Riverbed aquascape (attempt)

[seedoubleyou]

No need for anyone to apologise for what they like.
The reason a lot of Aquascapes are “samey”, is purely because it’s those aquascapes that have attracted people into the hobby, and so they re-create what they liked.

I highly recommend to anyone starting out, that they copy an Aquascape that they like.
This guarantees they end up with something they like visually and allows them to get a feel for putting materials together.

Sometimes on this forum threads tend to move away from their original topic. Like this one has. The OP only wanted some pointers on hardscape placement.

I get that we’re all passionate here, it’s what makes it a great forum, just remember that some people are only starting their journey and don’t need all of our personal opinions on what’s wrong with the hobby.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

I’ve always fancied a riverbank aquascape but I can’t decide on what to use for the backing. I have used polyurethane foam coated in epoxy and sand that looked quite effective but I’m not sure about doing that again.

 

[IJLFishy]

I’ve always fancied a riverbank aquascape but I can’t decide on what to use for the backing. I have used polyurethane foam coated in epoxy and sand that looked quite effective but I’m not sure about doing that again.

I haven't even thought about doing a background tbh. I'll have a think about it though!

Come together nicely. I think pebbles/cobbles are one of the hardest stones to work with.
The right plants will finish it off nicely. Some large epiphytes and tall sweeping grass type plants will compliment your scape and tank dimensions.

I was thinking along the lines of vallisneria and various cryptocoryne's. Then anubias attached to various parts of the wood and in between the rocks in the area by the wood, a couple of riccardia mats on a couple of stones. Perhaps some moss on the branches of the wood but maybe less is more?

Anyway I kind of had a rethink and used these photos as inspiration.



And have come up with this:




I hoping once wet the rocks all look a bit more uniform. Not sure whether to add more small detailing stones or not though.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

There are these sort of things but I’ve not seen one I like.

 

[seedoubleyou]

There are these sort of things but I’ve not seen one I like.View attachment 210751

I think this is more river bank than river bed.

 

[LMuhlen]

I like the new photos better than the first ones, but I worry that an excess of plants would move you away from your original concept too much. Looks like a "less is more" layout, so keep that in mind when planting.

 

[IJLFishy]

I like the new photos better than the first ones, but I worry that an excess of plants would move you away from your original concept too much. Looks like a "less is more" layout, so keep that in mind when planting.

Yeah I'm thinking the same. I think I'm going to start the 'cycle' prior to planting so I can have a good think about what I want to do with it.

 

[IJLFishy]

Wood is now glued and have added some gravel with shades of brown to try and tie in the river gravel with the bigger stones. May have gone too far with it...I'm not sure?

 

[OllieTY]

Looks really nice, i'd be chuffed with that layout!

 

[_Maq_]

May have gone too far with it...I'm not sure?

Solely my opinion, you won't agree most likely, but I'd carry the minimalist outlook to the very end: drop that wood.
Plants: Cyperus helferi > Blyxa japonica > some species of smaller Eriocaulon.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Only an observation but the pebbles - looks good but slightly spaced too much, try some next to each other and some half their size mixed in, ?

 

[Wookii]

Solely my opinion, you won't agree most likely, but I'd carry the minimalist outlook to the very end: drop that wood.
Plants: Cyperus helferi > Blyxa japonica > some species of smaller Eriocaulon.

+1 the stones and gravel look good (if a little too evenly spaced), but the spider wood doesn't work so well if the goal is a river scape. I'd remove it too, and achieve that higher back area with planting of grass like stems. Or if you really must have some wood in there, select a piece that looks more like it could have fallen into a river from a nearby tree, and more linear in shape. Some pieces of more old school bog wood can be good for that.

 

[Conort2]

Only an observation but the pebbles - looks good but slightly spaced too much, try some next to each other and some half their size mixed in, ?

I agree, it looks good but just a little too uniform. Can you add some more rocks of a similar size to fill in the gaps.

 

[IJLFishy]

Thanks all for your comments and advice!

I've taken it on board and it has definitely influenced my final scape. Totally get where Maq And Wookii are coming from regarding the wood but I've decided to persevere with it anyway (not least because it was already glued in place 😅). I do like the wood and although it may not be seem authentic to the keener eye, for me I really like how looks in the scape. That may change but it works for me.

I added in some extra stones to fill the gaps, tried a few arrangements but settled with this. May still suffer from looking a bit uniform but anything else I tried looked more contrived to me. That's probably more to do with my lack of imagination though 😬.



Also I've asked in my thread in the filter section but do people generally use clip to secure the filter hose to their steel lily pipes or just trust that it won't slip?

Thanks again!

 

[Wookii]

for me I really like how looks in the scape

And honestly, not matter what I or anyone else says, its your tank, in your house, so that is really all that matters.

May still suffer from looking a bit uniform but anything else I tried looked more contrived to me. That's probably more to do with my lack of imagination though 😬.

Don't beat yourself up about that - I think it is literally one of the most difficult things to achieve, our humans minds just can't synthesise the randomness of nature, even subconsciously we strive for order and regular patterns. Sometimes the best option is to just tip a bucket of hardscape into a tank, and leave it where it lands - as soon as we intervene, we instantly add order to the chaos.

 

[AlecF]

Looks really good. If you do get some Cory they'd probably appreciate a little corner with all sand no pebbles.

 

[_Maq_]

Very true words, @Wookii .

Now, @IJLFishy , you've collected such beautiful stones that I struggle to imagine what plants to add not to hide the stones' beauty.
One little idea conforming to that would be to employ as many epiphytes attached to that root as possible.

 

[IJLFishy]

Very true words, @Wookii .

Now, @IJLFishy , you've collected such beautiful stones that I struggle to imagine what plants to add not to hide the stones' beauty.
One little idea conforming to that would be to employ as many epiphytes attached to that root as possible.

Thanks for the suggestion. Agreed, I am weary of over planting. Keeping it on the conservative side concentrating on epiphytes around the root would preserve beauty of the stones.

It's a shame there's so much aqua soil in bags underneath the sand at the back and side. I know it will leach ammonia for some time. I was considering some very very sparse planting of some cryptocoryne but unsure tbh.

 

[bazz]

It's a shame there's so much aqua soil in bags underneath the sand at the back and side. I know it will leach ammonia for some time.

Be careful to do plenty of water changes for a couple of weeks and keep that light toned down for a while, it looks quite bright.
If you're intending to grow only epiphytes and crypts you may well be a contender for a dark start taking all the hard work of the initial water changes out of the equation and I think the Crypts will thank you for being planted into a slightly more mature/stable environment.
As always though there is more than way to skin a cat.
Cheers!

 

[Redsedge]

Great looking scape and it’s made my mind up to go with river pebbles/cobbles rather than dragon stone or some of the other more expensive options. I get where some people are coming from regarding the risk of generic looking scapes if we all use the hard scape materials sold by our local stores, but as a novice (just getting to the hardscaping point in my first scape) I think it’s a really difficult decision to take risks which could potentially ruin a set up that’s taken time and not inconsiderable expense to create. Sure, once we get more experienced we can perhaps experiment a bit more. Looking forward to seeing how this looks once planted. Well done.