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Critique my hardscape Opinions on my dragonstone hardscape

MattW

Member
Joined
27 Dec 2017
Messages
59
Location
Surrey, United Kingdom
Hi all,

So decided to completely rescape my 125L tank, reusing all the dragon stone I had previously (smashed up the big rocks I had in previously) to create a more appealing hardscape. I've come up with this scape currently, would love to hear opinions on it and suggestions on how it may be improved.

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Also, I'm debating possibly adding some driftwood to the scape, I don't have any usable pieces so i'm open to suggestions on type (I'm thinking manzanita as an option), I think it'd look nice going for a root like affect over the dragon stones, however considering how the scape has come out I do think I run the risk of possibly drowning out the 'jagged' shape of the dragon stone too much.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Many Thanks
 
I quite like it but think it needs more height and maybe seperation to create a bit of a valley in the centre
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perhaps? Also more slanting of the rocks away from each other.

Dodgy picture attached lol
 
I quite like it but think it needs more height and maybe seperation to create a bit of a valley in the centre perhaps? Also more slanting of the rocks away from each other.

Dodgy picture attached lol

Hi, appreciate the prompt response.

I do agree, I separated the rocks out to create a path leading backwards, I was at first reluctant thinking that the path would end up being too centred however I feel it has come out quite well.

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As far as wood goes, what do you think? I'm starting to feel it is best left as rock work only however i'm interested in your viewpoint.

For height I plan on using amazon swords among some other taller plants to create some height, any suggestion on other methods for creating height? I'll also be attaching anubias within the rockwork.
 
If you could, I think you should elevate the rocks even more with emphasis on the left hand side and bring the far left rock up slightly more above its neighbouring rock. An inch or 2 could make a big difference, but the positioning of the rocks looks really good to me. When planting on the rocks, smaller plants could make the rocks look larger and could merge the rocks to unify the aquascape. Some nice choices could be anubias nana and various bucephalandra for their different textures and colours and perhaps some moss to age the scape and hide unsightly roots and rhizomes, but you have nice rock-work so don't cover it all up especially at its peaks.
What sort of set up is this?
What's the type of lighting, CO2, fertilisation and what growth rates do you want to achieve?
If you answer this I'm sure someone can help you more on suitable plant choices. What I envisage is a U-shape of background planting otherwise I think it could look too flat (your tank is already narrow) and won't compliment the rock-work so well. Valisneria can grow quite tall which will be good for a deep tank and is fairly undemanding, some shorter stem plants could work and it could look quite interesting having open space above. If you use finer leaved plants in the background and broader leaved plants in the front that could create some more depth. Also, I think you should keep the 'pathway' fairly shallow with shortish plants at its end. That tank really needs a background to disguise the equipment maybe black, white or translucent or if you want to splash out you could get lily pipes.
Anyway, your tank could and hopefully will become a real work of art and only do what you want to and play by instinct.
Good luck
 

Cheers for the reply.

Will look at raising the rocks tomorrow, think it's an interesting idea to add a little more height as mentioned given this is a reasonably deep tank. As far as plants go i'm going to be reusing some of the plants from the old "scape" which does include an anubias nana petite, I have a fairly flattish leftover bit of dragon stone which I could attach it to and maybe wedge it somewhere within the rockwork, I've also purchased some new plants including bucephalandra wavy green and also some crypt parva which I think would look nice running in between the rock work at the bottom to hide where the rocks meet the substrate, along with some some more of the same substrate to add a bit more depth in places - I used filter media bags of inert gravel to make the two banks on either side, ideally i'd need a thicker layer of the tropica substrate to aid in planting.

As far as lighting i'm running a fluval fresh & plant 2.0 LED bar, a total of 32 watts along with a fluval wifi controller to cycle the lighting. Fertilisation is using the EI method, I currently have some of the evolution aquascaper ferts I use with my nano tank but I have also purchased the starter pack from aquarium plant food today. CO2 has also just been setup, its a 3.15kg cylinder with a Co2Art regulator and intense inline diffuser. Though I know these two don't often go together (from my knowledge) I would like this tank to be fairly easy to maintain - it won't always be me maintaining the aquarium and i'd prefer not to put people through the weekly trimming of some tanks - however if that is necessary then they're quite happy to do it.

As far as equipment goes I have looked at possibly getting some of that frosting effect glass layer to give the tank a frosted white look, I have considered lily pipes however given the rim on this fluval tank I have a feeling it'll be quite hard to install them - do let me know if you've seen it done it's just all the lily pipes I've seen seem to be designed for rimless tanks.

Again really appreciate your input, I've dived deep with this project given it's my first true aquascape bar my nano tank so I appreciate the advice.
 
Sounds like this scape is really promising, I like what you've done.
All my input is based on my eye, not my experience as Im just about to scape my first, but I'm glad you found it helpful. I've read that low levels of additional CO2 can be really helpful with keeping plants happy and can compensate for lower light levels. If you plant slow growers like cryptocoryne, anubias, bucephalandra etc. they will still grow slowly, so for low maintenance pick plants like them. Most of those questions were to put information on the plate for more knowledgeable people to encourage them to input, but sounds like you could be capable of a full range of plants especially if your not bothered by growth rates. Stem plants could also bring up maintenance as they grow fast and need trimming.
Not sure what you're planning for your planting: do you want a carpet? I would definitely. If you don't want a carpet then an assortment of cryptocorynes could fill in.
 
Matt

I prefer your original rocky scape main reason it has great possibilities with very little position movements.

The large pathway you have created has divided the tank in half and no matter what you do it will always be the same.
With your original scape the RH side requires a lot more height.

The Substrate at the front is far better if its one level reason being its easier on the eye flow. With minimal moves I can give you three smaller interesting pathways.

Its your tank its your decision.

Keith:wave::wave:
 
Sounds like this scape is really promising, I like what you've done.
All my input is based on my eye, not my experience as Im just about to scape my first, but I'm glad you found it helpful.

Though you're new like me to scaping I appreciate all the input I can get, I find the good thing about scaping is everyone can appreciate it and will have an opinion. I do plan to carpet, using some hairgrass to carpet the majority of the front out - i've seen a few scapes with dragon stone and this plant seems to look good along with it. I've got a few cryptocorynes on order and also some bucephalandra, most of the plants I plan to use/have already ordered are somewhat slow growing like you mentioned, though a few will need the regular pruning to accommodate them.


Matt

I prefer your original rocky scape main reason it has great possibilities with very little position movements.

The large pathway you have created has divided the tank in half and no matter what you do it will always be the same.
With your original scape the RH side requires a lot more height.

The Substrate at the front is far better if its one level reason being its easier on the eye flow. With minimal moves I can give you three smaller interesting pathways.

Its your tank its your decision.

Keith:wave::wave:

Hi Keith, appreciate the response.

I'll have a play around with the ideas you guys have given me, some more substrate will be arriving tomorrow so it will allow me to stack the rocks slightly higher than I currently can. As far as the slope of substrate at the front goes I do agree, i've used a front slope on my nano tank to what I think is a good effect but a tank this size doesn't seem to accommodate this well, i'll be sloping the excess substrate backwards, this will also help with height. I'd love to see your suggested pathways, sounds like an interesting idea.

Many thanks everyone
 
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So I've had a play around with the scape today, thought I'd give it a go while I have the time. I've brought the two rock 'clusters' slightly closer to each other, not as close as the original but there's now less of a gap, trying it out to see whether I prefer to path or not.

I've also gone ahead and changed the substrate levels, mounded more towards the back and fairly even within the front area, I can then use the extra substrate now on its way to fill in the back a little more for planting, overall i'm really happy with the additional height this has created, the depth of this tank is now much better in my opinion seeing as it is a fairly narrow tank to start with, the extra height also helps much more in covering the output hoses of the filter.

The smaller rocks i've used to pad around the larger rocks i'm still debating, i'm thinking that if I was to bring them away from the big rocks slightly more it might create more detail especially on the right hand side which I feel is looking somewhat flat from the front view, would love you know what you guys think?
 
I would angle the rocks on the left slanting them slightly lower leading the eye more to the side, more like the other side. I think bringing them closer was a good move and I hope your more pleased with your scape now.
 
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