# Creating A Look of Depth in a Narrow Tank



## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

If the tank is located in a usually dimly lit room, and you don't mind cleaning the back glass once in a while, you could add a mirror behind it. Adds incredible depth.

You can plant it in a way that suggests more depth. It is hard to describe in a few words. You'll need to break up plants into groups, and have some gaps that go to the back of the tank. If you have access to Amanos "Nature Aquarium World" it can give you some inspiration for things to try.

Like darker plants in the back, light green ones up in front. Large leaved back, fine leaved front, etc.

Or you can do what I did... cut up the tank, and use the front glass to build a much deeper plywood tank. :redface:


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## AirSong (Feb 21, 2009)

Can you post a pic of what it currently looks like? I'm much better at thinking up ideas once I have a base to start from. I'm guessing you do at least have the earth and some rocks/driftwood in there? :3


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

I figure it is impossible.

The tank is too long, and too shallow going back.

If you stop trying to make it look "deep" and start playing with the length options open up for you.

I have a 55g and never have had it looking very good, best scape was a mound of flame moss.

Right now I'm about to rescape it with a lot of long thin (quarter size or so thick to thin thin thin sizes) pieces of driftwood and then grow Taiwan moss over it all with maybe a few red tiger lotuses in the back corners letting the leaves grow up to the surface. Amano had a tank with just wood and Taiwan moss and it looked great (it happens to be one of my all time favourite tanks of his) 

Or just buy a 75g and switch tanks when no one is looking!

-Andrew


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## marrow (Feb 4, 2007)

Look at some pictures of perennial border gardens for ideas. The Brits do them particularly well. (horticulture not aquaculture I am talking about)


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## Christine T (May 4, 2008)

I have a 30 gallon long tank...I try to have the plants almost curve; I have a lot of plants on the sides and going towards the center of the tank, and then in the center of the tank, there are fewer stem plants and the middle is more open with a few smaller plants (don't know if that made any sense).

Or you could do what A Hill said, and use the length. I've seen some great scapes that are made purely to use the length of the tank, and less concerned with depth.


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## leafshapedheart (Feb 23, 2009)

Hello..,

Thanks for the tips Christine, yes I do understand what you mean by curving the plants around the back and sides, and leaving the front and centre essentially open. That is more or less what I have tried to do so far. When I have heard of people wanting to get a 55 I have always tried to talk them into a 75 for precisely this reason. I got this tank for such a good price I could not refuse, but if I could do it again, I would wait for a 75 to come along, or something even larger. No doubt I will eventually upgrade, and I will be more patient and choose something with depth and not just length.

The mirror is a really good idea. I may also try different backgrounds. But perhaps like you say, A. Hill, I should stop struggling with the depth and just work with the length. I have always admired Amano's tanks, and some of them seem to be so simple; by choosing a few dramatic pieces of rock or wood, and two or three species of plants, the impact is breathtaking. I have not yet been able to find any of his books, but I have ordered _Aquarium Designs Inspired By Nature _by Peter Hiscock and I'm hoping to find some inspiration there.

I think one of the biggest problems for me is that I don't have access to a lot of good materials, so I have had to work with what's at hand. Everything outside is in a frozen ice-lock, but when the weather improves, I'm definitely going on a collecting mission. I have also never ordered anything online before, but I think I'm going to have to start!

leafshapedheart


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

I had put in clear plastic strips 4x48 inch and it curved my landscape then i just slope the substrate to it . It also helps in keeping your heavy rooted plants from spreading out all over , It's like a edge trimmer for landscaping and it work great . I have now replace my 55g tank with my 110g tank and did the same thing it gives me 3 inch in the front and slopes out to 5-6 inches to sides and back and works like a divider keeping my stem plants in the back center .
Or use some rocks on the corners and slope scape around them?


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## coolnick (Oct 28, 2006)

You can try a diagonal design. Use one of the front right corners for a short carpet, then increase the size of the plants on a diagonal so that it ends with the tallest stems or a tightly pruned sword in the far rear corner.

You can order the Nature Aquarium books from amazon, that's where I got mine.


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## leafshapedheart (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi, Inkslinger,
I had considered doing something right along the lines of what you're talking about. I thought I might try using rocks or wood as a dividing line, working around the tank in a semi-circle, and build the substrate up behind it to make planting beds. But I had never thought of using landscaping border. I had also considered using sand in front of the wall, and plant-based gravel behind, where most, if not all, of the plants would be. The rocks/wood/border would work as a retaining wall and help to keep the different materials from mixing. I'm not sure if anyone has tried this or how it would work, but I definitely think sloping the substrate in some way would be the most effective way to give the tank some depth. 
Hi, Coolnick..,
A diagonal design is also a good idea. I have always admired tanks with plants covering the whole ground more than almost anything. I might also have to get Amano's books from online. I have tried ordering them from Chapters/Indigo with no success. My other book did come on Tuesday; Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature. I was not incredibly impressed with the aquascapes in this book, but I liked the fact that it has a separate section for several different biotopes, and lots of excellent information on what species of plants and fish are found together in Nature. If you could recommend one of Amano's books to start with, which would it be? They all look so good it would be hard to choose!


Thanks for the extra tips!  I can use all the help I can get! I'm glad I don't have a digital camera because I have an excuse not to show any pictures! LOL But hopefully someday soon I will.

leafshapedheart


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Look at dewalltheway's 55 gallon: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/661959-post158.html. Also, Rekles 55 http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/785696-post65.html. And Briono http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/793318-post32.html


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## leafshapedheart (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi, Sewing..,

Thanks for the links.., those tanks are amazing! I like the wall in dewalltheway's tank. It give me an idea what the wall might look like, though I had imagined my wall curving the other direction, allowing for more open space in the centre. Though I think I would want to have everything changed (I'm planning to change several things on my tank, including lights, substrate, and adding co2.)before buying that many plants!

leafshapedheart


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## danakin (Jun 8, 2007)

Rotate the tank 90 degrees. Voila, super deep tank. Granted, it's not as wide as it used to be...


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## leafshapedheart (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi, danakin...

So simple... if only my room would allow. But what would be interesting would be to aquascape as if the side of the tank was the front, and see what would happen.

Thanks
leafshapedheart


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I am thinking dewalltheway had an idea for depth on using a wall. I feel your pain with the 55 gallon dilemma. Perhaps the golden ratio would work to help create depth.


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## brion0 (Sep 28, 2008)

I think the trick to depth in a 55 is to get some thing to fill up the sides close to the glass, then as it gets closer to the center fade things to the back. Try to keep the sides from being to eye catching, so the veiw you focus on is close to the middle. If you can make a focus point at 1/3, then get the eye to travel towards the back. With out having a strong point to catch your attention on the sides, the tank wont seem as wide. Lots of slope will help also.


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

I agree with Wasserpest on the mirror idea. Most people don't care much for mirror backgrounds, but I've seen some amazing effects when done properly.

Here's a 55g tank (the one in the page header) I noticed the other day while grabbing more ferts. I was surprised when I seen the 55g caption below it. It looks similar to what I believe brion0 is describing.


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## leafshapedheart (Feb 23, 2009)

Hello again, Sewingalot..,

I have seen dewalltheway's tank, (thanks to your last link) and it was beautiful! It gave me hope that all is not lost with a 55, whose size and shape definitely proposes a challenge! But maybe there is an up-side to it...if as a beginner you can create a satisfactory, (or better) aquascape within these bounds, then the next projects may be easier! But I am wondering... What is the Golden Ratio?

leafshapedheart


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## jargonchipmunk (Dec 8, 2008)

leaf shapes have a lot to do with it as well. most of the time it doesn't make sense, but if you're going specifically for depth, doing larger leafed plants in the forground(crypts, anubias, etc), moving to small leafed stems for the background (rotalas, etc) the small leafed stems LOOK farther away because of the difference in leaf size between them and the plants in front.


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## leafshapedheart (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank-you Brion0 and Jinx..,

The tank in the link is beautiful! That is something like the pattern I had imagined for planting, keeping the middle more open to draw the eye to it, and fill the sides with lots of plants, but keeping the ones in the centre more eye-catching. 

Now I need to figure out how to get ahold of more quality plants and materials, which for me has been as much of a problem as dealing with the shape of the tank itself. But thanks to an overwhelming amount of advice both in words and pictures, I will have no lack of ideas and inspiration.

leafshapedheart


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

jinx© said:


> I agree with Wasserpest on the mirror idea. Most people don't care much for mirror backgrounds, but I've seen some amazing effects when done properly.
> 
> Here's a 55g tank (the one in the page header) I noticed the other day while grabbing more ferts. I was surprised when I seen the 55g caption below it. It looks similar to what I believe brion0 is describing.


God gosh, jinx©! That is one of the prettiest "totally planted" aquariums that I have ever seen.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Leafshapedheart,

Here is a couple links for the golden ratio: 

http://my-aquatic-world.blogspot.com/2008/05/understand-golden-ratio-in-your-planted.html
http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2006/11/golden-rule-of-aquascaping.html


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## RWaters (Nov 12, 2003)

leafshapedheart said:


> Hi, Sewing..,
> 
> ...It give me an idea what the wall might look like, though I had imagined my wall curving the other direction, allowing for more open space in the centre...
> 
> leafshapedheart


But here's the thing - if your wall curved the other way it would tie it to the rear wall and the sense of depth would be lost. I think dewalltheway's 55 gallon works because the rock wall defines the foreground and the black background gives an illusion of greater depth behind the wall. Does that make sense?


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

Here's my old 55.

If you like the depth in it, pm me I can give you some pointers.


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

slope the substrate as much as possible. add the plants in rows. try to tier things on top of each other.


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## leafshapedheart (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank-you, rountreesj..,

I do like the depth in your tank.., I like it very much. 

I found an article by Takashi Amano in the April issue of TFH, that has given me some inspiration. It has further solved a second problem, which is how to include sand for my burrowing fish. To make it even better yet, it is right along the lines of what I had been imagining but didn't quite know how to do.

It involves using what he calls "cosmetic sand" in the foreground, a tangle of rocks and driftwood somewhat in the centre, and ADA aquasoil behind for the plants. I had imagined the rock/wood pile curving somewhat towards the back from each front corner, leaving more space in the middle. Mr. Amano further states that this layout also keeps foreground plants in control from spreading too much, as these would have only the sand to root in. The result is very similar to what you have showed me here.

Thank-you for sharing your lovely tank with me!

leafshapedheart


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

sounds like you want to do the inversion of my new "mysterious" scape...so to speak. The same concept applies, just more room in a deeper tank...


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## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

Thank you all for the kind words on my 55 gallon. The rock wall was what I tried to use to create depth by breaking up the view of the tank as well as using smaller leaved plants in some areas and larger ones in others. Also, I used multiple levels of substrate. But believe me, I think alot of it came by just plain luck, but also by studying other peoples scapes and designs and doing a lot of trial and error, moving things around and experimenting with many different plants. If you can create depth in a 55 gal then any other tank more then 13" deep should be a piece of cake. My challenge right now is in scaping my 90gal corner bowfront.

Good luck with your scape! :icon_wink


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## leafshapedheart (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi, dewalltheway..,

Your tank is certainly beautiful! Call it luck or whatever you like, but a lot of work and thoughtful planning went into getting it to look that way. You certainly live up to your name!

I totally agree, if you can get an aquascape to work in a 55, it's all downhill from there! Maybe it would be kind of like learning to drive a standard car before an automatic!!

I will certainly check out your new scape. That should be an interesting tank to work with as well.., but at least it has depth! Those corner tanks are really nicely shaped, and it's cool that they take up so little space, though I have heard it's the equipment that's a challenge with those.

Bye for Now
leafshapedheart


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