My old 180 rimless redone

[plantbrain]

Crazy growth I would get tired from trimming

@1$ per stem, I do not tire of growing this plant.

2 week trimmings and I sell out. So 200$ 2x a month.

 

[plantbrain]

 

[viktorlantos]

The Stauro Carpet(R)

Looking good Tom. I need to try this sometime, looks awesome! The original

 

[plantbrain]

It's a good carpet plant for tougher larger fish that dig or disturb plants, they root like crypts and trimming is 100X easier than HC.

I think you'll like it, but do not allow it it to pile up too high, it'll bounce back after 2 weeks etc or so and look quite nice.

 

[George Farmer]

Looking good, Tom. Nice simple, crisp and clean lines.

I really like Staurogyne but it's maybe a bit ornamental, bright and too large a texture for smaller Nature Aquariums.

I also concur about the maintenance. You can be really brutal with it; responds really well to being hacked right back! I prune mine here and there almost every week.

I have lots in my latest 'scape mixed up with other carpeting plants to give it a more naturalistic appearance.


shallow LHS by George Farmer, on Flickr

 

[plantbrain]

Looking good, Tom. Nice simple, crisp and clean lines.

I really like Staurogyne but it's maybe a bit ornamental, bright and too large a texture for smaller Nature Aquariums.

I also concur about the maintenance. You can be really brutal with it; responds really well to being hacked right back! I prune mine here and there almost every week.

I have lots in my latest 'scape mixed up with other carpeting plants to give it a more naturalistic appearance.


shallow LHS by George Farmer, on Flickr

Yes, it does not lend well as a foreground plant in smaller tanks, I've seen used very effective in 60p's as an accent and midground plant with HC, hair grass etc.

Due to the tank size, this makes a really optimal choice for the 180 Gal tank, the HC lawn over that same space? Brutally hard. It tried to re establish HC a few times, forget it. Not with these fish(plecos).

I could use the H sibthorpies in a similar way etc also, but it's a lot more work that this plant.
I have not pulled a single plant up from the sediment in the last 2 years+, I just mow the tops right down to the soil for the most part.

I have thr ATI lights now on this, but only at 30%. Pushing around 200W for 9 hours. Not much light but the PAR is around 100 now up from 40-50 with the old coralife hood with PC lights.

 

[darren636]

Looking good, Tom. Nice simple, crisp and clean lines.

I really like Staurogyne but it's maybe a bit ornamental, bright and too large a texture for smaller Nature Aquariums.

I also concur about the maintenance. You can be really brutal with it; responds really well to being hacked right back! I prune mine here and there almost every week.

I have lots in my latest 'scape mixed up with other carpeting plants to give it a more naturalistic appearance.


shallow LHS by George Farmer, on Flickr

get your pics out George

 

[plantbrain]

This tank has been more stable in terms of the design, I need to really redo the rear back Left and put some more plants back there and make a higher platform for the plants.

I can try new species and rotate various foreground plants in the 120 Gallon Dutch fusion thing
I'll eventually settle down with the 102 Gallon tank, but I sort just keep upgrading every few weeks, some plant species or try something till it's illogical end.

This tank, not as much.

The foreground choice was frankly much more practical, it survived the pleco onslaught and did not get uprooted.
Much like the 120 Gal, or most of the so called different designs I tend to do, they are anchors in the practical, not in some "artistic vision". They tend to be loosely based on something I've seen before and often I do not copy things things very well, but the tank ends up going it's own unique path.

So my error/practical side ends up producing something relatively okay. Whatever the process, it works for me.

Eg, 17 years ago:

Cork backed walls have been around for decades, this was not new, but many loved this 90 Gal. This tank had about as much light as possible back then. And it had DIY yeast CO2(about 20 liter's worth). It evolved and I ended up effectively hiding every piece of equipment in the tank itself.

 

[LancsRick]

Love this tank Tom. 1 plant question please:

- What is the "wispy" moss on the branch ends?

 

[plantbrain]

Love this tank Tom. 1 plant question please:

- What is the "wispy" moss on the branch ends?

Riccia

 

[plantbrain]

I'll be adding a few new plant sin the background over the next several months.

 

[tim]

staurogyne looks super healthty tom are the conditions the same for the porto vellho sp ?

 

[plantbrain]

staurogyne looks super healthty tom are the conditions the same for the porto vellho sp ?

I'd say S repens it a tougher plant overall. But fairly similar in demands.