Aquascaping - the New Danish Style

Red is in...here's a site with info on red plants and a list of the reds for ya...

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Nice list , looks like I got the night planed researching


Here is some species from your list I picked up last week on vacation.

Alternanthera reineckii Red
Cryptocoryne sp. Flamingo
Hygrophila pinnatifida

fishNAbowl wrote:Nice list , looks like I got the night planed researching


Here is some species from your list I picked up last week on vacation.

Alternanthera reineckii Red
Cryptocoryne sp. Flamingo
Hygrophila pinnatifida

I can't wait to see the new scape Chad...and I'm not sure I'm into the "all" red tank as I really like the mix of reds, greens, yellow, browns, etc. The red pops so much with the mix...when its all red I'm not so sure you appreciate the colors as much but I thought it was a good list for reference anyway and maybe someone would be interested.

Your new plants sound awesome!

cichlid-gal wrote:and I'm not sure I'm into the "all" red tank as I really like the mix of reds, greens, yellow, browns, etc.  The red pops so much with the mix...when its all red I'm not so sure you appreciate the colors as much but I thought it was a good list for reference anyway and maybe someone would be interested.

Donna, this scape might change your mind on an all red scape   (the plant list starts about 26:20)

I like the mix up as well. Dark greens, contrasted with reds, light greens, ect... I started get inspired by the "Dutch aquascape" themes. But more so the plants and how they are placed contrasted together. I don't think my aquascape is going to resemble Dutch, or Danish. I just like the plants. Now, learning some about placement and just how to trim plants so they look nice instead of a random mess.

Just finished up on the video. I have been contemplating a full tear down of my 7' tank and doing a well though out aquascape, however not ready to commit. I do have enough petrified woods to create something like this in a 30L.  thanks for sharing Jubs.

Jubs...I'm going to watch that video today. Last night I was watching a movie and saw how long the video was and didn't want to miss that much of the movie and today my Dad is coming to visit. Later this afternoon when I'm on my "down" time I'll give it a watch. Looks awesome...can't wait to see it all.

More on growing "red" plants - a newer (Jan 2014) article by George Farmer has some advice from PFK

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I am doing everything I can to pull reds. Even injecting nutrients into the substrate. Iron iron, light light, CO2! Since my tank always tests 0 nitrates I am going to try injecting a little bit into the substrate near some plant's roots and see if there is any color and growth differences.

Well your plants look redder than mine...but I'm still in the studying mode...I'm studying what you are doing...LOL. Keep up the good work...!!!

cichlid-gal wrote:Well your plants look redder than mine...but I'm still in the studying mode...I'm studying what you are doing...LOL.  Keep up the good work...!!!

fishNAbowl wrote:I am doing everything I can to pull reds. Even injecting nutrients into the substrate. Iron iron, light light, CO2! Since my tank always tests 0 nitrates I am going to try injecting a little bit into the substrate near some plant's roots and see if there is any color and growth differences.  

Are you not dosing the water column with any ferts? I wouldn't use liquid to dose roots I would use root tabs as they are slowly released. The plants will not likely uptake the ferts in liquid form faster than they escape the substrate, I could be wrong but I have never heard of this method being used for liquid ferts.

What plants are you struggling to get red?

Hey Jubs,
No struggle, it was a general comment about pulling every trick in the hat to get as much colors out of the plants in my tank.

I started picking up soil amendments that come in powder form. They are the type people usually add to the substrate before adding the gravel in a tank build. I got a wild idea about mixing these powders (iron, pot ash, nitrate, micro's, ect) with hot water, mix them the best i can, fill a big O syringe and injecting my substrate with the solution. The experiment is about a month old but it does seem the designated plants are growing fuller, faster, and a bit brighter...

I have used root tabs. This method if successful is much easier to get into the gravel exactly where I want it.

Gotcha! Interesting way of doing it.

Justin...I finally got that video watched. Great stuff in there. Did you catch what it was he was using for barrier purposes in that tank? Looked like a plastic of some form.

the plant list for that tank as I got it was:
Myriophyllum mattogrossense 'Red'
Alternanthera Rosanervig
Alternanthera reineckii Mini
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Ludwigia sp.
Blyxa aubertii
Hygrophila sp. Araguaia
Limnophila hippuridoides
Ludwigia glandulosa perennis
Ludwigia arcuata

with the addition of:
Limnobium laevigatum
Willow moss

and 1000+ fish...wow

Did he say what type of lighting he was using? I just didn't hear it. Anyway...great video. Thank you for sharing that.

He pretty much uses ADA lighting exclusively. And the plastic barrier is something he "developed" and sells at their store. You could probably use custom cut pieces of plexiglas the same way.

MRTom wrote:He pretty much uses ADA lighting exclusively. And the plastic barrier is something he "developed" and sells at their store. You could probably use custom cut pieces of plexiglas the same way.

It reminded me of lawn edging stuff but that's pretty tough stuff. Yes, lightweight plexiglass would probably work pretty well. You would have to have something that was relatively easy to cut.

At some point they used to make this soft pvc grass hedging stuff, you could buy a long roll of it (60'?) and use it to set grass boundaries in the garden... I think that would work as a great replacement.

FWIW, Look up TGM Aquatic substrate support (that's the name of his product)

... lol, yeah, exactly what you said

All it is black corrugated plastic like the for sale and political sales you see in yards. Its just another product with a 3000% mark up lol. < The substrate supports.

As for the lighting I would assume he's using a couple ADA metal halides.

I have most of those plants on the list, I might have to do a Danish scape soon.

It sure did turn our beautiful. I need to get a pair of those tongs..for trying out some plantings like that. My finger just doesn't do the same type of job.

cichlid-gal wrote:It sure did turn our beautiful.  I need to get a pair of those tongs..for trying out some plantings like that.  My finger just doesn't do the same type of job.

Definitely not! Fine tipped tweezers (Pincettes is what the industry calls them) will be your best friend when it comes to planted tanks. A lot of the ones you see aren't fine tipped but more blunt and thicker which work to a certain extent but when you get into smaller plants such as HC, the bigger tipped ones just become frustrating.

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The link is the one I use, I have them in straight and curved tipped and love them. I don't know if Cory is still selling them or not but he brought some in when I was working up there on my recommendation. I can't seem to justify spending $60 on a pair of ADA ones at this point but I haven't personally used any either; if they are worth the price they sell them for then it would be a wise investment. Like other crafts and hobbies its always best to have the right tool for the job and a good pair of tweezers is definitely one of those tools in this hobby.

Thanks for the link Justin. Looks like they have lots of reasonably priced stuff at that site.