Beautiful Scape vs. Sustainable Scapes ??

[dapellegrini]

I am preparing to tear down and redo my tank and am pouring over tank photos from ADA competitions, T. Amano's books, RateMyFishTank.com, some of Tom Barr's tanks, others on this board, etc...

Having maintained a high-tech, high-maintenance tank now since September, I have come to a few realizations and I now see all of these gorgeous Aquascapes very different than I used to. I see someone do a beautiful hedge with R. Rotundafolia and think "that's gonna be a mess in a week", or a great area of layered stem plants with wonderful use of colors and shadows and think, "that will look good for about two hours", etc.

I guess the epiphany was more that these gorgeous tank photos are only of a short, ideal point in time, often times with tons of prep, specifically for the photograph(s). Most seem unsustainable for any extended period of time, without weekly tear down and rework... As a novice with plants, I guess I assumed that everyone just snapped a few shots of their tanks on a slow Wednesday, while home sick... LOL

So, not to belabor my point... Has anyone on this board been able to find a good balance with Beauty and Sustainability? I am not suggesting a low or no upkeep setup. Just wondering how others who have been doing this for a long time have dealt with this dilemma of mine.

I am thinking it really all boils down to what types of plants you use, what dimension tank(s) you maintain, what lighting you have, what arrangement/scape you create etc... Next to each gorgeous photo, I would love to see the maintenance schedule required and the lifespan (total days until the scape has to be torn down).

I can't be the only one...

[Jchillin]

Originally Posted by dapellegrini

I can't be the only one...

Nope, you are not the only one. Fact is (and you should know this since you've had a few months to see it yourself), plants need constant care (trimming, clipping, moving, etc) so often that any particular scape captured in time (a photo) will never look exactly the same again.

I personally equate all of the AGA contestants photos "works of art". Or, more simply: "Look at what I just did". I keep a planted tank for the benefit of the fish. Some of these fish wreak havoc on the plants (not because they eat them but because they like to relax on the leaves thereby crushing them).

You won't see large tank busting fish in one of those truly amazing looking planted tanks now will you?

[dapellegrini]

Ya, that's why I had to get rid of my clown loaches. They didn't eat anything, but they loved to break things...

I am actually thinking I enjoy the plants and inverts more than the fish... I am very happy I went high-tech, just pondering my options moving forward. I would love to find the fusion of beauty and sustainability in the world of Aquascaping...

[DocOc]

This is a great topic. I have felt the same way, working on a 'scape and thinking that it looked good, but not like the mind blowers that you see on the board from time to time.

My approach right now is patience. I have a big sword in the middle of my 55G that has been steadily growing and accumulating leaves. My other plants are a little crazy and out of control, but once the sword is big enough, I will be able to work around it as a centerpiece. I don't have any "carpet" plants because I'm afraid I won't be able to maintain them properly.
Everything but the sword are there to cover the back and create a forest for the fish. These are easily trimmed and hacked back like anacharis (sp?).

[rkilling1]

That's what you get with EI and high light. You are super charging your plant growth.

If you want to slow things down, then lower your light and CO2 injection.

Look at Amano's tanks, he doesn't use that much light and his CO2 is no where near 30 PPM. With the lower light and CO2, you will have to cut back on ferts aswell. I believe Amano keeps his NO3's around 1 PPM and his PO4's nearly undetectable.

Lowering your light and CO2 will allow you to maintain that 'look' you have created for a longer period of time. It will also allow you to limit your NO3's which allows the reds to come out.

[dapellegrini]

I believe (but may be wrong) that Amano's method uses Aqua Soil and Power Sand to provide most of the nutrients via the roots instead of the water column. Then he has the 1,2,3 step liquids for micros and PO4.

I know that cutting back on lights will slow the plant growth, but as you back the other elements down (dosing and CO2) I think you increase your odds of having serious algae problems, depending on uptake rates, etc. If you make a serious study of the specific plants you are going to use, I believe you can accurately reduce these factors, but that is as much an art as a science, from what I gather.

Even with cut backs in these areas, I still find that many aquascapes that I see are more fantasy than anything, in the sense that the composer often uses plants in ways that cannot be sustained for any duration of time. Using R. Rotundfolia as a short, organized, tidy boarder for instance, against a backdrop of slower-growing plants, or layering different stem plants, seem more like recipes for headache or setup for a photo shoot than a sensible layout. These often make for gorgeous pictures, but tend not to be practical or sustainable.

I am all for a bit of work every weekend, just exploring my options as I go about (hopefully) upgrading my aquascape with a complete teardown and rebuild. I understand that all scapes have a lifespan, a number of days, months or years before it must be torn down... I am trying to understand the main differences and contributing factors to scape longevity.

Here is what I am thinking right now:

- Tank dimensions & Plant types - perhaps using 24" depth will allow stems to grow out, without reaching the surface? Other obvious mismatches like a sword in a 20g, etc.

- Lighting and photo period - For balancing growth, etc...

- Composer's mental stability - how often you feel like you have to screw with the tank in question

- Other ?

[Peyton]

I am in the same boat. I started my 40gal back in june and it grew for about 3 months then it became "perfect" to me. Then of course the plants continued to grow, started shading the other plants which then started to die off or drop leafs. The scape basically just dissolved into a bunch of plants growing in a tank. I have not been able to get it back to that "perfect" state since.

[Glenc]

Great thread, I know exactly how you feel, I've been doing the high light tank thing for a year, have had a couple of real nice scapes, but they don't last. They peak for a couple of weeks, then grow out. I am going to be moving shortly and am going to set up multiple tanks with different conditions and plants, trying to find that sustainable scape as well. I think rkilling1 is right on with lowering light levels to slow things down. Problem is I've ran less light and always go back to high light, tank just looks so much prettier with high light. When I get a few more tanks on the go I can keep my high light tanks for the fix I need and run a couple at lower light to learn where the ideal balance lies for me. Good luck finding yours

[hashbaz]

I don't know about you, but I am relatively new to high-tech, high-light and quickly found that I prefer slow growing plants instead of all the fast growers that I bought initially.

I know (all too well) what you are refering to with the rotala hedges. I will hack the snot out of it. Then 2 two weeks later it looks absolutely stunning. Another week and it is overgrown. Grrrrr.

[mr funktastic]

i think simplicity allows u to creat a sustainable scape. if u have a 50 different species of plants they all grow there own way. will get wild quickly and then u will loose the flow of the tank. amano and others use large groups of similiar plants. this allows u to let them grow while still keeping a blend and flow of plants. they use specific shapes in the tank to maintain the look. u focuse more on one point of the tank so the others parts can get a little more wild. alot of there tansk will have a centre peice design. wethere it be a peice of wood arranged a certain way or a path way leading towards the back of the tank. u will always focus on one aspect. as long as u keep thet area in focus and trimmed it will always look nice.