My First Hardscape Please Critique

[Keith GH]

Tommy

That is another great improvement. Still a little more to do. By doing it this way you can see the progress you have made.

Pathway "Big and Empty"
Break up a rock and scatter them all all over the pathway. What ever you do under no circumstances carefully place them if so you could easily finish up with an unnatural look.
If its all good press them into the substrate as if they have been there for a very long time.
If a few are close together fill the gaps with substrate ready for a few low plants.

Don't forget to level the Substrate at the front its a big must.

Finally find some twiggy bits and pieces.

Keith

 

[Tommy]

Tommy

That is another great improvement. Still a little more to do. By doing it this way you can see the progress you have made.

Pathway "Big and Empty"
Break up a rock and scatter them all all over the pathway. What ever you do under no circumstances carefully place them if so you could easily finish up with an unnatural look.
If its all good press them into the substrate as if they have been there for a very long time.
If a few are close together fill the gaps with substrate ready for a few low plants.

Don't forget to level the Substrate at the front its a big must.

Finally find some twiggy bits and pieces.

Keith

Hi Keith, yes I definitely see the progress doing it this way its very rewarding. Ive dropped bits of rock down the path and levelled the substrate but I am struggling to get it perfectly straight.

Can you recommend a type of branch that will match mine when placed in water?

What length twiggy bits should I get ? I have some other branches which I bought with the ones in the tank out of the same box in my LFS, but when I put them in the bath to get them waterlogged it turned out some were really dark (the ones in tank) and the others really light coloured. Looking at them side by side they look the same, cant see any obvious difference.

Thanks again Keith really appreciated mate

 

[Tommy]

Been having a bit play around with plant placement. Here's what it looks like now.

 

[Hades]

Nice to see the evolution through the thread!

Sorry if i missed it but what lights are you using? What are the spec's and how long do you run them?
Can you dim them or are you planning to add some floaters or ...?

I ask this because i am always a bit wary when introducing (newly bought) bucephalandra's in a starting, immature tank.
But in this case i'd worry even more for the ones that are attached high in the wood.
Looks like they will be getting plenty of light from the word go, which can possibly be lethal in unstable waterparameters.

They are quite hardy plants but do take some time to adjust plus they are sensitive for waterquality and changes/moves ime.
So be prepared for intervention and keep a close watch on them, frequently check leaves and roots for melting/rotting i'd say.

Good luck!

 

[Tommy]

Nice to see the evolution through the thread!

Sorry if i missed it but what lights are you using? What are the spec's and how long do you run them?
Can you dim them or are you planning to add some floaters or ...?

I ask this because i am always a bit wary when introducing (newly bought) bucephalandra's in a starting, immature tank.
But in this case i'd worry even more for the ones that are attached high in the wood.
Looks like they will be getting plenty of light from the word go, which can possibly be lethal in unstable waterparameters.

They are quite hardy plants but do take some time to adjust plus they are sensitive for waterquality and changes/moves ime.
So be prepared for intervention and keep a close watch on them, frequently check leaves and roots for melting/rotting i'd say.

Good luck!

l,Hi Hades, lighting is the standard white only led that ships with the fluval roma 240 tank, it is 14.5 watt not dimmable. Thanks for the info on the bucephalandras I will keep an eye on them

 

[Keith GH]

Tommy

Now you are getting very close to the fine tuning which is possibly the most difficult part to do.

Rocks with Red dots remove.
You have made a mistake by placing the largest small rock at the back. By relocating them so the largest is at the front this will help to give you a greater depth (Front to Back).

What length twiggy bits should I get ?

That is one question I cannot answer only you can see what works and what does not.
The idea is to make it look like very natural as if they have fallen off the branches above.

Keith

 

[Lee iley]

It's looking really good now Tommy well done.

 

[Tommy]

Tommy

Now you are getting very close to the fine tuning which is possibly the most difficult part to do.

Rocks with Red dots remove.
You have made a mistake by placing the largest small rock at the back. By relocating them so the largest is at the front this will help to give you a greater depth (Front to Back).



That is one question I cannot answer only you can see what works and what does not.
The idea is to make it look like very natural as if they have fallen off the branches above.

Keith

Thanks Keith, I will have to get some twigs online Im struggling to find small ones local, Got a couple of bigger ones and place them in now sure if it looks right, also had a play around with the pathway stones, not sure if Ive got that right either.

 

[Tommy]

It's looking really good now Tommy well done.

Thanks Lee its getting harder now Im getting down to the finer details, Im starting to struggle a bit.

 

[Keith GH]

Tommy

Thanks Lee its getting harder now I'm getting down to the finer details, I'm starting to struggle a bit.

Great now you are in the hardest part in Aquascaping the finishing.
There is one massive cure leave it alone for at least one week and more if necessary.
I can guarantee you will have a complete fresh and new approach.

Here is a very big plus the RH side is 99.9% finished.
That leaves the pathway and maybe the front LH side.
Here are a few things to "think" about.

The pathway looks too formal and uninteresting by positioning a rock up a whisker further towards the back and, preferably under the other rock will break up the evenly shaped pathway.

Two front rocks big tick the remainder look as if very carefully positioned not as in nature.

A few suggestions as to where plants will certainly help and soften the rocks.


Keith

 

[Tommy]

Tommy


Great now you are in the hardest part in Aquascaping the finishing.
There is one massive cure leave it alone for at least one week and more if necessary.
I can guarantee you will have a complete fresh and new approach.

Here is a very big plus the RH side is 99.9% finished.
That leaves the pathway and maybe the front LH side.
Here are a few things to "think" about.

The pathway looks too formal and uninteresting by positioning a rock up a whisker further towards the back and, preferably under the other rock will break up the evenly shaped pathway.

Two front rocks big tick the remainder look as if very carefully positioned not as in nature.

A few suggestions as to where plants will certainly help and soften the rocks.


Keith

Thanks very much Keith, I will work on the bits you have outlined, I will sit on it for a bit like you say and let the tank cycle, going to do a water change tomorrow and test the water.

 

[rebel]

Great improvements guys. Well done Keith and Tommy.

 

[Tommy]

Great improvements guys. Well done Keith and Tommy.

Thank you rebel appreciated. I think its Keith that deserves most of the credit, I'm just tagging along lol, I have to say Ive learned a lot with Keith's guidance. I wouldn't have anything like Ive got now without his help. I feel honoured he is taking the time out to guide me through this process.

 

[Keith GH]

Tommy

Its the old Trade Teacher in me its something I can do plus, I like helping others.

Keith

 

[Tommy]

Tommy

Its the old Trade Teacher in me its something I can do plus, I like helping others.

Keith

Keith, I am starting to think I might have made the wrong choice for fish stocking with the Geophagus, if I were to go with different fish would I be able to plant in the sand? and if I could would I be better off doing it this way to get a better looking scape. Planting in the sand will open up more plant choices, which plants would you recommend? Thanks.

 

[Keith GH]

Tommy

To be perfectly honest my knowledge of plants is no where near a few of the plant experts on this Forum.

When asking about plants post a photo of the tank plus the sandy areas where you would like to grow plants plus, High or Low Tech.

Keith

 

[Tommy]

Tommy

To be perfectly honest my knowledge of plants is no where near a few of the plant experts on this Forum.

When asking about plants post a photo of the tank plus the sandy areas where you would like to grow plants plus, High or Low Tech.

Keith

No worries Keith Ive asked in the plant section

 

[Tommy]

I have done a couple of changes (for the better I hope ). Added a few more bits of wood and a few plants here and there, and a couple of moss balls that Im not sure what to do with yet. Some of the plants are still in pots as I am not yet decided where they should go. I still need to get some more plants but that will have to wait a week or so.

Let me know what you think of the changes Ive made, good and bad Thanks

 

[Lee iley]

It's looking very good Tommy. I would put some more plants on the left of the tank looks a little bare compared to the other side. But it's a massive improvement mate well done.

 

[Tommy]

It's looking very good Tommy. I would put some more plants on the left of the tank looks a little bare compared to the other side. But it's a massive improvement mate well done.

Thanks Lee appreciated mate Ive not got round to doing anything with the left yet, going to try and get the right side perfect and the centre but no idea what to do with the left side. I am going to get some more crypts and a few more stem plants as Ive only got 2 stems in there.