# Jungle style tanks



## NotCousteau (Sep 25, 2014)

I love the crazy wild tanks. I feel like the minimalist, iwagami-style tanks are becoming so common we need some crazy tanks to balance things out. (I don't have a crazy tank because I have a stream tank with few plants.)


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

A "jungle" tank usually means one with lots of stem plants. If those are allowed to grow without any pruning at all, you end up with a very ugly mess. The tops bend over and grow along the water surface, the bottoms get shaded so much the leaves look bad, or die off completely. Soon the water surface is so crowded not enough light gets thru to keep any of the lower plants growing, and the swimming space for the fish gets smaller and smaller. The best looking "jungle" plants have been pruned regularly to keep them under control, so it is not a plant and forget tank at all.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

For one that is let go and just grows wild, one of my growout tanks became pretty close to that. I had some spares so I added them to a tank of cichlids and really did not care much what became of them as the fish were the main thing and I knew that I would be catching and removing them. The plants were there because they were not somewhere else?










Low maintenance on this one but for one that I planned to keep, I would not recommend the approach. Swords and red tiger lotus can make a killer combo as far as space. There were small yellow lab and yellow tailed acei cichlids in the tank as well as a mixed bag of other small fish. Wood and rocks but who can tell?


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## fishyfishy101 (Nov 12, 2014)

I was actually just thinking that my next tank I want to do just jungle Val's and red root floaters!


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## RWaters (Nov 12, 2003)

Here's jungle for you!


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## FewestKitten896 (Dec 13, 2013)

I just finished placing my plants and just going to let it go. Here is my start. I did keep some plants in groups but imagine they will fill send out runners to fill gaps. It has got a ways to go but I really like the look of the jungle escapes and the chaos from the over grown plants. I did leave some substrate open as my rams like to sift through it.


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## FewestKitten896 (Dec 13, 2013)

RWaters said:


> Here's jungle for you!


That is wicked awesome.


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

I love the look of jungle style tanks. Mine is coming alone pretty good i think. I just did a big rescape to the foreground area as I didn't like it before.

Here is before and after pics.

Before:


After:


Gotta do another big wc and filter clean tomorrow and hopefully the tank should clear up nicely. Let me know what you guys think.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Your tank looks amazing


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

Thank you 

The only stem plant I have left is the hygro polysperma. I am trying to get red of it, not sure what to replace it with though. I have some water sprite I am starting to grow in that area.

Moving and planting water sprite is difficult. So fragile and the way the roots spread out its hard to get it to grab the substrate


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## Mariostg (Sep 6, 2014)

That's looks jungle-ish to me


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## Cattaur (Mar 17, 2009)

RWaters said:


> Here's jungle for you!


I really like the look of this. Hope my tank will eventually look like that.
Vik-Thor


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

Rather than stem plants left to run riot, the "jungle" aqua scapes I've seen--those planned rather than occurring thru benign neglect--feature almost entirely non-stem plants for both aesthetic reasons and the very functional drawbacks Hoppy described for stems. 










Site:http://www.aquascapingworld.com/threads/120cm-jungle-style.4905/


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Awesome


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## pheo (Nov 28, 2014)

Isn't a jungle tank just a Dutch overdue for a trim? :hihi:


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## rakizta (Sep 7, 2014)

My small jungle


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## kenshinH (Jun 1, 2013)

Jungle in my living room ;-)


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## EndlerGame (Oct 19, 2013)

I've got a low-tech 55 gallon, was my first planted tank, set it up about 10 years ago...its become quite a jungle. 



















Its gotten moved around a bit since these pics, sold off the big sword and kept some of its "offspring". Some of the best plants for a low-tech jungle style tank are Vals and Sag, Anubias, and all kinds of Crypts. They're all slow growing, but easy and low-maintenance, they'll fill in naturally and spread without trimming, unlike stems. (Though some stems like Wisteria just grow wild, too)


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

Every ones jungles look great.. I do cut down my crypts in the front when they get out of hand and right now they are :wink:


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## jmf3460 (Aug 21, 2013)

my 46 bowfront was once a jungle. and I wish now that I had never rescaped it bc I loved it. I just got tired of it and wanted something new...a few pics


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

Gorgeous tanks everyone, very impressive


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## doggo (Jun 14, 2014)

Jungle + Pleco caves


More caves and still growing in (tank up for only 2 months)


(Not-so-great cell phone pictures!)


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## brandon429 (Mar 29, 2003)

5 gallons water


12 ft emersed growth


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## Grumpy1415 (Oct 15, 2013)

Jungle look 75g Pre-trim.


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## jmelvin (Aug 11, 2014)

I'm still letting my jungle grow in.

Sent from my Tweaked N3.


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

love jungle and nature scapes over dutch, with that said dutch colors are insane.


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## Aplomado (Feb 20, 2013)




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## EndlerGame (Oct 19, 2013)

^^^ Wow! That is beautiful, and the perfect tank for those boesmanis. What size tank is it?


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## Aplomado (Feb 20, 2013)

It's a 125 gallon aquarium... it probably has about twice the volume of plants in it now, and really needs a trim.

The rainbows and cories have bred in it!


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## AlecFish (Nov 26, 2011)

This was mine before I rescaped it. Not as thick as some of your guys's. But was quite the jungle for me.


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## DBridges (Sep 22, 2009)

I really love a heavily planted aquarium. Not overgrown, but just thick with lush, well arranged and maintained plants.

David


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## Tylermn93 (May 25, 2013)

brandon429 said:


> 5 gallons water
> 
> 
> 12 ft emersed growth


Man that is awesome I'd like to have something like this. Have a journal or any progression pics?


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## ErtyJr (Jun 21, 2014)

Here is a pic of my tank back in august. Personally I loved it like this. The gf made me chop it all down and trim it. Looks so much worse now, even if it was chaotic back then, I loved it.


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## Raith (Jun 27, 2014)

Both of my tanks are jungle tanks, this one is special.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

My 55g, low tech slow growing









29g high tech









Since removed the willow. Traded it for a fluval 106


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## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

really, really enjoying this thread. great tanks all around!


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## kenshinH (Jun 1, 2013)

my second jungle in the making.... 135gal


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## Aplomado (Feb 20, 2013)

kenshinH- yours is fantastic! I love the colors and variety of plants!


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

great tanks


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

Does mine count as a jungle?  I like to think it falls within nature style.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Oh yeah I think so  Nice tank man


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Pretty sure this belongs in the overgrown mess category :red_mouth


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## Jadelin (Sep 30, 2009)

kenshinH said:


> my second jungle in the making.... 135gal


Very nice! If I could get something close to that for my future 75, I would feel accomplished! Do you have more info on it?

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2


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