I have 2WPG at the moment and I need a couple of background plant suggestions for my tank. It's 24 inches tall and I would like to use it to cover my filter intake and heaters which are on both sides of the tank. Ones that are easily purchased from the local big box would be dandy 'cause the good LFS are about 20 miles away.
Sag grasses, A few different swords would fit the bill ( I really like my kliener bar sword, hard to find though). There are several others, but I will leave them to the pros here.
Just make sure of what you are getting when you purchase your plants. Lots of LFSs (even the big box ones) sell non-aquatic plants. Both Petsmart and Petco near me have non-aquatics.
Here are a few plants that I would suggest and I am currently keeping:
Echinodorus martii - Ruffled Amazon Sword
Vallisneria spiralis var. tortissima - Corkscrew Val Grass
Also, check out the plant section at www.aquabid.com. You can always find some good deals there and the sellers will often throw in extras with your order.
I got a couple of ruffled swords, and while they look cool, for whatever reason they are now almost dead a week after getting them. they looked pretty hard when they arrived so I wonder if they got too cold in shipment due to the coldsnap we had. Amazon swords will get extremely large, but they are defiantly a commonly available plant.
Some stem plants like Rotala rotundifolia and Bacopa caroliniana would work. Bacopa isn't bushy, but you could plant the stems close together to cover the intake.
