Rescaping - Need Opinions

DGalt

DGalt

AC Members
Jun 1, 2008
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Connecticut
Ok so, I'm just not happy with the look of the tank right now. My biggest issue is the lines (is that the right term) from the placement of the driftwood. Here's what it looks like:

NewTank.jpg


I'm not sure what I don't like about it, but I just know I'm not happy with it.

I'm thinking of this:
Leaving the left piece of wood in the same position, but pushing it back towards the back of the tank more. Then I'll twist the right piece so that the cavity is facing the front of the tank, and again I'll push this piece back towards the back. I'm planning on lining the two pieces next to each other to make a somewhat straight line of wood across the back.

This will leave the crypt more room on the right side, so I'll probably move it forward a bit. I'll pull up some of the clover in the center and spread it along the front / the right side in from of the crypt.

I'm probably going to pull out the alternanthera and replace it with ludwigia repens. I'm still debating this, but I think the ludwigia will work better in the long run.

Thoughts?

I just don't like having the tank sectioned off the way it is, so I think trying to make the driftwood into one big centerpiece towards the back will give me room to create a nice straight foreground planting and also give the tank a "larger" feel to it.

PS. Sorry for out of focus camera. I can't seem to figure out how this thing works!
 
If it was me i would ditch that driftwood. I think its 2 bulky for the tank and in the end making the tank look smaller.
I would go for some branchier pieces or even one thin piece of driftwood.
The reason why you think the tank is sectioned off is due to the wood/plants. If you get more stem plants you will have a fuller plant scape and it will look as one.

I also personally like alternanthera more than ludwigia repens because the alternanthera has fuller bushier look while repens can get leggy and will look empty.
 
I would rotate the driftwood in the right so that the cavity is diagonally like it is now but to the center of the fishtank (it would be 90 degrees clockwise) that should probably let room for your crypt and it would add interesting perspective to your tank. Even more perspective would be added to your tank if you could rotate the left driftwood (around 45 degrees counter clockwise) so that the space I see in front of the picture would form an upside down V with the cavity of the right driftwood just like this icon ^. That way both driftwoods would appear to go deeper into your fishtank. This is Takashi Amano landscaping in a nutshell, which I use when decorating my fishtank.
 
I probably would rather replace the wood all together, but I'm beyond broke right now so I'm trying to go with what I've got. Also, I need to have some type of "cave" type wood for the plecos, and longer, thinner pieces don't really lend themselves to that.

As for the repens vs. the alternanthera, I'd rather keep the latter but it just doesn't seem to be doing well. Since trimming it down and replanting it even the new growth has begun to die off. I'm going to give it a week or so to see if I get any changes, if not then I'll probably pull it out

As for what the person above me said, I agree with the change in the piece on the right. However, I'm trying to move away more towards a straighter line across the back, with stem plants then behind it.

Maybe I'll take a trip to the LFS and see what I can find
 
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DGalt said:
As for what the person above me said, I agree with the change in the piece on the right. However, I'm trying to move away more towards a straighter line across the back, with stem plants then behind it.
Click to expand...

I perfectly understand but you could still move them a little to the back using the perspective idea (^), the area you would be using is the same, you could place the large stem plants in the back of the driftwoods, tall broad plants in the corners of the back to fill in some nice space you will have there and in the center back a nice plant like an Amazon sword would look amazing, and with the driftwoods pointing at it would all look great. Then in the front any small plants you like so you could appreciate the driftwoods and the plants in the back. But again that's just me.
 
hmm actually that might work. I'll have to play around with it. For the center plant I'm not sure..if the alternanthera filled it that would look nice, but I have a feeling it isn't going to. The repends does have broader leaves than the rotala stem in there, so that might work. i could move the crypt there but I kinda like it where it is right now
 
The crypt is okay where it is, they could grow to be very tall. Just give my landscaping a try, I assure you it will be worth it. If you don't like it change it back. But I really like decorating fishtanks. (that's why I'm still here lol!)
 
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