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How do you plan your Aquascapes

Greenfinger2

Greenfinger2

Member
Joined
21 Sep 2013
Messages
4,174
Location
Enfield London
Hi All, I was wondering the other day how do you plan your new Scape ideas.

I use a cardboard box cut to the size of the tank I want to scape :) Then I buy or collect my hardscape from nature.Using cat litter as a substitute substrate.

Couple of photos of scapes ideas that I am working on.

One with DW and Slate and A rock Scape.

002_zpsi5zhydp2.jpg


001_zps7ne1zysd.jpg



Looking forward to seeing and learning how you plan your scapes :)
 
I have a wooden board which is the width of the tank, but slightly bigger front to back. I drew a line on that in pencil to mark the actual tank size and that gives me my base dimensions. Doing it on a board means I can lift it up with the weight of rocks etc on it and move it out the way, then come back to it another day and tinker some more. It does not allow me to use substrate, but I try to visualise without substrate involved. For height I just use whatever is lying around to build things up. For my current rescape I had rocks and wood at the back stood on rolls of gaffer tape and tubs of fish food to simulate the height at the back. I'll see if I can find a phone pic...
 
but no seriously, sometimes i'll buy rock or wood that i think could be promising, then i see if it works. Sometimes the beauty of that approach is that you either hit gold, or it really doesn't work at all...i have plenty spare wood, rock etc haha from this!
 
Excuse the mess in the background...
9c94c3fde51d7af2aeea5e2dd7da7d37.jpg
 
Aqua360 said:
but no seriously, sometimes i'll buy rock or wood that i think could be promising, then i see if it works. Sometimes the beauty of that approach is that you either hit gold, or it really doesn't work at all...i have plenty spare wood, rock etc haha from this!
Click to expand...


I have a lot of spare DW and rocks plus lots of bits an bobs hanging around too:eek: Like you if I see it and like it I buy it for future projects :D
 
Wisey said:
I have a wooden board which is the width of the tank, but slightly bigger front to back. I drew a line on that in pencil to mark the actual tank size and that gives me my base dimensions. Doing it on a board means I can lift it up with the weight of rocks etc on it and move it out the way, then come back to it another day and tinker some more. It does not allow me to use substrate, but I try to visualise without substrate involved. For height I just use whatever is lying around to build things up. For my current rescape I had rocks and wood at the back stood on rolls of gaffer tape and tubs of fish food to simulate the height at the back. I'll see if I can find a phone pic...
Click to expand...


Thank you for the feed back and photo:thumbup: Good idea with the board and being able to move it:cool: The box is flimsy and not so easy move.

Love the big pebbles :rolleyes:
 
Greenfinger2 said:
Love the big pebbles :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I only used a few, the rest are on the sale forums under the "River Cobbles" thread if you feel the need to expand your hardscape collection? Haha!

I buy stuff with an idea then don't used it, so I have all sorts of bits of wood and rock. I'm only in a small flat though, so trying to get rid of some, even though we do have access to a loft being top floor. I just sold a load of redmoor root and about 15KG of Dragon Stone a few weeks back. Just need to shift the river cobbles and some bogwood and I'm clear!
 
I normally choose a style and then pick the stuff I need and just fiddle with it. Normally ends up being something quite different from the original idea
 
I'm kinda of an in my head scaper too. Transferring that to reality can be pretty frustrating tho', so I'm learning to go with the flow a bit more...it usually evolves in to something quite different.
 
Greenfinger2 said:
001_zps7ne1zysd-jpg.84441.jpg
Click to expand...

P.S. I couldn't use this method anyway...as soon as my back was turned my cat'd be squatting in it ears pinned back and a stupid grin on his face doing his best to turn it in to a dirt tankhttp://data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAkGBxITEhITEhMTFhUVGBcbGBUSFRgYGBYYGhUYHRYgGCEYHygsGyYlHRUfITElJykrLjE6FyszODU4NystLi8BCgoKDg0OGw8QGjUlHyUrNTUvLTAyNjU1NTctNTc1LS0uLTcrLy0tLS0uLS83NS01LS0tKy0tNS01NS0rLSsrLf/AABEIAGAAYAMBIgACEQEDEQH/xAAcAAACAwADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAABwQFBgECAwj/xAA4EAACAAQDBgMGBAYDAAAAAAABAgADBBEFEiEGMUFRYXEHgaETIjJyscFSkZPRFBdzgpLhIzNC/8QAGQEAAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQBAgMF/8QAIREAAgIBBAMBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAECAxEEEiFBFDEyYSL/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AHjBBBAAQQQQAEEVG1hcUk5kmNLZFzBlNj7utvPdGGwnb6fLIE4e1TidFcduB7G3eM52xg8M1hVKayhoQRBwnFpNSmeS4YcRxU8mHCJ0XTzyjNrHDCCCCJICCCCAAggggAIII8auqSWpeYwVRvLGADA+KWPEZaRDvAaael/cXz3nsOcLvPGh24nSqipM6SxsVUNmFtV0uOlozpUDjeOXfLdNs6dK2wSJmFYrNppgmyWsw3g7mHJhxEOfZrHZdZJExNCNHQnVG4g/Y8YRJMazwrqmWtZB8MyW2YfIbqfK5HnF9NY4y29MpqK047u0OCCCCOic8IIIIACCCCAAhMbWbTGpnMQf+NCRLHCw0LdzDmcXBHOPn/B9mqia7yQMvsmKMzDipsbDju9YW1G54jHsY07isykRptSTHlnjTYnsFUSlzKxboy2v2I3RQSsPJ+I26cYTnVKPschbGXojAk6DWL/Z6qmUjGahUOwsbqDYXvbWIiBU0UanzJ5Rf0ex9ROXMTl6KL27mLV1ybzErZOKWJGn2Z28E6YsioVUdjZHU+6x5EH4Ty1N428ITFMBqZE2WlizM6hGUH48wy3HD/UPuHKZTeVPoTujBYcewgggjcxCOCbamOYrdpGIpKkre4lTLW+QwMELnaTbKZPZhKcpJF7ZSQzjmSNdeUdtq656DBy8klZs0ogcb1L3LMDztfWMGJtxDJ/gFxXCTTqyiauWxO5ZsvUX6H7wpp7N0nkbvgoxWBY+DeMzZOIS5BZjKqiyuhJIL5SVfXj7tr9Y1u28n2NSQu5gG9SD9I7eGvhzU09WKqrRZayb5FzBi7kEXFtwAJ73iNtnVGoq3Kaqvug8Da97eZ9Ivqfgz0/2d9h6YTqpc2oQFvO4A+sZbxkxmbOxCZIDMJVKVVEBIAfKCz6cfetfpGr2LmCnqVZ20YZTyFyLeoj08SvDmpqKs1VIizFnWzrmClHAAub7wQB2tBpvgNR9llspWvX4OrziWmyi6FzvYpYoxPO1tYi7Pbczad1E1jMkEgNmJLIPxKTqbcRFuMPXCsJFOzK01s1yNxmTNTboPtC0nNpGepscZLaaaeClF5PpNTfUbukcxW7NFjSU2a9/Yy733/AIsocQowjC4/t6qlpdMizN4Mxz7n9oHxd7gd4tvEGuaVRTCuhcqlxwDGx9PrCcefC19rjwhimpS5YGiW54C+5dAOgidhNW1M+eS5Uka8Qw6jjFYZ0dTMhJSw8occc8M1WJbXVU1MrZlU78kthcd4zzVXRv8T+0a7ZXaeQQJdTZGG6Z/wCW+b8J9I3knDpTAMpBB4rqPzENqtWLO4Vdjr42iPaovwb/ABb9ovcN2xrpKZVzMoGhmSmNh309YaU/D5KAs5CgcWNh+ZhebW7UySDKpfevo03gOic+8Q6lXzuJVjs42mXxbFptQ+ec5YjdwCjoOEQ5S3I0BAOobceh7x2lSb79BHuWAFhCnLeWNfiGPs74kozCXVS1lbgJiH3P7gfg73I7Qw4+bWh1eG1e06glF7koWS54hDZfS35Q7p7nJ7ZCd9Sj/SPXxAwx6iimrLBLrZ1A3kqb2HcXhFpOBF7x9LxmMZ2Eoqhi7S8rnUtLJUk9bb4tdQ5vKIpu2LDEj7SOpnCHFT+GNApuRMbozm3paLen2NoE3U0rzUH6xgtLLtmr1MekIT245iPSnrGT/rd1+Riv0MP6bsxRMLGmk2/pr+0VU/w7w9r2lZb/AIGYfeJelkvTIWpi/aEtPnvMN3Zm+di31McBRDePhfRc536hjj+V9FznfqGK+NZ+FvJgKXNHBeG3/K6i5zv1DEql8OKBN8tn+d2P3g8Wf4HkwE5SSZk5xLkoXc7lX78h1MPnZDBf4SllySQWFy5G7Oxu1unDyibh2FyZC5ZMtEHJFAv35xMhmmlQ57F7bt/HR//Z:sick:
 
Troi said:
P.S. I couldn't use this method anyway...as soon as my back was turned my cat'd be squatting in it ears pinned back and a stupid grin on his face doing his best to turn it in to a dirt tankhttp://data:image/jpeg;base64,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:sick:
Click to expand...


:eek::D
 
Prior to anything, I sketch/ draw my idea keeping hardscape material I have in mind.

If its an intricate hardscape I prefer doing hardscape in cardboard box too as you have shown, you can check my Living Bridge thread for that. For simpker scaper, I just sketch n execute in the tank directly.

Once basic hardscape is laid, I redraw it again on paper and work on a couple of different plant combinations.

One of my detailed drawings, for plant selection.

IMG_20160322_172548.jpg


One random drawing I made for paludarium
IMG_20160304_160418.jpg
 
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