# rescape?



## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

this is my 20H. i have an aqualight 36w on it and no co2. im kinda bored with how it looks right now and im thinkin about rescaping it soon. i cant really decide how to rescape though. i could have all the wood in one corner and have a sort of valley infront with maybe some HC or other carpeting plant. im really not sure what to do i just know i want to rescape. im lookin into one of those co2 things you put on a co2 tank from a paintball gun and another 36 w light to replace the purple "night light" bulb that came with the fixture. i also plan to add cherries and maybe some more fish. yall have any ideas? im a total noob to this stuff so please help lol.

if/when i do rescape, do i need to wait like 2 weeks to add fauna like i did when i first set up? jw cuz all the beneficial bacteria etc is already in my gravel but the plants will need some time to get settled in. thanks for the help


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

No you don't have to wait for your tank to recycle. You could get an ammonia spike due to digging in the gravel but a w/c will take care of that. 
As far as what to do to re-scape it, find some tanks you like the looks of and do a similar or composite of them.  The world is your oyster!


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

i really actually like the start of the tank as is why not keep it and add some more plants...it would really enhance the tank alot


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

id be ok with that, save me a lot of trouble. i just dont know what to add and where to make the tank look more natural etc. id like a carpet plant in the foreground but i dont know if ill have enough lighting and co2 for HC or glosso. any ideas? anythings appreciated


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Instead of making a curtain of the vals in back, how about moving them all to one corner (I'm thinking left behind the wood) and then adding some stem plants like Rotala sp. green, or a colorful crypt. Also, look through the PlantFinder to see what plants would do well in your tank and what you like. Have you looked at the Marsilea species for a foreground? (see here) They will grow well with lower light and they do stay reasonably short.


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## arto (Jun 11, 2008)

you can take those plants and on the right and left side you can use the to make it kinda like a jungle and then take some swords or ancharis to cover all along the back and infront of that put the wood and for a foreground you can use dwarf hairgrass and ot will look pretty natural and you dont need yo use all the rock and wood also you can sell some of those plants and replace them with something else and for co2 can can have a diy co2 

sorry if i didnt help but i tried


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

cs gardener- that sounds like a good idea to me but, if you look closely on the back glass of the tank, you can see a white design with holes in it. this tank used to be full of cichlid and there was a big limestone rock resting against the back wall and for some reason it left this pattern on my glass and i cant get rid of it. therefore, i sort of try to cover it with tall plants like the val, but if you know a way to get this stain out im game

arto- it helped but what you said was hard to understand since there was no punctuation


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I see the pattern on the back, I guess I just figured it was a background you'd used on purpose. I don't know how you'd get off that type of stain. I've had some luck with scraping some deposits off using a razor blade but it works best with an empty tank. Hmmmm, how about a moss wall?


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

that would be ok with me but i have yet to see a tank with a moss wall that looks really natural and everytime i mess with adding moss it gets full of algea in like 4 days its so annoying


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

If you put some stem plants in there they will get full and cover the back. Actually it doesn't have to be stem plants. Any plants colse together will cover it. You can hardly see the backs of many of the tanks people post. Of course they are heavily planted.


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

ya thats what i was aiming for with the vals. what other plants would work better?


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

The world is your oyster! Check out the plant finder. There are many many that are fast growing. Any stem plant that you put in there and trim will fill in. You can then plant in front of that. The lists are never ending. That's why people like me have collectoritis. We see a new plant and have to have it!


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Some of the ferns would provide some good coverage in the back. They grow slowly but Bolbitis huedeloti and narrow leaf or lace leaf java fern would eventually make a nice mass. I tie them onto some driftwood I found that isn't too visually appealing so I can move them around as I like, rocks work well too but it's harder to get the ferns "up" if that's the look I'm after. Also, there are some nice crypts that would be suitable. My Crypt spiralis took over a corner of the tank and has formed a dense mass and crypt wendtii red or bronze would be a nice contrast to the various greens. A stem plant or two would be a nice contrast to ferns and crypts. I think you'd be pleased with 3-5 different background plants to create some interest, especially if you keep them at different heights.


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

ill check out the plant finder. thanks for the help guys ill let you know how it turns out


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

would anacharis and/or watersprite be good choices as other background plants? i was also thinkin of gettin a java fern to put in the corner and let fill up too.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Watersprite or wisteria would be pretty. They are fast growers. Java fern is nice but grows slowly. 

I wouldn't use anacharis. It's always a mess and is SOOO common. There is a smaller variety of anacharis that has a leaf that curls around and down that I like. It's Egeria najas. You don't see it a lot. Since it's smaller it will take more to fill it but it's fast growing.

You could also use Ludwigia repens. It grows fast. It will stay green in low light. I might color up at the very top.


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

heres my idea so far, sorry about the bad paint job. 


what do yall think?


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

i think i might prefer java fern over the watersprite bc of looks and i wont have to trim it as often. ill see if my lfs as the ludwigia stuff when i go today


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

edit-new idea, updated other post


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I think that will look pretty good! I couldn't find #4. Looks like you have a pretty good eye there!


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

the anubias will be on a rock its the green spot. thanks for the compliment . is it a good idea to put the potemogeton gayi infront of the ludwigia repens? i thought it would be shorter so it would look ok as a transition from the ludwigia to the micro sword


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Looks like a good plan. The P gayi is a more open, airy plant so it should do fine in front of the Ludwigia. If it gets too tall it's very easy to trim. When it's happy it will send out runners everywhere, so you might want to consider a containment system for it.

I noticed that your background plantings are all about the same size. I did that in a tank and changed it later so some were bigger and others smaller - it looked a bit too regulated when the groups were all the same size. I realize this is just a general sketch, but it's something to consider when you're planting.


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

ya i know what you mean. i just want my background really thick in the middle bc theres a stain on my back glass that i cant get off that i want covered. how could i contain the P. gayi? rocks?


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

You can get a disposable cup, cut the bottom out and plant it in the rim. It doesn't spread so fast that you can't manage it. It does send out runners, kind of like dwarf sag. You can either just pull them up or do the containment planting thing.


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

does it grow as fast as corkscrew val?


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

right now for filtration i just have a penguin bio-wheel mini. should i switch to something better?


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

jackh said:


> does it grow as fast as corkscrew val?


It's growth rate depends on how happy it is with its conditions. I had it in one tank and it spread through all the stems plants in a couple weeks without me noticing it. Such a pain trying to get it out. It's now growing quite slowly in a different tank (thankfully!) and I have it boxed in by rocks so any runners will have to jump over the rocks and will be easy to see and pull.

Instead of using a cup you could cut a ring out of the center of a 2 liter pop bottle. It would be pretty easy to shape it into whatever you like and clear plastic shouldn't be too noticeable in a tank. Once it's pushed into the substrate it should be sturdy enough to keep the runners contained (or jumping the corral so it's easy to see them).


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

i like the idea of the 2 litre bottle thanks


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Catherine you are so clever! Glad you're here!


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