Plant my 20 Long for me

[PatO]

Here is what I have. 

-20 Long

-24" Finnex Stingray light

- Small sponge and HOB filter

- 30 Lb of  Activ Flora subrate with regular substrate on top to get to 3"

I plan for those to be a neon tank with shrimp, nerites and maybe a few Ottos. The tank will have a few rocks for decoration and a spider wood center pieces. I want the tank to be heavily planted. If you had an unlimited budget for plants on the Co-op site, what would you add? I'm hoping for some inspiration.

[Jungle Fan]

If you are planning on having just one spiderwood centerpiece I would locate it either on the left, or right of the tank but not in the middle. Behind it I would plant some background stem plants like Ammania gracilis, Scarlet temple, or Ludwigia repens framed on both sides of the stump by either Bacopa caroliniana, or Brazilian Pennywort. On the root I would affix the epiphyte plants in the following order from the tips of the roots to the top of the stump, first Anubia nana petite, then Anubias nana, then Java fern, or Anubias afzelli all glued on with the gel type super glue. In the opposite corner I would place a Red Flame Sword, or other sword plant, or two. or some Bacopa, or Pennywort, In the midground I'd recommend some crypts like Cryptocoryne tropica, or Cryptocoryne wendtii. in the foreground on the sides I would plant some smaller crypts like Cryptocoryne parva, or Cryptocoryne lucens and fill out the middle with either Staurogyne repens, Dwarf Baby Tears, in my experience both Dwarf Hairgrass and Micro Swords can be iffy to get started without inviting algae for beginners. That's just a simple layout, easy to take care of based upon what I currently saw available on the Aquarium Co-Op web site, except for the Ludwigia repens which is usually not too hard to source locally anywhere without problem. Hope this helps as an inspiration.

[Jungle Fan]

Forgot to mention make sure to place root tabs throughout the area where you are going to plant swords and crypts.

[Jungle Fan]

You can see what the stump looks like with this method in my thread about my 75 gallon tank and decide for yourself whether it is something you'd like, or not. After all we all have different visions, and what I like might not be your cup of tea.

 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Jungle Fan
replaced the word post with thread

[PatO]

Wow great suggestions and feedback. I absolutely will be using slot of your suggestions. In case you have any other ideas, I’m including a picture of the spider wood and rocks I was planning to add. I’m not  sure if all of the rocks will make it in or not. 
 

Second, your tank in that thread is stunning. Absolutely gorgeous and something to aspire to.

[Jungle Fan]

It looks like the spider wood is already attached to a piece of slate; if so you should be good to go, if not you definitely will need to soak it first because in my experience it usually takes anywhere from a week to two weeks to stop floating. I would hide the slate in the substrate and arrange the rocks around the base of the wood to make it look like the wood had naturally grown out of it. The pockets in the rock are absolutely perfect for attaching Anubias nana petite and Anubias nana, a bit of Java fern at the base of the wood in between rock and wood, and on the wood itself I would go with Anubias nana petite and maybe a few small pieces of Christmas moss on a few branches. I think you got some great supplies for a beautiful hardscape already.

[Jungle Fan]

Make sure to also add a few smaller accent rocks around the base, preferably the same color/texture as the big rocks, they will help blend and merge the hardscape together.