Feedback On Design For Aquascape, Please?

Hey guys,

Happy Monday and stuff - hope you guys had a good one. I've got my aquascape design drawn out (I thought it'd help w/having a solid plan for creating this tank - weird or smart?), and was hoping for some input.

Good news is I got the last of my rock in and choices made, and did a photo / drawn layout of my aquascape. I'm asking for an objective view and some feedback from you guys, with a fresh / experienced eye on this design.

Tank floor - 20 long x 18 wide
Plan for substrate is 3-4" of pool sand sloping down to 1 1/2 inches (go 2"?).
Lighting (planned) is a Current USA Freshwater LED Plus.

The design itself is pretty self-explanatory, w/a resin driftwood cave piece that looks pretty realistic. This shows the rocks and a resin driftwood cave piece in place w/the design for planting:




The driftwood has a small footprint but arches up over the entire floor of the tank, at 13.5" tall and 14" wide, placed about at the angle shown above. It looks like this:


<- (back of tank here)

And actually looking at the tank, you'd see this at this angle:




That driftwood piece would be coming up just off center at the back turned towards the counter a bit, arching over this layout. The sand would top out at about 3+" in this corner where the big rock is, (next to John Lennon's elbow), sloping down to about 1-1 1/2" level at the front of the tank, creating a bluff/cliff w/the face of that rock, down to the sand bed. The far back corner, would also be built up a bit but not as high, sloping down as well, since on the other side of the counter is my sitting area/TV area.

Have been thinkin' about the option of Java Mossing the top of the 'trunk' of the driftwood, maybe some of the top or the ring as well(?).

So that's what I've got in my head for this tank. Let me know what you guys think or might suggest w/this layout, and thanks!

 

I'm no good at aquasaping but I think that would look really good

 

How tall is the tank? I worry jungle val will get too big. I would look into one of the smaller vals.

 

How tall is the tank? I worry jungle val will get too big. I would look into one of the smaller vals.

Mmm, good point. Didn't take into consideration a shorter water column w/substrate higher like that.

Tank's 20" tall. W/sand in the back, we're talking 17"-ish, 18"+ at the front.

I dig the research and studying in this hobby, so this'll be cool to explore.

Thanks, man!

 

I'm not a man

Something like contortion val may be a better option!

 

I'm not a man

Something like contortion val may be a better option!

Ruh-roh - my sincere apologies.

I'll definitely check them out.

 

Maybe choose rocks that are more similar in shape and type for a more natural look? How far does the driftwood go up in the tank, like 2/3rds way for example?

Here are some really good resources on aquascaping (people in europe and japan are really ahead in the game lol)

In addition to this video, I suggest you watch all parts in this series, and for more inspiration all of George's videos are truly exceptional.

How to get your aquascape right first time
This article is coincidentally by the same guy, but some really good info here as well.


Some rule of thirds and perspective info. (this company also has a great youtube channel)

 

Maybe choose rocks that are more similar in shape and type for a more natural look? How far does the driftwood go up in the tank, like 2/3rds way for example?

Here are some really good resources on aquascaping (people and europe and japan are really ahead in the game lol . . .

A bit more than 2/3 actually. Thanks for sharing the links and the suggestion on rock choices. Cool you're into that stuff.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of his, or some of the other aqua design gurus out there on youtube. The styles, (European, Japanese or other), may be cool if you're into them, but for me, kinda' seemed that after a few videos they're doing somethin' in the neighborhood of the same thing with a little variation thrown in, tank after tank. After a while, it felt a bit like the 'You seen one IwagumI / Danish / ____ scape, you seen 'em all' thing. Yeah, it works, and good for people who dig and follow the scapes and standards these guys are setting.

The basics are strong and solid, like perspective and stuff. That's a great jumping off place. Maybe it's just a 'the eye of the beholder thing'.

Call me a rebel or just ridiculously naive, but not really my esthetic.



.

 

A bit more than 2/3 actually. Thanks for sharing the links and the suggestion on rock choices. Cool you're into that stuff.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of his, or some of the other aqua design gurus out there on youtube. The styles, (European, Japanese or other), may be cool if you're into them, but for me, kinda' seemed that after a few videos they're doing somethin' in the neighborhood of the same thing with a little variation thrown in, tank after tank. After a while, it felt a bit like the 'You seen one IwagumI / Danish / ____ scape, you seen 'em all' thing. Yeah, it works, and good for people who dig and follow the scapes and standards these guys are setting.

The basics are strong and solid, like perspective and stuff. That's a great jumping off place. Maybe it's just a 'the eye of the beholder thing'.

Call me a rebel or just ridiculously naive, but not really my esthetic.



.

Of course! It's your tank, you do what you want with it. If you're not into the nature style, the only other thing I can recommend is adding height to the hardscape and using the basic rule of tall plants in the back, short plants in the front.

 

Maybe look into biotope type setups?

 

I'm not a man

Hilarious! I kinda thought you were too Not that it makes any difference!

 

Hilarious! I kinda thought you were too Not that it makes any difference!

Brilliance has no gender.

*gRiN*

 

A bit more than 2/3 actually. Thanks for sharing the links and the suggestion on rock choices. Cool you're into that stuff.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of his, or some of the other aqua design gurus out there on youtube. The styles, (European, Japanese or other), may be cool if you're into them, but for me, kinda' seemed that after a few videos they're doing somethin' in the neighborhood of the same thing with a little variation thrown in, tank after tank. After a while, it felt a bit like the 'You seen one IwagumI / Danish / ____ scape, you seen 'em all' thing. Yeah, it works, and good for people who dig and follow the scapes and standards these guys are setting.

The basics are strong and solid, like perspective and stuff. That's a great jumping off place. Maybe it's just a 'the eye of the beholder thing'.

Call me a rebel or just ridiculously naive, but not really my esthetic.



.

Haha! Okay, you seriously hit the nail on so many heads there. This is one of the best disagreements in aquascaping I've seen for a while, but okay - okay! - while we may not all artistically agree on professional Aquascapes, or otherwise, when people watch these videos there are really more important things too look at than the overall design. Paying attention to 1.) Plant selection and 2.) technique (whether hardscape, planting, trimming, upkeep or otherwise) are both more important than design. While they may often share similiar artistic suggestions, there's so much more to pay attention to than just appearance, so don't rule out watching as many videos as you can. ✌️

 

I totally see what you mean Tigg. I think the iwagumI tanks are pretty on line but I feel they're not very practical, at least not for me.

Something that style lacks is hiding places. Idk, I feel like the fish I keep are happier with caves in the back with shadowy entrances and jumbles of plants every where lol. I try to organize my tanks in a way that makes me happy but more importantly provides the balance of open areas and sheltered areas to make the fish feel comfortable. And who cares if it's does or doesn't fit a particular style or follow the rules.

 

I totally see what you mean Tigg. I think the iwagumI tanks are pretty on line but I feel they're not very practical, at least not for me.

Something that style lacks is hiding places. Idk, I feel like the fish I keep are happier with caves in the back with shadowy entrances and jumbles of plants every where lol. I try to organize my tanks in a way that makes me happy but more importantly provides the balance of open areas and sheltered areas to make the fish feel comfortable. And who cares if it's does or doesn't fit a particular style or follow the rules.

Agreed, which is why nature style like George uses is my preferred style. I think iwagumI would look gorgeous for a shrimp only tank though.

 

Haha! Okay, you seriously hit the nail on so many heads there. This is one of the best disagreements in aquascaping I've seen for a while, but okay - okay! - while we may not all artistically agree on professional Aquascapes, or otherwise, when people watch these videos there are really more important things too look at than the overall design. Paying attention to 1.) Plant selection and 2.) technique (whether hardscape, planting, trimming, upkeep or otherwise) are both more important than design. While they may often share similiar artistic suggestions, there's so much more to pay attention to than just appearance, so don't rule out watching as many videos as you can. ✌️

Yeah, I would totally agree with you on the idea of the really good foundations they can show someone, as well as the tech aspects of creating and maintaining and everything included with that. That was what I basically meant when I said . . .

The basics are strong and solid, like perspective and stuff. That's a great jumping off place.

And that's just it - they make a great jumping off point, or can. Take notes, learn as much as you can, and, when you get ready to create your tank, take what you've learned and/or saw that you thought rocked, and make it yours, whatever form or design that takes on and whether it looks like their or not. (And then jump on FishLore and ask for some feedback and perspective or such. Yay.)

When I was in kindergarten and it was Thanksgiving, and I got the back of my hands smacked with a ruler (very, very old school). Why? Because for art that day, Mrs, Semelka gave us very specific instructions on how we were to draw turkeys by outlining our fingers and hand spread on construction paper, then color with one crayon across the body in one direction to color it in.

I colored in across and then, get this, up and down. Anarchy and sore knuckles.

I figure it's kinda' the same with tank design. I've learned a LOT on how to set up the outlines and make the basic shapes and got really specific tech and tools, a lot of that from these videos.

But then, I may kinda' wanna' color it in in this direction, instead of in that direction.

Glad you replied - dig your energy and your perspective.

I totally see what you mean Tigg. I think the iwagumI tanks are pretty on line but I feel they're not very practical, at least not for me.

Something that style lacks is hiding places. Idk, I feel like the fish I keep are happier with caves in the back with shadowy entrances and jumbles of plants every where lol. I try to organize my tanks in a way that makes me happy but more importantly provides the balance of open areas and sheltered areas to make the fish feel comfortable. And who cares if it's does or doesn't fit a particular style or follow the rules.

Hey Momma, yeah I get what you mean and I think we come at this from the same place with being mindful of what's best for the fish. We dig our fish and design w/them in mind. That's cool.

This scape I've come up with, it may not follow some tenets or standards of design as we know them and yeah, yeah, it may have these Alaskan river pebbles combined with a huge rock thing I pulled from the empty mudfield across from my apartment building, (seriously, I did. Scrubbed it down with an old stiff hairbrush and tested it w/vinegar), but when I put it all together in my head? I think it'll look kinda' stream-like, kinda' rivery, windingish, flow-ey, something like the creeks we used to play and explore in when we were rugrats fascinated with everything we might find under the water.

And thanks to what I've studied and learned (watching above mentioned videos and a lot of others), I get how the basics work and ways to lay stuff out as a means to get the effects and direction I'm lookin' for.

 

Hey Momma, yeah I get what you mean and I think we come at this from the same place with being mindful of what's best for the fish. We dig our fish and design w/them in mind. That's cool.

This scape I've come up with, it may not follow some tenets or standards of design as we know them and yeah, yeah, it may have these Alaskan river pebbles combined with a huge rock thing I pulled from the empty mudfield across from my apartment building, (seriously, I did. Scrubbed it down with an old stiff hairbrush and tested it w/vinegar), but when I put it all together in my head? I think it'll look kinda' stream-like, kinda' rivery, windingish, flow-ey, something like the creeks we used to play and explore in when we were rugrats fascinated with everything we might find under the water.

And thanks to what I've studied and learned (watching above mentioned videos and a lot of others), I get how the basics work and ways to lay stuff out as a means to get the effects and direction I'm lookin' for.

Ya know what, this is exactly what aquascaping is about. Taking inspiration from nature and creating a piece of it in our tanks.

I think you should really look into a river or stream biotope, google s can give you a few examples. Biotopes follow less of the "conventional" aquascaping guidelines and are more random, because their aI'm to to recreate a specific place in nature, and it sounds like you already have some great inspiration. I love your description of the stream, just like how we have a lot of marshes in my area that I'd like to recreate in a tank someday.

 

I know nothing about aquascaping, but I dog your JL poster

 

But then, I may kinda' wanna' color it in in this direction, instead of in that direction.

I really like how you explained that.
Makes perfect sense.

 

I know nothing about aquascaping, but I dog your JL poster

I'm still catching up on the acronymage here (and didn't find this one on the F-lore list).

JL?

Ya know what, this is exactly what aquascaping is about. Taking inspiration from nature and creating a piece of it in our tanks.

I think you should really look into a river or stream biotope, google s can give you a few examples. Biotopes follow less of the "conventional" aquascaping guidelines and are more random, because their aI'm to to recreate a specific place in nature, and it sounds like you already have some great inspiration. I love your description of the stream, just like how we have a lot of marshes in my area that I'd like to recreate in a tank someday.

Two things:

1. And this is exactly what I hoped / figured Fishlore would be about - coming together with other hobbyists, sharing our ideas, perspectives & experiences, and pointing each other in different / optional directions which in turn ( maybe inadvertently?) makes us and our tanks, nuts and bolts to flourish and fin, better than they were when we got here.

2. Case in point - Mak, you just opened up a whole new playing field for me. I Google'd 'river biotope' and uh, are you kiddin' me? That's pretty much EXACTLY along the lines of what I had in my head w/this design I came up with.

Funny thing is, I had bookmarked this youtube vid that came up in a Google search for 'Bolivian Rams', a while back. Now, in this biotope search, it came up as the #2 vid result, titled 'Amazon River Biotope'. I think they call that irony.

Guys, you are so expanding my fish-lovin' world. Big thanks.

 

I'm glad to hear it! Keep us updated

 

Hey guys,

Happy Monday and stuff - hope you guys had a good one. I've got my aquascape design drawn out (I thought it'd help w/having a solid plan for creating this tank - weird or smart?), and was hoping for some input.

Good news is I got the last of my rock in and choices made, and did a photo / drawn layout of my aquascape. I'm asking for an objective view and some feedback from you guys, with a fresh / experienced eye on this design.

Tank floor - 20 long x 18 wide
Plan for substrate is 3-4" of pool sand sloping down to 1 1/2 inches (go 2"?).
Lighting (planned) is a Current USA Freshwater LED Plus.

The design itself is pretty self-explanatory, w/a resin driftwood cave piece that looks pretty realistic. This shows the rocks and a resin driftwood cave piece in place w/the design for planting:

View attachment 284519

The driftwood has a small footprint but arches up over the entire floor of the tank, at 13.5" tall and 14" wide, placed about at the angle shown above. It looks like this:

View attachment 284524 <- (back of tank here)

And actually looking at the tank, you'd see this at this angle:

View attachment 284525

That driftwood piece would be coming up just off center at the back turned towards the counter a bit, arching over this layout. The sand would top out at about 3+" in this corner where the big rock is, (next to John Lennon's elbow), sloping down to about 1-1 1/2" level at the front of the tank, creating a bluff/cliff w/the face of that rock, down to the sand bed. The far back corner, would also be built up a bit but not as high, sloping down as well, since on the other side of the counter is my sitting area/TV area.

Have been thinkin' about the option of Java Mossing the top of the 'trunk' of the driftwood, maybe some of the top or the ring as well(?).

So that's what I've got in my head for this tank. Let me know what you guys think or might suggest w/this layout, and thanks!

Sorry! Been busy and never got a chance to actually look much more than a brief glance, so sorry if I'm late, and didn't bother to read through everything passed the initial post - so if things changed, my bad.

I initially looked at the layout with the mismatch of stones, woods, larger pieces where I didn't think they should go and everything looked to be pretty much where I didn't want it to gut - BUT - I was simply looking at an empty tank with stones and no substrate, which is really where dimension and scale is anchored into a tank.

I'm going to say go deeper than what you initially planned with the substrate. Plants like dwarf sag develop some healthy roots and 1 and 1/2 is going to cause a problem on two fronts. 1.) they're easily going to uproot before they ever take and 2.) if you're using pool filter sand you need some root tabs, which always pop up on me if I'm using such shallow sand. You probably should keep 2 inches and a very bare minimum in the front, or at least where you need plants to root. More is definitely better upwards to 3 inch for strong rooting plants, but I've done it in less. 3 inch would be ideal to a higher back of whatever looks best.

I hated the largest stone because it looks (again, to me initially) horribly out of place in comparison to all the smooth. If you're building the sand higher underneath I'd honestly like to see some moss on it to cover the majority of it - not all the way! I thought of suggesting Christmas or Weeping Moss, but then I thought what might add more hight and meld well with the Vals? Flame Moss! Flame moss would actually look pretty good, and help cover the ugly bottoms of the Vals. I'm also not particularly a fan of Ludwigia Repens. They grow too big and they don't contrast with the colors in the rest of the tank. I prefer smaller plants, and would have looked into Rotala Sp. Green or Rotala Rotundifolia. Ludwig is one of those plants you want to put something else in front of it. There are plenty of different options than what I suggested, but Ludwigia Repens has a pretty multi-colored top half, but every below that 6" is less than ideal when visible.

I don't mind where the rocks are right now, but if I were doing the substrate I'd make it the highest in the back left where the biggest stone is, then slightly lower on the back right, slightly lower than that on the front left and the absolute lowest on the front right where the twisted cave/root is, which would definitely get Christmas moss.

I really love the piece of driftwood with the slate base. I think with the Vals and if you decided to moss that biggest stone it would look like a sweet, decrepit arm above a tunnel.

I think you're going to end up want a different colored background than blue. It's not going to blend well with anything. Black would be ideal in my opinion.

Like I said, I wasn't too sure when I first saw it, but after I really began to think about it there's potential, but it's going to take some trial and error. Most of all you just gotta do what you want so it's fun because if it isn't then... you stop caring and the design suffers. It has a misplaced riverbed feel to it as of right now, so I'd roll with that.

Can't wait to see it with substrate!

 

Following because this looks like a neat build

 

Sorry! Been busy and never got a chance to actually look much more than a brief glance, so sorry if I'm late, and didn't bother to read through everything passed the initial post - so if things changed, my bad.

I initially looked at the layout with the mismatch of stones, woods, larger pieces where I didn't think they should go and everything looked to be pretty much where I didn't want it to gut - BUT - I was . . .

. . . Like I said, I wasn't too sure when I first saw it, but after I really began to think about it there's potential, but it's going to take some trial and error. Most of all you just gotta do what you want so it's fun because if it isn't then... you stop caring and the design suffers. It has a misplaced riverbed feel to it as of right now, so I'd roll with that.

Can't wait to see it with substrate!

No prob, Silister. I'm glad you came along and got in on this thread. There's a lot here to respond to so here goes:

First off, we've got the 'great minds think alike' thing goin' on. I was chuckling while I read through your stuff, thinkin' 'Right, yes, exactly!' on some of your stuff. Definitely some of the same ideas, which is pretty cool!

Secondly, the driftwood came in, and now that it's here and in, the structure of it changed things a bit. The width of the big stone put the driftwood smack in the middle of the back of the tank and the whole thing suddenly looked really contrived and lost any sense of the natural.

I pulled everything out, drew out a square the dimensions of the tank floor on my work table and went at it, rearranging, flipping this and that, turning this here, trying that there and after a while, came up with this:







Keep in mind a pale colored sand is going to lay under all this and yeah, in this scape, the blue looks like a glaringly bad option, imj. Just doesn't make any sense w/the direction / vibe of this scape.

So in response to your stuff:

1. Sand depth - I'll go deeper for sure, but yeah, we're on the same page - I actually was trying to think of how to go pretty tall in the back, and I agree w/the angles you mentioned. We're actually going to reverse that though, Going down to the front left instead of right. That'll really give it some great angles and flow at it's base level. And it'll hike the big rock and driftwood up higher, which this layout needs.

2. Rotalia Rotundifolia - yes, yes, yes, MUCH better! Funny thing is, I'd found some and saved it on ebay a few days ago! I was going w/Repens for lack of knowing options for something different in the back in that corner (didn't want to do yet another Amazon or such), but in researching, I googled RR and I really dig the look on this variety!

3. Moss on the big rock - already thought of that, and we're in exactly the same place with it. I'd been looking at mosses too and hadn't yet decided on one, but flame would work and I also had thought to only go partial with it. I think it's really going to make that rock and the tank.

I'm looking at options, now that I have my eyes on a lot of examples of river biotopes (thanks to you, btw). Still not convinced about black, (yeah, yeah, I can see it in my head), but I'm open to hearing an argument in it's favor if you would / could make one.

___________________________________

Here's the game plan going forward:

Run the sand high from the back right corner under the big rock too the front left corner with said rock tilted upward at the front just a bit, flame moss laid out over part of it. Basically what we both said w/the tilt of the sand bed, just in the other direction. Rotalia R filling in behind big rock and a bit of it planted up on the right side of it.

See the big driftwood piece, that open / split part on the front of it's base? Attach a fern variety growing out of that, (African water fern?), and possibly growing out of the top opening of the twisted cave/wood piece right next to it. Then moss the main body of the cave/wood right down to the peak of it's bottom opening.

Still dig the val behind that driftwood, but if you look closely, you'll see there's this really delicious triangular space between big rock and driftwood that I want to throw another something kinda' plant into, shorter, fuller, which I think'll really make the background. Something like a cabomba (I don't think I'd be able to grow that well in here), or I don't know what but something needs to go there.

Dwarf sag and maybe some cryptocoryne parva tossed in and about the rocks. Aso got a line on some bucephalandra green wavy leaf, that I think'll give some neat breaks in color and shape as well.

And then in the top right corner, w/a fish line retainer to hold it in place, a small grouping of floating water lettuce, kept in check.

My apologies for the length of this, but like I said, Sillister, we're actually pretty close on this build with some of the ideas we both have, and I really appreciate the view and input from your side of the screen. Let me know what you think of the new layout and yeah, toss out any ideas on plant varieties, if you have them.

I'm ordering sand and plants next week or so; should arrive shortly thereafter, and then the actual hands-on fun begins! I'll keep things updated in my album and on here.

I think we're heading in a really good direction now, and I'm really glad for the help!

Btw, for visuals, that driftwood piece? You wouldn't think to look at it, but wet, it's this intensely deep rich dark, dark brown.

 

I would even consider stacking the rocks in places. In a river bed, the rocks aren't laid out with space between them, they're jumbled over each other and over the pieces of wood. Maybe a pile around the base of the wood and a few smaller piles throughout?

 

I agree with TexasDomer, those are really good suggestions.

I forgot to mention that it may also be possible for you to buy river sand - the kind with bigger grains and different shades of the color. I think it would look a lot more realistic than something like play sand or pool filter sand.

 

I've always based my aquascaping (and I'm definitely not a professional) off of how functional it will be for my fish. When I bought my driftwood I knew it would be perfect for my loaches for example. My tank kinda looks like a jungle now but everyone has somewhere to go when spooked. Looking good so far!

 

View attachment 285165

View attachment 285166


So in response to your stuff:

1. Sand depth - I'll go deeper for sure, but yeah, we're on the same page - I actually was trying to think of how to go pretty tall in the back, and I agree w/the angles you mentioned. We're actually going to reverse that though, Going down to the front left instead of right. That'll really give it some great angles and flow at it's base level. And it'll hike the big rock and driftwood up higher, which this layout needs.

Well, now that you seem somewhat decided on a river biotope-esque style you have a chance to do unique designs not often incorporated into the standard set (Dutch, Iwagumi, Nature, Forest... etc..). I've seen some very cool ones where people have heightened the right or left side, built rocks up, as if it were the shallower side of the bank in a river with the opposite side being lower, as if a deeper portion. Depending on where this tank sits in the end, equipment and such - if this is visually okay to look at - you can easily make this tank viewable from 360 degrees and do away with a background altogether.

I much prefer your layout in this new way, but the larger round rocks I feel need to try and heighten what has become a unique visual focal point - your driftwood that is. I give it a shot and move the bigger stones more towards that back left, trying to bring a stronger draw of attention to it.

2. Rotalia Rotundifolia - yes, yes, yes, MUCH better! Funny thing is, I'd found some and saved it on ebay a few days ago! I was going w/Repens for lack of knowing options for something different in the back in that corner (didn't want to do yet another Amazon or such), but in researching, I googled RR and I really dig the look on this variety!

Don't get me wrong because I love Rotolia. I swear I have pounds of this in various tanks. Haha! Now, if you're moving in the direction of a river it's not the ideal plant I would consider. I'm just thinking of rivers I've hopped in, and I have a lot near me, but on that stands out is when I saw a fallen mess of branches that still had green leaf structure beneath the surface amongst bullrushes. You're driftwood construct reminds me of that. I think what would be awesome is securing Anubias var. Nana Petite at various point along the twisted one mostly, while only a few rhizomes on that really cool one. Bullrushes are ugly weeds, but grass-like at times which Vals do a good job to mimic. The way it sits now I'd plant gals on the left and along the right side, in hopes to try and make a tunnel, so the viewers vision is immediately drawn to the wood.

3. Moss on the big rock - already thought of that, and we're in exactly the same place with it. I'd been looking at mosses too and hadn't yet decided on one, but flame would work and I also had thought to only go partial with it. I think it's really going to make that rock and the tank.

Flames a good one. My Go-To three are Christmas Moss, Weeping Moss. Fissidens and Coral moss are definitely elegant, and something to take a peak at if you've never seen it before.

I'm looking at options, now that I have my eyes on a lot of examples of river biotopes (thanks to you, btw). Still not convinced about black, (yeah, yeah, I can see it in my head), but I'm open to hearing an argument in it's favor if you would / could make one.

I'm not convinced on black either. Your tank has black so it would blend well, and most filters are black - same with heaters. It just hides everything well.

I used a black background and got rid of it in favor of Window Frosting Film, as it adds more depth in my opinion. All my tanks have been frosted either with film or the spray-can stuff. It both works the same, but the film won't scratch off the glass.

- I wrote about backgrounds a while ago and have pictures of one of my tanks and the effects I created by adjusting my light.

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Aquascaping Tips And Tricks
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See the big driftwood piece, that open / split part on the front of it's base? Attach a fern variety growing out of that, (African water fern?), and possibly growing out of the top opening of the twisted cave/wood piece right next to it. Then moss the main body of the cave/wood right down to the peak of it's bottom opening.

I love African Water Fern but...

1. they grow much larger than you'd think
2. for an easy-to-grow plant it fails in intense light and grows very horribly
3. These take a very long time to acclimate to a tank
4. ridiculously slow grower that really does need low-light or high amounts of shade. I have some in the background pictures in the link above. That african fern has been in that tank for 4-5 months...

Narrow Leaf Java Fern stays about 6 inches long in leaf and under 1.5 inches wide. It's a good plant. Ideally you want Java Fern Needle... if you can find it... Aquabid is the only place I've seen Narrow sold

Still dig the val behind that driftwood, but if you look closely, you'll see there's this really delicious triangular space between big rock and driftwood that I want to throw another something kinda' plant into, shorter, fuller, which I think'll really make the background. Something like a cabomba (I don't think I'd be able to grow that well in here), or I don't know what but something needs to go there.

Val's totally got to stay. I love her. Cabomba I think would pair well with what you have going on there.

Dwarf sag and maybe some cryptocoryne parva tossed in and about the rocks. Aso got a line on some bucephalandra green wavy leaf, that I think'll give some neat breaks in color and shape as well.

Dwarf Sag doesn't impress me a whole lot, but Crypt Parva is a lovely alternative. Easy and stays shorter, growing into bushes almost given enough time.

Bruce plants would be epic! They just cost a ton!

And then in the top right corner, w/a fish line retainer to hold it in place, a small grouping of floating water lettuce, kept in check.

I'm not huge on floating plants, so that's your call. Haha! But if we're thinking river I've never seen a real one that was stagnant enough to let floating plants grow much - if at all.[/QUOTE]

My apologies for the length of this, but like I said, Sillister, we're actually pretty close on this build with some of the ideas we both have, and I really appreciate the view and input from your side of the screen. Let me know what you think of the new layout and yeah, toss out any ideas on plant varieties, if you have them.

I constantly drown the mods with walls of text. Better someone else do it once in a while! Haha!

I'm ordering sand and plants next week or so; should arrive shortly thereafter, and then the actual hands-on fun begins! I'll keep things updated in my album and on here.

I think we're heading in a really good direction now, and I'm really glad for the help!

When you say light colored sand I'd keep it in that brownish-red color. White doesn't pair well often and is easily dirtied. Think ADA Colorado Cosmetic Sand without the ridiculous price. I've found some reptile sands that come close in appearance.

 

I've always based my aquascaping (and I'm definitely not a professional) off of how functional it will be for my fish. When I bought my driftwood I knew it would be perfect for my loaches for example. My tank kinda looks like a jungle now but everyone has somewhere to go when spooked. Looking good so far!

Glad you said that - that's awesome, and behind the scenes, that's up front in my head when I'm laying out scapes too. Behind this design, I'm working the scape to provide no single straight line on the bottom level of the tank, meaning turns and corners with spots for the 2 Bolivian Rams to hang in, swim around and hide if and when they feel the need, as well as having their own spaces if they get territorial.

For the 3 honey gouramis, who'll hang mostly in the top - top half, there'll be the cool driftwood to 'play' around and explore as well as the plantings at the back and the floating plants roots. (Jury's still out on that idea though).

For the pygmy corys, (9-11 of those), there's open swimming space in the middle level and w/the fern going in on the driftwood and the different parts I've got topping out about mid lower level, they'll have plenty of places to shoal around and about.

For the other fish I'm thinkin' about, there'll also be lots of space to swim around in, and generally laid back tankmates.

I think, for me, being mindful of the fish's needs and attributres has to be one priority in the planning for sure.

 

I would even consider stacking the rocks in places. In a river bed, the rocks aren't laid out with space between them, they're jumbled over each other and over the pieces of wood. Maybe a pile around the base of the wood and a few smaller piles throughout?

Yeah, I could see that, in going for realism. I'm thinkin' that'll come more into play once I get the substrate in and actually start placing. Admittedly, and maybe I didn't really state it, I see this being more a "Variation on a theme' as opposed to 'Copy & paste'.

It's a bit of a challlenge too though, to 'see' how things'll actually lay w/out, set into sand and such, w/out actually suspending them in the tank prior.

 

Well I attempted to look at what some of the previous posts were saying and what you had posted but that last one was kind of confusing. My only input is do you know where you're going to put the filter? My curly val (can't remember if it's the Italian or Americana) doesn't really like being by the filter and breaks off when it gets to be about 8". It's something to think about when you're doing the actual set-up. I can't give any other advice regarding aquascaping seeing that I let my kids talk me into putting a tikI head into mine.

 

Well I attempted to look at what some of the previous posts were saying and what you had posted but that last one was kind of confusing. My only input is do you know where you're going to put the filter? My curly val (can't remember if it's the Italian or Americana) doesn't really like being by the filter and breaks off when it gets to be about 8". It's something to think about when you're doing the actual set-up. I can't give any other advice regarding aquascaping seeing that I let my kids talk me into putting a tikI head into mine.

Yeah, yeah, I know - way too ambitious w/the coding and responding on that one - sorry. LoL.

Yeah, I've been thinkin' about the filter intake w/the vals planted back there - I've got a couple of ideas in mind, basically improv creating a guard of sorts so that plants can't actually get close to the intake.

*cHuCkLe* - regarding your TikI Head, that's just 'artistic license'.

 

Btw guys -

Filled the tank w/water, just to get an idea of what the hardscape's going to look like wet . . .

 

I would even consider stacking the rocks in places. In a river bed, the rocks aren't laid out with space between them, they're jumbled over each other and over the pieces of wood. Maybe a pile around the base of the wood and a few smaller piles throughout?

Went on a lazy rock hunt this lazy afternoon. Looking better, I think . . .







Next weekend - (re)paint, sand, lights & water.

 

Doodled some planting drawings, but app only let me post pics here. Was doing other doodles and saw new pics. Just thought.

You definitely did a great job. I've seen people with tons of experience fail when trying multiple viewing sides.

Planting idea I've had in my head since yesterday.

Current hardscape - I removed the large flat stone from the back right, feeling like it was wasted substrate that could be planted. I then positioned your rock formation in the front more towards the back where that large stone was.







Spiralis tunnel (direction of your filter determines how spiralis will lay at the surface. But this is a plant tunnel







Crypt WendtiI Green would look great in the right formation in front of spiralis.






Anubias nana tied to lower portion of bottom driftwood, while anubias nana petite is tied to higher portions.

 

Doodled some planting drawings, but app only let me post pics here. Was doing other doodles and saw new pics. Just thought.


You definitely did a great job. I've seen people with tons of experience fail when trying multiple viewing sides.

Planting idea I've had in my head since yesterday.

Current hardscape - I removed the large flat stone from the back right, feeling like it was wasted substrate that could be planted. I then positioned your rock formation in the front more towards the back where that large stone was.

Spiralis tunnel (direction of your filter determines how spiralis will lay at the surface. But this is a plant tunnel

Crypt WendtiI Green would look great in the right formation in front of spiralis.

Anubias nana tied to lower portion of bottom driftwood, while anubias nana petite is tied to higher portions.

Thanks, man - from the get go even before knowing what tank options were available, I had all the viewing angles in mind. I knew I wanted something taller & wide, that would show from the width of the sitting area on the other side of the passthrough to anywhere in the kitchen. After a few 'not quite's and some exploring options, hit on this cube which worked on every point. The moment I placed it, knew it was the perfect fit for the space and what I was looking for viewing-wise.

Back to scaping / planting.

I dig your idea of removing the big rock - with the more stones added in generally and moving those front ones towards the back, that brings a nicer balance and some continuity, as well as opening up the tank a lot.

Better, definitely. (Okay, yeah, yeah - is it just me, or was big rock lookin' more and more like something I'd see in a creek bed in Illinois, than somewhere along the Amazon?).

I've been lookin' at crypt spyralis videos, care guides, planting tips and yeah, it's a definite go, Silister. I can see it, and I think it'll really do the scape justice as a backdrop, w/the middle open. I'm running an AQ70 for filtration, the width of it's water return going from right at center towards the driftwood, so almost perfect middle for the 'tunnel'.

Yes on Anubias nana & petite - it'll really work well on the driftwoods as we'd talked about earlier, for sure.

And then yeah, parva planted about, which'll really highlight all the rock, and I dig the wendtiI in there as well. Spent some time studying these varieties and kept thinkin' wendtiI would / should / could be cool in the mix as well, so again, great minds and such.

I think we're there, Silister, Tex, Mak.

This has been a brilliant experience for me, working together and the process of coming up with this design. From start to now, sincerely I'm feelin' a lot stronger and more confident in what I've already learned from you, than when I got here. Nice stuff.

So, I'll repaint the background Friday night. Sand arrives that night as well. Hitting LFS for plants Saturday morning, then get the sand cleaned, scape and plant, fill'er up and turn everything on.

A tank buddy's giving me some good water & stuff from his tank(s) on Friday, to seed my filter, and I'm planning on a couple'a weeks or longer minimum before bringin' any fish home.

Again, thank you thank you thank you. Pics'll be up next weekend and I can't wait to show you how it's comin' along.

 

Huge difference, actually.

 

Wow, it's looking awesome. If you have your eye on a plant that your LFS doesn't carry, online is usually a good place to go. I know my LFS doesn't really have much variety in plants.

 

We're really fortunate here in Indy - the 'plant guy' at our local LFS is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to aquarium plants. It's mind-boggling the amount of info this guy can throw out on anything you ask him in regards to a plant, and he stocks a really good selection of stuff.

The only thing I had that was off the beaten path as such was one, Limnophila Sessiliflora, which I really love but I'm thinkin' I'll skip for this scape. The other was minI pellia / coral moss, which seems to be a bit harder to find than just walking into a shop. At least yet.

Who do you buy from online? Wouldn't mind having a good source in tow.

 

I've had good success with Nofishtoday on Aquabid. Highly recommend him!