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d2's Planted Tank Adventurama

Very beginning stages of my hardscape. :)
Pile of lava rock in the corner to reduce the amount of soil I'll need in that area.
Three pieces of River Wood. And starting to add the Gray Mountain Stone. More stone and Ultum Soil is next.

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Grand wood :D


I’d leave the soil for a bit
Practise some layouts first ... they’re easy to change until you dump in the soil and then everything starts mixing :mad:

If you place the lava rock (slightly loose) in some tights/nylons, it’s easy to change things about - the looseness lets you mold/shape the lava “bench”

Once you’ve got a scape you like, let it sit a couple days, look at it in different lights and various angles (& moods)

The disadvantage of a bigger tank is if you decide you’re not really that keen on the scape in a few weeks/months, it’s a major job changing it - another reason to take your time with just growing in the plants, no livestock to worry about during partial rescapes ;)

Depending how much scaping you’ve done or how particular you might be, fill with water at the wood/stone/NO soil stage - underwater and lighting can dramatically alter perceptions

Mark Evans journals are excellent examples of playing with scapes “in tank” ... and then settling on some very different paths
 
Grand wood :D


I’d leave the soil for a bit
Practise some layouts first ... they’re easy to change until you dump in the soil and then everything starts mixing :mad:

If you place the lava rock (slightly loose) in some tights/nylons, it’s easy to change things about - the looseness lets you mold/shape the lava “bench”

Once you’ve got a scape you like, let it sit a couple days, look at it in different lights and various angles (& moods)

The disadvantage of a bigger tank is if you decide you’re not really that keen on the scape in a few weeks/months, it’s a major job changing it - another reason to take your time with just growing in the plants, no livestock to worry about during partial rescapes ;)

Depending how much scaping you’ve done or how particular you might be, fill with water at the wood/stone/NO soil stage - underwater and lighting can dramatically alter perceptions

Mark Evans journals are excellent examples of playing with scapes “in tank” ... and then settling on some very different paths
That all sounds good and great advice. But it's not my style. ha! :D
I research and sketch beforehand and then attack with a solid plan, making minor changes as needed as I go.
Maybe it's because my day job as a graphic designer requires me to literally spend days solving the same problem as many different ways as I can. In my personal life, screw that. I figure out what I want and then go for it. lol
But I'm definitely going to need help when it comes time for planting! I'm clueless in that respect. o_O

rage unfollow
LOL! :hilarious:
 
Moving along... all the rock is in.
Soil too, but I think I still want it higher on the right?
How close to the top do I need it to be if I want plants that grow out of the water?

The front left is supposed to be sand.
The plan is for the right to have a heavier amount of plants, and less plants and more open as you get to the left.

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Wow, gorgeous scape, Dennis.
Did you add any substrate?
I think the height of the right slope will depend on the type of plants you intend to use for emerged growth.
If you have time, check this video from Green Aqua where they hid the overflow with a slope for emerging plants (around 5:20)


Seems like the water level is about 4-6".
 
I think the arc of the left hand side wood piece is a little unnatural, one would expect that in nature it would have fallen to its side. If you like it that way I would suggest you attach it to the root on the right so it looks like a branch.
 
Great looking project,
How close to the top do I need it to be if I want plants that grow out of the water?
Depends on the species, most stems will grow out of the water at the height you've got so far. But if you really want that emergent growth look the higher the substrate the better.
 
Wow, gorgeous scape, Dennis.
Did you add any substrate?
I think the height of the right slope will depend on the type of plants you intend to use for emerged growth.
If you have time, check this video from Green Aqua where they hid the overflow with a slope for emerging plants (around 5:20)

Awesome, will check it out. Thanks! :)

Seems like the water level is about 4-6".

I think the arc of the left hand side wood piece is a little unnatural, one would expect that in nature it would have fallen to its side. If you like it that way I would suggest you attach it to the root on the right so it looks like a branch.
Thanks! And yes, right now it is a bit unnatural. The thought is to cover that area with some plants to help blend where the two pieces join so it looks more like one long branch.
Great looking project,

Depends on the species, most stems will grow out of the water at the height you've got so far. But if you want really want that emergent growth look the higher the substrate the better.
Thank you. :)
 
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When plants produce emergent growth, submerse growth is often “neglected” so the overall effect is the loss of underwater leafs - by planting closer to the surface, everything looks prettier ;)
 
When plants produce emergent growth, submerse growth is often “neglected” so the overall effect is the loss of underwater leafs - by planting closer to the surface, everything looks prettier ;)
Thanks! :)
 
Well... i think my hardscape is basically done!
Added a 6th bag of soil today. The sand went in last week, with a styrene plastic border wall.
I used the same stuff to create some substrate supports within the soil as well, especially on the right side.
The only thing I may add is some small gray rubble haphazardly along the substrate division.

I cut and screwed the long skinny branch into the main branch right where it seemed that an old branch used to be.
Stainless steel screw with a little wood filler to cover the head.
Hopefully with some plants covering that area it will look pretty natural.

Also started running the tubing from the canisters to the glassware.

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And finally, the Auto Top-Off and Auto Water Change are both fully functional.
The AWC changes out equal amounts of water. I haven't officially timed it yet but I think it's moving around half a liter per 30 seconds.
That will run automatically many times per day. I have yet to calculate an approximate amount I want to change over the course of 24 hours.
ATO and AWC Input are on the right and AWC Output is on the left.

Here's the ATO and AWC input lines as I was connecting them to the lines coming in through the wall.

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So it's just about time to start looking for plants!
I guess that's the next discussion and where I'm really going to need help.
And I do need to finish gathering Co2 gear.
 
OK ALL.... TIME FOR PLANT SUGGESTIONS!!!!
This is the point where I'm really a NOOB and haven't much of a clue. Need some serious guidance.

One thing I know is that I'm going to go with Monte Carlo for some ground cover. Which is a higher light plant.
So I'm assuming that since this is the plant that will be farthest from the light, the rest of my plants are going to have to be of the higher light variety, except maybe out in the corners.
This leads me to my first dilemma... what to put on the branches that is not moss. I need something for the horizontal arching branches. And then something to kinda grow up/out from the vertical?

Thoughts? o_O
 
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