[jackh]

the anubias will be on a rock its the green spot. thanks for the compliment . is it a good idea to put the potemogeton gayi infront of the ludwigia repens? i thought it would be shorter so it would look ok as a transition from the ludwigia to the micro sword

 

[cs_gardener]

Looks like a good plan. The P gayi is a more open, airy plant so it should do fine in front of the Ludwigia. If it gets too tall it's very easy to trim. When it's happy it will send out runners everywhere, so you might want to consider a containment system for it.

I noticed that your background plantings are all about the same size. I did that in a tank and changed it later so some were bigger and others smaller - it looked a bit too regulated when the groups were all the same size. I realize this is just a general sketch, but it's something to consider when you're planting.

 

[jackh]

ya i know what you mean. i just want my background really thick in the middle bc theres a stain on my back glass that i cant get off that i want covered. how could i contain the P. gayi? rocks?

 

[Tex Gal]

You can get a disposable cup, cut the bottom out and plant it in the rim. It doesn't spread so fast that you can't manage it. It does send out runners, kind of like dwarf sag. You can either just pull them up or do the containment planting thing.

 

[jackh]

does it grow as fast as corkscrew val?

 

[jackh]

right now for filtration i just have a penguin bio-wheel mini. should i switch to something better?

 

[cs_gardener]

does it grow as fast as corkscrew val?

It's growth rate depends on how happy it is with its conditions. I had it in one tank and it spread through all the stems plants in a couple weeks without me noticing it. Such a pain trying to get it out. It's now growing quite slowly in a different tank (thankfully!) and I have it boxed in by rocks so any runners will have to jump over the rocks and will be easy to see and pull.

Instead of using a cup you could cut a ring out of the center of a 2 liter pop bottle. It would be pretty easy to shape it into whatever you like and clear plastic shouldn't be too noticeable in a tank. Once it's pushed into the substrate it should be sturdy enough to keep the runners contained (or jumping the corral so it's easy to see them).

 

[jackh]

i like the idea of the 2 litre bottle thanks

 

[Tex Gal]

Catherine you are so clever! Glad you're here!