You are off to a very good start!

Hornwort never roots into the substrate, so that could be your first floating species.

 

Interesting. Thats good to know.

 

Nice start! It looks like this photo was taken just after you planted it. Some of the stem plants have not straightened up yet.

This may be nitpicking, but I would remove the surface scum. Just take a cup and scoop up the surface layer.

It's now up to the plants!

 

Nice start! It looks like this photo was taken just after you planted it. Some of the stem plants have not straightened up yet.

This may be nitpicking, but I would remove the surface scum. Just take a cup and scoop up the surface layer.

It's now up to the plants!

Thanks for the reply @dwalstad.
I will get rid of that surface scum.
And you are right on. The pic was taken literally right after planting.

 

This is a beautiful aquarium!

My $0.02 - if I was to change anything about this, it would be purely for aesthetic purposes.
You might consider adding a small / dense carpeting plant, like Pearl Weed - to help visually blend the chain swords with the larger stems in the background.
Again - purely aesthetic - this is a really great start.

Looking forward to seeing updates as this progresses!

 

I like that idea!
Here's a pic of the tank from a few days ago.
The plants really have taken off!

 

Looks great! Do I see pearling on the Cabomba/hornwort? Red stem plants have shot up from earlier photo.
One suggestion--or consideration. The front unplanted area probably needs to be poked to bring in oxygen and release gasses. I notice that your small rosette plants there have not grown.
That said, you could just let things be. The front area with soil is probably loading the tank up with CO2 and nutrients. Fortunately, though, you have enough good growers in the back to enjoy the resulting feast.

 

Looks great! Do I see pearling on the Cabomba/hornwort? Red stem plants have shot up from earlier photo.
One suggestion--or consideration. The front unplanted area probably needs to be poked to bring in oxygen and release gasses. I notice that your small rosette plants there have not grown.
That said, you could just let things be. The front area with soil is probably loading the tank up with CO2 and nutrients. Fortunately, though, you have enough good growers in the back to enjoy the resulting feast.

Thanks!
Yep, they are pearling a bit!
There are some diatoms. Will this go away as the tank continues to stabilize?
I will poke some holes in the substrate.

 

Diatoms are weird. They come and go on their own. They're associated with silicate. So, the sand may be leaching something into the water, perhaps? All in all, I would trade algae for diatoms any day of the week.