[Fred_E_Krugar]

I can build plans to a chopper that would fit inside a 55 gallon tank but that would like putting a Bull in a China cabinet. So for a long story short , this engineer has no intricacy on scaping living things. I have built several canister fitlers that have about 90psi of pressure to remove that unsightly spot algae and if you chose you can even take that beautiful tail off that pride and joyous Guppy.


So my help from you great gurus would help me place this new 55 gallon up. Right now I have a few Anubis some foxtails some bocopa red tigerlily some HC a Double But load of Java moss hundreds of the micro chain swords, two medium bunches of Amazon swards 10-12 bunches of the Argentina swords.two tubs of what was supposed to be dwarf hair grass but the stems seem way to thick.I also have forty pounds of ecco complete to go in but I do have about 50 pounds of creek sand that packs very tight that I will be using as a filler.I will also have a 4 x 40 watt light fixture above it . I also have many shapes and sizes of driftwood I could use how yall see fit.


So can you guys help me out with this stuff like the best placment of the wood for the Anubis and a good place to put the cryt and all the grass like stuff, You guy are getting the picture,Take my hand and use it how you all would ,,,,,,,well to an extent anyway...Thanks

 

[keysturtle]

Fred E,

I recently set up my first large planted tank, and I found that the most helpful thing to me was first getting a basic idea of what I liked in a planted tank. Asking for advice on how to place your driftwood will get you a bunch of answers and they'll all be different, because a lot of it comes down to personal taste. I'd recommend that you just spend some time looking at different completed scapes until you see something that you really like, or maybe someone who has driftwood pieces similar to yours that have a good placement. You can do that on this forum, and there are other sites on the web. One that is nothing but pics is http://www.natureaquarist.com/Nature-aquarium-gallery. You'll start to get a picture in your head of what you want your hardscape to look like, and the rest will flow from there. I played around with different driftwood and rock arrangements while the tank was still dry, and it was most helpful. Once you have it all planted, it's difficult to make substantial changes, so you're better off being happy with it before all the water goes in! If you aren't sure, take some pics of different arrangements and post those here for advice.

There's a sticky in the "new to planted aquariums" forum on new tank setup basics, and in the library you'll find an article by Birgit Wolfgang called "Aquascaping Principles" that explains the golden ratio, etc. There's also a site that will allow you to digitally play around with different arrangements: http://www.theaquatools.com/.

You didn't say what your level of experience is with a planted tank, but if you need a really good primer on water parameters, soils, etc., I found http://www.aquatic-plants.org/articles/basics/pages/index.html to be very helpful.

Good luck with it!

 

[FBG]

Go for a hike in the forest, desert mountains, grassy flatlands, the beach, or where ever else you can get off the beaten path. Look at how nature turned the rocks and how they look with plants growing around them. take photographs of the ones you like most and bring them home. think about how it would look in an aquarium and mess around with it. I find that most helpful when I have run out of ideas.

Just mess around with the layout untill you find the one that you love. Also, looking at award winning set-ups is also a nice way to do it. I just like seeing what is in the natural world around me, not what someone else has already done.

 

[Tex Gal]

These are great suggestions. I've watched people begin and just start planting. Within a few months they are tweaking and moving things around until they really were developing a style. I think you will evolve. Barring that- just pick a tank and copy it!

 

[SnyperP]

Get plants.
Plant plants.
Grow plants.
Trim plants.
Move plants.
Now you're aquascaping!