Thank you for the comments. I have to post new pictures... hopefully later this week.
The HC hasn't covered the bottom because I'm still fighting Cladophora and I keep up-rooting the HC when trying to remove the algae. I'm getting frustrated. Maybe I should look for some other low ground cover to use up front.
The moss is looking terrific as it covers some of the driftwood branches.
The dwarf hair grass shows an interesting growth pattern: in high flow areas, it stays short ~ 6 inches long. In low flow areas it reaches 10 - 11 inches tall. That is just the opposite of what I would have expected from my reading. Plants are supposed to grow better in good flow areas. The theory is that the flow will distribute the ferts better and result in improved plant growth. Shows you what the experts know.
The Potamogeton gayi is hardly growing. It needs more light than I'm allowing, but if I up the light, the algae will grow faster, so the Potamogeton gayi might not work out in the dark back corner of the tank. However, the dwarf hair grass is growing there rather nicely. So I may just let things grow the way they want to. I prefer a "natural" look to a groomed look anyway.
I've added a dozen Gertrude's Blue Eyes rainbow fish... very cool little critters. The RCS are multiplying like... well, like shrimp. There are dozens of them. I've also added daphnia. The very small daphnia are eaten by the rainbow fish. The larger adults aren't eaten and might breed in the tank - providing a steady source of live food for the fish.
Ill post new pictures in a few days.
Good luck with your new project!!!
______________________
BTW, it's too early to tell, but I'm beginning to think that harder water slows down algae growth. Here's the saga for those interested:
I was keeping the aquarium water at a GH of 5-6. Then I got some rainbow fish. All of them died within a week. I never checked the GH of the water they were shipped in. The info on the internet is split vis-a-vis the best GH for the Gertrude's rainbow fish. The pro's say they prefer soft water. Some ignoramuses - like me - who actually have them in captivity, said they prefer hard water. So I measured the GH in the water that the next batch arrived in. The GH was 16. I slowly increased the GH in the tank to 10, and lowered the GH in the water with the fish to 10. It took about 8-10 hours to do that... although I should have done that over several days - not hours. Anyway, I got away with it. All tank inhabitants survived and all the rainbow fish survived and everyone is happy now some 3 weeks later. Anyway, since raising the GH in my tank to 10, it seems to me that the growth rate of the Cladophora has slowed a little.