making a planted tank look natural

[ChEeRs_BiG_EaRs]

hi guys,
im startiung up a planted tank, but im worried that if i jsut put in plants it wont look natural, what are some other aids i can useto make it look more natural and where in the tank should i position them.
thanx
p.s. the tank is a 4 x 2.5 x 2.
cheers
BiG EaRs

[superjohnny]

Look at some of the pictures of other people's tanks. Most people use wood & rocks to make a more "natural" setting. I kinda like the look of a nice piece of wood with java moss on it myself.

Nice size tank bye the way. You have lots of lighting options with a 4' tank.

[thom336]

Forget what ppl say about tall plants at the back and small ones at the front...that is the biggest mistake when trying to make a tank look natural - nature doesnt organise plants like that. When planting, plant each species in groups for a natural effect, but not too tightly bunched together.

[ChEeRs_BiG_EaRs]

ok, anyone got any good pics of natural tanks, or any good sites, thanx
BiG EaRs

[TomFromStLouis]

There are tons of great tank pictures at the Aquatic Gardners annual contest site. Hope you have some time and a fast connection - they are worth it. Go to

http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/ and click on Contest.

You have seen Amano's Nature Aquarium books, right?

[famman]

Look here for amazing tanks by Amano.

http://www.adana.co.kr/e_1.html

His style is not directly applicable to what you're trying to accomplish but I find his tanks great for inspiration or just a plain 'wow, look at that!'

[TomFromStLouis]

His style is not directly applicable to what you're trying to accomplish but I find his tanks great for inspiration or just a plain 'wow, look at that!'

Excellent link fanman. I had not seen that one before.

I find it a bit funny though, that everyone seems to qualify references to Amamo, as in "not repeatable" or "you cannot achieve this" or, as you said, "not directly applicable to [your attempt at natural tanks]"

I wonder why this is? Anyone who has poked their nose into a stream or lake knows that monocultures, or at least scenes with very few plant species, are much more common than what most home aquaria come up with. And Amano has photographed lots of these scenes and obviously applies his experience in a very artistic way. Maybe it is the artistry that people find insurmountable - an artist friend of mine says that minimalism is the hardest thing to get right. The more I thought about that statement, the truer I found it.

I find Amano inspriational too. But if I would be satisfied with copying one of his tanks, I think it would be about as natural a look as you could get.

IF you could find some of that great driftwood he uses!

[famman]

Amano's specific style is to reproduce natural scenes, not necessarily ones that are actually underwater. "as you said, "not directly applicable to [your attempt at natural tanks]" ".

One of my favorite ones,

http://www.adana.co.kr/e_p26.html

looks like a mountain side. He does others that look like a forest glen or meadow. My impression is that you wanted to make a natural 'looking' (not necessarily truely natural) underwater setting. Therefore, Amano's style was not directly applicable to what you are doing. His stylistic elements and techniques however, are worth serious study.