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Tonys 'Nano Rouge' 14L

Tony Swinney

Tony Swinney

Member
Joined
14 Dec 2008
Messages
1,185
Location
Cobham, Surrey
Hi all

Whilst waiting for my new tank to arrive , I thought I'd try a little nano for my desk at work. So this is really my first attempt at a "scape" :shock:

Its a 12"x10"x8", 14l optiwhite from AE, and will run an eheim 2026 (turned right down 8) ).

As the title suggests its going to have a red theme, with petrified wood, some red flaura and some cherry shrimps. As a contrast I'll have some dark green flora - probably moss for the shrimp. I'm struggling on the foreground at the moment, as I dont know of any red carpeting plants :?: I also have some juvenile black corys which will go in here until they grow up 🙂

Anyhows, that can be worked out as we go ! Here is the inital setup, having smashed up some petrified wood bits, and had a play 😀

NanoRouge_3.jpg

NanoRouge_4.jpg

As said at the start I'm a first time "scaper" so all thoughts, comments and criticisms are welcome - I need all the help I can get :lol:

Cheers

Tony

Spec

Tank: 12"x10"x8", 14litre
Filter: Eheim 2026 (running as slowly as possible 😀 )
Heater: Hydor 200w inline
Lighting: 18w Superfish
Glassware: Cal Aqua 12mm
Substrate: EcoComplete & Tropica TPN+ capsules
Ferts: Tropica TPN+
CO2: FE injection, AE nano diffuser, EasyCarbo
Plants: Eleocharis Acicularis, Pogostemon Helferi, HC
Inhabitants: Cherry Shrimp, Baby Black Corys
 
Re: Nano Rouge

Good start Tony, looking forward to seeing it planted 🙂
I wonder what Jeremy would say about the glassware in this tank 😉 looks pretty damn good to me 😉
Keep us posted mate.
 
Re: Nano Rouge

Hi Tony

I love the stone - great texture and colour and a break from the usual. Super glassware too!

I'm no expert on Iwagumi but if it were me I'd consider re-positioning your largest rock (master stone) so it's roughly 1/3 or 2/3 across the length of the tank, and bring it forward a touch. Currently it's sitting over to the right and in the background.

Then re-position the smaller supporting stones around the master stone. Consider the grain running through the rocks so it all flows naturally, like you have done already.

I would also think about breaking up the tall thin piece on the left into two pieces, making five pieces altogether. Currently, due to its similar height to the master stone, it is competing for the viewer's attention and it's slender dimensions are at odds with the stones to the right. Breaking this into two pieces would help significantly, I feel.

All this said, your current layout does look good and is a superb first time effort. Well done!
 
Re: Nano Rouge

Thanks chaps - the glassware is just temporary until my Eheim "Monster Installation Set 38" arrives :lol: (its CalAqua from AE)

Thanks for the critique George - I'm going to play around again today, so might well make the tall left hand piece smaller. I wasnt really happy with 4 pieces, but 5 looked a bit too busy, and 3 a bit sparse, so shortening that tall one might sort it ! I'd really like mainly red plants in here, but all the reds I can find are tall, so I'm undecided which way to go at the minute - red and tall, or closer to iwagumi !

I might place some plants in there this morning to see how it will look.

Cheers
Tony

(Tank specs now added to the first post)
 
Re: Nano Rouge

Hi Steve

The lamp is a 35w tungsten light, unfortunately not LED, but its all I have at the minute (its my desk lamp at work 🙂 ). Its this one from Habitat:
http://www.habitat.co.uk/fcp/product/browse/Desk-clamp/968408

I'm not sure if the tungsten light will be too warm for plant growth though (and at 35w its a tad powerful for a 14l tank - over 8wpg :shock: ) , so if I can find a nice LED I'll change it.

Cheers

Tony
 
Re: Nano Rouge

Nice work mate!
If it were me i'd try and stick to the rule of odd numbers and do something like this?
NanoRouge_5.jpg
Just my 2 pence worth.
 
Re: Nano Rouge

Dan Crawford said:
Nice work mate!
If it were me i'd try and stick to the rule of odd numbers and do something like this?
NanoRouge_5.jpg
Just my 2 pence worth.
Click to expand...

exactly what i was going to suggest, but without doing the graphic design to illustrate. 😀

Best Regards,

John
 
Re: Nano Rouge

if thats to work, you may need the middle stone behind the main stone.
or

facing the main stone.

or

lay the left stone flat, left of the main stone with the middle stone behind the main stone.

not my ideas BTW, just what I've observed amano do with 3 stones.

it's a shame you cant post images, but i got 3 or 4 aqua journals visually explaining what i mean. aqua journal 159 dec 08 to be precise

as George said, move the whole thing over to fall in line with the rule of thirds.

3,5,7 works even numbers don't work! but remember on larger scapes dont count backbone stones as part of your odd numbers.

hey, i might be utterly wrong though
 
Re: Nano Rouge

Thanks Mark, and Dan and John !

saintly said:
hey, i might be utterly wrong though
Click to expand...
:lol:

saintly said:
aqua journal 159 dec 08 to be precise
Click to expand...

Luckily, the only issue I own is that one ! Obviously I didnt pay enough attention to it when I read it :lol:

All good advice, so I'm off to the magazine rack now, and then I'll have a play - more photos later.

Cheers

Tony 😀
 
Re: Nano Rouge

Blimey - talk about going round in circles :lol: :lol: :lol:

After alot of chiseling, smashing, positioning, and general fiddling, not only does my wife think I've lost the plot, but I've arrived at a new layout, which I like 😀

I went through this one ('scuse the murky waters) with 3 rocks :

NanoRouge_5.jpg

then went around a few more circles, and got to this one, with 5 rocks :

NanoRouge_6.jpg

Which I think I prefer. That said I cant see the (petrified) wood for the trees now , so I'm off to build the bathroom instead :lol: I'll come back to this later on with fresh eyes :

NanoRouge_7.jpg

As always, please let me know what you reckon 😀

Tony
 
Re: Tonsers Nano Rouge

I prefer the second arrangement. But i think the smallest stone at the front left corner should maybe be brought further right a touch. Loking great anyway the textures work well and i like how the stones lean from right to left. Any thoughts on plants?
 
Re: Tonsers Nano Rouge

Consider moving the largest rock more towards the centre (1/3 or 2/3) with the other four supporting it.

The main rock is generally best positioned in accordance with the golden ratio which is almost the same as the rule of thirds. This makes a great tool for aquascaping, although rules can be broken too, of course...

With them all in a line, from biggest to smallest, it looks too artificial to my eye.

Looking very good still, despite my critique.
 
Re: Tonsers Nano Rouge

Tonser said:
I have a natural tendancy for geometric symmetry, which doesnt help !
Click to expand...

it's something we all fall into. for a tank that size, i'd use just 3 bits. and allow the planting to add interest. but then thats me. 😀
 
Re: Tonsers Nano Rouge

saintly said:
allow the planting to add interest
Click to expand...

And thats the next tricky bit :shock: I havent a clue about which plants to put in there ! My initial idea was to have this a predominantly red tank, using red plants, but I'm struggling to find small low level red plants, they all seem to be tall stems. Anyone have any suggestions ?

I've got some really nice red Alternanthera Cardinalis , but its going to be too tall and big for this tank.

Maybe I should go with greens instead, and let the rocks / fish provide the reds. :?

Tony
 
Re: Tonsers Nano Rouge

Further tinkering has led me to this layout:

NanoRouge_8.jpg

which I'm really liking 😀

I think this will be my starting point, as I reckon I could lose a couple of rocks, and reduce it to 3 rocks later on if I find it needs it (at least thats got to be easier than adding them later :lol: )

Its tricky when I dont have a planting plan, to know what space I'm going to need, so this way I can play around as I go. Live and learn etc...

Plant recommendations / scape crits always welcome, thanks.

Tony
 
Re: Tonsers Nano Rouge

I would slant the master stone to the right (creating tension, and it is almost vertical) but i like it 😀
 
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