My first planted tank

[niteshift]

Well this is my very first attempt at planting a tank, and here's what i know and have. First the tank is a 55 gallon 48" x 12" x 18" with gravel substrate and the under-gravel filter capped off, the lighting is a 48" hagen glo 2x 54 watt T5H0 runnig 1 coralife 10,000K tube and 1 coralife colormax tube. The my brother in-law gave are 1 tiger val and a vallisneria nana as well as couple crypts or so he tell's me. And i am wondering what else i can add and were, to get a slightly asian look. Thank you all ... ... David

[neven]

first thing i'd recommend before the decor/plants, is to replace the 10k tube with a 6700k. 10k's are great for growing algae
now for some answers, try some hygrophila corymbosa 'siamensis 53b', narrow leaf java ferns attatched to a really deep grained malaysian driftwood.

If not asian enough, then try varnished bamboo stalks from top to bottom, Dwarf Sagittaria, Cryptocoryne crispatula 'Balansae', Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, These are all grasses or grasslike, fits the bamboo quite well. For an off center focal point you can try a nuphar japonica and/or a Barclaya longifolia.

[vdub]

Sorry to hijack this thread but where can I find a nuphar japonica and Barclaya? I've been looking for one for the longest time.

[neven]

the nuphar japonica i once lucked out at king ed's and they had one. the barclaya, try an online source to buy the bulbs

[vdub]

I am so jealous right now, I never find anything good when I go to king ed's. I'm gonna say it right now, I call dibs when you have some nuphar for sale.

[neven]

after a while i ignored their plant sale tanks, i looked at the display tanks, sometimes they have a plant or two on sale in them, if not i'll try to convince them to sell it to me. The nuphar japonica put me back $17

[vdub]

$17 is still a bargain for such a rare commodity. I just can't believe how King Ed's is able to bring in some rare stuff and I'm never around to snipe any. And how can they only have one nuphar? They gotta at least order more while they're at it.

[neven]

this was years ago, i might have got the last one or someone brought in a division for credit. Either way i was the one who brought it home I used to go there 3-4 times a week since it was 5 min from where i lived

[vdub]

WHAT? Years ago...do you still have the plant?

[neven]

nope, lost it after i let my mother care for the tank while i was on vacation. Lost a lot of plant species after that crash.