short, low light plants
 

Well my plants finally seem to all be doing well in the tank, I am dousing with CO2 and ferts, and have 2.5 wpg light. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice! Now I am looking for some short (not taller than 4 inches) plants that would naturalize for the front of my tank, there is less light there and so the plants would need to be medium to low light.
Thank you :D

Great! Thank you

If you lay javamoss strand by strand on slate and then cover it with a hairnet (like the lunchladies wear), it will grow into a nice little lawn in a bit over a month under that lighting. You could also use cross-stich grid cut to shape with some just enough slate sewn onto it with polyester thread to keep it from floating away, and then stitch the java-moss onto that.

Here's a tank where I have done the java moss and slate thing:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y24...el_112806c.jpg
THis is shortly after it was set up, 11/28/06

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y24..._021107_03.jpg
This is now, 2/19/07. I've had to trim it back twice.

That's with about 75 watts over a 50 gallon tank.

Wow! that looks really cool, I think I will give that a try, Thank you!

Lilaeopsis brasiliensis is a small plant that will do good in a low teck tank. The fall back to this plant is that it is a slow grower.

Java moss should work well but If you can get it I would go with Christmas moss or Fissidens Fontanus as they are much fuller. The Fontanus is a newer species but from what I have seen it is very nice.

If you go with microsword, bear in mind that, per Tropica (who ought to know) you need high light to get a lawn effect, though it will grow in lower light. Also, it will do better in a finer substrate, and, when you plant it, really tease the plants out into 3-4 leaf groups to allow water flow around them and prevent debris clogging them.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I am worried about the microsword, as I'm not sure I have enough light, and also have gravel and not a fine substrate. I really like the moss on slate idea though! :D

do you want the rock thing or the carpet thing??

2.5wpg is a good level, you could do dwarf hairgrass- much neater than tennelus which is a pain to trim. with a little more light you could do glossostigma, but it would be more like 1 inch max.