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60x45x45 Optiwhite

Garuf

Member
Joined
30 Oct 2007
Messages
5,644
Location
Copenhagen
So she finally arrived, not without issue but the less said about that here the better.
The tank is amazing, really really good silicone work, immaculate really.
Here's my first scape, nothing too special, just seeing what works where. I've already learnt that Mazatania is very brittle!
dscf2134.jpg


Equipment wise I plan to run:
Diy led, slowly getting there, still doing research, the market moves so fast!Till that's built 2x24 luminaire.
1x ex1200 1x e1500 total turnover 2700lph or 34x volume an hour. Plenty of flow.
Pressurised co2, inline diffuser, should be in the post...

Expect loads of pictures, all terrible, very shortly!
In the mean time, feel free to critique and comment away, be as ruthless as you like, I would! :lol:
 
i really like the scape like that it would look awesome with Java moss on the branches
 
I'm going to see if the pets at home near to me will let me have the massive hunk off christmas moss that's growing in their sump so yeah, It's going to be pretty moss tastic as far as scapes go! This isn't and almost certainly won't be the last scape I try, just the one I was most happy with while tinkering in excitement at receiving the tank. The rock work is definately in need of improvement and the wood is a bit too chaotic in the foreground it's getting there though, I've tried to impliment golden section and triangular composition in my minds eye rather than the look, place, hope approach I'm normally guilty of taking.
I should soak the wood too, despite it being a heavy/dense wood it is still bouyant and Ideally I'd like to avoid scape shifting as much as possible as that spoilt my enjoyment of my early scapes knowing that it had all shifted and would never go back "right".
The strongly vertical aspect of the tank is hard to work with, but a pleasure, I had a 45x30x30 tank and loved the dimensions of that but it's not till you move up in scale and have it physically in front of you that you realise that it's just not the same thing having the same ratios but being larger, it's a whole different approach.
 
Looking good young man :lol:

Wanna get a move on with that LED unit if you ever want to put other plants in there though, I normally use 5x24 T5s on my 60x45x36cm tank and sometimes use 6x24W, highlight tank mind, the 45cm width front to back requires a good few tubes for complete coverage IME.

Best of luck with it, I like the wood ;) you have that nice algae stage to go through for the new tank, something to look forward too :D
 
I know, I know! Ever since ordering the wrong batch of LEDS and getting a telling off for time wasting I've been properly off put on the LED front, I always assume I've got it wrong somewhere and panic and decide against making a start. I'll get there eventually! I'd like a big heatsink, about 50x20cm then I wouldn't need a fan.

You really think 2x24 won't be enough? Good to hear some opinion on it before starting off. I was feeling confident after seeing toms cube with 1.7wpg and thought it'd be more than enough for the start up phase and maybe even in the long run.
Thanks, the wood is getting a shuffle about when I get home, I'm really not happy with the rockwork yet.

Urgh, the algae stage, oh how I've missed you! :lol:
 
Looking good bud... what's the plant list you have in mind?

Another thing... I think the substrate is banked way too steep for this style of scape - you don't need the extra height as you should get that from planting. Iwagumi's tend to have a steep bank as they need the height to add perspective and depth.
 
Hey, James. Mostly ferns, hairgrass, crypts maybe some blyxa. You know, the stereotypical nature scape. Ideally I need to go on the hunt for ideas, I feel like I've seen the same tanks for the last 3 years! I should try and break the mould but there's a lot that's already been done that almost everything falls into a pre-exsistant genre. I'm creating tacky as a genre and lumping in some of the newer scapes I've seen. :twisted:

Cheers for the tip on the substrate, there's 20l's in there, I chucked the load in and just started shuffling it about till it looked about right before adding the rockwork.

I really like Samc's tank, his plants couldn't be any more lush. His plant choice is great too. I did have a very clear idea what I wanted but since getting all the wood and that together I'm now less sure. Greatest plans of mice and men, huh.
 
dsc2588.jpg

A much better photo which give a better idea of the masses of depth and the 'choatic' wood and rock placement.
dsc2584b.jpg


Tank in-situ, The fairy lights aren't my intervention, Gf's are very persuasive creatures.
 
Looks really good garuf, is that the final scape or just a taster.
Look forward to seeing it planted mate.
Regards Wayne,
 
Thanks Wayney, Haven't decided, I went away for a couple of days and expected to fully hate it when I got back but it's really grown on me. I want to try a few more things but it's up there.
 
Looking good, Gareth. What are your plans for the foreground? The tank and stand look great, fits nicely in that space too. I'm putting together a similar set up at the moment so I'm keen to see what you actually decide to do here. Keep us updated with the progress!
 
The big long one that goes into the corner? Yeah, me too but it's a big piece that's attached to the one infront of it. I don't have a bit chunky enough to replace it though.

Cheers, Dan. Foreground, probably Eleocharis, haven't really thought about it yet other than where there's bare glass, it'll be white sand and if I can get some, graded gravel.

Equipment is in flux at the moment, Lighting anyway, Led's are problematic, too much contrary info out there.
 
Cheers, Lisa. the hardscape is almost touching the glass, I'll push it back closer to the mid ground and see how that affects it.
The original reason it's so close is simply that I didn't want 1/3 or the footprint to be sand.
 
Nice looking set up, but it is The Clash poster that sets it a class apart from the others.

Dave.
 
Great looking tank Garuf! As others have said, the hardscape looks too close to the front of the tank given that you actually have a great deal of depth on this tank, also i don't think the rocks add much to the layout, there is huge contrast between the rocks and substrate and wood, something like petrified wood might suit it better? Great work on the placement of the wood though, looks fantastic.
 
Thanks for the tips Everyone.
I liked the wood so much I tried to keep it the same but add to it and make more use of the depth. It's a lot harder than I anticipated, it's turned into a pricarious blancing act until I can zip tie it all together as the final deal.

Dan, I see what you mean about the rocks, I did intend for them to be mostly hidden by plants an moss but the more I look the more I think you're right. Petrified would be nice but I simply don't have the money to drop the £50's worth I'm pretty sure I'd need. It's not a cheap stone.

Clash fan, Dave? I wish I had a large poster of it, they're becoming my favourite band, they never played the punk card like the sex pistols but did more for the Genre than any other group except maybe the damned. Really great music, well written, well produced and punk without sounding it.
 
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