# Professional scapers wanted:



## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

I like the first pic, except change the rock arrangement and make more of a hill for the driftwood and maybe cut the base to make it a little smaller.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

Of those, which arrangement is closest to something that you would want to look for a year or more? Since the branch(s) looks like the main hardscape piece, ignore the positions of the rocks; rocks are secondary.


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

Solcielo lawrencia said:


> Of those, which arrangement is closest to something that you would want to look for a year or more? Since the branch(s) looks like the main hardscape piece, ignore the positions of the rocks; rocks are secondary.


I like the first picture of the driftwood. It almost looks like the branches are reaching out to the other side of the tank. How do I incorporate the rocks with the driftwood in that position?


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

Do you like the direction of the wood or the position? It looks like you want a triangular shape scape.


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

Solcielo lawrencia said:


> Do you like the direction of the wood or the position? It looks like you want a triangular shape scape.


Yes I like the direction and the position of the driftwood. I do want the tree on a slope/hill


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

Is this what you're after in terms of the placement of the tree?









This is closer to what I was thinking of:


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

Solcielo lawrencia said:


> Is this what you're after in terms of the placement of the tree?
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> ...


Those are both really nice. I think the driftwood in the first picture looks more like the driftwood I have. How can I create depth with the driftwood and rocks I have?


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## gt turbo (Sep 13, 2012)

I prefer the 3rd picture more so but I agree wholeheartedly with Solcielo lawrencia, you must choose the scape you would be most comfortable seeing on a daily basis.

If you chose layout #3, I'd add a bit more slope to the hill and think of a nice carpetimg plant to use, or even leave all the area outside of the of the rocks as negative space and densely plant the tree and the area under it.

Have fun with your scape though, don't rush it.


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

I like the driftwood in the last pic best, next fav is the first one.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Solcielo lawrencia said:


> Is this what you're after in terms of the placement of the tree?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Are those yours? Very nice!


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

houseofcards said:


> Are those yours? Very nice!


No, those are not mine.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

greaser84 said:


> Those are both really nice. I think the driftwood in the first picture looks more like the driftwood I have. How can I create depth with the driftwood and rocks I have?


Is that really what you want? I think the tree/bonsai looks kind of tacky and I would be annoyed looking at it after a short while. The second scape has a much greater shelf life.

There is a way to make a tree last longer, but it needs to be placed closer to the center and framed very carefully. The details of the branches will matter greatly but it wouldn't work with the branch you have since it isn't very detailed. Something that is timeless will have great amounts of details that slowly reveal itself over the course of time. Things with pop/wow factor loses its appeal rather quickly, like a hot woman in a bikini but with a shallow personality. A hot woman in a bikini with a personality of gold lasts a lifetime even after her looks have faded.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

greaser84 said:


> I like the first pic, except change the rock arrangement and make more of a hill for the driftwood and maybe cut the base to make it a little smaller.


That was my thinking as well when I looked at the first pic. Some tweaking by adding more substrate to the base of the wood and if you can push the rock far right down more into the substrate. Right now it's too dominant and doesn't appear connected to what's going on with right side. Once you plant with moss/other plants on and around the rocks/wood it will all come together.


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

Solcielo lawrencia said:


> Is that really what you want? I think the tree/bonsai looks kind of tacky and I would be annoyed looking at it after a short while. The second scape has a much greater shelf life.
> 
> There is a way to make a tree last longer, but it needs to be placed closer to the center and framed very carefully. The details of the branches will matter greatly but it wouldn't work with the branch you have since it isn't very detailed. Something that is timeless will have great amounts of details that slowly reveal itself over the course of time. Things with pop/wow factor loses its appeal rather quickly, like a hot woman in a bikini but with a shallow personality. A hot woman in a bikini with a personality of gold lasts a lifetime even after her looks have faded.


I do like the bonsai tree scape I've been wanting to do something like that for about 6 months or so. As nice as the second picture you sent me is I just don't see how I could pull it off with the rocks and driftwood I have. I figured if I could get a 3/10 or maybe even 4/10 from you I would be best aquascaper in the world! haha:hihi:



houseofcards said:


> That was my thinking as well when I looked at the first pic. Some tweaking by adding more substrate to the base of the wood and if you can push the rock far right down more into the substrate. Right now it's too dominant and doesn't appear connected to what's going on with right side. Once you plant with moss/other plants on and around the rocks/wood it will all come together.


Ya I think I'm going to go with something similar to the first picture. I will definitely be adding more sand around the driftwood to make more of a slope. I'm still messing around with the rocks though. Thanks for the input.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

It's really difficult to have a bonsai tree in such a large aquarium because the details really matter as any missing details are noticeable even from afar. A smaller tank is better suited for a tree since it's easier to have the 'leaves' (moss or whatever) be in proportion to the branches/trunk.

About the wood:
What color is it when it's soaked in water? Will it be much darker? The bright color draws a lot of attention.

As for the second scape by Oliver Knott, it's possible to have a similar layout with just the wood you have, although you'd have to break it into two pieces. This layout will actually be much easier to do than the bonsai tree because you don't have to worry about so many small details to prevent it from looking tacky. The rocks you have can be much more easily placed as well.

I'm in the planning stages of a ginormous tree over a foot wide and 3 feet tall for a possible scape a couple of years from now. The main difficulty is getting all the small details (including plant selection, carving intricate details, lighting requirements for such a deep tank, etc. so that it will be both realistic and maintainable. It's a lot of planning so that the end result is as close to the vision as possible. Rome wasn't built in a day, and the same goes for creating beautiful aquascapes. So definitely take as much time as needed, look at other scapes, then envision what you could do and then drastically narrow down the possibilities. Patience is definitely a virtue.


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

Solcielo lawrencia said:


> It's really difficult to have a bonsai tree in such a large aquarium because the details really matter as any missing details are noticeable even from afar. A smaller tank is better suited for a tree since it's easier to have the 'leaves' (moss or whatever) be in proportion to the branches/trunk.
> 
> About the wood:
> What color is it when it's soaked in water? Will it be much darker? The bright color draws a lot of attention.


The driftwood will turn a darker brown within a couple weeks of being submerged, its been sand blasted that's why its a light color. I agree its to light but I've used this type of wood several times before and it gets pretty dark overtime.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

If you were to use the bonsai tree look, what will be used for the leaves?


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

Solcielo lawrencia said:


> If you were to use the bonsai tree look, what will be used for the leaves?


I have a ton of java moss, Taiwan moss and flame moss. I haven't decided on what moss yet but I'm leaning towards flame moss on the branches. Because this will be a shrimp only tank the majority of the plants I use will be moss, I think I have a better chance of keeping them happy with a lot of moss.Also I will not be using co2, so any other plants I get will have to be hardy low light plants.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

greaser84 said:


> I have a ton of java moss, Taiwan moss and flame moss. I haven't decided on what moss yet but I'm leaning towards flame moss on the branches. Because this will be a shrimp only tank the majority of the plants I use will be moss, I think I have a better chance of keeping them happy with a lot of moss.Also I will not be using co2, *so any other plants I get will have to be hardy low light plants*.


That's definitely a good idea. The scape will last longer without excessive work. Many of the pictures you have been seeing of scapes from seasoned or professionals require a lot of pruning (epecially if stem plants are involved) and many of the pics are of the tanks 'sweet spot' when everything sorta comes together. Some of the those setups are put togther simply to get the money shot and aren't realistically maintainable long-run.


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## Charrr89 (May 15, 2013)

I did flame moss on my bonsai tree a while ago... Not the best thing to look at :/


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

Charrr89 said:


> I did flame moss on my bonsai tree a while ago... Not the best thing to look at :/


Yeah, it doesn't look anything like leaves. If it were red instead of green, it'd look like the tree was on fire.


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## ChadKruger (Mar 27, 2013)

The original post the second picture with the branches coming down is close to what I want. I wish I had that piece of wood. Where'd you get it.


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

ChadKruger said:


> The original post the second picture with the branches coming down is close to what I want. I wish I had that piece of wood. Where'd you get it.


I got it on ebay, search manzanita driftwood. There is also this site that other's have suggested (I have never bought anything from them before) http://www.save-on-crafts.com/search...anita+branches


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## ChadKruger (Mar 27, 2013)

The save on crafts are decent but spindly tiny cramped branches. It's very good for some applications.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

ChadKruger said:


> The save on crafts are decent but spindly tiny cramped branches. It's very good for some applications.


You'd have to trim off the smaller pieces and shape it, like pruning bonsai.


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