How do u aquascape?

[eylk]

Hi people..

just a random discussion... How do you aquascape? Im not talking to the artistes and people with creative genes out there.. Im talking about poor folks like me..

Right now I trying to work on a theme thats somewhat overall dark in colour to show off my cardinals and (soon to come) rummys and guppies.

Do you hunt for pictures and then try to get parts to copy it or juz buy random stuff and get creative? The latter sounds like an technique for the rich...

let me know!

Thanks

 

[j_chicago]

There's a great site that talks about aquascaping tanks and tells you all the general rules, I'll try to find it, but I believe I have it bookmarked on my home PC.

Not the one I was looking for, but seems pretty decent.
http://artofaquascaping.blogspot.com/

I'll have to try to find the other one when I get home.

 

[eylk]

haha thanks a lot.. but anyways how do you aquascape ur tank?

 

[Star_Rider]

well one thing you can do is set up a biotope tank.

I usually try for biotope and set it according to species of plants and aquascape..the exception is with discus.
I liek them in planted tanks..whenin reality they live in areas strewn with forest litter. among tangles of wood low light with very light vegetation.

 

[Coler]

I go for a natural look, with a dark background (currently black, I have tried and liked navy).

As regards, the substrate, natural again, no deeper than an inch and a half, mostly just bed the rocks in (i.e. no mountains - the fish do that for me lol).

As regards, rocks, plants etc, think asymmetrical, and think in terms of groups of three. i.e. 3 plants together in a clump as opposed to a line of four.

Think of your tank also in terms of thirds, i.e. left, right, middle third. Don't put your feature e.g. a beautiful piece of driftwood.right precisely in one of the thirds, but have it sitting accross those lines.

Try to creat the perception of depth into the tank - i.e. tall things at the back, short at the front.

 

[Squawkbert]

^ some good info - I was going to acquaint you w/ the number phi, the golden ratio. This is key to drawing the eye around your composition - in aquascaping, photography, painting, whatever.

...If you want to know why the roughly 1/3 matters, check APC, search for Aquascaping 101 or just Google "Phi golden ratio" for a shorter answer.

 

[Coler]

^ exactly

and don't align features precisely parallel with the tank - so the driftwood/rockwork at a diagonal laterally is what you want.

remember nature does not do perfect symmetry

a good tip on rocks is to put a pile of larger ones with some smaller ones a couple of inches to the side, almost in a trail. this is how rocks fall in nature.

 

[wataugachicken]

aquascaping for po' folks? steal driftwood off federal forest land.









omg, kidding. . . .KIDDING!

don't steal from the wild fishies.

 

[eylk]

Haha you know, now that I've read all your advices (expect the stealing from federal land, lol) it sounds like common sense.. yet I've never tot of it.. Right now I do have 3 sections, left middle and right but it doesnt overlap and looks too fake!

I think that dark backgrounds are really nice especially if u have light coloured fishes and a over head aquarium light.. and that's wad I plan to achieve with my cardinals...

Wow thanks that's quite a lot to read at APC.. thanks for the link

Oh and I have 1 more inquiry... Does this kinda wood (the big 1 in the middle with 'legs' --bog wood, I think) darken to a black colour when soaked enuff?



Thanks

 

[j_chicago]

here's the link I mentioned I had earlier...
http://www.aquabotanic.com/aquascapingprincipals.html