So since the last post i've changed things up again. I was sick of the HT Japan and Rotala> it was rampant, then you trimmed it and it looked crap, then grew back, then looked good for about three days and needed trimmed back again. The tank just seems to small for such vigorous plants. The diatoms just wouldn't stop either, despite alomost daily 75% water changes.
I then did a rushed and pointless rescape that looked rubbish and i lost interest and decided to run an experiment to see what happens when you completely neglect a tank. In this case the whole thing becomes smothered in cyanobacteria - but no other algae (despite no ferts, c0s running out, and zero water changes). Finally that just started looking too ugly to ignore so I got planning another rescape.
This time i'm going for mainly crypts (Tropica, Moelhanni, Willisi, Becketti, 'scuse spelling), but i've kept hold of the AR Mini I had (which has suffered at bit and needs some TLC). I've also salvaged a tinty bit of Marislea Hirsuta because i really like it. Stuck a couple of Anubias Nana Bonsai and some weeping moss on the wood too. And there's a couple of small refugee Java Fern as well. Planted it all up yesterday.
The wood is a piece of old Hawthorn root from the garden, the substrate is the same as previous, but i've capped it with grit scooped up from the lake shore at Ullswater, really pleased with how it looks.
I've ditched the heater, it was ugly. So temp is now about 18c, we'll see how that works out. Bit concerned the crypts may grow too big for the tank. But I don't expect that'll take just 10 days like it did with the Rotala. I've dimmed the light a bit with baking parchment. Currently on for 5 hours. Diffusing C02 as before. I'm hoping keeping the light at lower intensity and the lower temperature is going to get keep algae at bay. Time will tell.
The big pink stone is purely to weight down the wood!