# Aquascape needs help please!



## jdm68 (Jun 2, 2011)

Well you've got a nice selection of plants. I think what is not a good as it could be is that the tank looks kind of sparse and spread too thin. There isn't really a focal point, so you eye doesn't have an anchor, so to speak. I personally don't think the rocks are an eyesore, but I think that if you keep them, you need to add a lot more of them for continuity. Darker colored rocks would probably look nice. You could split the tall stems in back into two clumps, and put them nearer the corners, maybe following the golden rectangle for spacing, and have a valley/canyon in between so you can see to the back of the tank and create a lot of depth. I would also go for a larger, branchier piece of wood to fill up more of the water column, or maybe some large rocks to do the same. Essentially anything that could create some vertical space usage. I might try to do a little photoshop work on your photos to show what I mean with placement and such...

What may help you is to look up other aquascapes and see which one really catches your breath, then try to recreate it to the best of your ability, in your own way. You could post again on here with that in mind and have people help you achieve that goal.

Here is a great video of a bunch of ridiculous aquascapes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsa8VhLGh2s&feature=fvwrel

Hopefully my response hasn't been too long and has helped you out. Good luck and be sure to post back with your progress!


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Thanks JDM for your advice!
Found it very useful. I will separate the green stems into 2 bunches and put them on either side of the tank?
The driftwood to the left - should i do anything with that? 
Ive got some more rocks but I didnt know where to put them as they take up a lot of space. 

A photoshopped picture would be a great guide! Many thanks

Daniel


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Here is a rescape done thanks to your advice. I am still working on finding some more rocks as well as driftwood. Ill move the stems closer to the corners if you think they will look better there. I just cannot do it at the moment as there are eggs laid in that region.


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

I'm the furthest thing from being a good aquascaper...but to me...your hardscape lacks height. Maybe some large rock structure or bigger/taller piece of wood, a slope...something to get some of the stuff higher up. You do have lots of nice plants to work with though. I'm a bit jealous over that.


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## astrosag (Sep 3, 2010)

I'll begin by saying that you have great flora growth- that driftwood looks great.

Some height is always good. Contrast between height and low-levels is better.

Rule of thumb - keep open same/low level plants for tanks that are longer than they are taller. Too much height and its not aesthetically pleasing. Conversely, tanks that are taller than longer need height to avoid the bare water column look.

You actually do have plenty of height with the ambulia and the nice piece of driftwood. Problem is that its not used as effectively as it could.

Your plant selection is promising but the way your original setup is not as pleasing to the eye..it goes from low to high to low again.

What I recommend is moving the ambulia to the left corner and planting it densely there - like an ambulia forest - plant it like a pie piece in the corner- it'll make a nice 3d affect giving your tank a deeper profile. Make sure it is behind the driftwood though. It looks like the driftwood its positioned so that its going into the left back corner and jutting out from there...basically looks like its positioned like this backslash - \ (birds eye view of your tank)- I would reposition that so its either facing like this / -forward slash- or simply horizontal.

I would then take a few of the tall deep red plants and plant that directly infront of the ambulia- following the outer pie configuration of the amublia, but also behind the driftwood. This will add color to that side of the tank since your driftwood is covered in rich green flora and the ambulia is also bright green. But because the ambulia is taller than the red plant, it'll look great.

I would then plant the baby tears on the substarte below the driftwood (if not an entire carpet of it). This will give a natural effect of the tears taking over the driftwood rather than being strategically placed by a human  A carpet in front of the driftwood of baby tears would look awesome.

Keep the right side of the tank shorter (in terms of flora height). I would grow the grass out in the middle (keeping a nice column of open water). For the right side keep the anubias and tiger lilly there while maintaining the grass carpet on that side. This will end up with the anubias and tiger lilly popping out of the grass on the right side. This will keep a very nice open space for your fish to swim (which looks great).

I think this would make your tank look amazing!

I think that even though nature isn't exactly orderly, there is a flow to valleys and troughs and peaks.


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Thanks Astrosag for your post!
Ive read through everything very carefully and followed your instructions to the best of my ability. However I decided to switch my driftwood to the other side mainly because I wanted the Riccia to be the focal point. =)

After following your instructions I am amazed at how things have turned out!
Ive given you credit in my blog too =)










I cannot now throw the other driftwood piece in the left corner away as it has Java Fern attached to it =( Also I do not know what to do with the anubias in the left corner or the rocks. I cannot throw out the smooth stone as my Hillside Loaches love it
I also have some spare HM (as seen on the left side of the driftwood). I do not know where to put that. 
Should I move the anubias to the right corner adjacent to the driftwood? What would I do will that ugly smaller piece of driftwood to the left? 

Much thanks to you again Astrosag! What awesome advice!!!


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Also forgot to mention I have 3 x banana Lilly plants floating around on the top of the water growing roots. I pulled them out because they dont seem to fit in anywhere


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Stick the banana plants at the right third of the tank for a contrast with all that nice fluffy Ambulia and red Myrio and the leaf shapes would reflect the red lilies planted on the left.

Plant the Bacopa [round green leaved stems] in a grouping. They don't look like much spread out and look amazing as a bush.

Really like the new arrangement!


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## astrosag (Sep 3, 2010)

Oh yea...now that's a great looking tank! 

I think you've got a fanstastic looking tank now. Add some riccia/baby tear carpet (or equivalent) right in front of that driftwood and grass elsewhere...perfecto!

This tank config now looks very pleasing to the eye while highlighting the plants/feel you like - that driftwood on the right looks awesome and now, the left looks amazing too. 

Can't wait to see it all fill in (the carpet really). Add some docile fish and some shrimp and you're going to get oooohs and ahhhs all over the place 

You've mastered the natural, but flowing aquascape. Whereas the original config yelled "planted by a human", this one has a very natural feel whilst maintaining a eye-pleasing flow to it. Also, imo, I love to see a scape that critters/fish utilize to its fullest extent. With two little niches on the left and the right and a lush carpet in the middle, you've created two little bio-zones for critters and also a nice open space for fish (especially schooling)...this will highlight your fish and inverts with a gorgeous back drop. 


Good work and good luck!


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Thanks guys for your help! Especially Astrosag~ awesome awesome advice.

I was wondering Kathy what the Bacopa was. Are you talking about the baby tears or the HM? 

Are the banana lillies best placed behind the driftwood 1/3 in? Remember they are huge leaves and look a little like the Tiger lilly. They grow deep roots as well so I have be sure. 

Cheers


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

The stem plant that is reflecting light so it looks white in the last photo looks like a Bacopa to me and looks great as a bush but is very lanky by itself as do most stem plants. Is that baby tears? I think HC should be called baby tears because it is so similar to the terrestrial plant with the same common name, Soleirolia soleirolii. Micranthemum umbrosum is also called baby's tears.

If you think the banana plant would be better behind the wood then that is fine. The leaves are a similar shape to the lily's leaves and it might look nice to have the same shape and texture on that side of the tank as well. Since you have it, find a place for it! 

Once all those lily plants get going the tank is going to look completely different. Right now it is all fluffy fine textured stuff and very bright, when the lilies are going strong there will be great color contrasts and bold texture backed by the fluffy stuff. Going to look nice that way, looks nice now.

I like that wood on the left! The java fern will grow into a nice bush and arch over to the right some I bet. If you don't like it it is perfectly easy to pull the fern off and plant it on something else! The large Anubias looks nice above the gray rock. The HM might be a nice bush between the round stone and the gray stone. It can be pruned to any size or shape and grows very dense. My corys like to pretend they are stuck in it then get all indignant when I push it down so they can swim away. Or they did, am down to a scrawny couple of short stems of it at the moment.


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Thankyou Kathy for your advice!
I have planted the Bacopa stems in a bunch behind the Riccia to give it a bit of highlight (i hope)

Here is a pic of the rescape =)









Any more advice to improve this scape would be awesome!


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## oldbonehead (Jul 18, 2011)

Much improved! In my opinion, I think you have too big a gap between the two sides and thus it tends to draw the viewers attention. A piece of driftwood that branches out or interrupts this open space or even just closes it up a bit will improve the looks. It just feels to empty currently. Not only that but the plants and current layout narrows towards the back and again, draws the eyes attention only to reveal nothing currently.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

emboli said:


> Here is a rescape done thanks to your advice. I am still working on finding some more rocks as well as driftwood. Ill move the stems closer to the corners if you think they will look better there. I just cannot do it at the moment as there are eggs laid in that region.


I like this rescape better than the most recent one. 

The only thing I would change would be to lift the left side of the BIG dirftwood so that it is tilted and has more height.


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## gonzo.njexit9 (Aug 21, 2011)

astrosag said:


> i'll begin by saying that you have great flora growth- that driftwood looks great.
> 
> Some height is always good. Contrast between height and low-levels is better.
> 
> ...


dam very nice recommendation
you're hired to do mine


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

oldbonehead said:


> A piece of driftwood that branches out or interrupts this open space or even just closes it up a bit will improve the looks. It just feels to empty currently. .


Hi guys

I havent forgotten your advice.
I spent the past couple of days looking for driftwood and have purchased it and rescaped accordingly.

Please let me know how i can further improve the looks of my scape

Cheers


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Your tank just keeps getting nicer and nicer!

The wood could be a whole lot larger but it looks great.


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Thanks Kathy!


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## oldbonehead (Jul 18, 2011)

More interesting visually but I think you can go bigger. You are making great improvements. You can buy several branch wood like your recent additions and tie them together to make it appear bigger or simply add a bigger piece. You can leave the small piece in there too but as an accent piece. I used several long pieces of fishing line to tie mine together as suggested by others. Just use enough to securely hold the pieces together if you go that route.


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## ibmikmaq (Aug 19, 2011)

In the center of the opening I would put in barrier, start thin in back and stretch it wider to front glass and fill with white sand so it looks like a brook spilling out from back take some small dark rocks of different sizes scatter thru the sand just sticking out here in there. The spot where the thin stick meets the substrate would be a good starting area, swing it around like a question mark and spread it a few inches wider on each side so once you reach the front of glass have it as wide as the whitish rock to the far right of you tank.


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

@ oldbonehead Thanks for the compliments. I am currently looking for more driftwood that for that purpose, unfortunately its very hard to find driftwood with similar texture. Ill keep searching. 

@ ibmikmag Omg that would be a great idea but I am too scared to do that.
I am not good at cleaning my gravel and white sand would fill up with poo 
quickly.

What I have tried to do instead is make a plant barrier using the lilaeopsis and Ive moved the Riccia carpet to the focal point at the back to grab attention. The HC seems to filling up nicely in the centre but it may take a month or several months.

Cannot pull up too much atm since my blue rams have spawned

Ill post up a photo soon.


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Here is the update one the scape. I am preparing the driftwood for some Weeping moss but it is very hard to get in Australia.
I have purchased some fire moss which should arrive in the next week. 
I have no idea where to attach it to yet though =p


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Ive planted some flame moss on the driftwood arms and pogostem to the left corner of the tank. The ambulia seems to be dying at the tips.
The Peacock moss on the branched driftwood is filling in nicely. Ive torn out some lilaeopsis as i wanted more HC in the foreground instead.
HC is filling out slowly.
Ignore the tiles and the stone in the middle it is there temporarily. 

Can I do anything else to improve this scape? Any ideas please?

Questions:
1. Where should i move that small tricolor lotus. Is it nice where it is at the moment?
2. Does the pogostem look right where it is?
3. Do you suggest I move any plants around? IF so where to?


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## fishtank01 (Sep 19, 2011)

Nice aquarium. But what are the red plants in there, I like them?


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## Uptown193 (Apr 25, 2011)

You can raise the substrate so it slopes up high in the back for more depth, this way it wont look so flat. You do have nice plants though. I did no know Eheim manufactured tanks.


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Hello fishtank01. The red plant is Rotala Macandra.
I bought it privately from a local seller.

Uptown, thanks for the advice. I would love to slope the substrate but because I am using ADA soil I am fairly certain it will create an ammonia spike. Is there a simple way to do this without clouding the water too much?

I guess I have to start looking for rocks again, because the last time i sloped the substrate the soil didnt stay put and evened up again.


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Hi guys

I have made a few changes and have listened to you all. It took me some time to buy more driftwood and rocks. I have not elevated the back corner of the tank Uptown and I hope it looks more pleasing to the eye.

Some other changes i have made:

- flat darker colored rocks to raise the back area.
- attached driftwood to the top of the existing driftwood to use up more vertical space.
- added a lot more ADA aquasoil to elevate back area.
- removed heater to the RHS of tank as it was an eyesore.
- removed large rock as I had nowhere to put it.
- removed riccia carpet as i had no where to put it.










Still does not look quite right. Can someone please come in here and give me advice to make it more pleasing to the eye?
The driftwood looks kind of out of place. I have tried moving it to the back corner and it still does not look quite right.

I really have no idea why it doesnt look right.

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

I restructured the driftwood a little and made the right arm longer. Somehow it looks more pleasing to the eye


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## DieselJunki (Feb 7, 2010)

O.O wow going from the first page to here is wicked! It's lookin good for sure!


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Looks great! Moving that branch did make a difference. Love the way the rocks look - really nice.

Usually it is a good idea to repeat design elements as well as use them in odd number sized groups. The blocky wood on the right and the branchy wood on the left are very different. Perhaps introducing a smaller planted blocky wood on the left would make the scape more cohesive? Or something else dark and solid in appearance could work and it doesn't need to be very large. Maybe working some more rock into an overhang on the left? Maybe your current planting will develop such an area anyway, don't know.

Just thinking out loud, I love the scape as is and hope to see it grown in.


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Thanks Kathy for your suggestions
I agree it doesnt yet look quite right and it could be the block of wood contrasting the branchy wood on the left. The branching driftwood really stands out too much and it is so distracting....

I was brainstorming about maybe breaking up the centre piece (left side) of driftwood and placing it in designated spots around the tank, or maybe just letting it all grow in. I really dunno...

Any other suggestions from different viewers would be greatly appreciated.


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## Rua (Oct 16, 2007)

I like the dark wood on the right & suspect when the plants grow in it will look lovely again (it needs the surrounding "forest" to give it balance).

I'm not keen on the wood on the left as it is too upright (but that is just my preferance) & the chunky base is distracting & in a color/texture war with the right side wood. The branches will be softened with the moss & if you allow it to cover the wood completely, you won't have that color disharmony between the woods. You might experiment with plants that will obscure the wood before deciding to remove it - maybe even make a moss wall out of it ...

I like the rock "shelves".

Let the tank (& inhabitants) settle a bit inbetween rescapes & decide what you like/dislike about each phase.


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Okay thanks Rua for your opinions. 
It has been very helpful. I do agree with the chunky base being distracting. 
I'll try to fix those problems you mentioned and if not ill let the moss grow in a bit and reassess my situation


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## sassoo (Nov 26, 2010)

Hi Emboli

Have been following your thread with admiration and empathy -- IMO planted tanks are always happy to tell us that something is not right, but very shy in making it clear what the "problem" might be!

Looking at you most recent image, first reaction is that the branched wood on the left might look more natural is the whole structure tilted towards the right. The left corner might also benefit from something tall and solid to balance the weight on the right.

Just my impression -- no expertise speaking!

sassoo


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Thanks for your advice Sassoo

I have tilted the driftwood to the right as requested and removed its overpowering look. Now all I have to do is look for something solid for balance =D


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## emboli (Jul 23, 2011)

Another update (1 week later on)

Here are some pics:









Ive planted more moss on the driftwood for a bit of balance and removed the stems on the LHS of the tank. Planted some limnophilia mini in its place. Also Ive attached some bolbitis to driftwood and planted that to the RHS of the tank. The HC seems to be growing out well. 

So far I feel satisfied with the scape but would LOVE to have some criticism to improve the scape further.

Thanks


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