Idea for friends aquascape

I'm helping my friend set up an aquarium. Was wondering if anybody has ideas on an aquascape. It's a 15 gallon and we have small lava rock we could add. Wanting to go for a simple river scape. Stocking will be a community tank, probably livebearers and tetras.

 

Fun!

The best piece of advice I can offer here is about symmetry. If you set up a scape that's ALMOST symmetrical but not, the brain really doesn't like it, and starts looking for differences between the two sides. In your current setup, that's what's happening; the even distribution of the two very different pieces of wood is visually uncomfortable.

What I might do instead is put both pieces on one side; the piece pictured on the right looks like it could be positioned upright, which could set you up towards a "triangle" aquascape. Alternatively, I might cluster them closer together in the middle, or a bit off-center, creating more of an "island" style aquascape with a central feature.

Any plans on adding plants to this setup? That might change where your hardscape goes based on what species of plants you're considering, too!

 

Maybe try and add a few rounded rocks or stones to the bottom on one side...

 

Fun!

The best piece of advice I can offer here is about symmetry. If you set up a scape that's ALMOST symmetrical but not, the brain really doesn't like it, and starts looking for differences between the two sides. In your current setup, that's what's happening; the even distribution of the two very different pieces of wood is visually uncomfortable.

What I might do instead is put both pieces on one side; the piece pictured on the right looks like it could be positioned upright, which could set you up towards a "triangle" aquascape. Alternatively, I might cluster them closer together in the middle, or a bit off-center, creating more of an "island" style aquascape with a central feature.

Any plans on adding plants to this setup? That might change where your hardscape goes based on what species of plants you're considering, too!

I'll note this. I definitely agree on the wood positioning, the piece on the right is a little off. The island scape is probably what he's looking for.

Yeah plants will be bought this weekend. I have some crypts and dwarf sag he can use as well as some floaters. We're open to any ideas plant related too.

Maybe try and add a few rounded rocks or stones to the bottom on one side...

He has some small lava rock so we can for sure incorporate that too.

 

Somehow I don't associate lava rock with riverscapes. I would use the lavarock as filter media instead. For a river scape, use sand, pebbles and rocks for a natural look: #33: 54L Biotope Aquascape “Baiyunshan Mountain Brook, China”

So a bit of sand in, take half of the stones you have in there out, and add 3 or 5 somewhat bigger pebbles.

You don't need much else really. The driftwood you have can be placed in a discrete manner between the rocks. Think I would leave the left piece in the image out.

Add some marginal vegetation between the rocks: cryptocoryne parva and blyxa japonica.

Fish: WCMM and Stiphodon atropurpureus.