Aesthetic advice/opinions please?

Hey guys,

When first setting up my aquarium I only put passing thought into the aesthetics of it, but seeing all the photos of the amazing things you guys have done, as well as recently getting a few new pieces of driftwood to replace artificial ornamentation, made me want to try my hand at making it look a bit better. The thing is, total aqua scraping noob that I am I think I might actually have made it worse.

Before:


After:


Setting aside the completely different lighting, which makes everything look yellowish in the second pic.

I love the new pieces of driftwood, but have I used them poorly/is it too balances/was removing the light coloured ornament a mistake/is there just too much or too busy? More plants would probably lift it but I can't afford those right now (will get some eventually). I'm undecided whether the second actually is worse than the first but it's definitely not as much better as I'd hoped (and certainly not doing the new pieces justice)- any opinions, advice, or suggestions to improve it?

Any input would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

 

I think it looks great with or without the ornament but the lighting is definitely better in the first pic.

 

I actually really like the little pot ornament. You could maybe lay it down in the empty space in front of the smaller pieces of driftwood on the left pic? And I also like the first lighting better.

 

Thanks I'm concerned about too much relative height and bulk in the foreground reducing the appearance of depth in the tank. It's pretty big, 4ft long, but still not large enough for all I want to do with it! It's currently my only tank but probably won't stay that way for long haha.

The lighting difference is just a function of different lighting in the room and also maybe that I added some liquid fertiliser yesterday.

If nothing else the fish seem to like the new arrangement and the hiding places that the new driftwood structure on the left provides, which gives me a bit more confidence.

 

Thanks I'm concerned about too much relative height and bulk in the foreground reducing the appearance of depth in the tank. It's pretty big, 4ft long, but still not large enough for all I want to do with it! It's currently my only tank but probably won't stay that way for long haha.

The lighting difference is just a function of different lighting in the room and also maybe that I added some liquid fertiliser yesterday.

If nothing else the fish seem to like the new arrangement and the hiding places that the new driftwood structure on the left provides, which gives me a bit more confidence.

I really love your driftwood! And I understand what you mean about the pot. I really just like the pot itself I think. Lol. Those driftwood structures are really nice. I just have rocks in my tank but drift wood is so beautiful to me.

 

Just wanted to post a quick update, after some rearranging of the hardscape:





After the addition of a whole lot of plants I was randomly and very kindly given:




Pretty happy with the result, and looking forward to the effect when the disturbed particulate matter settles and the ones in the back grow out from behind the driftwood

 

Turned out really nice. Great job!

 

Thank you!