# Not happy with 1st aquascape attempt



## Raith (Jun 27, 2014)

Hi there, I am not an expert by any means, so you can take my advice with a grain of salt if you wanted to, but what do you want first of all? Do you want hills, and slopes? Or are your main focus around where plants go? You have nice plants already, but my take on it would be to have your "carpets" depending on which ones you want layered from the monte carlo and fissidens to make a little bush of hydrocotyle Japan in the middle, and the taller plants in the back. Or you can get a nice piece of driftwood, and tie the anubias onto it, and have the carpetting plants at the bottom.


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## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

The look I wanted to create was something reminiscent of the Dutch style but more casual since this is a low tech setup. I want the plants grouped by type and I want plants placed next to leaf colors and shapes that are different from one another. Higher plants in back with a carpet look in front but also wanted a small portion of gravel showing in front preferably in a crescent shape. 

I glued all of the Anubias to the driftwood that's in the tank (the driftwood ended up being barely noticeable.) Meanwhile the white filter intake sponge is way too visible! I need a way to conceal it while not planting anything too close. I am wondering if the dwarf lily (in front of Anubias driftwood) will obscure the sponge once it grows. It's so tiny you can hardly see it right now. 

In my opinion right now it looks like 2 different tanks, one on the left and another on the right, and it's really bothering me but I am not sure exactly what to move where in order to fix it. I could get rid of the Anubias driftwood creation altogether and start a second tank with that piece. Then I could just have this tank full of stem plants in back and carpet mats in front.. I'm really at a loss for what to do and very disappointed with how this tank looks. 

I mean it when I say I have zero artistic ability. It is such a struggle for me because I have a perfectionist eye for what I like and don't like, yet no ability to visualize and design. In other words I can look at any kind of design with a critical eye and have a very strong opinion as to whether it looks good or not, but I can not come up with an idea of what would look good.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Once the plants fill in more and you have the ability to trim them you can have them play off one another. If your not going dutch then get a larger hardscape area going and let that be your focal point and build the plants around that area.


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## AngeltheGypsy (May 2, 2017)

Let the plants grow for a month or two. That really makes a big difference. 
I personally would have a large driftwood piece, like spider wood or manzanita, but I really love driftwood. [emoji4]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Vinster8108 (Sep 1, 2016)

I think you just need to blend some plants and growth things out a bit. I know you are working for a dutch style, but you said it your self; the tank seems divided. Splitting the carpet to cover both side and getting the anubias to grow out and cover the filter would help a lot. 

Check out some Jungle Style aquascapes for some inspiration and visualization help. 
Just my 2 cents. Plants grow fast and your skills will develop with!


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## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

I do agree I need to split that carpet up so that there is some on each side of the tank. That tiny little Fissidens Nobilis mat was expensive and now I don't quite know what to do with it / where it would look best if I do split up the larger mats of Monte Carlo and Hydrocotyle. Plus my poor cute little Crypt Parva plants are hidden and I don't want them to go to waste like that. 

I have plans for future tanks in other styles (jungle and nature) but for this tank I really do want more of a Dutch look because it is on a beautiful built-in book shelf filled with books that are kind of subtly arranged by color - I think a Dutch-ish planted tank would look perfect.

My general idea right now is to remove the Anubias driftwood piece and the rocks, and spread the stem plants and mats out more evenly throughout the tank. I don't know exactly where I'd place the dwarf lily, the fissidens, or the crypt parva. 

I really appreciate everyone's help and comments. Thank you!


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

Might I suggest spreading your carpeting plants out a little more across the bottom.


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## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

I just ordered more mats to expand the carpet all across the front. I think it will really help. Thanks again for the responses!


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## FuryMonkey (Nov 5, 2017)

I struggled with the same issue. 

There are some decent videos online that can teach you a bit about what makes a tank look 'right' and balanced.
Things like thirds rule, focal points and where to put them, diagonal lines to create depth, etc. Once you have an understanding of what makes a tank look right (or wrong) go online and find a tank to use as inspiration - or one to copy. Even if you understand the theory it still requires some innate artistic ability.

Good places to look are aquascaping competitions 

Another strategy is to take a pic of your tank/hardscape and then draw in what you think might work.

Here is what I did:





































Last step is patience as the plants grow in


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## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

I redesigned and like this better. (Carpet mats for the other side of the foreground are ordered and on the way.)


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## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

Went out and bought another tank so that I have a place to put the Anubias I moved out of this one. I think the dwarf lily and the little Fissidens mat will probably be moved as well once the other carpet plants arrive. 

I was so upset about my first design. At 3:30 a.m. I got out of bed and went to stare at the tank because I just had to figure out what to do. I drew out an idea for how to plant everything and it did end up working out better than my original ugly design. I think I will actually be quite happy with it after I get the other side of the foreground done. 

I'm going to be sad if my plants die, I really like them. I read to expect some melting in a brand new tank..


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

I like what you did with the back wall plants.


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## FuryMonkey (Nov 5, 2017)

Definitely a great improvement.

I'd recommend letting things grow in for a few weeks before doing any move rearranging. Let the plants do some growing so you can get an idea for how they look at "maturity".


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## Oughtsix (Apr 8, 2011)

It kind of looks like a tank that was just planted a couple hours ago!

Give it a month or two to grow in and it will be a completely different looking tank even with the plants exactly where they are now.

Why is patients so difficult? ... I know it is for me!


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## Brackon (Nov 30, 2017)

For just starting it looks promising and I would like to say don't throw away your cuttings the first few times around and just let the bottoms of the stems branch out so you get more plants in the long run without having to go buy more. I'm doing this with Lobelia cardinalis and its slow as the plant at maturity is much larger than what the babies look like. I just uproot the plant cut in half replant the top where it was and move the bottom to a 5 gallon grow out where it sprouts small plantlets.

I didn't see anyone ask what size this was but I'm guessing a regular 20 as it looks only barely smaller than my 29.
Get yourself a good fertilizer and you will be much happier when growth picks up a little.
Without co2 you can't get all the colors of a real dutch tank but will look good once you figure out what you want.


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

Just focus on learning how to care for the plants for now. It's difficult to envision a scape before you understand how everything will grow in. Good luck, and welcome to the hobby!


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## Riceman (Nov 17, 2014)

The green patch on the right,I think, could be split into 20ish separate plants and planted an inch apart
to get it to cover more ground.


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## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

Here is the update with the foreground finished. I guess now I will just see how everything does for a while. I'm not 100% happy with it, but not sure what to do differently. This is a 16 gallon "widescreen" tank, 30" long, 17" high, and only 8.5" deep - very narrow.


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