Hardscape Ideas and Opinions

[BioHazard]

Hi! Looking for some comments/criticism/ideas for the 20 gallon I'm working on. I'm gonna be painting the back really really dark blue. It will be planted with anubias, crypts, spiral vals, java ferns, flame moss and a marimo ball. The substrate will be flourite black sand. The stock will be a bamboo shrimp, 2 peacock gudgeons, 6 kuhli loaches and 8 neon tetras. I might add a couple of ghost shrimp and/or a brig snail.
I would like the tank to look like a river bed.
I've been playing around with composition a bit. How does this look? Remember, there will be plants added also.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1060167.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1060169.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1060170.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u300/Graphicentropy/P1060171.jpg
Any suggestions? I'd appreciate any help.
:help:

[BioHazard]

Oh, also... its a glass tank, but it's got that whitish, opaque stuff on it. I scrubbed it with a sponge and ammonia, but it hasn't come off. Any idea what it is, or how to clean it off?

[NeonFlux]

So far so good

[thesixis]

As far as the aquascaping, looks great.
The white stuff IMO is 'hard water' stains.
I get this in my tanks that have been set up for a long time. The best way I have found is to soak the sides in white vinager.(just keep flipping the tank in the bath tub or slop sink).
I would never wash anything fish or aquatic with ammonia, I use kosher salt, white vinager and a 'fish only' scrubbing brush.
Good luck...
Send pics when done.

[BioHazard]

As far as the aquascaping, looks great.
The white stuff IMO is 'hard water' stains.
I get this in my tanks that have been set up for a long time. The best way I have found is to soak the sides in white vinager.(just keep flipping the tank in the bath tub or slop sink).
I would never wash anything fish or aquatic with ammonia, I use kosher salt, white vinager and a 'fish only' scrubbing brush.
Good luck...
Send pics when done.

Cool! I work at a grocery store anyway, so I can pick up some white vinegar and a scrubby sponge.
The reason I used ammonia is because I figured I could rinse it out really well, and any leftover ammonia would "cycle" out. It didn't get the hard water stains off, so I'll try this.

[BioHazard]

Does it need more, do you think? More wood? More rock?

[Hurley]

It's hard to tell without the plants in there but with the driftwood on the left side of the tank, be careful of drawing the eye out of the tank. You will want to try and keep the viewers eye within the tank and if the stick is pointing towards the outside of the tank the eye may wander away from the tank. But, once its planted that might not be a problem.

Proportions between the hardscape material look good. You also might find that the hardscaping isn't tall enough but since you are adding some taller plants in there that may prove to be a non issue as well.

One of the best things about planted tanks, for me at least, is that they are always evolving. Its a never finished piece of art. I will get my tank to a point where I am ready to take a photo of it and then as soon as I take the picture I dive in a rearrange things again. I think you have a great start. I love the stones btw!

[BioHazard]

It's hard to tell without the plants in there but with the driftwood on the left side of the tank, be careful of drawing the eye out of the tank. You will want to try and keep the viewers eye within the tank and if the stick is pointing towards the outside of the tank the eye may wander away from the tank. But, once its planted that might not be a problem.

Proportions between the hardscape material look good. You also might find that the hardscaping isn't tall enough but since you are adding some taller plants in there that may prove to be a non issue as well.

One of the best things about planted tanks, for me at least, is that they are always evolving. Its a never finished piece of art. I will get my tank to a point where I am ready to take a photo of it and then as soon as I take the picture I dive in a rearrange things again. I think you have a great start. I love the stones btw!

Yeah, I'm a little worried about that too. The main reason that branch is like that is because I'm going to have the powerhead there for the bamboo shrimp. I might consider mounting it on some acrylic and pointing it the other way, or putting it at a different angle. I have a feeling I'll be rearranging it a million times, but that will give me something to keep me busy while I'm cycling it later this month.

[TwoTankAmin]

20Ls are great tanks, but they suck for being planted due to being so shallow. Spiral vals will be a pita- they will quickly cover the surface, consider using corkscrews instead. (Also remember,most vals don't like Excel but corkscrews tolerate it the best imo.)

Everything else will also eventually give you size or height problems- some sooner than others. You miigh consider either a few parva swords or even a compacta sword as a 'centerpiece". Also look at the wendelov java over the standard java. The wendelov tends to bush more than the regular one which will break the surface in a 20L.

Oh- did I mention I have a few planted 20Ls? :p The very wise RTR wrote someplace he had given up planting in shallow tanks. Unfortunately, I read it after the fact :p If its not too late, consider using a 29. It has the same footprint as the 20L but is 6 inches deeper :-)

Sorry for not answering the hardscape part. But my feeling is it has to please you, so if you like it thats all that counts ;-).

[Slappy*McFish]

Fill it up with Crypts.

[Turbosaurus]

The arrangement on the left is PURE ART! Beautiful. It left needs to come more toward the center. Once the tank is planted you're going to loose it (which would be a SHAME) if you don't move it a good 3-4" toward the center.


What will your substrate be?

I would suggest going back to the rocks and getting some that are more uniform in color, or at least in the same tone family. It really pulls a scape together. Some on the right look to be more gold, and the one in the middle grouping with the wood- the really pale one - the rest look more taupe or ashy- that might just be the picture, but the ones I mentioned really stand out and that will damage the harmony of the tank. I think you have the size and relativity done beautifully, its just the color (on my monitor?) that pulls it apart. You don't want any one to stand out drastically from the rest, no matter how pretty it is.

You may want to have bigger stones if your foreground won't be sand, otherwise they're going to get lost. I really don't want to see those disappear, they are so pleasing. I can't wait to see the tank take shape, you have an excellent eye.

[BioHazard]

20Ls are great tanks, but they suck for being planted due to being so shallow. Spiral vals will be a pita- they will quickly cover the surface, consider using corkscrews instead. (Also remember,most vals don't like Excel but corkscrews tolerate it the best imo.)

Everything else will also eventually give you size or height problems- some sooner than others. You miigh consider either a few parva swords or even a compacta sword as a 'centerpiece". Also look at the wendelov java over the standard java. The wendelov tends to bush more than the regular one which will break the surface in a 20L.

Oh- did I mention I have a few planted 20Ls? :p The very wise RTR wrote someplace he had given up planting in shallow tanks. Unfortunately, I read it after the fact :p If its not too late, consider using a 29. It has the same footprint as the 20L but is 6 inches deeper :-)

Sorry for not answering the hardscape part. But my feeling is it has to please you, so if you like it thats all that counts ;-).

Lol, I thought corkscrew vals and spiral vals were the same thing. Lemme guess, corkscrews have a tighter curl? That will be fine. I tried to go for small plants. I though javas only got 8"? I want a C. wendtii, which should only get 4 in. The A. coffeefolia will probably get too tall, but I really like the red/green leaves. Is there a smaller plant that has a similar look? I also plan on getting A. nan petite, which I know will be plenty small. Thanks for the info, suggestions and help! :thm:

[BioHazard]

The arrangement on the left is PURE ART! Beautiful. It left needs to come more toward the center. Once the tank is planted you're going to loose it (which would be a SHAME) if you don't move it a good 3-4" toward the center.


What will your substrate be?

I would suggest going back to the rocks and getting some that are more uniform in color, or at least in the same tone family. It really pulls a scape together. Some on the right look to be more gold, and the one in the middle grouping with the wood- the really pale one - the rest look more taupe or ashy- that might just be the picture, but the ones I mentioned really stand out and that will damage the harmony of the tank. I think you have the size and relativity done beautifully, its just the color (on my monitor?) that pulls it apart. You don't want any one to stand out drastically from the rest, no matter how pretty it is.

You may want to have bigger stones if your foreground won't be sand, otherwise they're going to get lost. I really don't want to see those disappear, they are so pleasing. I can't wait to see the tank take shape, you have an excellent eye.

I like the idea of moving it a little. I'll have to get some acrylic or slate and attach it. Maybe I can find a piece that will curl up a bit then go towards the center of the tank, to draw the eye back in.
The substrate will be black flourite sand.
I will play around with the rocks some more. I got some of them from a nearby river, and the smooth ones from Wally World. So, you think I should nix the really pale one, and get rid of the really bright ones then? I guess that makes sense, since I want the fish themselves to be the focal point.

[jptjpt]

I would spend time with a couple of razor blades to get that cloudy deposit off of the tank. Just switch to a new blade if it starts to get dull. Be patient. I had to do that to my 55G when I bought it used.

Three focal points may be too much for a 20L. May be if you slope up the gravel really high on the right side towards the back corner of the tank, it'll blend the two piles of rocks on the right side together. You need substrate in there to see it better. You can use different size and color of substrate for effect also. Anyway, just my opinion. Go on with your creation and enjoy.