Tweaking my aquascape

eug

I was out near a local lake and found some nice rocks that I thought would work nicely as accents in my current aquascape. I spent some time rearranging yesterday - the bogwood that was in the back left corner standing vertical has been tipped over so it lies horizontal propped up against one of the rocks I found, and two small stones to fill out the front-right area that was looking so bare and unfinished before.



The front right area looks better I think with the rocks providing little accents but the sawed off part of the bogwood still looks ugly - the picture doesn't show it very well, but the front right part of the wood has a diagonal cut in it that forms a flat triangular bit that looks obviously sawed off. Also the whole right edge of course is sawed and looks like a straight line. I original planned to cover the whole area with Java Moss, but I think that would just be too overwhelming - it would look like a massive fuzzy green wall. An option I've been toying with is to plant some "mini twister" Vallisneria in that corner to act as a sort of curtain to cover up the straight sawed edges. Also, there is some space at the back of the tank behind the wood. I am contemplating trying some Vallisneria nana there, as I really love the wispy long grass look that some tanks achieve.

Also, now that I've planted the Brazilian Pennywort back into the substrate, I'm looking into getting some Water Sprite or similar floating plant for at least the right half of the tank.

Please let me know what you think of my plans, as well as of course throwing in new suggestions!

Oh and I should note that the front right corner, as well the back are pretty poorly lit areas - will Vallisneria do fine despite this?

bohmert

i like it alot wish i had the knack for that look

Byron

That's looking quite nice. I can't see the sawn-off wood you mention... But I would do something with the left front corner. It needs a bit of weight to balance the rest of the tank, and that should come from hardscape (wood and/or rock).

As for the light and Vallisneria, I would recommend a lower-light plant, perhaps Java Fern or Anubias for the front right. I don't think anything is needed in the back, at least not from what i can ascertain in the photo; I know real-life can sometimes look different.

Byron.

eug

Yeah, the sawn off portion is pretty clear in person, I'll make a close up tomorrow and put it up here.

As for the vals in the back, I was inspired by tanks like these:


I just love that wispy long grass look, especially if the blades grow to the surface and start flowing horizontally.

I now see your point about the left side lacking weight, it hadn't occured to me until you mentioned it. It's always useful to get a fresh new pairs of eyes to judge these things! I have a few more rocks I collected on my expedition, I'll see if I can create some better balance.

eug

Ok, here's that problem corner of the wood:

Olympia

Looking great!
For that sawed off piece, have you thought about simply placing some stem plants in front of it? You don't have to cover it completely, mind you, but at least blocking it from view partially will make it less of an eyesore.
Being critical, that piece of wood that's standing straight up smack dab in the middle of the tank doesn't create a nice effect on the eyes (of course, in my opinion!). I'd try moving it slightly off center, or putting it on a slant. It gives the impression that you are trying to cut the tank in half right now.

eug

Yeah, my fiancee and I have been discussing that exact point about the "straight up" piece of wood in the middle. The problem is that it's all one piece together with the big log, and the big log, in order to keep it from floating, is basically diy-ed to ensure that the weight of the sand holds the wood in place - kind of a variation on the "screwing the wood to the slate" trick. In any case, moving the whole log is at the moment out of the question, I'd have to really rip the tank apart to accomplish that...

The option we've considered is to "in situ" chop that vertical branch off. This comes with the problem that it will make another artificial cut in the wood, but it should be easy enough to cover up with moss or whatever. Do you guys have suggestions on how I might do this without removing the log? The idea we had was to take a branch cutter (the kind you use for outdoor tree pruning) and simply snipping it... Sawing would make a big mess of sawdust.

Olympia

Looks pretty thick, I can imagine you'd have some trouble with that.
Then you'd need more plants to cover that sawed off part.
What a conundrum.

eug

I think covering it woudn't be too hard with a bunch of Java Moss, particularly if I see to it that the open cut end is facing into the aquarium away from sight.

Actually cutting it without removing it from the tank is going to prove super tricky though.

Byron

That front right corner is an ideal spot for a crypt. You won't see the wood once the crypt is established. I find Cryptocoryne walkeri var. lutea works well and is hardy, more than some crypts. I've moved mine a couple times with no melt, and currently after about a year is has spread via runners along the entire front of my 90g so you can see it in the photos of my river habitat tank. It is slow to start spreading, and not fast when it does, so easy to confine. The dark leaf variety is particularly lovely.