Surface plants in one of my Aquariums.

 Aquarium yesterday lit by the afternoon sun.  After two years the planted aquarium has been doing very well.  Algae is under control, water conditions stable.  I believe the heavily planted aquarium maintains optimum water conditions.  The plants help purify the water by utilizing the waste products of the living organisms like Ammonia from the fish and Nitrates from the nitrifying bacteria.  I made a poor selection planting larger varieties of Sword plants and the Nymphaea that are too large for the size of this aquarium.  I have to periodically trim away excessive leaves to allow light to the lower growing plants.  The surface of the aquarium though is filtered by the leaves competing for light and this is effective in controlling  Algae.  Since the beginning of setting up the aquarium I had problems with Algae covering the surface of the aquarium but in the last few weeks the Algae variety that was such a problem has gone away.

The Madagascar Lace leaf another poor selection for this size
of an aquarium blooms frequently and produces small plantlets
that I am trying to encourage to take root. 
In the Spring the Nymphae or Egyptian Lotus sends out runners.

 A small piece of Java fern attached to a large piece of driftwood when I first set up the aquarium took awhile to establish but now has covered the driftwood and the leaves are breaking the surface providing shelter for smaller fish and shading the areas where the algae was such a problem before.  I also encourage duckweed and surface plants like water lettuce and frog bit.