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Rocky Scape Help!

Tom Bennett

Tom Bennett

Seedling
Joined
30 Jun 2017
Messages
19
Location
Scotland
Hi! Im currently scoping this 200Litre Fluval tank to house some Angelfish, i usually do a jungle type scape with lots of wood, but with this one i want to have more rocks in it, I had a vision but I'm just not feeling it. I feel the sand portion of the tank is too much and i want to reduce that to a smaller patch in the front right corner, but with the rocks I'm not happy with the placement wherever i put them and was hoping i could get some ideas for the rocks, potential plants, anything!

Ignore the plans, just threw them in after trimming from another tank!

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thank you! I'm being particularly hard on myself with this one i want it to be amazing and its my first time with mostly rocks! Definitely a new challenge!
 
I find scaping with rocks hard.
Usually I will leave the tank dry for a bit, so I can see if I can live with it.
 
I do but watching James Findlay he seems to choose the biggest most character rock first position it usually higher and work from that, something really bigger than the others
 
PARAGUAY said:
I do but watching James Findlay he seems to choose the biggest most character rock first position it usually higher and work from that, something really bigger than the others
Click to expand...

If you check with attention Findlay's work, he use indeed bigger rock that way but he also place the other rocks so he get the depth effect, that comes when rocks are bigger in the front and smaller and smaller in the back. For this effect you need a larger tank, more deepness and a biger difference between the tickness of the substrate, from front to the rear. In a clasic formation, the biggest rock stay in the background of the tank and in a third of the lenght of it. It is so called "the rule of the third".
 
Have you also seen the pile of rocks mr Findley can choose from? And than indeed, scape, go away for a day, come back and look, scape again, go away to get other rocks, scape again.. Go away for a day, look again.. That's less hard with a truckload of rocks in your studio.. For the most of us, with limited recourses, we see some mice hardscape need to first build a imaginary air castle and than buy it, go home and work.. And if it doesn't realy work out, we need to make concessions.. Forcing ourselfs not to look at the imperfections you just can't get around, or go back and buy some more without knowing is this finaly will do.. Darn tank to small or rock to big.. Etc..

Don't be to hard on yourself if you're not a brat with a daddy's allowance with an above average bank account. ;) It's way harder than all all the videos make it look especialy with limited resources.. The best plaster on the wound, is focus on the beauty and health of what lives around it.. Which actualy is 10 x more imortant anyway.. :thumbup:
 
I have to confess I've collected quite a lot of seiryu over the years but I still find scaping hard work...but for me that's part of the fun :)
I strongly suspect that what you see on Jame's videos is the culmination of several hours graft...one percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration. The final take does not tell the whole story ;)
It also takes time, patience and practice...if it were that easy everyone would be doing it :eek:
 
Thank you guys! Im still not happy with it, and im still unsure about the sandy area, and if that is too much, it needs broken up more. I was considering trying to carpet the Gravel, but at the moment i just feel like something is missing from the back left corner. i think it just looks too flat.
 
Yeah absolutely! ive ordered an external eheim canister so waiting for that but just wanted to get things started. Ive been thinking of using some umbrella hairgrass along the whole back of the tank but unsure if that would be too much. Bearing in mind its going to likely be an angelfish only tank with maybe a few corys.
 
I have found that cutting a cardboard template the same size as the bottom glass (trace around the tank),helps me to arrange the rocks or wood on the template until I see something I like.
I normally do this on a table which is close to eye level from a chair seated next to the table.
 
Get one of the Hydor inline heaters too :) I try and get everything I can out of the tank (more room for plants)
 
yeah defo! i want this one to look as clean and little clutter in terms of filters and heaters as possible. Ill be workiign on the tank this weekend so will provide an update! :) thanks for your advice
 
this is the next big choice to make. i havnt used it before but as im wanting to potentially carpet the gravel i feel it might be neccesary?
 
aw thank you! :) Ive never used it before and it wories me about it altering the PH etc. it seemed quite simple before like 'add Co2 your plants will be amazing!' and the more i look into it the harder it seems to be haha!
 
I have a PH meter which turns the regulator on and off....just plug it into a fire extinguisher and leave it on a Wifi timer (see my jurnal and feel free to comment) Its dead easy once you have it set up
 
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