Aqua Scaping Help!

So I recently replaced my substrate with pool filter sand hoping it would be better for the plants and then replanted and added some rocks and this is my result( its a 30l tank)



Guys?........Seriously......you can stop laughing now! It has become wildly apparent to myself that one thing I lack is talent in the aquascaping department. Can I fly a plane?...no prob. Can I move a few pieces of rock and plants around to make a stunning eye capturing piece of art... hell no!! Go figure. Just makes me more impressed with those amazing tanks you people have out there.

So I please can anyone leave some comments on how I can arrange this around to improve it. Any hints and tips will be great.

Thank you.

 

Oe another pilot. At least you can get paid to fly. My PPL is kinda useless hehe.

I would say your tank looks a bit empty. you cant really aquascape without anything to scape with. Get some nice rocks (slate rock works well) or Wood.

 

@Franna Oh touche' haha. Yeah I wanna get some more plants for sure but my choices are so limited here. Think I must take a drive to Durbs. Also The rocks are bleak hey, I will go try find some slate somewhere thank you!

 

This scape actually is a very good starting point... and it's not that bad. I've seen much worse. (MUCH worse)

Look at getting a few more plants. (And when they grow up, it will also look a lot better.)

Get yourself a plain blue or black background. The background will automatically give it a facelift.

Consider more hardscape, and possibly something higher. Either a taller rock, more pebbles, or a tall piece of wood. When you take pictures, remove the filter, and definitely remove the thermostat. They seem to be drawing the eye away.

Instead of having the plants plantes in a straight line, plant then in an L shape. Put 2 plants across the back next to each other, and place the third in front.

emember a scape has 3 dimension to it that you need to take into account.

You have width, depth, AND height. Many Many people can work a lovely balance on 2 of the dimensions, but then forget the third. You will be surprized how many minimalistic scapes there are that actually look stunning when you take all three dimensions into account. Actually, there's very few people who can get the 3 dimensions right in my opinion. THe best person tht I have seen who get's a nice balance is @Vis

 

@Zoom, Wow thank you that is some seriously awsum advice! Used to have a black background then took it away but will add it back again. Thanks for the tips on how to photograph as well! Will play around and up date pics soon.

 

I think its time to do a poll to see how many pilots we have here

 

Stay on topic Mr. Hugo.

 

Agree with the black bg, as it will also make the filter more camo.

Second pic is already an improvement with the disappearance of the odd diagonal black cord.

If it were my tank, I would place the thermometer on the side close to the filter(if you can conveniently view it from the side) and place the biggest plant in front of the filter.
I would give each plant it's own random 'zone' with the biggest ones near the sides and smaller one off-centered and slightly forward.
Lastly, I'd place the medium size dark rock in front of the plant with the tall bare stems and lay the biggest rock flat partly under the shade of the biggest plant.

 

Let me have a go at this….

Anyway, its looking good dude! So what I would have done was, get some more of those rocks, at try to form a “raised section” in one of the corners, by making a natural looking rock wall, and fill it with more PFS. Plant some plants in this raised section!
Then you could add some small root driftwood, with some anubia at the base, with a few Vallis around the wood, and a few small pebbles in the front.

 

If your really bored you could make a killer rocky background out of polystyrene and aquarium safe paint.

 

Right, thank you again for the help everyone! So Ive tried my best to use everyone's advice and I went out and bought some more plants and tried to work a bit more in 3 dimensions. The water is murky now thanks to all the fiddling and my plants have lost so many leaves Ill be impressed if they survive! Every time I plant one plant the one next to it starts floating to the surface

Ill post some pics up soon when it settles down a bit.

@Henk Hugo. I agree with you! seems to be a lot of us on here
@Franna. I am toying with the back ground idea for my bigger tank. But as you can see Im a bit artistically challenged so my background could turn out interesting haha!

@Immy. That cord irritates the heck out of me. Its the microwave cord above the tank. I had a black background but took it away cause I liked the idea of the fish looking like they were floating in mid air when the tank was super clear but im going to put the black back ground back again.

 

@CharlieB try to balance the layout on the left and right side of the tank leaving swimming room in the middle with perhaps a small flat rock or piece of wood in the front centre which helps to create depth with a sloping sand bed, back high to low front, and a darkish blue background (I personally prefer blue, but black is also good).

Balancing the left and right side means the left and right side should mirror each other with similar plants having similar leave shapes, growing height and color but not necessarily the same species. Also the rocks, wood, pebbles should be similar on both sides.

Use plants that will not grow large and fill the tank quickly. A thin "wall" of tall plants at the back glass growing between the left and right sides will also help with creating depth.

Try to get a good plant book or visit the planted aquarium websites which will give you some nice ideas of how to scape your aquarium. Good luck!

 

Ok so after playing around this is what I got so far. Sadly I couldnt wait to take the photos tonight as im at work now and didnt have time to take out the filter etc but will get better photos soon. Please note the rock wall is temp for now as I need to find more rocks to neaten it up and not sure if I like it anyways. Any better? Still looks bare but im making plans for the bottom section still

 

dude its looking beter!

As for the raised section, try not to make it look like it was man made…. If you understand what I’m getting at.
Think of how that would look like, if you added a small piece of branchy driftwood in front of those plants? With some more rocks around it!
It empty now, but once you get more plants you will see how good its gonna look!

 

@Ves, Great, im getting somewhere haha. Do you reckon I should take the stone wall out and just let the sand slope down as if it was a sand bank? I will try find some nice rock or drift wood soon.

 

The problem with scapes like this is that the sand will always automatically start drifting down from the water movement. BUT... I think you are definitely getting the hang of it. It does look a lot better. If you can.. seperate some of those plants and spread them out a bit. Maybe put one or two of the plants on the left. And I agree with Vez, a piece of wood would finish this off nicely. But don't just buy any wood... you need to be fussy/particular about what you get. or you could land up spoiling it completely.

 

Seems like you are progressing well in the hard scape side .. truth is that is a small part of a nice tank (something that I battle with to be honest), I say this cause if we are doing a planted tank then one should be sure that they are able to cultivate the aquatic plants. What I have found in the past, things look OK for the first few weeks after a scape but if the plants are not happy the entire tank is down the tube, may I suggest that you also look at allowing the plants to settle in and start growing. Get your plant stock up and then once you know what works regarding plants you then focus more on the hard scape elements.

A tank needs a few weeks to show it true nature. - Hence MTS is your friend if you want to be busy with fishy stuff the whole time.

Later F

 

i think the rocks are doing the trick, otherwise the sandbank might "slide" down again.

look at this link, and then you will understand how nice the raised section can be....

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_2/cav2i6/planted_aquascaping/planted_aquascaping.htm

 

Ok points taken What I think I should have mentioned from the start is that im wanting to ultimately go for a manicured garden type of look rather than a natural river bed look. I know alot of people dont like this non natural look but I just wanna play around with it for a while. Like @f-fish said I think maybe ill fiddle a little more and then give the plants time to start growing and see how they full out. Thanks for the link Vez!

 

Hi, there is some certain rules you can follow that makes things look instantly better.

They are hard to explain and is better to follow them with pictures.

Anyway look up a site called aquatic eden and read through some of the basic aqauscaping articles.

If you have some cash to spare buy a book called aqua journal from Amano. Its filled with tips and ideas.

I can't really see your pics good on my phone so hard to give advice. Please note although a black background makes the plants and stuff show very nicely it makes the space inside the tank seem smaller and at times shallower.

Gerhard