Please With My 40" Tank

[mapw]

I started a 60 gal tank about 6 weeks ago and I would love to have it fully planted like some of the examples on here.

I would like to have a tank lush green with a full carpet on the bottom and would appreciate any advice you can give as to what to uses moss or grass ect.....how to fix it so it does not float away. How to add contours so I can have different levels that look natural and what plants I should fill the tank with and were to place them.

Yes I guess Im asking you to totally design my tank and I will post all the progress to should how your tank design is doing.

My DAZ tank is 40"x15" and 19 deep with 3" substrate, im planting in ECO complete plant grow. My light level is around 2.4watt per Gal. Tempature 80, PH 7.2.

I have a few plants but nothing much and a nice large rock and some drift wood:

2xHygrophila polysperma
1xCrinum natans
1xEchinodorus barthii
1xCeratopteris thalictroides

My fish are

4 Clown loach
6 Gouramis
I will be getting a couple of alge eaters when my local store gets them in.

you advice and help is appreciated.....

[Fei Miao]

Hi mapw, firstly a warm welcome to AQ!
You can finds lots of info in the begineer's section on starting a planted tank, I see the plants are still in the pots, you should remove them and plant them in the substrate, in clumps of 2 to 3 stalks, for a new tank, I would plant thickly, so that algae would not get a foothold. For a small tank, do consider the the plants you choose in terms of size, colurs and leaves texture.

Here's my take on the aquascape... For a start, on the hardscape..I like the driftwood on the left and the Ceratopteris thalictroides with it, you would probably have to play around with the rocks on the right though, it could be you will have to decide if to stick with the rocks or the wood, right now the 2 somehow, doesn't go together, could be the colour of the rocks, hunt around for 1 or more driftwood to add to the hardscape and probably some dark colour rocks to set them at the base.

On the background plants...If you are going keep the gouramis a thicket of plants like java ferns, moss, and a host stem plants with small leaves would be great for them, do look around for the nice scapes and nature for inspirations.

Mid-ground, you can consider anubias nanas and small crypts, foreground , you can consider moss tied on small piece or rocks with threads, these will keep them from floating. other forground plants I can think of are hairgrass, glossostigma elatinoides and elatine trianda

.. a warning about clown loachs, they can grow huge, for algae eater, get yamatos shrimps and otos