Planting Plan

**geowashlaw** · 01-26-2009, 06:30 PM

Hey everyone,

I would like your ideas/feedback on my planting plan I have developed. I attached the plan in a .pdf with tropica.com's spec sheet on each plant. I've attached a picture of the tank now, so that you can see the tank and the rocks I'm working with. Planning on piling the gravel high to the left side of tank and either sloping into a valley (going back high on the right) or just tapering it to the right side.

Wondering about the following things:

1. Will these plants work well together?

2. Will this be too many plants or too many varieties?

3. Any of these plants that won't do well with my setup? The specifics are on the sheet, but here they are as well: Temp. 78, Light 2w/g (T5), pH 7.6, GH 3 degrees -- fishes are in my signature.

4. Anything else you think I should know?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Tank Plan.pdf

SNC12264.JPG

**geowashlaw** · 01-26-2009, 07:34 PM

After looking around at what is available to order, I've made the following replacements in the planting plan above (numbered per original plan):

4. Hygrophilia corymbosa replaced with Rotala macandra v. 'narrow leaf' (Rotala magenta0

5. Deleted, not replaced

9. Juncus repens replaced with rotala nanjenshan (this one concerns me as differing sources say either medium light or high light)

**geowashlaw** · 01-26-2009, 07:55 PM

more substitutions:

2. Alternanthera reineckii (pink) replaced with Limnophilia 'hippuroides'

and

7. Cryptocorne undulata replaced with cryptocorne wendtii 'tropica'

Also, my new light is 2w/g T5. I think I will continue to use my old light, which is providing me .75 w/g, which will put me at 2.75 w/g total.

**Rue** · 01-26-2009, 08:00 PM

Wow! Very thorough!

I won't be of much help. I'm familiar with most of the really common stuff...not good with the others...

But I might suggest, for the size of your tank...that you might want to reduce it to 5 species or so...

2 tall ones...2 medium...and one short plant for the foreground...

**geowashlaw** · 01-26-2009, 08:19 PM

Thanks! I kind of threw it together the first time without much thought and ended up not liking it, so I figured I would ponder it greatly this time. I'm going to try to reset the rocks in the next couple of days and then I'll have a better idea of actual planting space and whether or not the plan will work. You know what they say ... the greatest plans of mice and men are quickly laid asunder ... lol

**geowashlaw** · 01-27-2009, 04:02 PM

Okay ... round 2. I went home last night and studied the size of my rocks in relation to the tank. I also took into account Rue's advice to reduce the number of species. Since most of the rocks have a very red hue to them, I decided to accent with red-hued plants behind the rocks but keep most of the stuff in the middle green. I dropped the Rotala Magenta and Rotala Nanjenshan, bringing me down to only 9 species of plants. Only one of them is rated on Tropica.com as being demanding (Didiplis diandra). The rest are all very easy to medium. I also finally decided the last remaining issue of "valley" or "slope" and chose the "valley" look. I did this because I have a huge amount of sea glass in the tank that I picked up in Cuba and I wanted to use it. I couldn't figure out how to do that without it getting lost in the carpet that the Hemianthus will form. So, by putting a valley with a "stream" in the low part, I can put it all there with no plants.

Welcome any suggestions or advice on these particular plant types.

Tank Plan 2.pdf

**doug z** · 01-27-2009, 04:23 PM

Looks good!

I love A. var nana.. Lovely, indestructible little plant..

I agree with Rue..

Try to keep it to 5 species of plant, especially seeing as the rock is so colourful..

It will be WAY too busy, otherwise..

**geowashlaw** · 01-27-2009, 04:35 PM

Thanks Doug! I always look forward to your input! I'm at a loss about what else to cut out. Help me reason through this:

Limnophilia 'hippuroides' is a tall growing plant with red ends that I was utilizing just in the one corner to grow from behind the tall, striated, pointed rock in the picture.

The Tiger lotus I was putting alone in the middle of the grouping of three rocks.

The Echinodorus x. barthii is to add the red color to the other side behind the flat rock that now sits atop the structure in the picture.

I have some of the anubias and cryptocorne wendtii 'green' already, that's why i put them along the stream.

I could live without the algae balls, I guess, I just thought they were cool.

I could also get rid of the didiplis and the wendtii 'tropica'. But, that would leave me nothing between the two rock groupings except the anubias and crypts along the stream and the hemianthus carpet.

Maybe I will start like that and then decide if I want to add more. That just means an extra shipping charge -- as there is no good place to buy plants near me that I have found yet!

**Rue** · 01-27-2009, 04:38 PM

I like this version better.

No need to rush...if you start with the basics you might find you really like it...or you may find you want more...but at least you'll be in a good place to make those decisions...