Heres my tank after about a month. Just wanted to show it :)

[utahfish]

 

[Meg0000]

It looks very good, the plants seems to be growing healthy!

 

[utahfish]

It looks very good, the plants seems to be growing healthy!

Its a constant battle, they make me anxious, the crypts melted down to nothing when i first put them in, i was so worried they wouldnt grow but they had good roots. The swords in the back are nutrient hogs and ive had to fiddle so much with my ferts and lighting to get them just right then the java fern in the middle is just chill so far. I had a carpeting plant sturogyne repens that was supposed to be real easy but it all died, maybe ill try something else like dwarf sag but ive never had luck with that either, all my nervous energy goes into my tank :\

 

[Meg0000]

Its a constant battle, they make me anxious, the crypts melted down to nothing when i first put them in, i was so worried they wouldnt grow but they had good roots. The swords in the back are nutrient hogs and ive had to fiddle so much with my ferts and lighting to get them just right then the java fern in the middle is just chill so far. I had a carpeting plant sturogyne repens that was supposed to be real easy but it all died, maybe ill try something else like dwarf sag but ive never had luck with that either, all my nervous energy goes into my tank :\

I don't have good luck either I have killed easy plants too and I also stress about my tank right now because it is only the first tank I have and it has only been a month since so I understand you about that.

 

[utahfish]

I don't have good luck either I have killed easy plants too and I also stress about my tank right now because it is only the first tank I have and it has only been a month since so I understand you about that.

Lol yeah. I read lists of " easy" plants and people say you have to actively try to kill this one its so hardy, and im like, hold my beer. Ive killed so many plants over the years and other times i leave a plant in a bucket and it grows like a weed. Who knows

 

[Fishmanic]

nice tank...great possibilities. Hope you enter one of our Tank of the Month Contests. And please vote in the one that's running right now...click on banner at top of forum to view entries.

 

[Colin_T]

You need a picture on the back to make the fish feel more secure.
You need to move the sword plants away from the back glass because they need space to grow.
I would put Narrow Vallis, Hygrophila polysperma or Ambulia along the back wall and have the swordplants on either end and the crypts in middle.
You need some floating plants to give the fish some shade. Water Sprite is a good one to use and it can be planted in the substrate too.
Angle the rocks at the back so you can see behind them. Lots of fish die and get stuck behind rocks like that.

 

[JxsPxxle]

Simple and amazing.

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

It's looking good, It will be great to see it in a few months with the plants progression. Keep up the good work

 

[utahfish]

You need a picture on the back to make the fish feel more secure.
You need to move the sword plants away from the back glass because they need space to grow.
I would put Narrow Vallis, Hygrophila polysperma or Ambulia along the back wall and have the swordplants on either end and the crypts in middle.
You need some floating plants to give the fish some shade. Water Sprite is a good one to use and it can be planted in the substrate too.
Angle the rocks at the back so you can see behind them. Lots of fish die and get stuck behind rocks like that.

The back and side of tanks are actually painted on the outside of the glass with a dark grey apoxy but yeah thought it would be darker when i applied it but that was like 15 years ago. The swords are rosette swords , theyre doing fine and growing well. For the back i have some crypt balansae should be here today!!! plus the narrow leaf java should fill out. As far as floaters i might get frog bit but not sure. Last time this tank was set up the crypts on each corners grew across the tank to provide shade so ill probably do that again.
The rocks in the back arent rocks its drift wood and yeah they arent against the back they are all angled. Thanks for the tips though

 

[Retired Viking]

I think your tank is coming along nicely. I agree that a few floating plants would help with the neon tetras. A few more plants would also help. I have several Java Ferns and African Water Ferns in my tetras tank and they seem to like hiding in them. Also now that they got use to my Anacharis forest I made they like to swim in there too.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Your tank looks very nice. I think you need to add a black background to your tank, this helps the color pop. I also suggest adding a background plant to the back of your tank. (I suggest Anacharis.) I have had this 29g tank for over 2 months now and I’m still not happy with it. One of my many mottos, “A tank is never completely finished!”

 

[Retired Viking]

Your tank looks very nice. I think you need to add a black background to your tank, this helps the color pop. I also suggest adding a background plant to the back of your tank. (I suggest Anacharis.) I have had this 29g tank for over 2 months now and I’m still not happy with it. One of my many mottos, “A tank is never completely finished!”

I am always making changes too, still not satisfied with how it looks

 

[utahfish]

Your tank looks very nice. I think you need to add a black background to your tank, this helps the color pop. I also suggest adding a background plant to the back of your tank. (I suggest Anacharis.) I have had this 29g tank for over 2 months now and I’m still not happy with it. One of my many mottos, “A tank is never completely finished!”

the outside of the glass is painted with a grey apoxy. So to do a darker background id either have to scrape off all the apoxy or attach a background to the inside of the tank so thats not happening. As for floating plants in the past the crypts from each sides of the tank grew across the top of the tank and provided shade so im going for that again, ive used duckweed in the past and not a fan, too much of a mess, i dont want to weed my water garden daily. My back ground plant is the narrow leaf java fern in the middle, its been in the tank for a few days and hopefully will fill it, i also have a crypt balansae that should be arriving today that im putting in the back left corner. I agree though itll never be finished its an ongoing constant thing but thats why its fun

 

[PheonixKingZ]

the outside of the glass is painted with a grey apoxy. So to do a darker background id either have to scrape off all the apoxy or attach a background to the inside of the tank so thats not happening. As for floating plants in the past the crypts from each sides of the tank grew across the top of the tank and provided shade so im going for that again, ive used duckweed in the past and not a fan, too much of a mess, i dont want to weed my water garden daily. My back ground plant is the narrow leaf java fern in the middle, its been in the tank for a few days and hopefully will fill it, i also have a crypt balansae that should be arriving today that im putting in the back left corner. I agree though itll never be finished its an ongoing constant thing but thats why its fun

I see, then just leave the apoxy. Or, you can just tape a black trash bag on the back. That’s what I do with all my tanks. It’s cheap and effective. (Just make sure you stretch it tight, or it’ll look awful.)