Aquascaping help

[Sillyfishies]

Ok, so I'm replacing my gravel with black sand and getting rid of the decor (keeping it in right now until I figure out what to do). Where should I put the drift wood and where could I make caves out of rocks. Now plants, I have 1 crypt parva, 1 java fern and I'm ordering 1 anarchis, 1 anubias nana, 1 java fern, 1 portion of java moss. Where should I put these? Thanks, I suck at aquascaping. Pic-

 

[Sillyfishies]

Oh and what plants would your reccomend, it's low-light, low-tech.

 

[Smcoyle87]

Try and upload that pic one more time.

 

[Sillyfishies]

Aha sorry

 

[phishfriend]

It looks like that wood would have a cool natural arch if you stuck the end that points to the front of the tank in the sand/gravel. That would give it some height and make give some natural cover. A sword or water sprite plant behind it in the right corner could help hide the heater and also add is depth. Have you thought about adding or painting a backer on the tank?

 

[Sillyfishies]

It looks like that wood would have a cool natural arch if you stuck the end that points to the front of the tank in the sand/gravel. That would give it some height and make give some natural cover. A sword or water sprite plant behind it in the right corner could help hide the heater and also add is depth. Have you thought about adding or painting a backer on the tank?

Putting a black background. Also what should I do with the other piece of drift wood? Any rocks you would reccomend for making small caves?

 

[phishfriend]

Sry I didn't see the other driftwood so it hard to say without seeing it. If you can find a cool pc of lava rock with lots of holes it could be cool. River stones are nice. Anything that looks like it blends in with the natural surroundings will work. I don't mean stacking five rivers to stone on top of each other. That wouldn't happen naturally. I think rocks are tough to use as cave unless they have holes and depressions worn into them. I'm always looking for the perfect stone pc to add to my tanks and haven't found it. I have some just buried in the sand to look like were uncovered by current but that's it till I find what I'm looking for. I think one of the keys to a good aqua scape is not to force it. I don't know if that helps you much.

 

[Sillyfishies]

Sry I didn't see the other driftwood so it hard to say without seeing it. If you can find a cool pc of lava rock with lots of holes it could be cool. River stones are nice. Anything that looks like it blends in with the natural surroundings will work. I don't mean stacking five rivers to stone on top of each other. That wouldn't happen naturally. I think rocks are tough to use as cave unless they have holes and depressions worn into them. I'm always looking for the perfect stone pc to add to my tanks and haven't found it. I have some just buried in the sand to look like were uncovered by current but that's it till I find what I'm looking for. I think one of the keys to a good aqua scape is not to force it. I don't know if that helps you much.

So I should just do plants, driftwood, and rocks just laying around?

 

[phishfriend]

That what I'v done. I use plants in place of caves.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Since your getting into live plants (I don't think this has been mentioned yet) your crypt (any crypt or sword for that matter) will need a root tab of some kind, whether you buy it or make them yourself, I know bud29 is/was selling some he makes himself in the classifieds section. Just wanted to make sure you knew

 

[Mrs.h2012]

So I should just do plants, driftwood, and rocks just laying around?

Of you want a natural look yes. That's all I have I'm my tank except terra cotta pots that I covered with rocks and have java moss on them (goal is for the moss to cover it completely). If you go to my profile you can see my tank to give you an idea if you want!