gf225

Hi everyone,

This is my first nano and attempt at aquascaping with stones.

12x8x8" Clearseal aquarium


Hood and lighting gear (18w PC T5 Interpet Triplus with (to be modified) 12" Arcadia T8/T12 reflector


Hood and DIY fitment of T8 reflector


Installing compost substrate (5-10mm depth)


Installing quartz substrate


Aquarium lighting


Full-frontal


Selection of stones collected from East Falkland Island


Now for the tough bit - stone composition!

Any comments welcome. I'm the first to admit that I'm a talentless enthusiast when it comes to aquascape design so I expect to be moving the stones about a lot more yet!





Aquascape will be ultra-simple to start with - carpet of glosso. If that work's OK then switch to HC and take it from there.

Quick spec -

Tank - 12x8x8" AGA (12 l. / 3 gal.)
Lighting - 8.5" 18w PC T5 Interpet Triplus
CO2 - Pressurized, mist
Ferts - undecided, probably daily trace and macros when required, big regular water changes
Substrate - Loam-based compost, 1-2mm quartz
Filter - Hagen internal - 120 lph (10x turnover)
Animals - none planned yet, plan on super high CO2 to combat potential early algae issues
Plants - glosso

Any comments welcome. Thanks.

Moody

Hi George, nice and clear info for all to read

Me and you appear to have the same enthusiasm for Japanese culture,philosophy and design!
Here is a good book that goes into rock aranging and the art of Zen design its called The New Zen Garden and is very imformative and insparational. An other is The Modern Japanese Garden wich i think you will also like a great deal.

To your "Sanzo-Iwagumi". From what i understand the philosophy is that one great buddah ( the biggest stone ) has two lesser buddahs ( smaller rocks ) leaning into the great buddah whilst praying. This IMO can be positioned to which ever way the rocks work best to represent this philosophy.

San - 3
Zon - tower/pillar
Iwa - Rock
Gumi - Group/Formation

Im not sure about your rock arangment. I think ( constructive ) the rocks arnt quite right. They appear to be to similar in size.
Im sounding really picky im sure

If it were me, I would move the biggest rock to the back ( right behind where it is at the moment ) and move the stone at the rear/right to the front ( in front of where it is at the mo .) and change the two other stones for slightly small ( if possible ). I think this will help you see the triadic shape from the front as well as above and increase the illusion of depth.

My pennys worth.

R,
Graeme.

John P.

You should be able to come up with smoething really nice.

Don't be afraid to bury the rocks in the substrate a bit. You want them to look like they come from within the earth, not placed on top.

MrSanders

Thats going to be a sharp looking little tank! Have to admit when I first saw the rocks next to the tank It appeared that they were going to be much to large, but seeming them placed it looks great!.... I do have to admit i agree with John, having them placed a little bit deeper would greatly enhance the effect.

So is it going to be strictly glosso? or are you planning on little bits of dwarf hairgrass or something similar in the back to accent? Seems like glosso might even be to large of a leaf size... think that HC might work out better?

Anyhow I cant wait to see this one progress.... i am a big fan of small well planned out tanks

trenac

I think this tank has a lot of potential. IMO, the rocks are a little big for this size tank. Use some smaller rocks and bury them like John suggested. Keep us updated.

gf225

Thanks for all the comments guys, I really appreciate the feedback.

I've had a move around etc. taken some of your advice on board.

Still not 100% happy but it's going the right way. These are the three smallest stones and I've buried them pretty well.

gf225

100% glosso to start with, just to see if it works really. Then HC as I mentioned if all goes well (it's only £2.95 a pot in the UK). Hairgrass along the horizon possibly too, who knows? One little step at a time.

Thanks.

gf225

Latest composition taking note of Moody's "bowing to Buddha" advice. Thanks mate.

Steven_Chong

I would pull the back rock out more, or use a bigger one. Also, go get a sledge hammer and smash some of the non-used rocks to bits

You'll do well to have some small shards and fragments to soften the effect of the larger stones.

Something else you could try: Amano also seems fond of a rock style where he uses 1 huge (HUGE) rock and then surround it with a few supporters, short plants, and that's it. I'm not really a fan of this though, since it seems to be the most brain-less lay out possible . . .

Angie

I think its great. All my planted tanks are just plants dumped in and hope they take. So anyone that puts thought into it is very creative in my book.
Good luck and keep us updated. Cant wait to see it with plants.