Hello. The general consensus with a brand new set up seems to be that you ‘must‘ plant densely from the outset and then merely allow the finished scape to just grow in. Accepting that it is plant growth and metabolism that helps mature a system and prevent algae, rather than quantity of plants, then is it not reasonable to start off with fewer fast growing plants and allow them to spread/re-plant over time, also adding new , more delicate species?
To fill a brand new 1200mm tank with all the plants I would hope to end up with would be expensive and likely v wasteful of expensive plants. I have no access to any mature systems or plants from other aquaria as I’m starting up again from scratch after a few years out of the hobby.
I suspect I’ve watched too many you tube videos on aquascaping for my own good and at risk of being seduced into hoping for the perfect result within a few weeks of starting from scratch.
Do any of you have any thoughts/ experience of starting off with cheap/ fast growing plants and slowly evolving from there?
To fill a brand new 1200mm tank with all the plants I would hope to end up with would be expensive and likely v wasteful of expensive plants. I have no access to any mature systems or plants from other aquaria as I’m starting up again from scratch after a few years out of the hobby.
I suspect I’ve watched too many you tube videos on aquascaping for my own good and at risk of being seduced into hoping for the perfect result within a few weeks of starting from scratch.
Do any of you have any thoughts/ experience of starting off with cheap/ fast growing plants and slowly evolving from there?