Honest opinion?

[Marc1t]

Can I have your honest opinion? What do you think?
Iv only been in the hobby & had this tank running for a year & have removed/added plants recently, so was wondering if the red plant in the middle was in the wrong place, it's an Alternethera Cardinalis I thought it was a foreground plant now found out it can grow quite tall,
I am struggling a bit with the Monte Carlo carpet as my tank is deep & came to the conclusion after a discussion in another thread not enough lighting so Iv added a Grobeam 600 to my 4 off 24 watt Ho t5 tubes
Using sparingly at the moment & monitoring algae so far so good.

 

[Marc1t]

https://www.flickr.com/gp/140301950@N04/q54H2M
Sorry image did not go in so trying a different method.

 

[Tim Harrison]

I'd go for a smaller but similar species like A. reineckii 'Mini'. Or put the A. Cardinalis all at the back together, giving some thought to the rule of thirds.
I'd at least be tempted to take the plant on the left out, too much of a good thing can be a bit busy on the eye

 

[Marc1t]

I'd go for a smaller but similar species like A. reineckii 'Mini'. Or put the A. Cardinalis all at the back together, giving some thought to the rule of thirds.
I'd at least be tempted to take the plant on the left out, too much of a good thing can be a bit busy on the eye

Yeah, I agree with you I have got space at the back on both sides just in front of the corner Amozon swords I could put the A Cardinalis there then move the A reineckii pink on the left in the available space.

My only concern is whether they will get enough light under the swords. Iv taken an Amazon sword out from the middle/ background that had grown to over 2 feet tall.

 

[Bacms]

I don't mind too much although I do think your tank is too symmetrical at the moment which makes it look a bit unnatural. If it was mine I would probably just move that to the left side right in between the two reds. But again it is your tank so if you like I wouldn't change it

 

[jagillham]

Needs a bit of time to bed in I think. Almost too neat and tidy at this stage.

Here's the image imbedded for convenience:

 

[alto]

I'd only move some of the Alternanthera Cardinalis into the back (possibly under) the Amazon swords - if it does well, then move the rest into more shaded areas as well (ie back of tank)

I think that all of the Alternanthera sp end up with quite large leafs, if you want a smaller red leaf consider the Ludwigia sp (& some Rotala sp ) ... you can certainly try keeping some Alternanthera trimmed back, try replanting "tops", also cutting back stems & see which works best for you (note that some stem plants need to be "renewed" at intervals as regrowth can slow/deteriorate)

I quite like the tank - once the M 'Monte Carlo' establishes, tank will look quite different, so if you have plants you like but are uncertain of, keep them going while plants grow in

 

[Marc1t]

Thanks for all your comments being new to the planted scene really giving me a few ideas. There are a few new plants in there that certainly need a bit of growing in
As said I am struggling a bit with the MC, it is growing but a lot slower than I'm led to believe. With such a deep tank, & have recently upped the lighting but I only have all the lights on for 4 hours ramping up & down an hour either side, taking other advice from here I don't want to blast them with full beam just yet & at the moment on the current schedule I have no algae issues & crystal clear water & the stem plants are doing well, so far so good.
I do use Co2 & EI