DonaldmBoyer

You could do a lot with dwarf hairgrass, diplis diandra, hydocotyle verticillata, red ludwigia, green cabomba......these are too name just a handful! Try searching for "coldwater plants" + "aquariums" and see some of the info that comes up.

I would hate to see you give up so easily on such a unique idea.......but it is ultimately your choice.

npnailer

Ah...much better. I didn't realize many of those were native!
My may problem right now is impatience..I want to get plants in quick
Nothing is decided yet though, and I'm still very open to the idea.

DonaldmBoyer

TAKE YOUR TIME! Don't rush into anything without giving it some thought and planning it out. You will be much happier with the results, and much richer! Take a week to plan, and buy next week. Trust me, you will like yourself better next week if you plan it out!

npnailer

Update, finally.
I ended up changing out the slate for some larger rocks. I know it was sort of popular, but it really cut back on the area that could be planted..and more to the point, it was soooo low, that I think it would have been pretty much lost in the growth, even the foreground growth, anyway. Also....I found some REALLY cool rocks at a local quarry....
Anyway, in sticking with the local aspect, I decided to try to use ONLY local,
"free range" plants.
This early in the year, just finding emerged aquatic plants has proven a challenge, and so far I've only been able to find a handful of species. To get the tanks started, I put in some higher stem plants; Myriophyllum elatinoides(I "think" we call it foxtail), and Elodea canadensis(anarchis..sp?)....those being what I could find so far, as far as stem plants go) around the rocks and logs, and laid in a foreground carpet of dwarf hair grass(found a GREAT source for that in a local lake!), and what appears to be some kind of extraordinarily tiny Val or Sagitaria-like plant...I mean tiny! It has flat, long leaves, and is strung out along runners. It was growing in about 2 feet of water, and the lake is at normal levels..so it's definitely an aquatic. I really hope it takes off, as it's pretty cool looking...in the lake, it was growing in a very large mat.
I also tossed in a lone example of a Potamogeton(exact species, not sure..and it's pretty sickly looking anyway!), and a threesome of some kind of lilly-esque thing..NO clue..but it was growing quite deep...
Note..I will be adding more plants as they come up..I want to add some more Potamogeton of some kind(we have a few types here..but I've not yet collected any more),some Ludwigia, and anything else that catches my eye.
What I seem to be strugling with...is finding a local mid-layer type plant. So far...I have used the rocks to sort of ease from the stems to the low cover plants, but really would like to find something of mid-height. Perhaps when it warms up a bit, I can find more...
Anyway, here are some pics from today, after the planting, and after the water had time to settle a bit.





Sucky pics of the mystery sag-like plant..:


Some of the hairgrass...the area I found it, was literally like a carpet!

DonaldmBoyer

NP-
Nicely done! You managed to create a well-planted tank without losing the feel of The Great Lakes. I have never seen anything like it! It looks like a slice of Lake Superior about 12 feet below the surface! Fantastic!

I want pics of this again in two to three weeks! I think that you will get a TON of hits for this aquascape. Good luck!

npnailer

Thanks!
I added some more Pont's today, I believe crispus...but cannot be sure. The coloration and overall size is correct, but none of them have the typical curly edged leaves, the leaves are all straight. I cannot find a reference photo that matches them! I may have to move them around a bit, as they are currently my "mid level" plants, but they appear to be going to get rather large....
I also tossed in, then removed, some bladderwart, as I realized it was completely non-anchorable, and would likely spread to cover the surface eventually. Too bad, as it was very cool looking.
The hairgrass and "micro val" is starting to send out runners already, and the stems are shooting to the moon..I will be able to start clipping and re-planting them soon. I have so far, had minimal hair algae issues, so have not put in any fauna yet, other then the "free range" snails that came along. I know some don't like snails..but to be honest, I do, and want to allow anything that want's to hang out in there, to do so(within reason). I have no fish yet...still unsure of what exactly I want to do in that respect. Natives almost certainly, although I may also add a Ctenopoma acutirostre if the water temp range I end up with will support it. That would of course be if I decided to go with large enough natives(sunfish or something), to allow that.
Failing that...I may go small, and go with a mix of sticklebacks, dace(collected some awesome redbellies today..but let em go, as I was still unsure of my intended direction), and mud minnows...just no clue yet what I really want to do fish-wise!
I posted in another sub forum that my first priority is the well being of the fish, so I will likely have to go native now anyway..but just need to decide what size range/temperment I wish to go with.
Oh...I also found out today that the great lakes have a native glass shrimp, that can at times be collected off of weed beds near Travers City in Grand Traverse Bay...may have to make a run up there JUST to add some of those!
Any suggestions/comments(still looking for that mid-level plant!), appreciated.

DonaldmBoyer

Keep it Natural! Anything you buy is going to look artificial!! Best to go with native fish (mud minnows) and shrimp! You will find a midground plant, I assure you! Keep it native!! This is probably the best set up I've seen in forever! Don't give up now......you are so close!!