# Rotala madness - 20 gal dutch style



## skewlboy

Ok, so figure I would share my latest obsession. It is a rotala dominated tank that has been filling in here for a little over 2 months. I really wanted a tank I could grow small leaved species in and have the impression that the tank was much larger. Never really done rows before so I figured I would grow them then scape them.... I'm actually happier with the pockets of color and don't know what to do about rows...

Tank specs

20 gallon long tank
4 x 24 Watt T5 lighting
co2 - 2-3 bps w/ DIY reactor
aquasoil type I
fertilization w/ seachem line (mostly flourish - w/ occasional tweaking of npk and iron)

only fauna in there are yellow shrimp (harder to see when taking photos and more hardy than the CRS I had in there before) and a lonely flagfish.


















left 








middle








right


















1 Sphaerocaryum malaccense 
2 rotala nanjenshan
3 hydrocotyle verticillata (true form)
4 rotala macrandra narrow
5 rotala gia lai
6 limnophila aromatica broad
7 ludwigia senegalensis
8 Staurogyne porto vehlo
9 eriocaulon blood *****
10 rotala araguaia
11 rotala Singapore
12 rotala indica (ammania bonsai)
13 rotala macrandra green
14 tonina fluviatilis lotus
15 eriocaulon sulawesi
16 mini pellia
17 rotala mexicana belem
18 ludwigia inclinata
19 limnophila repens mini
20 rotala macrandra super red
21 rotala mexicana goias
22 limnophila Vietnam mini
23 rotala mini type 2
24 rotala macrandra mini butterfly
25 bacopa japan
26 lindernia sp India
27 indernia rotundifolia variegated 
28 rotala Vietnam
29 rotala mexicana green


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## freshyleif

Absolutely AWSOME !!! I love it. Those colors are great and I think the tank size is great. I have been slowely building a 20g long similar to this in my head only. This is so motivating and again I LOVE all the color and the full look already, can't wait to see more pictures as it grows.


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## JustOneMore21

Wow....I really like this tank! It looks very structured to me, but I like it. The differences in leaf shape and color make it work IMO. 

I'll be looking for your for sale threads....I'm all about some Rotalas!


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## bratyboy2

nice collection. i was just thinking about doing a tank like this. they are my favorite too.


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## skewlboy

thanks for the kind words. It is becoming a labor of love..  

"I would love to do an all stem tank w/ great color" - careful what you wish for sometimes...  Now I must trim


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## Jessie

LOVE this tank!


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## Phil Edwards

You're my hero! This is absolutely awesome.


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## skewlboy

growing out some dwarf riccia and some rotala sunset for this tank... muhahahahahah. 
May do away with the bacopa japan as it just doesn't fit right in the tank. 

Any other ideas for plants w/ small leaves and relatively slow growing?


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## Bunbuku

Fantastic! I love the contrasting colors in both your tanks! I am sure you will find a lot of buyers for your trimmings (incl me:loco - with that you could finance a 3rd tank!


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## skewlboy

now if only the weather would cooperate...  

Too bad you all don't live in Phoenix. We have fall and then Summer - your 4 seasons just confuse me.


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## bratyboy2

yah im getting winter right now cold and snow its 12 degrees here right now


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## Tex Gal

skewlboy said:


> growing out some dwarf riccia and some rotala sunset for this tank... muhahahahahah.
> May do away with the bacopa japan as it just doesn't fit right in the tank.
> 
> Any other ideas for plants w/ small leaves and relatively slow growing?


So you found Rotala sunset? Great!

Bacopa salzmannii would go well. (aka Bacopa sp 'Araguaia'), do you have that one?...


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## GlitcH

wow!
Well you certainly have made this look larger than a 20.
Now you've gone and inspired me to pretty up my 20.

Really nice though skewlboy.


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## skewlboy

Tex Gal said:


> So you found Rotala sunset? Great!
> 
> Bacopa salzmannii would go well. (aka Bacopa sp 'Araguaia'), do you have that one?...


Yeah, currently just one stem of the sunset but see new node growth already after chopping it to bits 

The bacopa araguia - I've had it and it had a nice deep purple in my CRS tank but think the leaves would be too big to fit into this setting. I did like the fact it was slow growing 

An all bacopa tank would be cool, (carolina, araguaia, colorata, monnieri, japan - great color spectrum)


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## ashappard

nice job with scale and color. 
Its collectoritis gone pretty.


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## Tausendblatt

Somehow, I think I have seen this before. Nonetheless, I am applauding the exquisite use of a single diverse genus. The dutch influence is apparent and dominant in the layout, although some stems are so short that it is unlikely that they will be maintain-ed without a lot of... maintain-ance.

Great job! Eriocaulon carpet is interesting!


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## skewlboy

It is the upkeep that is the fun part. I don't think I am done arranging the groupings in this tank. Was thinking about rows of different colors from back left to front right... ideas? A lime green, an orange, a pink, a red, and a purple/light purple.


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## TNguyen

Very colorful tank.


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## skewlboy

Tausendblatt said:


> Somehow, I think I have seen this before. Nonetheless, I am applauding the exquisite use of a single diverse genus. The dutch influence is apparent and dominant in the layout, although some stems are so short that it is unlikely that they will be maintain-ed without a lot of... maintain-ance.
> 
> Great job! Eriocaulon carpet is interesting!


agreed - bushing was the hope but the stems want to get tall if I dose nitrates. If I choke the nitrates I seem to get better compact growth but doesn't seem as lush. Fun to adjust and see a difference though.

It works well when well groomed.

The goal was to make a tank that looked like it was 75-125 g but one that would be easier to maintain and fertilize on a budget. 

inspired by 








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and


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## AquaLTU

yap  These four photos aquascaping are on my computer


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## skewlboy

Still need some help with the rows. Could add some nana petite in there for some dark green, just don't know how or where...


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## skewlboy

still fiddling with the arrangement... what do you think? Oh, added some lights


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## skewlboy

added the rotala sunset - I really like that one - awesome red leaf - more bold than the mini butterfly or the mac narrow. 

the mexicana belem is now a deep pink

growing up a stem of the hygro pantanal - getting a pink center on the leaf that looks good

starting a row on the ground of the s. compakt (completely mislabed I'm sure but looks like a mini Staurogyne sp. 'Low Grow' but with small leaves.) 

My collectoritis/dutch tank is fun but I really would like someone with a trained eye to help me get some order in there... Any suggestions?


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## skewlboy

re-arranged, plants still adjusting to move...

Free plants to whoever wants to come over and show me how to take the best shots as the colors on this photo don't do it justice...


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## Tex Gal

Just beautiful! How can you not love the different shades of red?!!!


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## Zapins

Oh yea! They are very pretty. I've always had a special spot in my heart for rotalas and especially the red ones 

By the way, whats happening with that awesome free RAOK rotala package you mentioned a few weeks ago?? *drools*


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## skewlboy




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## Zapins

That tank is so beautiful it makes me want to cry.

I think I'll be planting my new 180g exactly like that.


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## Aqualara

I'm surprised nobody asked.... How do you get those REDs!!!??? I bought some plants from you a little while back (Amazonfish on TPT) and though I'm seeing good growth, everything turned green except for the Ludwigia 'guinea'. So how do you do it? Is it the light, the nitrates, or something else? What are your nitrate levels in the tank? 

edit: with all that light, how do you not have algae issues?? 

Thanks 

Lara


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## skewlboy

muhahahha --- it's maaa mojo. 

nah, just high light and HIGH iron ---- no secret (that and my inline UV sterilizer). The beauty to the dutch style is the mass of plants. I don't have fish so I'm not ferting with food so I know how much I'm adding to the tank on a daily or eod dosing schedule. with all the plants the algae gets mostly choked out. Then thanks to all the shrimpy critters the algae is usually taken care of.. 

LOL in my 40 gal breeder (crs) tank I CAN'T grow algae except a bit of gsa from time to time when I pursposely overfeed... The CRS will eat hair/spiro, BBA, and clado even... they rock!!!!


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## bratyboy2

i want some plants!!!


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## bratyboy2

u know u dont have any Rotala sp. 'Colorata'.
i do and its dark gold green, its beautiful


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## Aqualara

skewlboy said:


> muhahahha --- it's maaa mojo.
> 
> nah, just high light and HIGH iron ---- no secret (that and my inline UV sterilizer). The beauty to the dutch style is the mass of plants. I don't have fish so I'm not ferting with food so I know how much I'm adding to the tank on a daily or eod dosing schedule. with all the plants the algae gets mostly choked out. Then thanks to all the shrimpy critters the algae is usually taken care of..
> 
> LOL in my 40 gal breeder (crs) tank I CAN'T grow algae except a bit of gsa from time to time when I pursposely overfeed... The CRS will eat hair/spiro, BBA, and clado even... they rock!!!!


LOL. I guess I'll add more iron then and see what happens. You have some amazing plants there. Wait a minute...didn't you say you were gonna have some plants up for sale soon?....:biggrin1:


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## skewlboy

I groom the tank routinely..


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## yme

just out of curiosity: what is high iron? adding 2 ppm per day?
and normal micro dosis? the colours are indeed great!!

greets,

yme


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## skewlboy

I shoot for 2-3 times what seachem recommends for their weekly dosing... 

On my 20 gallon tank I dose based on the plants and will add anywhere from 3-15 ml at one time (usually about 3-5 ml 2-4 times a week) Doing water changes when my tonina crabs at me for the higher TDS. Otherwise not much of a "routine".... 
I'm pumping 1-2 pumps of pferts micros daily. 

Lighting helps too... giesman bulbs


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## bigstick120

What is the fixture on there? 20 long is 30" right?


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## Bunbuku

skewlboy said:


> Lighting helps too... giesman bulbs


I have noticed that also. The same Rotala macandra green grown in my garage Mini-L tank with 2x24" Giesemann T5 (daylight + aquaflora) HO fixture develops a much richer and deeper red than in my 60-P with 150 watt Giesemann Tropic MH bulbs.


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## skewlboy

it is a sundial t5ho 4 x 24 W 30" fixture


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## yme

nice!
not the tons of iron I kind of expected you would dose....

maybe the lights are indeed causative? no idea, but your tank IS beautiful 

greets,

yme


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## plamski

About the pictures you like to take. What camera, lenses and light do you have? I can try to help .Do you have some software like adobe light room, Photoshop elements etc?
All those tanks are great. Pleasure to watch and relax, huh? :wave:


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## Revan

Congratulations, this tank is awesome, the plants seems very healthy and the tank seems bigger than 20gal

Well Done!!!!


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## skewlboy

plamski said:


> About the pictures you like to take. What camera, lenses and light do you have? I can try to help .Do you have some software like adobe light room, Photoshop elements etc?
> All those tanks are great. Pleasure to watch and relax, huh? :wave:


just photoshop - what would be the best one?
Using a canon - standard 100mm lens - was always hoping to get a macro lens for it. Looking for a good macro lens - any suggestions?


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## plamski

Is you lens Telephoto EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Autofocus Lens ?If yes it is one of the best for the price. The problem with macro lenses is that there is very small area in focus. Probably the best is from 25MM to 55mm.1.4F or as small as is possible. Biggest problem is the light. Best case is uniform light from four direction .Top 100% power, left and right horizontal 45-60 degree angle 65-75% power , bottom 30-40% power. All of the lights with diffusers. Iso depend of lens F factor. Speed 50-400 aperture as big number as possible. Shot perpendicular to the front glass other ways you have to use circular polarized filter which a fortunately will decrees light entering the sensor. I have Nikon D90 with sigma 150MM macro which is great macro setup but I have to make shot 10-15 feet away in order to get whole aquarium 40Gal long.
Now I'm using 70-300MM zoom lens with F11 , speed 250-400,iso 1250.I can focus almost whole tank + F11 is the "sweet spot" for this lens.
The Betta picture is with 3x32W light on top and camera flash cover with diffuser.
Killis are with 4 light setup.
I have Photoshop but it is too complicated and slow to work with. My favorite is Ligtroom close to Photoshop but much easier. I’ll shot you a PM with some Lightroom specs.


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## tao

I originally came to planted tank keeping b/c of the nature setups, but you've definitely convinced me to try a dutch one, maybe as a grow-out or species keeper. Beautiful tank! I wonder how small you could go for this type setup...


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## skewlboy

true dutch had some ratio like 3 species per foot, I chose small leaves to allow the feeling to make it bigger than it was in a 30" long tank.


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## skewlboy

todays pic










still trying to decide on plant location and thickness of the "grouping" to see what flatters the leaf shape/color.


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## goddessjen

I love it! Its so need and orderly I think it appeals to my sense of obsessive compulsive disorder lol.


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## EQUINOX

Amazing.
Do you find the plants consume more and more Fert's as the growth gets thicker?
I think that moving along to DIY ferts would show incredible results.

How do you Diffuse CO2 and what the PPM count?


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## skewlboy

I've been less successful with the dry than the liquid fertilizer. I must admit that I do over-fert when trying to push the plants. I'm trying to back off slowly to figure out the bare minimum for growth and color. 


I'm running basically 3-5 bps (I fiddle with it) through a CO2 reactory (home made) 

thanks for all the comments.


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## woofy666

wonderful¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡


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## chester

Beautiful plants. I love them because they make the tank look much bigger than it really is. Is there any hope for a better close up pics?


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## EQUINOX

skewlboy said:


> I've been less successful with the dry than the liquid fertilizer. I must admit that I do over-fert when trying to push the plants. I'm trying to back off slowly to figure out the bare minimum for growth and color.
> 
> I'm running basically 3-5 bps (I fiddle with it) through a CO2 reactory (home made)
> 
> thanks for all the comments.


No algae after you overdose?
I think going to DIY solution (as opposed to dry fert's) is a good method. It worked well for me.


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## skewlboy

dry ferts work for some, for me I just didn't have as good of a response.


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## skewlboy

I got a feeling you will see more pic of this tank here soon 



chester said:


> Beautiful plants. I love them because they make the tank look much bigger than it really is. Is there any hope for a better close up pics?


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## Cwhite

Words cannot describe how much I LOVE this tank....it is just SO beautiful!


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## plamski

op2: Waiting for new pictures.


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## johnzhou2476

Skewlboy - what level do you keep your NPK at ? 

Nitrate - ??? ppm
Phosphate - ???ppm
Poatssium - ???ppm

Thanks.


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## MALAGA29004

Congratulations, this tank is awesome, the plants seems very healthy:yo:


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## AguaVerde

Beautiful!


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## almightydolla

skewlboy said:


> I got a feeling you will see more pic of this tank here soon


Is it soon yet?


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## ddavila06

the tank looks awesome!!! congrats


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## jerrybforl

How many hours where you running the lights? Did you have your CO2 come on before your lights? What was the range you got at with the iron?


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## dtsuyuki

oh how I love the dutch-ness of this scape. Well done. Very well-done.


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## ValorG

damn, love it!


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## dabrybry

wow that looks awesome lol. At first glance I was all like, "all rotala? really?" but then realized I had been staring at it for 5 minutes strait  Looks great


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