# well scaped versus personally enjoyable?



## VertiGoat (Mar 18, 2005)

Does anyone else ever have problems deciding what they want from their aquariums? I look at beautiful aquascapes and then I don't know what possesses me when I start poking at my own aquariums. 
I have an aquarium I've been cleaning up and resetting up. The wood is really horrible for an aquascape, too long, too thin, too every which way.. It's got a decent growth of moss on it, it works well as a habitat for the fish in it, and it's healthy as far as the plants, fish & invertebrates growing, spawning, spreading and reproducing. 
I'm actually kind of embarrassed of photos of it though because I know it's simply not a good aquascape, but is that what I want from it? Or just a pleasing to me aquarium with healthy livestock? Sorry if this is a funny question but I wonder if it's worth disrupting an entire aquarium just to rearrange all the bones in an attempt at the elusive perfect scape that will still only be perfect through about 1/4 of the growth and pruning cycle. Does anyone else ever stop and wonder what direction and what goal they are actually trying to achieve with their tanks or are other people more clear on their goals than I am?


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

IMO the perfect scape is one that I enjoy. If you avoid the Kool Aid that is frequently offered up on this and other forums you will end up much happier. Personally I don't try and copy any scapes that I see. Think out of the box and you will end up with a scape that you will be proud of.


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

All of the time!! The pictures of ideal scapes are just a moment in time.

I am now trying to set up my tank in a way that when I trim my stems, it won't be that obvious that they have been clipped. I am inter mixing crypts in the same area so it won't look empty when I trim the stems. I would prefer the tank to look good most of the time. Of course we have to keep in mind, providing a nice environment for the inhabitants. So, I don't think my tank will ever win any contests but, maybe I'll like it.


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## killacross (Oct 15, 2009)

I think we all do it to some extent...if we werent into visually pleasing tanks...we would just leave the plants in pots (eventually theyll grow out of them and same benefits to the water) but instead we see things that we like and dont like...things that we want to try and things we never would...alotta times i think it just comes down to working with what you have.

I mean...I have 2 tanks a 10gal and a 20long...the first time I scaped my 10gall. I didnt plan anything...and it was horrible and I couldnt figure out why my plants died yada yada yada...searched the internet and found this forum...then realized how BEAUTIFUL a tank could really be...and then went tank crazy and started buying allllll sorts of things...I literally had a package in the mail or on my doorstep every day for about a month. now...I have 2 tanks...and alotta equipment that ill probably never use again...and even now...Im still adding and changing things here and there

and the best/worst thing about this hobby is generally...you start out low tech DIY-ish...and as you have growing success..you move up to the next level...

I mean just think about the progression youve made in teh hobby..ill tell you mine

-10 gallon tank...everything stock...plants all died
-changed lightbulbs in hood...everything died...
-built my own hood...everything died
-discovered that the plants at Petsmart are not aquatic:icon_evil:angryfire
-ordered dwarf hairgrass and dwarf baby tears from the internet...everything died
-learned about lighting intensity and wattage...upgraded my lighting...everything melted...algae explosions
-learned about substrate and nutrients and CO2 (a whole slew of equipment there)
-bought "impossible to kill plants" java moss, banana plants, dwarf sagittaria...had SUCCESS
-moved on to cambomba and amazon swords and glosso...MORE SUCCESS
-got a bigger tank because I had bigger ambitions...
-back to DHG and DBT and Im having success!!
-and my plan is to eventually get a house and get a 40gal breeder(as big as I want to go) and do an in-wall/closet display set up with either tiger barbs or glo fish (but leaning more towards the barbs)...where the tank shows on a family room wall...but all the inner workings are hidden in a closet (out of sight)

it builds on each other

so you see...its just the nature of the beast...well NEVER be satisfied. and when we see something new that we never tried or something that we like...were gonna incorporate it into our tanks...

I guess to answer your original question...NO..I dont care what other people think about my tank because quite frankly...I believe I have the best taste of anyone I know...and if they disagree, they are wrong. So if it looks good to me...then who cares what they think/say...

as far as scaping goes...I generally sketch out my scape first hand...but since I like the "wild, bushy, filled in" look...I generally only trim to stop plants from coming out of the water


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## Matthew Gabrielse (Jan 23, 2010)

If you look at the aquarium and you don't like the way it looks, if you're embarrased of it, change it. I wouldn't strive for a show tank in your living room but you certainly want to enjoy looking at it. The beautiful fish in there aren't going to be the center of attention if you can't stop staring at all the stuff you think is ugly. 

Depending on your current setup and plans, it may not be too hard to do. If you just want some prettier wood go hunting for it, go to the fish store or find a local creek/river. Switching out the wood should be easy enough. If you want to plant heavily it might be a little more work but still doable. Your fish will be fine in a large bucket for an hour or two.


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## Francis Xavier (Oct 8, 2008)

From my own experience, creating an aquascape that is visually stunning and fosters genuine "wow" comments when people come in to see them is very enjoyable, and a lot of what I do in the hobby is geared towards improving the aesthetic appeal of my aquariums. 

I've learned though - no matter how good you become at design, when you look at it day in and day out you always just see the flaws, and at least for me there's always that perfectionist in me that is tweaking and adjusting (for example I removed UG from my tank some months ago, and that plant STILL pops up out of nowhere in healthy amounts). The most enjoyable moments with my tanks has come after 4-5 months of growing, adjusting, pruning and finally adding fauna to the tank and seeing their interactions with the scape. I've ended up being lost for hours watching my tanks at that point seeing new things I never noticed before after putting them in.

For example, I was never a huge fan of CRS - but I added some CRS to my Mini L and they spend the majority of the time hidden in the thicket of hair grass or in the crevices in the rocks so you can't see them. But, when they come out it causes a sensation and you spend the whole time watching and following them move around. They literally act as the "Jewels" of the tank in that regard. Kind of like seeing a rare bird perched in the middle of a pond, you can't help but stop and watch everything it does. Other times you just think they must have died or gotten sucked up into the filter since you'd think you could easily find 7 bright red and white shrimp in an 8 gallon tank!

Now, technically you don't need to have a beautiful aquascape to experience that - but being able to make one just magnifies the effect incredibly. It's like a one two punch. You get the "wow" for the first impression of the tank, and then an equally large "wow" when they think they've seen everything and something like a CRS makes it's appearance known. That kind of subtlety that even someone who knows nothing about aquascaping can experience is worth the months of prep time.

For me, victory is this - when you have an ADA tank and you have people come to see the tank that know what ADA is and have a good understanding of aquascaping, and they don't even notice the brand names on the equipment because they're entirely focused on the immediate draw of the layout, you can call that tank a win. If the aquascape isn't that great, those people will almost always focus in on the equipment or try to immediately compare it to say, Amano to try to give you a nice compliment. If the aquascape is a winner, the equipment you use doesn't even matter whether it's expensive, cheap or otherwise. But it certainly does matter to have equipment (or to be skilled enough in hiding it) that doesn't take up prime viewing real-estate in the tank. Invisibility in that regard is important.


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## Francis Xavier (Oct 8, 2008)

As for competition and content photographs - take it from me, the images are often taken very carefully with settings that intentionally are used to hide flaws in the aquascape. A lot of it is illusion work. For example - you can have a carpet that isn't fully grown in (just nearly completely grown in), but enough tweaking with lighting and white balance settings in the camera or subtle angle changes can make it look completely grown in.

Same goes for algae outbreaks, those can be hid very easily in photographs without the use of photoshop or any photo-editing software.

Granted, my camera isn't anything special, so I can't speak for top of the line, high end camera's with zoom functions capable of seeing the cellular structure of the plants.

You shouldn't expect to immediately be an awesome aquascaper - like any art it takes time and patience. But you should always strive to do better. If your aquascapes this year are no better than the ones you made last year, you're doing something wrong. There is no reason why, even if you aren't an aquascaper, that your main show tank shouldn't be as visually stunning as you can possibly make it.


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## VertiGoat (Mar 18, 2005)

I really appreciated everyone's varied and honest answers, thank you for taking the time to respond. 
For a question about aquariums as a hobby it gave me alot to think about over the weekend. whenever there is a crisis i am the one that ditches what i am doing and my own interests to take care of other people. my tanks really show it. they started to become a chore and another item on my todo list rather than a hobby i was pursuing for enjoyment. reading responses here and talking to people has helped me focus my goals more narrowly. thank you.

and the decision is i can't have it all so i'll go for my more junky but thankfully lower maintenance aquariums and happy fish. i'm not competitive, i don't enter my tanks in competitions and there isn't much point i can find in holding myself to those standards. I also just like some junky tanks that are plain bad 'scaping. no focal point jungly thickets


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## alang (Nov 25, 2007)

Francis Xavier said:


> As for competition and content photographs - take it from me, the images are often taken very carefully with settings that intentionally are used to hide flaws in the aquascape.



I have always wondered about show tanks. Are they grown the way they are presented? I have always imagined someone with a bunch of tanks all growing different plants (or even growing them emergent which is easier). Then when showtime comes around, they pick and choose the plants they want and simply arrange and trim them for the show (kind of like flower arranging). There is no question of the talent it takes to make a beautiful scape, I just wonder about the way the final product is reached.

Any validity to this thought?


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## jreich (Feb 11, 2009)

VertiGoat said:


> and the decision is i can't have it all so i'll go for my more junky but thankfully lower maintenance aquariums and happy fish. i'm not competitive, i don't enter my tanks in competitions and there isn't much point i can find in holding myself to those standards. I also just like some junky tanks that are plain bad 'scaping. no focal point jungly thickets


 i have seen some amazing low tech low or no maintence tanks. practice makes perfect. you just need to find the rite balance. i guess the same thing can be applied to life. but if you enjoy your tank this is all that should matter!


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## paludarium freak (Jan 26, 2010)

I think aquascaping is all about looks and pleasing the eye. Tanks I don't like are those that the equipement is showing (for example: if you see the filter and wires). Another thing I don't like is when it doesn't look natural. If you have yellow gravel and a small ornatment or decorations (for example: a treasure chest), I will imideatly hate it. I like clean and natural. Just to show you how picky I am, I have had a Hermit Crab for about a year now and at the beginning, I didn't care about looks so much, I just wanted a pet. I had two water bowls. They were neon green!! I also didn't have plants. As the months went by, I changed the bowls and just put toperwear with rocks in the ground and I bought a fake plant. Now my tank looks much better and I am proud to show it to friend and family that come to visit us. 
I decided that when my hermit crab dies, I will start a community tank. You will see when I start a Journal how clean and picky I am. I do not care much what other people think but... I do want people to look at my tanks and say: "Wow, I want a tank like that". I will also trim my plants neatly and will pick up all the droppings and food at the end of each day. I want my tank to be a piece of art, not just a place to house fish. I want colorful and a variety of fish and invertabrates, not just one or two species in the tank. I also want it to look natural. I will not have any fake rocks, wood or plants, and no background, only tall and thick plants. 
Anyway I think its a personal choice. Some people have tanks just to keep livestock and don't care about looks and some people (like me) want a clean and natural looking tank.

Thanks


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## Dr.Dovii (Feb 4, 2010)

Don't think I have ever had a tank where the aquascaping didn’t change. I keep a lot of cichlids that move stuff all over if they can, and they dig like crazy. For these guys, I tend to decorate with their needs in mind, or to provide visual distractions as aggression modifiers. My breeder tanks tend to be bare with rocks for egg deposition.

I make my planted aquascapes a bit more stable, but even then, I still move things around occasionally. My aponogeton bulbs spend a month or two in the closet each year, so the view changes. But the driftwood and rocks remain in place. Occasionally I might add another piece.

But, I always try things pleasing to my eye, and I find that this tends to be pleasing to the eyes of friends and visitors; if only because most don't see nicely planted tanks too often. But, if a tank in not pleasing to me, I pay less attention to it with the resulting development of problems. 

You are right, it is all personal. And it is all a learning experience.


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## Francis Xavier (Oct 8, 2008)

alang said:


> I have always wondered about show tanks. Are they grown the way they are presented? I have always imagined someone with a bunch of tanks all growing different plants (or even growing them emergent which is easier). Then when showtime comes around, they pick and choose the plants they want and simply arrange and trim them for the show (kind of like flower arranging). There is no question of the talent it takes to make a beautiful scape, I just wonder about the way the final product is reached.
> 
> Any validity to this thought?


They are usually grown the way they are presented, while you can sometimes add stem plants in such a way that they look naturally grown in, the majority of plants need time to grow in (for example, riccia and most mosses are tied down to surfaces and need to grow so that whatever is holding them down is invisible). 

You can't really just "plant" a full carpet into place, the closest you can do is take patches of say, HC, already grown in to a near full carpet and place it down on the soil and have the tank drained and go emmersed for about 1-2 weeks for the roots to take hold, but that still leaves gaps in the carpet that have to fill in, and even still that usually results in the carpet not as low to the ground as possible (which is ideal), since you are essentially sodding the carpet at that point. It's much better long term results to take single nodes or small bunches and planting them as deeply as possible so they grow in nice and tight to give the maximum exposure of hardscape and softscape.

Creating a competition-worthy aquascape usually entails a lot of guess work in how something will grow in and visualizing the end product months in advance while making lots of small tweaks and trims as things go along. And even then sometimes things just don't grow or die or grow in a direction you didn't want them to and it can result in having to remove an entire plant type and starting again (for example, it usually takes 1-2 months for an aquascape of mine to reach maturity, however due to the way the hardscape was in one of my tanks it took a full 6 months before growth really took off (with all the same parameters as the scapes I could fill within 1-2 months, and even same plant types!)). I know my aquascapes usually don't even see fish or shrimp (which is a whole new selection ordeal) until a good couple months into them being setup so I can have maximum co2 injection, etc without worry about losing a stock of fauna.

The whole project is in general a lot of pre-planning, planning and attention to small details. The difference between say 1-10th place and 100th place in a competition like IAPLC is a nickel and a dime.


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## Francis Xavier (Oct 8, 2008)

Oh, and Vertigoat, I just noticed you're in Everett, I live there too. Should come over sometime and I can give you a private showing of my tanks.


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## mmfish (Dec 24, 2008)

Every show tank you see looks that way for a brief moment. To keep a tank beautifully trimmed requires daily pruning. You must capture all of the trimmimgs and with hair grass, that's no easy task. Last year I grew out a perfect dense "lawn" of hair grass only to find out how much time it takes to keep it that way. All the detail you see in these show tanks requires so much daily effort. If that's your thing, great. But I think tank upkeep should not take away from enjoying the hobby.


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## willknowitall (Oct 3, 2010)

tank upkeep is the hobby


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## chrisnif (Aug 20, 2010)

I know I'm going to have to go with what makes me happy. I refuse to drink the Kool Aid because what most see as a "nicely planted tank" I see as "a tank full of plants, where are the fish?" Basically my ideal is to take the plants some folks would put in a 20 long, and spread them out in a 90+ gallon, add some vals in the back and a mother sword or anubias as a "focus" wipe my hands clean.

This "minimalist" approach gets me many a strange look from my local reef club. I typically run 20-30% of the rock they recommend, but I like it "open" i mean, its a FISH tank with plants. not a plant tank with fish  Although I'm sure some of you guys enjoy the "plant tank, with fish" and to you I say enjoy, just not for me.


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## Rhaethe (Jan 20, 2010)

I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to the hardscaping of a tank. Until it's "just right" I'll fiddle and fiddle and nudge over a couple cm and pull back and tug over, etc. Once the hardscape is in, and the way I like it, I don't ever want to futz with it again.

Plants I'm a little more free with. I'll let them grow out without pruning for awhile ... this is partially to the somewhat illogical notion in my head that I've *seen *my fauna giving me the hairy eyeball and pouting when I prune.

My scapes also tend to be very riverine and brook based ... with a fair bit of open area. And no carpeting.

I look at pictures of others' tanks on forums as well as competition and show tanks ... and I think "I want to learn!" And then I remember that 8 hour stint of trying to get hair grass planted ... and I cringe and think "Oh hell no, not again" :icon_lol: 

So ultimately, I start out planning tanks in a very "proper" fashion ... and then end up with a tank that pleases me, regardless of what I'm supposed to use or do.


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## deleted_user_7 (Jul 7, 2003)

I find that the less i look at the photos of other people's tanks, the more I enjoy my own.

I had someone ask why i tore down an old scape recently Because it looked it it was from the ADA gallery. I thought he was crazy and thin it looked like crap then i realized it is a very, very nice aquarium but if i try to emulate an aquascaping master then I'll be emulating for the rest if my days in the hobby and never get there.... Most of the tanks in competitions aren't permanent tanks anyway, they are made for a photoshoot at that one moment of perfection.

I think it's a lot like body image. You'll never be happy if you goal is to look like someone who takes steroids and has their pics photoshopped in magazines. Sort of how you'll never be happy if you strive to look like the guys in workout magazines who use steroids unless you use em, too. If your a girl, I guess the equivalent is if you want to be Barbie you won't be happy but it doesnt mean you can't try to be attractive for your own pleasure. It doesn't mean you can't still go to the gym and take inspiration from em, though. Does anyone get my analogy? Lol


I am part of the plant tank with fish camp. I got i to the hobby for the plants... If my otos didn't earn their keep by eating algae I wouldn't even have them.

One thing I don't really like is how freshwater is under appreciated and saltwater is over glorified... Having done both, I can say freshwated high tech planted is much harder and more maintenance than a reef with lps and soft corals. Anyone can make a rock wall with coral, and if you're fancy you'll have TWO piles on each end covered on coral ; ) It's much easier to remove all nutrients than to add them in balance! The gaudy colors of a reef will impress anyone. 

Having done both, I can say it takes a big pocketbook to make a nice reef tank. It takes a lot of talent to make a nice planted tank. There is more of a focus on the science aspect in SW while there is more of a focus on artistry in the aquascaping/planted tank hobby. I thnk science is gainng more impact with people like Tom Barr testing things and thinking instead of blindly following the sage wisdom of Amano or Dupla. More than one way to skin a cat. As a bio major, I like how the actual scientific findings and developments are influencing the hobby.


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

Great thread!

Personally, I love the 'wow' factor when people come in to my living room but not enough to let it dictate what my tank looks like.

I also love the idea of making my tank look picture perfect like a painting in a frame, but not enough to let it dictate what my tank looks like.

It occurred to me that while the tank should look beautiful from across the room, my real enjoyment from the tank comes from two things:

1) I love doing the maintenance, watching for berried shrimp, tweaking plants, etc. but this enjoyment comes from any approach. I don't want to do it every day, though.

2) I love to get close up to my tank and watch the fish and plants in action. I like to pull up a chair and sort of stare in with my face 1 foot from the glass. I like to stoop down and look into caves and crevices and see what's happening inside. 

So, I made a huge mass of driftwood with tons of caves and crevices in my 54 gallon tank. Then I stocked it with small fish. I think of it as a 'close-up' tank. I am usually looking at something like the below rather than standing 8 feet back marveling at how it all looks together.










Which is good, cause I can't seem to get a decent photo of my corner tank - the front glass is so bowed that everything looks crappy with my digital camera!


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## theblondskeleton (Aug 28, 2009)

Hmm... This is a good one. I have always been a hobbyist of some form or another. Model cars, military models, biplanes, model ships (there's one I still do), dollhouses, (yep, dollhouses), drawing, collecting, etc. I never really committed to anything because I felt it was a hobby inherited from my father or mother or something I never really improved at. 

After my brother was KIA, a friend of mine thought I needed a pet. I refused the mammalian type, as I just didn't have any inclination toward cleaning fur out of everything. So, she bought me a goldfish, which I promptly killed (uncycled tank). I went online to see if there was any info about how to keep goldfish, and everything went from there. 

This one I own. 

I have always been into design and tinkering - good GODS, I'm a tinkerer. When I discovered the world of Amano, and nature style, and iwagumi, etc, I was in heaven. To have all of these living portraits like living mandalas ever changing, transient, gone as soon as they are completed, all about process, etc... it just got me in all the right places.

I share my journal because like anyone I enjoy positive feedback, as well as the odd bits (and sometimes they are TRULY odd) of advice and criticism. Much like FX, I am never fully satisfied with my scapes - and if I ever feel that way, then it is certainly time to change something. 

I like the idea of competing and even entered a contest once. I didn't score terribly well based on the criteria, but I didn't mind. It was fun - the preparation, the photo taking and choosing, writing the entry, the excitement of waiting for the scores, and gossiping and speculating about the other entries, etc.

Mostly, I'm a hobbyist trying always to improve my skills - which to me means technique (it's no good if you can't repeat the technique and achieve the same or similar result) not necessarily high scores in contests or 100+ subscribers on my journal thread. I like to try new things, new hardscapes, new plants, new trimming techniques, new attachment techniques and materials, new fert regimes, new light schemes, new fish new shrimp, new snails, new sizes, shapes and types of tanks, etc.

Ultimately, I'd be lying if I said I didn't care what people think or that I didn't try to emulate any particular scaper. I think we can all learn by observing the greats - that's why they're great! Even lesser-known scapers who have great technique get mad respect from me. 

Growth, progress, change, evolution. I like what aquascaping does for me because it isn't like a model or drawing - it isn't fixed in a moment of time, frozen, motionless, and cold. It's dynamic. It's vibrant. It's life, with a capital and lowercase "L". It changes and as it does, I change. It's a reflection of this moment in my progress.

Soon, I'll tear it down and try to create something new.

I have always been pretty spiritual about my art. I look at it as a reflection of myself in that moment. If I don't like what I see, I change. As I change, my art changes. It changes me, I change it. A lot of people probably think that's weird, and they are right, from a certain perspective. 

But my secret is, I don't make it FOR them. I make it for me. And that's just fine.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

I have not only such scapes, but they also are farms, producing both livestock(Shrimp, fish etc) as well as crop plants.










Fissidens, Bolbitus, belem hair grass, supoer red Cherry shrimps and rare plecos.

Another tank:










046 Zebras
Bred red farowellas several times
Petite anubias does grow much faster and does nice










Another that sells a lot of Starougyne:










My other two tanks are in the process of being redone to be fully non CO2.
But........Tropheus moori and syno cats are not bad for sales.....nor are some emergent grown plants. The other will have a lot of emergent grown crypts, similar to the 60p above but be a 120cm.





Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

theblondskeleton said:


> But my secret is, I don't make it FOR them. I make it for me. And that's just fine.


roud:

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Other than my small tanks that are easy to turnover and recreate, I don't really setup anything that has alot of maintenance to it. That means very few stems and/or aggressive rosettes. I try to think long-term in case I come up with something I really like and want to keep it for a while.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I have found that I am awful at aquascapes. I gave up trying and love my jungle of mess. If you ever want to feel better, bring someone over that hasn't seen your tank before, doesn't grow live plants, and ask them what they think of the tank. They are always impressed.


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## farmhand (Jun 25, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> If you ever want to feel better, bring someone over that hasn't seen your tank before, doesn't grow live plants, and ask them what they think of the tank. There are always impressed.


Made me laugh :hihi:


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## fauxjargon (Oct 23, 2010)

I still think of myself first and foremost as a fishkeeper, not an aquatic gardener. When I embark on a new setup, I decide what livestock I want to keep and then design the hardscape and general types of plants that will go in the tank to provide a nice environment for the fish to live and me to watch the fish do their thing.


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## Armonious (Aug 16, 2010)

To me well scaped is personally enjoyable, so that it what I will be shooting for.

I have kept aquariums for approaching ten years now. I have wanted to get into planted tanks for about five years now. It took awhile before I thought I was old enough and responsible ($$) enough to make my way into the hobby, but I hope to stay for a long long while.

Planted tanks in my opinion at least, offer another level of challenge, as well as another level of enjoyment, beyond a standard tank. Do I get irritated at times? Of course. But in the end, it is all worthwhile to sit back and look into a tank and think, 'I did that'.


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## seadreamer (May 6, 2007)

I consider myself an underwater gardener but a terrible aquascaper. I simply have no talent for it.

I love the ADA types, but I also enjoy most designs simply because I love planted tanks so much. My favorite type though are the wild and jungly ones that basically look like a snapshot of a scene from a river or pond. I can't seem to accomplish this though so have given up. For now.  

I used to hate any type of statuary but then saw a grassy tank with a buddha nestled in and it was absolutely lovely and serene (a lo-tech tank at that). I've wanted to re-create this one myself with some glass cats. And I do have a 29-gallon sitting in the garage. Hmmmm.


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## Reaper Keeper (Oct 5, 2009)

For me its what I like. If I dont like it how can I enjoy it? 
Make sure you like it, everyone else can ............ do there own!


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## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

My biggest problem is that I continually underestimate how large, dense, or tall a plant is going to grow. I put 30-40# of driftwood in my tank, none of which can be seen anymore. I put an extra 45# of substrate in my tank to contour the bottom.... also is nearly unnoticeable. I've pulled out my beatiful red rubin once it filled my entire tank. I pulled out my HM carpet because I got tired of cutting it down every other day (Every trimming you miss gets caught in some other plant and continues to grow). This is not an appropriate carpet for a CO2 enriched tank.

My stem plants don't look right to me when they're a foot and a half tall, but that's what it takes to cover the filter pipes.

I agree that most scapes are ever evolving. That's been my experience anyway. I've recenty started looking for "just the right" pieces of driftwood to lean in the corners of my tank so I can finally remove all that rotundifolia. Then my scape will finally be finished.......for a little while anyway.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I still think my first real attempt at making something attractive was my best. I don't know what gave me the vision but I had it in my head and made it. I am pretty good when I have a vision. 

I consider aquascaping an art. In the beginning, you may have no clue what you like so you mess around, make something cool, it may be the best thing you do for awhile. Then, once you think you have it figured out, you try to improve, only to be disappointed. It isn't even that you got lucky, you figured out a good bit, try to go from an average place to comparing what you have to the best you have seen. It isn't that you think you are there yet, it just is the fact you "get it" on some level but don't necessarily understand as well as you thought. 

I have gone through this with all art I do. Now that I am producing music on a professional level (I don't call myself professional because it isn't paying the bills), I really learned that concept. I can hear the hunger and drive in my first works. My "I get it moment" is pretty damn good. Then I have a bunch of lack luster stuff. Then, I have my best. It's the same idea, constant repetition, combined with gaining knowledge will only help.

This influences how I aquascape quite a bit. I know I have some years to get it down to where I will love what I have. Visual art isn't my biggest skill either. I just live with what I don't like and know I will look it over for a long period of time, make things work better, without a total redo, and redo it better when I know exactly what I want to change. Even when I don't get it right the next time, I always feel like I am a step closer, and, more importantly, getting back to my own ideas, rather than gauging myself against others. That is not only frustrating to gauge against the best, but when you get "there" idea right, it isn't nearly as rewarding as getting your own idea close, I have yet to get it right but I think that is probably much more rewarding.


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## fishyjoe24 (Dec 10, 2009)

BLA as the song goes "people living in competition, all I want is for me to have my piece of mind"... if you aren't building the scape and having the tank for your own enjoyment then why have it? I go for the K.I.S.S. method (keep it simple stupid)... my tanks where all bought used. I use hob filters.. and simple two bulb coralife t5 no light fixture. simple driftwood branches etc... only tank that would wow some one is my 55 which has a nice stand,canopy,and a canister filter.... 

me I don't like people who are " oh my that looks so nice, my tank will never look as nice as yours, what brand of tank, is your tank, what brand filter do you have"...

for me it's about the friendship and people I have met more then anything.....the "is that so and so plant, how did you get it to grow because I can't get it to grow in my tank etc".... it's about the friends I make along the way, the ones who are welling to drive an hour and half to come to my house to help me set up takes or give me plants/fish/fish medication etc).... 

at the end of the day I'm the one who is going to be looking at my tanks.. planted tanks are for enjoyment not to be "status quo symbols" 

I guess I just got tired of all the people oh you will need this big over priced rim tank, with 3-4 watts per a gallon of MH lighting, and ada soil, and etc etc.. and this over priced cherry stand... 

for me... I know I have done a good job with my tanks when I can lay on my bed look at my tanks see the fish swimming around happy, and I fall a sleep...

a planted tank that gets me relaxed and sleepy is a good tank for me.....


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## Gookis (Dec 28, 2010)

I haven't read all of the responses but I've read a few and I seem to agree with the majority. I'm at a similar point as yourself in having to decide and stay focused on my goal: An attractive, enjoyable, reasonably easy to maintain (my standards) and impressive to others (as it's in my kitchen).

My original goal was to have a South American Biotope. But I've possibly come to the concession that there are things that I WILL have in there, or want to have in there, that aren't from South America. (shrimp, anubias, java fern, and a Dwarf Gourami that's in a different tank)

Oh well, it's for me. And anyone who comes into my house and points out that my tank lacks continuity...can't drink my beer.

Matt


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## Fahnell (Jan 20, 2011)

Hello
I see it this way
1. The gurus who have time & money for very very inspired and nice aquascapes
2. the rest of us who want fish to live (maybe breed) plants to grow and not to have algae..and not to spend a lot of money 
For me if i have a tank with plants that do ok fish that thirve and the aquascape represents a combinations of plants and animals from the same zone (or at least water params - for example balck water) ..that is ok .
I noticed that species of plants and fish from the same zone make an tank very very natural and without much of an effort either


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