EVoyager31 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 Apologies for long post, but this is a stream of consciousness from my post-work brain rn. Okay, so I got overzealous when I originally scaped my 75G tiger barb tank (C02, ferts, whole shebang). In my head, I wanted a VARIETY of plants and I wanted them EVERYWHERE like a jungle. Well, I got that, but it did not look the way I wanted in the end and I am thinking of just starting fresh as many of my plants were leggy, unorganized, and chaotic. I think a more cohesive look (say 3-6 kinds of plants) would be ideal to get that picturesque and peaceful look. I'd like to go for something a little lower maintenance (I'm not afraid of maintenance..just..less..). Of the plants in my tank now, I am definitely going to keep my S. Repens that I have been working to carpet (slowly, for whatever reason) and probably will keep the jungle vals I have as well. I also have a long piece of driftwood that is pretty simplistic. I like color but have had a hard time maintaining red plants (they usually yellow or go brown even through they still grow like crazy despite c02 and ferts). So I suppose my questions is, what kind of plants would you suggest? Any tips and tricks? I've watched many videos and understand the mechanics of foreground, midground and background plants but can never seem to get that truly "successful" look. I attached a photo of my tank before the intrusive thoughts won and I practically decimated everything for reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 You do use CO2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVoyager31 Posted July 21, 2022 Author Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 3:26 PM, Mmiller2001 said: You do use CO2? I do, mixed in a reactor before it even makes it in the tank. Don't ask what the amount is..I can't remember 😅 Though when I set it all up I was careful and followed the c02 chart that everyone seems to use and I was in the green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 (edited) Okay, I think what you are running into are plants that just grow too fast in CO2. I'd imagine you like the grouping look but hate the constant cutting. I know I do. I've found that sticking to easy to medium difficulty plants and sticking to slow to moderate growth speed is going to make your life easier so you can enjoy the tank more. All my suggestions will be around ease and speed. Any Bacopa, but Colorata is amazing Bacopa Salzmanni Ludwigia Natans, Super Red, Ovalis. Stay away from Ludwigia Repens. Val Leopard or any val really S. Belem Myrio Green or Foxtail. Though on the faster side. Almost every Rotala, wallichi and bonsai can be tricky. Tiger Lotus, dwarf Lilly, Taiwan Lily Giant Baby tears Pogo Helferi Pogo Erectus Cryptocoryne all kinds Spatulata Creeping jenny Try to stick to individual groups vs the same plant in several places. Also mosses are nice, but need trimming more often than I like. Edited July 21, 2022 by Mmiller2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVoyager31 Posted July 21, 2022 Author Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 3:50 PM, Mmiller2001 said: Okay, I think what you are running into are plants that just grow too fast in CO2. I'd imagine you like the grouping look but hate the constant cutting. I know I do. I've found that sticking to easy to medium difficulty plants and sticking to slow to moderate growth speed is going to make your life easier so you can enjoy the tank more. All my suggestions will be around ease and speed. Any Bacopa, but Colorata is amazing Bacopa Salzmanni Ludwigia Natans, Super Red, Ovalis. Stay away from Ludwigia Repens. Val Leopard or any val really S. Belem Myrio Green or Foxtail. Though on the faster side. Almost every Rotala, wallichi and bonsai can be tricky. Tiger Lotus, dwarf Lilly, Taiwan Lily Giant Baby tears Pogo Helferi Pogo Erectus Cryptocoryne all kinds Spatulata Creeping jenny Try to stick to individual groups vs the same plant in several places. Also mosses are nice, but need trimming more often than I like. Thank you for these suggestions, I will look them over and likely pick several of them to go in the final tank. Questions: I have kept creeping jenny and it gets incredibly tangled (I guess I just have to be on top of trimming more? Just the nature of this plant?), I have also encountered stem rot at the bottom of these plants and fantastic growth at the top. Any ideas why that happens? Also on the myrio, I love the way this plant looks but in my experience it essentially turns to mush over time. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 What's your substrate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVoyager31 Posted July 21, 2022 Author Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 4:05 PM, Mmiller2001 said: What's your substrate? Ecocomplete. I seem to only have this issue on stem plants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 Could be nutrients, lack of light and lack of CO2. Sometimes, temperamental plants will do that on me if something is off. Things I did that improved my tank overall. RO water 0dKH Dropping GH to 4.5 degrees Upgraded light. Front loading Macro nutrients and dosing .5pm Fe. .4ppm Fe as proxy from CSMB and .1ppm from 11% DPTA All in one fertilizers get problematic when trying to dial in specific issues. Greater than 50% water changes really improves the health of the tank. Dropping TDS also makes a big difference. This is a big problem when using tap water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 12:20 PM, EVoyager31 said: I attached a photo of my tank before the intrusive thoughts won and I practically decimated everything for reference. My barbs loved to swim through / around things. In your new layout I would try to give them some verticality in the middle of the tank. That shorter stem that's in the back left I would potentially move to the center in front of that wood and then try to remove / attach the moss to the wood itself and get rid of the big ball. The val in the back is really blocked out but looks really nice as a contrast to all of the other stems. Giving that some room in the back of the tank (push the stuff left of it or in front of it to the left) would really help to feature it a bit better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 I just noticed your light. I had to run 2 3.0's on my 75. In the end, I bought a single better light and it's infinitely better than running 2 Fluvals. Could explain some of the stem melt on your stems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVoyager31 Posted July 21, 2022 Author Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 5:05 PM, Mmiller2001 said: I just noticed your light. I had to run 2 3.0's on my 75. In the end, I bought a single better light and it's infinitely better than running 2 Fluvals. Could explain some of the stem melt on your stems. I have the fluval plant 3.0... from what I understand that is one of the better lighting systems you can buy at a box store. It puts out a ton of light (though in the photo it may have been transitioning into afternoon lighting). I'm unlikely to buy another light.. do you think extending the amount of time the light is on full blast would help? On 7/21/2022 at 4:57 PM, nabokovfan87 said: My barbs loved to swim through / around things. In your new layout I would try to give them some verticality in the middle of the tank. That shorter stem that's in the back left I would potentially move to the center in front of that wood and then try to remove / attach the moss to the wood itself and get rid of the big ball. The val in the back is really blocked out but looks really nice as a contrast to all of the other stems. Giving that some room in the back of the tank (push the stuff left of it or in front of it to the left) would really help to feature it a bit better. These are good ideas.. I've puled some plants out already and will likey move others into other tanks as I redo this one. But I will keep all this in mind! Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 (edited) On 7/21/2022 at 3:10 PM, EVoyager31 said: do you think extending the amount of time the light is on full blast would help? I would try just bumping up slowly. Shoot for only 8 hours max. Ramp up in 30 minutes and ramp down in 30 minutes. By slowly, I mean a few percent per week. You will probably have to bump up co2 as well. I could never get those Fluvals to produce what higher end lights could do. I might start with double checking co2, nutrients and water first. Make sure those are doing well first. Edited July 21, 2022 by Mmiller2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 2:19 PM, Mmiller2001 said: I could never get those Fluvals to produce what higher end lights could do. I don't want to turn this into a lighting thread, but I'm curious if you recall the settings you used? I didn't really have any issues based on lighting. I with I had a photo of the tank once the plants grew in 😞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVoyager31 Posted July 21, 2022 Author Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 5:28 PM, nabokovfan87 said: I don't want to turn this into a lighting thread, but I'm curious if you recall the settings you used? I didn't really have any issues based on lighting. I with I had a photo of the tank once the plants grew in 😞 Can’t quite remember, but I believe there was a very extensive thread for the 3.0 on here that I followed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 2:59 PM, EVoyager31 said: Can’t quite remember, but I believe there was a very extensive thread for the 3.0 on here that I followed. Correct. I've posted pretty much all of my lighting profiles over there as well so others can use them and run some tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 3:28 PM, nabokovfan87 said: I don't want to turn this into a lighting thread, but I'm curious if you recall the settings you used? I didn't really have any issues based on lighting. I with I had a photo of the tank once the plants grew in 😞 I don't, but I tried various settings and the light was just a let down. Very over priced lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVoyager31 Posted July 21, 2022 Author Share Posted July 21, 2022 On 7/21/2022 at 6:06 PM, nabokovfan87 said: Correct. I've posted pretty much all of my lighting profiles over there as well so others can use them and run some tests. Yep! Thats the one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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