# Need advice on plant selection for my new tank



## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Hi everyone

I'm currently in the process of setting up a new planted tank I'm going to use mainly wood on this layout. The picture shows roughly what I plan on doing with it . I also plan on adding rock behind the wood leaving only a little foreground to work with. For the foreground I'm going to use Monte Carlo I also want to incorporate downoi somewhere in the scape. Outside of the I'm not sure what else to add. I've never really used mosses in the past and I thought that might be a good idea to attach some to the wood. 

Any thoughts? The tank is 90 gallons 48 x 18 x 24


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

I would skip the moss, it's just more maintenance when it's time to trim (and scoop). Your scape looks very dark I like it lol. Make it a dark theme and get some rotala butterfly mini super red known for their blood red colour and put it in the back lots of it.


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## iamaloner (Dec 20, 2014)

Something like this would be nice. It's the closest look alike I could see online. A lot of smaller plants that grow on wood would be nice. A whole bug bunch of anubias and ferns.









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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

iamaloner said:


> Something like this would be nice. It's the closest look alike I could see online. A lot of smaller plants that grow on wood would be nice. A whole bug bunch of anubias and ferns.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah that's kind of the look I'm going for. I'm a little uneasy about the tank height I'm hoping my lighting will be sufficient so I'm going to stick with plants I had success with in the past. I posted a list in the buy/sell section. I think your right coldmantis. I love the look of mossy branches but I might be going over my head if I decide to use it.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Ok I've setup the tank I'm pretty happy with it. Now that it's setup I'm thinking of using java fern to fill the void in the corners behind the rocks. What do you guys think? Should I go with java fern or something else?


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## iamaloner (Dec 20, 2014)

planter said:


> Ok I've setup the tank I'm pretty happy with it. Now that it's setup I'm thinking of using java fern to fill the void in the corners behind the rocks. What do you guys think? Should I go with java fern or something else?


Looks good
Won't the JF just be hidden behind the wood? Because that is where the branches get thick.

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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

iamaloner said:


> Looks good
> Won't the JF just be hidden behind the wood? Because that is where the branches get thick.
> 
> Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk


It will fill the entire area they get pretty big left in trimmed. I can always cut and trim to hide or expose the branches


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## iamaloner (Dec 20, 2014)

Are you planting them behind the drift wood on/close to the substrate or on the driftwood itself around the top corners. The latter is what I was assuming and that's why I suggested they wouldn't look great. The growth would be too high to the water line etc
What's your plan for the rest of the scape?

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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

iamaloner said:


> Are you planting them behind the drift wood on/close to the substrate or on the driftwood itself around the top corners. The latter is what I was assuming and that's why I suggested they wouldn't look great. The growth would be too high to the water line etc
> What's your plan for the rest of the scape?
> 
> Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk


Yeah the fern will be placed behind the rocks there is about 8 inches of clearance from the rock to the back of the tank on both sides I'll let the fern fill that void and eventually cover some of the rocks and branches

The rest of they layout will have various plants surrounding the rock edges

Downoi
Cardinal plants
AR Mini
Blyxa japonica
Hair grass (maybe)

Plus a.possibly a few others depending what I find and what space is left. The foreground is going to carpeted with Monte Carlo

I may change things up depending what I can find.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

What about Java Fern on one side and Hydrocotyle tripartita sp."Japan" on the other? I had kind of the same rock scape on my old tank which had about 6" clearance.

Disregard the red circle on the Cardinal plant. Be warned though H "Japan" grew crazy in my tank. When I shut it down and took the plant out it completely took up the volume of a 5g tank.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

I thought about using a different plant on the other end but with the way the wood interlocks with each other I think using the same plant on both sides will look balanced


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## iamaloner (Dec 20, 2014)

What type of lights and substrate do you have going btw ? Are you planning on co2 or dosing?

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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

For the lighting I'm using two ecoxotic e90 led fixtures and i have space for a t5 ho fixture but I think that would be overkill. Im goimg the stick with just the leds for now. 

The soil is Ada aquasoil. I'm using about 5 9l bags I will be running co2 and dosing as needed.


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## iamaloner (Dec 20, 2014)

Nice!
I'm selling a ecoxotic e90 coincidentally lol. If you need one more hit me up. That too is probably overkill anyways. 

I'm slowing upgrading to a 60" tank and they just don't work for me anymore. 

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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

I'll keep that in mind thank you. Its 36" wide and is suspended about 4 inches over the tank. The spread is good at that height but I don't know if enough light with hit the bottom of the tank being 24" deep.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

I've been able to track down most of plants I intend on using I should have the tank up and running by the weekend. Now as far as the fauna is concerned I was thinking of a school of Congo Tetras, a group of Bolivian Rams for clean up some Amano Shrimps possible Otto cats out side of that I'm drawing a blank in terms of what else to stock the tank with. Anyone have any suggestions?

I won't be adding much or anything until the tank is cycled and the plants have had time to establish themselves.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

Siamese Algae Eaters for BBA and some botia loaches for snails (add the loaches after your monte carlo carpets.


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## iamaloner (Dec 20, 2014)

For aesthetic reasons only I'd say harlequin rasbora

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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

I'm still looking for a few more plants but most of it is planted. The tank is setup and running but is cloudy like hell. I'll take some pictures once it clears up. I have a few weeks to figure out my fauna.


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