layout for new tank

[Martin in Holland]

I would like to have some feedback on my 1st attempt layout

very sure that the wood pile has to move more to the right and I also think I will be able to do with less stones, but the overall look will be similar. The left (wood) side will be heavy on the plants and for balance a bit of the same in the right front corner....the mountains will be surrounded by mosses and HC...unless every thing changes

 

[Ady34]

Hi Martin,
I really like the rock layout and disappearing river like area creating the valley. The stone positioning and sizes are great IMO, the wood looks a little out of proportion against the rock work.
I can't help feeling that this layout would look absolutely stunning with a single hardscape material, and the stone would be my choice. I would consider using some very slightly larger rocks on the left side also to give the effect of this mountain side being closer to the eye with those already positioned on the right being further away. There is a good potential for a huge sense of depth and perspective with this layout and I'm sure you could create an equally impressive stone layout on the left side to compliment that of the right I also think your plant choices will work well with this, perhaps flame moss could imitate a pine forest??
If your set on using the two materials I would perhaps integrate them more to add more balance otherwise it could look like two separate scapes in one.....unless of course that is what you would like?
Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[Martin in Holland]

My idea is to more or less look through some woodlands and seeing some mountains in the back....but I'm not married to it so anything can change...
Anyway, here is attempt nr 2

This time I need some more/bigger wood in the middle (between the bigger upright piece and the arch), the one that's there now looks out of proportion. Not sure about keeping the arch....

 

[jy_oc_hx]

I think the arch adds something extra to the tank. Not sure what but I do like the look of it. On the first lay out my only constructive criticism was the larger piece of wood in the foreground but as you've already stated you're looking for another piece I'll wait and see what it looks like when you get it. But up to press its looking extremely promising. Keep up the good work.

 

[flygja]

I like the sense of perspective of the disappearing river valley too. Some glosso in front, HC in the rear would enhance the perspective even more. Or HC is front and Riccia behind. I agree with Ady that the rocks look a bit out of proportion. The nearby wood is just too big for the faraway mountains. Planting will soften things however.

 

[Ady34]

My idea is to more or less look through some woodlands and seeing some mountains in the back

ah, cool, in which case i would remove any sand from the foreground on the left side. Just have the river sweep from the right so that you can plant densely at the front left to give the illusion that the wood is very close, this will also help put into proportion your larger wood pieces. Planting stems and heavily in the foreground with open space behind can help with adding depth and perspective like this example from Takashi Amano:




Hope this helps.
Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[Gill]

Reminds Me alot of the new Scape at Sumida that they just uploaded to YT

 

[Martin in Holland]

Thanks Ady...I'm gonna try this later.
This one looks similar to what I want to achieve

 

[Martin in Holland]

made a (badly done) drawing of how it hopefully will look like when it's planted...even hiding more of the spiky wood going up than here

 

[Ady34]

That will work a treat. Adding the heavier planting to the right foreground also will further enhance the feeling of distant mountains and tie the two sides together. The archway being a direct link. Good plan, look forward to more updates Are you considering starting a journal, I'd be interested to follow it if you did?
Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[tim]

Definitely journal this please Martin, looks very very good

 

[Martin in Holland]

After the whole weekend tying up moss to small stones it's still not finished, but the first photo is

I was hoping the sand would be lighter in color, but I guess after the "mountain" stones are more submerged in the plants that surrounds them it will be ok...
Plants now need to grow ....lets see after a few weeks/ months

 

[Gill]

Great Sense of perspective and the Arch brings a nice break to the midground. The shadows it will accentuate the overall look and feel

 

[Martin in Holland]

some more plants....but I have a little issue with my Kh....it's tooooo low...almost 0.0...Gh is also to low...I added some Gh and Kh plus chemical in the tank hoping it will get better soon...plants don't seem to like those low Kh and Gh.

 

[ltsai]

Looking good

 

[Martin in Holland]

update time...
So far it has been a bit of a struggle with getting the GH and KH higher...some plants died on me and are now replanted...also the HC doesn't really want to grow (the current falls a bit dead in that corner and CO2 is lower than they like) I planted some Marsilea Hirsuta instead in the hope they will grow and make a carpet of green...cut most leaves of the ferns because they where ugly...
Everything still needs to grow (I did cut it back once already) but it's starting to fill in nicely now even though there is still a plant hiding behind the bigger trunk.

indeed...those are IKEA kitchen cabinets

just planted some moss on the stones to make them less obvious and Marsilea Hirsuta around them (10 minutes before taking this picture)

 

[webworm]

Out of interest, how big is the tank ?

 

[tim]

Looks good Martin, hope the marsilliea takes off for you. Very nice layout.

 

[Martin in Holland]

Out of interest, how big is the tank ?

It's 120cm X 45cm high X 55cm deep

hope the marsilliea takes off for you. Very nice layout.

Same here...but the Riccia is doing well in that area, I guess Marsilliea will do nice too...

 

[Yo-han]

When I saw the hardscape it felt unnatural to me to only have some stones in one corner. Now being planted, I like it very much! Well done!!