| Layout & planting
The only plant that was left in the same place as before, was the Sagitaria
subulata in the right front part of the tank. That's because they were
already in the place I wanted them to be. They were also too many (almost
50 roots) and had started growing, even producing little plants with their
runners. I already had the effect of a grass like garden.
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Before I tie anything to my large wood I did a test placing it in the tank
to see how it would fit best. At that time I also placed the thermostat,
exactly behind the vertical part of the wood. With the addition
of plants next to it it will completely invisible when viewed from
front. The cool thing is that since the wood is not completely vertical
but forms an small angle, actually forces me to install the thermostat
the correct way !
The space that was left between the wood and the back side of the
tank will be filled with stem plants. When these grow they will
form a plant "wall" and with the aid of the wood will
create three different levels, the first will be the tall plants,
then the riccia and java moss that are on the wood and finally the
short plants at the front. I hope that this will give a 3d sense
of depth in the setup.
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I placed the two pieces of wood on the right part
of the tank, slightly of the center. The small piece that was covered
with the Anubias, was placed in such a way that only the part of
it that has no anubias on is under the horizontal part of the large
wood. This placement ensures that the anubias will not be in the
shade.
A photo taken form above (photo on the left) shows that Anubias
will get all the light they need. There is a small space between
the subulata, the small piece with the anubias and the large wood
that will be used for the Rotala walichi. This combination will
be the focal point of the tank. Rotala has striking colors, it will
contradict with the green of the anubias and the Riccia. At the
same time a short of "cave" will be formed under the large
wood, an ideal place for fish seeking shelter. |
| This is a more complete picture taken from above
(photo on the right). There is not much space on the right part
of the tank especially between the edge of the large wood and the
side of the tank. This place needs long stem plants without large
leaves. The Rotala rotundifolia I had, was already at a good length
and they were many stems, so I thought I would plant them there.
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The intake of the external filter was on the left
side of the tank (not visible in the photo). Since I wanted to hide
it as well I needed quite tall and bushy plants. I thought that
I would use my huge Hygrophila corymbosa there, which were quite
tall, with large leaves and I had four of them. I planted Limnophila
sessiliflora right next to them because they have a completely different
type of leaf and they would form a nice bush when fully grown.
In front of the Hygrophila corymbosa, a few Bacopa caroliniana
were planted. These grow quite tall and straight up, but are rather
thin, with small round leaves, so placing them in front would not
obscure the Hygrophila.
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Rotala macrandra was placed close to the center, mainly because they
were new and that spot in the tank received the gratest amount of light,
so I wanted to ensure they would survive. Two Altenathera reinecki were
also planted next to them for the same reason, since they had just been
treated with bleach and I wanted to provide the best conditions to them.
They are also redish in color, so they fit there best. Later they could
be replanted if necessary.
Hydrocotyle leucocephala was planted on the front side, to gether with
two Hygrophila difformis roots. These plants when they receive enough
light they tend to expand horizontally. I was also prepared to help them
by trimming them and ensure that the roots they produce along the stem
would be inserted into the gravel, so to keep them to the substrate..
A couple of Ammania gracilis roots were also planted on the left side
until they grow new leaves and then decide were exactly fit better.
| The right part of the tank was "stronger"
than the left, in the sense that the plants had more or less their
final positions, and the layout was more interesting. Apart from
the Rotala rotundifollia that was planted in the far right, Ludvigia
repens was planted in the back side, between the wood and the back
side of the tank. Ludvigia grows tall and when it reaches the light
gets a nice red color. It is ideal there because the wood hides
the "dull" lower part of the plant, while the top "interesting"
part is visible. It creates a nice contrast with the green of the
java moss, and the Hygrophila polysperma which is right next to
it.
The Hygrophila polysperma were planted in the back also. They tend
to get really bushy, especially when pruned quite low, but that
is exactly the effect I wanted. I did not like the fact that they
were exactly behind Riccia which has more or less the same color,
but I decide to left them there, and then probably get rid of the
riccia and leave the java moss only, which requires less maintenance. |
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The Rotala Walichi was planted in front, a nice orange-redish bush, which
I hope will workout well. However, in order to promote the layout it should
not be allowed to grow too much. If it does not produce this striking
colour at the specific length, then I will probably replace it with one
or more Altenathera reinecki, which produce nice color as well.
In general, I tried to keep plants in large groups, try to have groups
with different leaf styles next to another, and keep the alteration of
color interesting throughout the setup. The sense of depth is achieved
by the use of the wood and the lower plants in the front part.
I also planted the plants as close to each other as I could without risking
their health or light requirements. In fact a nice bushy growth in most
of cases is not achieved by a very dense planting but by trimming and
the good health of the plants. A beautiful tank needs its time to "settle"
and mature. Of course, changes can also be made if something goes wrong
in some of the plants, or a change that would assist the overall layout
is needed.
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This is how the tank looked a day after
planting, in order to allow the water to be clear for the photo.
Of course "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" but
it is quite nice for a start isn't it ;
Tune in as we will watch how it grows, and what needs to be corrected
in order to make it much better, on a future update.
Click
here for tank parameters and complete plant list. |
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