. He also had a very deep substrate which subtracted from that vertical room.

Check it out. Gets interesting at post #75 and then #116.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=178908&page=5

Basically, you can trim it and it can get long but will flow along the surface of the water. This will look especially cool waving along with the current.

You can buy cyprus helferi in those culture tissue packs at petsmart. Cheap and you get several plants.