hehe^.^plants and color of sand/back gound

[Temo]

ok do you think Vallisneria spiralis look goo in black sand?
and other plants too?
or they look good with white sand?
and blue or black back gound?
whick look better and make everything pop?:) :evil_lol:
^,^ thank you

[geofied]

I suppose it depends on whether you have other "ground cover" that masks the black substrate. In my tank with lots of Val spiralis the substrate is an off-white small gravel (on top of Flourite). But towards the middle and back you don't see the substrate, so it really doesn't matter. Regardless, I think spiral Vals could look good in dark and light substrate.

Remember also that some folks use two different colors of substrate, one for the background where it is more-or-less out of sight, and one for the foreground that is typically lighter color. Amano is known for doing this.

I use dark blue cloth backgrounds and it normally appears black anyway. I think both would work for the color "punch".

[Temo]

well i will have my entirl aquarium flor cover with plants,but there are still gaps and i wan tit look nice from the top,side,front view.
and do i have to put the fert in th esand or under the sand?

[Miyavism]

A black substrate will make the colors of your plants stand out (mmm, color contrast). White will make both plants and fish seem bleached.

I don't think Vals are heavy root feeders, so substrate fertilization may not be necessary. Unless you have other plants that are root feeders? Otherwise, liquid ferts should be fine.

EDIT: I might be wrong here. I'm looking at several sites and they're giving conflicting info on whether or not Vals are heavy rooters. Need a plant-wiz to confirm please. D:

[plantling]

The plantgeek site says that val spiralis needs a nutrient rich substrate:

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=196

[loaches r cool]

I like the look of black backgrounds and black substrate. I also seen some awsome tanks with pale white sand as well. I wanted to go all black, but was unable to get the black substrate I needed and decided on pool filter sand (tan colored) oh well.