nap83

hey guys, as the topic states i have been out of the aquascaping scene for awhile, all i've been doing recently is water changes, ferts and of course co2.

here's my tank as of now, doing well but i'm pretty bored with it as of late. any suggestions on how i can bring this back to life?

thanks!

Jessie

That's very pretty! What equipment, flora and fauna do you have in there?

nap83

flora:
marsilea minuta
anubias coffeefolia
(the one all the way to the left i forgot what it's called but it's supposed to be a floating plant..)
crypt "red"
of course java fern
crypt of some kind in mid foreground (yeesh! i haven't been reading up on this for awhile!)
lemnophilla sessiflora
wisteria
sagitarria subulata

fauna:
tetras! (cardinals, lemons, rummy noses, red-eyes, pristellas, a pair of bleeding hearts...)
corydoras sterbaii
otocinclus

regimen:
50% water change weekly
ei dosing (although i've been dosing a lot less lately)

equipment:
oddysea 2X65w power compacts via ge 9325k
diy co2 out of a 1g cranberry juice bottle (huuuuge!) - the reactor would be the canister filter
rena filstar xp2

Gilraen Took

anacharis for the floater? Other than that no idea. I'm still new.

wait, the stringy-er one, or the round leafy one? If it was the rounder one, maybe a hydrocotyle of some sort?

A_Shea

i like your tank it is very good looking. Try some fast growing, more demanding plants. In theory that you have to work on it more, trimming, pruning, etc. giving more opportunity to create something new.

cs_gardener

I think the plant you have to the far left is pennywort (Hydrocotyle leucocephala) which can float or just take over a tank if it chooses.

You have a lovely tank and everything looks so healthy. I like how it has a definite layout but is still somewhat wild. How much of a change do you want? A total revamp or just a bit of a boost? For something simple maybe you could use something dramatic to really draw your eye on the right like a red Nymphae lotus trained to a short growing habit tucked into all that green to the left of the tall grasses. Or add a pink/red stem to give it a little more oomph. Or an interesting leaf like Crinum calamistratum. Or tuck in some branchy driftwood with moss on it. The possiblities are endless, what appeals to you?

SKSuser

I'd like to see some red in the background. You have it in the foreground, with your crypt, but it gets lost in the shadows. You're providing background splash with the lighting behind the tank. I like the effect, but thats cheating.

I know how you must have that feeling like your tank is stuck in the doldrums, but I think strategic addition of several new plants would give it life in your mind. You've been looking at the tank for a long time, we've seen it since two days ago when you posted the pic.
As cs Gardner said, it has a wild look about it. I'm assuming you don't want to change that. It fits in this case, so I would be minimal with additions.

I'm sure someone will suggest a white or black background, so I'll beat them to the punch. Try it by taping trash bags of various colors on there and see if it improves. I don't always like the way a background looks, and this way you can decide to/not to do it without being out a bunch of moolah.

I see a texture divide down the middle of the tank. You have wide leaf plants on the left side, and narrow leaf plants on the right. If you were trying to achieve that effect, you succeded. In a wide tank like a 55, I like to see a variety of things depending on what side I'm looking at. I know I did something similar when I had my 55 running.
However, in a photo it looks slightly affected.

nap83

yes! thanks for reminding me... hydrocotle heheh...

i'm thinking of just ridding that one since it just grows wild and makes a mess on the right side... i had sagittaria on there before to balance the amount of sags on the right...

i know i know the light is cheating... but it looks so good when taking pics...

i like the fact that it has a semi-wild, semi-aquascaped look to it, it gives it a feeling of a mature long term scape in my opinion and thanks for pointing that out...

more reds? lotus? hmmm... maybe more reds on the left side? basically i don't want to touch the sag, wisteria combo... the left side is my problem...

cs_gardener

I know what you mean about the Hydrocotle. I eventually pulled it from my tank because it was just too hard to keep control of it.

The left side, hmmm. Perhaps a stem with a finer leaf or a softer arching grass. Potamogeton gayi in place of/behind the Hydrocotle on the far left. If you did get rid of the Hydrocotle I think you should get another bright or light green to balance the right side. Blyxa comes to mind or Rotala sp. green.