gazaah

I am building a vacuum-suspended tower tank (closed at the top, opening at the bottom) where pruning will be difficult, and loose, floating plants would not be removable unless I tipped the whole thing over.

The tower tank will have a central plastic decoration, tall, with a lot of surface texture.

I was hoping to cover the structure in plants but my normal approach of java moss will overcrowd and die back without pruning, yes?

I was considering a sinking liverwort, Monoselenium tenerum, but read that it won't actually attach to most surfaces and it isbrittle, such that my little bristlenose pleco would annihilate it.

Any ideas? There are creeping plants I've never heard of before but I know nothing of them and they are not in my books.

I ran a search for "epiphyte" on the Aquasabi website, and got a pretty long list.
https://www.flowgrow.de/db/aquaticplants?filter%5Busage%5D=300

Am2020

Monoselenium tenerum or subwassertang can easily be secured with a mesh netting. Bridal Vail or any screen with 1/4" holes will work. Fishing string will work if you go back and forth in a crisscrossing pattern. Eventually the leaves will grow through the openings and stay secured. Over time though, the oldest parts will die away and leaving the newer growth to float off.

I'd stick with java ferns and anubias. Shining light through a glass pane will cause algae to grow on the inside and will be difficult to clean. I'd set this up as a low light tank to minimize maintenance and have a bristlenose pleco help with the rest.

hoppycalif

Welcome to APC, gazaah!

Have you seen any successful tanks with no air above the water? That removes one source of CO2 that the plants need to grow, and also reduces the oxygen available to the plants and fish, etc. It doesn't seem that it would work well, but I do recall others here sealing the air space over the water, so if their tanks work, yours should also.