# 75 gal woodscape advice, HELP! pic heavy (56 warning)



## Esox lucius (Feb 17, 2009)

So I have some nice pieces of wood, and I want to go for a very woody feel in this new setup. Imagine a river with some fallen and washed out trees. So here are the options I have worked up so far. Please give your thoughts & criticism, but keep in mind what I am going for here.

A









B









C piggybackin









D









E









F balancing act









G


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## houstonhobby (Dec 12, 2008)

I like A. It puts the focal point (highest point) near the golden rule.

What else is going into your scape? I am evangelizing for leaf litter on the bottom, and a wood scape like yours seems like a perfect place to try it.


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## Esox lucius (Feb 17, 2009)

houstonhobby said:


> I like A. It puts the focal point (highest point) near the golden rule.
> 
> What else is going into your scape? I am evangelizing for leaf litter on the bottom, and a wood scape like yours seems like a perfect place to try it.


Well its going to have eco-complete, and I am planning to build mounds around the wood, much like you would see in a river, where the current plays with the substrate near current breaks like wood. Thats it though, no rocks. How would go about doing a leaf little bottom? Wouldnt that make it much harder to have benthic plants?


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

I would only use the wood on the right in F but with out hte center piece. IMO it would look better that way.

Craig


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## CAM6467 (Feb 11, 2009)

I really like the look of "B". The way that the log to the left makes sort of a three step look is awesome. I can just see some nice moss (maybe xmas moss) running on those three steps. It gives you plenty of open space in the foreground for smaller plants. You have a little "cove" looking area to the right side which would be a great place for a bushy type plant (maybe rotala sp. green). This setup creates a bunch of little caves for your fish to jet in and out of. Also, you have a great spot for taller stems all along the back. I really would go with B if this were my tank. It's definately the coolest look, IMO!!


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## jargonchipmunk (Dec 8, 2008)

I liek B as well. Most people might tell you that the lines on the wood on the left side are too hard, but I like that. Plus, they'll be softened by mosses etc if you're using those. Mostly up to you, but B would be my choice.


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

I like the shape of the wood, but I agree with Craig. I would use just the one piece, otherwise it looks too big for the tank and does not leave much room for depth of field.


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## Esox lucius (Feb 17, 2009)

Robert H said:


> I like the shape of the wood, but I agree with Craig. I would use just the one piece, otherwise it looks too big for the tank and does not leave much room for depth of field.


I do agree with both of you, but that isnt the look I am going for. I want this to resemble a deadfall/sunken tree and I want it heavy with wood, as in a natural deadfall in a river it often creates a natural dam or island of wood. I also want to simulate current. So I have my spray bar and powerheads all on the left side pushing water to the right. So I want to keep the idea of flow. I am hoping that I will have enough current to make the plants sway or bend slightly from left to right. The long mopani piece is giving me trouble, I just cant figure out if/where it belongs. Maybe I need to get some thinner branched pieces like I have seen fro sale on this forum.


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## xtopher (Feb 11, 2009)

I like A the best


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## jargonchipmunk (Dec 8, 2008)

you're working with a closed system. If you direct all your flow one way, the water has to get back somehow. If you don't end up with a tidal pool at the top of the tank, you'll at the very least end up with the flow in the opposite direction on the bottom of the tank. I'm sure you knew that already. Just sezzin.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Man, those are some sweet pieces of wood, but I really think you'll regret using more than one of them come time to actually arrange plants. 

I had some mega DW in an old setup, 19" x 13", that totally dominated the tank and squashed a lot of my options. Especially when you want to change things around, you're limited to one or two spots. Then there's the issue with shaded, hard to light areas. 

If I were to use any of it, I'd go with option B, minus the piece on the right, stuff the wood with java fern, a colored stem plant or two bushing out from the back-right of the wood, and a few levels of ground cover from two or three species stepping down towards the right.

What kind of plants and scape do you have in mind? That is going to dictate a lot of what your hardscape should be.


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## Esox lucius (Feb 17, 2009)

jaidexl said:


> Man, those are some sweet pieces of wood, but I really think you'll regret using more than one of them come time to actually arrange plants.
> 
> I had some mega DW in an old setup, 19" x 13", that totally dominated the tank and squashed a lot of my options. Especially when you want to change things around, you're limited to one or two spots. Then there's the issue with shaded, hard to light areas.
> 
> ...


I know what you mean, but I think I am willing to sacrifice some bare ground for this look. I will be doing a LOT of epiphytes. Anubias, java, mosses etc. So I consider the wood as good as bare substrate. I will do some bushy plants like Limnophila and Cabomba in one corner. A backdrop of val and rotala. I want to try some Blyxa, and maybe a little hairgrass for midground, and glosso/HM or HC for foreground (hoping to divide the tank with the wood to have both. I would love some input on plants as well though, please check out the beginning of my journal and add comments there if you like. That breaks down my eq . and details.

Just click the link on my signature.:thumbsup:


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## Esox lucius (Feb 17, 2009)

jargonchipmunk said:


> you're working with a closed system. If you direct all your flow one way, the water has to get back somehow. If you don't end up with a tidal pool at the top of the tank, you'll at the very least end up with the flow in the opposite direction on the bottom of the tank. I'm sure you knew that already. Just sezzin.


well my idea is theory at the moment, i dont know how it will play out in actuality. With the spray bar the the top of the column and powerhead at the bottom and the intake at the far right, I hope to create some kind of unidirectional flow, but it may totally fail. I know I may have to put in small powerheads for extra backcurrent/eddy, but the Koralia 3 and the spraybar should, maybe, kinda, work:icon_roll 

I have had this kind of tank it mind for many years, and some day I will do my ulimate trout tank with high current velocity and overflow on one side, a true river, complete with hardcore chiller to get the water cold. So this is a small scale test of that idea.


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

I think that you should pile the wood up, throw in a couple of tires, beer cans and a license plate. Then fill it up with muddy water and add a bullhead catfish. Now you will have an authentic USA river setting. :hihi:


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## Esox lucius (Feb 17, 2009)

Left C said:


> I think that you should pile the wood up, throw in a couple of tires, beer cans and a license plate. Then fill it up with muddy water and add a bullhead catfish. Now you will have an authentic USA river setting. :hihi:


Very nice idea, but I am from Colorado, our rivers are a little better looking than that, hence the trout.
Now I could do a Chicago river biotope, add mercury & PCBs and cow carcasses, and even dye the tank green for st pats day:confused1: I sure wish I was in CO...


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Epiphytes will make it a lot easier to keep this a truly planted tank, crypts could also be used in a lot of the spots where light is limited. I was thinking that or even a biotope type setup with minimal to no planting, except for a surface full of floaters like hornwort, hydrocotyle etc. I've seen some nice tanks done that way with huge pieces of wood accompanied by tangles of twigs, on top of sand and leaf litter, it really comes together to represent a natural habitat once the right fish are swimming through it.


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## Esox lucius (Feb 17, 2009)

jaidexl said:


> Epiphytes will make it a lot easier to keep this a truly planted tank, crypts could also be used in a lot of the spots where light is limited. I was thinking that or even a biotope type setup with minimal to no planting, except for a surface full of floaters like hornwort, hydrocotyle etc. I've seen some nice tanks done that way with huge pieces of wood accompanied by tangles of twigs, on top of sand and leaf litter, it really comes together to represent a natural habitat once the right fish are swimming through it.


I think you have hit my style right on the button jaid. There are a ton of beautiful tanks out there and the Amano style focused more on art and zen is awesome, but its not me. I am an aquatic ecologist by trade, and I want to try to make something that looks like it could be out of a real ecosystem. The fish in this tank will be just as important as the plants, so I want balance. Take a look at my 30XH to see the type of tank I like. It has minimal plant area, and is crowded with oversized wood, but I love it, and it looks like it could be right out of the rainforest to me. That being said I have narrowed it down to 2 scapes.

A









B









Both of these scapes allow plenty of open substrate in the center and right for mid and foreground plants, there are a few areas for background plants, and the left side allows for a nice bunch of plants and possibly a different foreground plant. I think it will look way better once the substrate is in, but these two please the ecologist side of me... and my wife:redface:


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

I would say the second one. The left side wood looks a bit out of place in the fist one, or it's top-most piece is hogging too much room.


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

G! I think it looks pretty cool!


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## Veloth (Jun 25, 2008)

I think "B" is the way to go. That's nice looking wood.


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

Left C said:


> I think that you should pile the wood up, throw in a couple of tires, beer cans and a license plate. Then fill it up with muddy water and add a bullhead catfish. Now you will have an authentic USA river setting. :hihi:


They may have changed it by now, but years ago the Cincinnati Zoo had a display tank almost exactly like you describe, license plate and all...lol...It had some gar, carp, bass, bluegill and quite a few different cats including the bullhead.

Esox lucius, If your dead set on using both pieces, I'd vote G from the first set of pics or B from your final 2 choices.


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## Aennedry (Mar 4, 2009)

I like B the best. And I agree on previous statements, you got some great wood there.


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## Esox lucius (Feb 17, 2009)

Aennedry said:


> I like B the best. And I agree on previous statements, you got some great wood there.


thats what she said:hihi:, sorry i couldnt resist that Michael Scott moment...

thanks for all the advice folks, the setup will begin tonight, gotta wash and bathe the wood, get the substrate ready and hope my RO shows soon I am getting antsy:fish:


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## Tamelesstgr (Jan 11, 2008)

My preference was the first one on page 1.


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## Dmaaaaax (Feb 3, 2009)

I liked B on pg1. It seemed to offer the best horizontal lines, hides the koralia, and offered more shading for the light sensitve plants like anubius, moss, and ferns, some of which it sounds like you will place on the driftwood.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

I also like B on the first page. I can picture the fish having lots of structure to swim through/around. 

Just my 2 cents.


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## happy gillmore (Mar 29, 2009)

Funny I just started a similar thread for a 75 gal. I like the last option the best. thats some burly looking stuff.


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