AaronW
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I don't have dirt though. I'm gonna buy some root tabs. My lighting is at 5500k but I wanna upgrade the bulb. Would I be able to keep a tiger lotus alive in the conditions I have?
Philly33 said:I'd bunch all of them together (rubber band or thread) in the left corner to hide your heater. It will grown and bend over the top and look good. Don't secure the bogwood in case you get bored. I move mine around when I get bored. Try jungle Val in the opposite corner and slowly add mid and foreground.
AaronW said:Moved anacharis to cover heater. Off centered driftwood. A few bunches of Anacharis behind the driftwood
CorallineAlgae said:I really like the placement of the wood here. Add a few more plants and you'll be on your way.
CorallineAlgae said:Have you considered creating hills and valleys with your sand? Putting in a few slopes is easy and makes a tank look less flat and visually interesting. For reference my tank has areas that are only 1.5" deep and others that are nearly 6".
Don't be concerned about having sand. There's nothing at all wrong with using it as your substrate. It's actually far more popular than dirt and makes sense with a modestly lit planted tank.
AaronW said:Coralline your tank is beautiful! I think I'll try adding some slopes to my hardscape. Now I'm thinking maybe 2 slopes on the right side of the tank. Is it better to Add some kind of focal point to each one? I have a small piece of driftwood and a small live rock.
CorallineAlgae said:Thank you! It's only been two weeks since I redid the whole thing so it still has lots of growing in to do.
You can use focal points a few ways. One large one a little off the center or nearly all the way to one side is common and very effective if you're doing a hardscape in just one place.
If you want two centerpieces it works well to have one "main" larger hardscape to one side (usually the left) and another "supporting" smaller hardscape on the opposite side. The idea is to make it non-symmetrical. Even keeping taller plants in the area of the larger centerpiece and smaller plants around the smaller rocks or wood. Sort of like a shrub land or meadow coming out of a densely forested hillside.
If you explore around for pictures of large tanks you'll see examples of this natural way of laying out a tank. The Dutch method for planted tanks is nice, too, though it uses a completely different esthetic principal that downplays the hardscape and relies on groupings of contrasting plants to carry the visual impact of the tank. I like the natural methods, as do most people these days.
AaronW said:Another piece of wood? Or a rock. Maybe both? I want my tank to be visually pleasing.
Coco1019 said:I really like your driftwood! Lookin' good