54G – Haircut or No Haircut?

August 26th, 2009

Today I did water-changes on my aquariums, and while looking at the 54G tank, I decided to actually try trimming back the hairgrass a little bit. I had talked about trimming it down for awhile, but various folks said they liked the long-wavy-look, so I put it off. I ended up deciding to just try it once and see how it goes.

54G - After Hairgrass Cut

Above you can see the trimmed tank immediately after the water-change. Below is the tank, immediately prior to the trim and water change. Which do you like better? To me, I think the trimmed look brings out the hardscape a little bit more. I know that the rest of the plants are a bit of a mess right now. That’s my next problem to solve!

54G - August 26th, 2009

The good thing is that the plants are actually starting to grow quite well, and assuming I keep my dosing regimen and water-changes on schedule, I haven’t had near the issues with algae that I have had previously on this tank. The Potamogetons in this tank are doing wonderfully.

54G - August 26th, 2009

I did have a beautiful stand of Lindernia dubia in here, but I trimmed it very hard to send to a friend. I may have trimmed it too hard. Fortunately, I have more stashed away in my emersed setup. Overall, this tank is starting to come into its own. Please let me know if you like the haircut or not. Comments welcome!

6 Responses to “54G – Haircut or No Haircut?”

  1. Chris Says:

    I think that the longer HG looks beautiful, but it is really too tall for this sized tank. It would be scaled better in a 3 foot tall tank. The trimmed look does bring out the hardscape and makes the tank look fresh. If you like the wavy look, but want it to be shorter, go for some eleocharis ‘belem’
    I will be using this in my 40 breeder that I’m setting up, and probably in my 5.5 gallon tank if I ever get the hardscape to set up an iwagumi. From what I have seen, it’s a very cool plant
    Chris

  2. Mark F. Says:

    It’s a tough call, really … the long and wavy look gave the tank a nice breezy feel, like being out on the Great Plains; it was really quite dramatic … on the other hand, the hardscape is more dramatic after the trim.
    While I don’t agree that the tank’s too small to accommodate the long and wavy look, I think I’m also gonna cast my vote in favor of the trim: I don’t think the blue-spots could handle the role of thundering bison herd!

  3. Corey Says:

    Hmmm… I have to say I prefer the uncut look, but have to agree the hardscape gets lost… so either you need bigger rocks or shorter HG 😉 I really don’t like the look of the cut HG because then it looks like a manacured lawn and loses a lot of the naturalistic qualities that you have going otherwise.

    If I had my way, I’d have that hairgrass on the sides up to the depth (front to back of the tank) where the rock are, and then have a smaller variety (if there is one??)actually in front of the rocks. It would be a nice smooth transition from the taller plants in the back of the rocks (when they grow in) around the rocks to the front.

  4. Dave Says:

    I like it longer myself. Gave the tank a much more natural feel – now it looks like a cultured lawn. Not that the cultured look is a bad thing, I just liked the feel before.

  5. Mark F. Says:

    I’m gonna break the tie, and change my vote to long and wavy as well!

  6. guitarfish Says:

    I’ll have to post an updated picture soon. After going a few days, new blades have grown up, so it doesn’t look as manicured as it did immediately after the trim. I think it’s a pretty good compromise. I’ll post pictures when I can. Thanks for your comments, everyone!