Aquascaping opinions...

[chrism]

This is my 18Gal... Im trying to create a nice looking reasonably planted tank, im not 100% happy so thought i'd post some pics and get some constructive criticism / advice it's mainly the right side im unhappy with, but any suggestions at all on anything welcome

My thoughts:

• scrap the onion plant "Crinum thaianum" and find another more contrasting plant

• scrap the dwarf hair grass "Eleocharis acicularis" not sure my pictus like it too much

• If im scrapping any plants, would be happy to swap them

• I like the vals, would possibly like some corkscrew depending on suggestions from this post

My fish include: bolivian rams, pictus cats, cardinals, red eyes, bristlenose cat... MTS

Light: 2.5Wpg for 12 hours, 1 x daylight plus, 1 x freshwater, 1 x plant grow something or other lol

Sand... no CO2 at the mo, but have been advised to try DIY which i will look at over christmas when im on holiday

Thanks

 

[deeni0z]

I like the way it looks. the algae balls give a really good contrast.

 

[Phlegethon]

Speaking only for myself, I find that limiting to only 2 or 3 kinds of plant really helps focus. I would scrap the onion plant, vals and marimo balls and get a lot more Ambulia & Hairgrass. Move the driftwood to the right, plant some of the Ambulia behind it and a little more on the left side, grow the hairgrass in across the whole front-foreground and use the small leafy plant (not sure what it is) in 2 or 3 patches to accent between the Ambulia & the hairgrass. Is that specific enough?

 

[millipede]

I think I agree that few types of plants might work well. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but something just seemed a little off. Nothing bad, just off. Nice looking overall though. I'd also move the driftwood a little to the right. Try to center it more or something. And I definitely agree that growing the hairgrass across the entire foreground would be cool. I just re-read what you posted and you were thinking about getting rid of the grass... it's up to you I guess. I'm not sure if the fish you have like it but I like it... but that's me. If you decide at some point that you like the plants you have and want to keep all of them you could probably rearrange them in a way that it would look a little better. I'm horrible with plant names so I'll just say that one and that one and you can guess what I'm saying but I was thinking if you kept what you have you could try to make things more symetrical. Like, what you see on the left is a mirror image of what's on the right. Basicall the plants on the left side should be on the right side as well to balance things out. The right side just seems empty in a way. If you take the plants that you have most of, arrange them somewhat symetrically and then randomly place the ones you have less of, it might look alright. I just love planted tanks no matter what they look like and you're fish don't care much about the layout anyway...

 

[chrism]

thanks for all the advice, the small leafy plants is, Cryptocoryne willisii although it doesnt look like its doing too well, going to get some root tabs for it. I do like the idea of the hair grass all over, but i dont like it at the same time :s I think it looks messy, its not growing straight up probably because the conditions arent quite right for it or something

I think the onion plant needs to go. And i like the Ambulia so i will plant it on the right side too. the right is very empty compared to the left which is what i dnt like.

If i planted the Ambulia symetrically on the right, leave the vals in the middle, and can i just split the Cryptocoryne willisii and plant over the right side too? i think it might look quite good if i have the driftwood as it is, but over towards the right and on a bit more of an angle? kinda looking into and across the tank? that way id have a little bit of open area off centre to the left, is there another carpet type plant that would work in my tank, or should i leave it bare sand, i think i've pretty much decided to get rid of the hair grass...

 

[aquazen]

I've never seen hairgrass grow that way before. Mine go straight up, and it's in my low light tank. Interesting though.

I think your tank looks good as is really. I would stay away from making things look too symmetrical. Balance is good in scaping, but too much balance detracts from its sense of life and movement.

If you want another carpet plant that's not so "hairy", try glosso. It looks very nice when grown properly. You can also try growing a carpet of riccia. I have mine strapped down to a resin tree root, and it looks rather nice...but its sort of a double-edged sword. The lower layers turn brown after a few weeks and become rather unsightly. I'm still not sure what to do about that.

For the carbon requirements of your plants, Tankgirl once directed me to Seachem Fluorish Excel. It works well for small tanks so you don't have to bother with the whole messy yeast setup (which never lasted longer than 3 days for me).

 

[chrism]

yea aquazen i thought it was a bit odd too! I've shifted some things around the other night, i'll post pics later tonight,

thanks for the tips, regarding Seachem and other carpet plants, im going to let things grow a bit more and the re-look at it

thanks again everyone!

 

[chrism]

here it is at the mo, if ur interested... the onion plant floating will go in my new tank as will the moss balls when i get it, should be this wkend

 

[aquazen]

I like the new placement of your centerpiece. Quite nice.

 

[Phlegethon]

Hey looks a lot better. I kind of like the moss balls now, looks like tumbleweed...

 

[chrism]

thanks i'm much happier too... jst wait for everything to grow now hehe