Newly aquascaped 65g (pic), comments welcome

[plantbrain]

Blinky,
Glad to see you kept the groups larger than a few plants.
That's a good sign in design.

I am really picky about my hard scapes, the wood, rock gravel.
A great deal of time should be given to this.
I spent several months haggling over one design.
I'm still not happy with it either

Also, consider looking at the AGA's ADA's and ADG's designs and see what appeals to your sense of aesthetic.

I have never been one to judge others much, I just don't like it because they cannot get inside my head and I cannot do the same for them.

I think if the tank achieves your goal is the key.

Take your time, you have plenty, pick any new plant very carefully.
Realize also that you can switch a plant out and add another one easily as time goes on.

You can also search the Stages of the Aquatic Gardener on the APD for some other ideas.

Honestly, you are coming along quite well.

Areas I would suggest you play with and explore later:
The wood placement. After a big cleaning, you might decide to place most of the wood upward in the rear corner, an asymmetrical design.
Add moss to the wood.
Replace the Hygro with L aromatica(will add some purple and color).
Replace the java fern with a narrow leaf variety.
Add more Crypts along the bottom, consider dwarf Lobelia in place of them.
Add a cork backing to a piece of glass and use this for a moss background instead of plain glass.
Paint the back of the tank with acrylic latex black paint.

Do not run out and do these things, take your time, think about them, see how you feel about them and try them out.

Regards,
Tom Barr

www.BarrReport.com

 

[Mooch28]

Beeks, you're so sweet *hug*. I appreciate the thought, but I've tried several types of Ludwigia, and just didn't find it suited the tank. I'm actually leaning towards something that's a) not a stem and b) a completely different shape than anything else in the tank - if the Lotus doesn't work, or I can't find one, I may try something else that meets those criteria (or do nothing for now).
Mooch, it was rediculously high maintenance (full of stems, my choice), and was going from nicely full to jungle within a matter of days, requiring weekly or twice weekly pruning. I'm starting to experiment now, and the only two really fast growers left in this tank are the Hygro and the Rotala (which grows much slower than the Hygro). Things like Bacopa are easy to keep in check compared with H. polysperma - you can almost watch Hygro grow before your eyes!
I'd love to see your tank, I'm becoming a real Crypt fan and it sounds very interesting; having too many stems is losing its appeal after 5 months of snipping and replanting in more than one tank, I've started cutting back and need some background ideas for my 14g and maybe the 65g as well.

That why i went with Crypts Blinky, very easy to maintain, and the look great in the background if you've got enough. I got 7 of them by the way for 20 bucks! Go down to aquarium depot in Brampton, and ask Dee for a deal, he will give you one. Hes a great guy. Hes also getting some very rare crypts within the next few weeks. he says the have all these coloured and white stripes on them. No idea what they are, but they are tropic plants he tells me. Ill defenately be checking them out, and maybe you should too!

But i know what you mean, i only had stems for a month, and i got sick of them. Plus my watersprite wasen't just growing up, but also towards the sides, and pretty much all over the place.

The only thing with the crypts i got is that they are only currently 6 inches high, so i can barely see them in the background. But after a good month of settling in, the should take off, and produce a new leaf every week or so, like my other two are!

Ill get you a pic, within a couple of months, because i you cant really see them in the back right now.

 

[Blinky]

Wow, thanks for the ideas Tom! The background is painted black already, that was a decision I made before setting up and I'm glad I did. Interesting idea about the wood, I didn't think of that. It's actually three pieces of bogwood, so it can be moved around/piled up more in future if I choose. I think right now I'd like either a concave or convex design, but the stems make it a challenge to shape the background.
I read 'Stages of the Aquatic Gardner' just the other day, really enjoyed it! It showed me both how far I have come, and how far I've got to go - I'm looking forward to everything I'll learn in the future.
Thanks so much for the feedback, it's appreciated

Mooch, can't wait to see pics

 

[Rosemary]

What a gorgeous tank!

 

[Beeker]

I see what you are saying about the stem plants. They can be a little unruly.

Comments are welcome, let me know what you think

Here's what I think:

I think I am going to subscribe to this thread so I can just open it and stare at the picture. It is a great tank.

 

[Blinky]

Thanks you guys, I had a pretty awful day, that was nice to come home to. I have to say, before I found AC I knew next to nothing about plants - I've learned so much here, it's incredible. The tank is healthy and the fish are happy and I attribute a great deal of the credit to everyone here. I learn by asking questions and reading, but I've also learned lots by researching to help other people. Every time I look at my tanks I'm so glad I found this place

 

[wickerman]

thats a great looking tank
did it take you long to scape?
do you find that the more time you try and get things to look natural the harder it is..lol

 

[Blinky]

Thank you
I'm still working on the aquascaping - I actually drew the plan up on the bus, then came home, took everything out, pruned, and tried to make it match the picture
Yes, I really do find that the more I learn the harder things get - it's probably because we continually raise the bar for ourselves as we learn. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the chemistry of mixing my own ferts. It's difficult, but I love learning new things.

 

[greendeltatke]

I think it's a beautiful tank too. If you want the gravel to be more natural looking you can put in a few slightly bigger stones. It would be an easy way to add more color to your tank as well.

My eight year old thinks you need a shipwreck with a bubbler.