Aquascaping 40 Gal. with Flat Rocks

Hey guys,

I am setting up an Asian-themed 40 Gallon Breeder for all the White Cloud fry I have (as well as some other fish eventually). I have a fine, black gravel substrate, and I will also have some red cryptocoryne, java fern, and some sort of moss in the tank.

I picked up these weird rocks for cheap at my LFS. They have a cool texture, and an interesting white and green color. The issue is they are flat. Most aquascaping vids and articles I have seen use chunkier rocks with more verticality. I do have a lot of good wood (some branchy and some chunkier) to play around with as well.

Does anyone have good ideas for how to best use flat rocks in a naturalistic scape? Any pics or vids would be greatly appreciated. I am somewhat familiar with the golden ratio and the rule of thirds and that stuff, but I'm just not sure the best way to use these flat rocks and complement them with some type of wood.

Thanks!

 

Those rocks are super cool! How much did you get them for? Anyways, if it were me, I would use that one big piece and one of the other pieces make a base, and stack the smaller rocks up to make a centerpiece. Then add some wood coming out of the rocks, and stick some water column feeding plants in the crevices. Maybe add some more wood and plants in the other areas of the tank as well. In terms of the centerpiece, something like this:

 

Thanks for the idea! The rocks were around $10 or 15 I think. I should have bought all that they had (they didn't have a ton more left). Maybe I will be able to snag a few more of them.

The stacked stone island idea is definitely a possibility. I'm also considering adding more substate to the back, and kind of doing a sloping effect. Kinda wish I had bought rocks with more height/shape to them, but I have these, so I'd like to use them.

 

Wow, that's really cheap. Did they tell you what they were called or anything?

 

No, the box wasn't labeled and the girl working had no clue. Haha. I used dragonstone in my 10 and love that, but I didn't want this tank to look the same. Hopefully I can get more of this rock and figure out the best wood pieces to complement it.

 

Here's an update on the Asian 40 Breeder--I think I am nearly done with the hardscape after getting the rest of those strange rocks from my LFS as well as the Caspian Wood.

I plan to add some Java Fern and Crypt. Wendtii Red from my 10 Gallon, as well as Bolbitis Heteroclita, Windelov Java Fern, and some Crypt. Parva.






Let me know what you guys think!

 

Beautiful! That wood layout really compliments it. I'm taking notes - I'm trying to plan a hardscape for my 60g.