I can grow plants but can't scape...

[Snowflake311]

I can keep fish of all kinds I can grow plants I just can't scape. WHY! I am a painter I love art but I just can't make a good aquascape. I think maybe because I make my tanks for fish first and I scape to make it more fun for the fish. I don't know.

Here is my 80gal just planted it and added water wisteria in the back near the swords on the right. Beside that this is what the tank looks like. It's still young and will fill in mode. It is doing really well I am very happy. But the aquascaping part I think could be better.

What do I need to be thinking when I set up a planted tank? I want to be a better aquascaper.



My 20gal I just did Took out a lot of Sag. All the sag in the 80gal is from this tank.

[tomfromstlouis]

I for one do not think your aquascaping is at all bad, just, uh, informal. I personally like the jungle style, but even the thick intertwined look needs some structure or "bones". I cannot recite rules for you, but visually dividing the tank into thirds vertically and horizontally and having your hardscape reinforce those divisions is one start. Note that the "pros" start with a blank canvass (so to speak) and carefully arrange the hardscape, then plant. Following those steps, and educating your eye as to what works and why, ought to help some.

[takadi]

Hahah you seem to be the opposite of what I am, or at least what I try to be. I spent the last three months trying to readjust three pieces of driftwood in a tank so it looks good. Nothing worse than a suffering artist -_-. Meanwhile I'm kick up crud from the substrate, my plants are covered in algae, and I forget to do water changes. Whoops

Are you using hairnets for those mosses on the rocks? Just wait until those grow in, there's nothing some well grown moss can't fix. To me the only thing that really is an eyesore in your tank are all the equipment strewn everywhere. Everything else is pretty decent. Read up on golden ratios, rule of thirds, triangles, etc. There are also some pretty good tips out there for iwagumi that you can apply to any rock scape.

[Quesenek]

I'm in the same boat as you. My problem has been that either there is too much going on. Or little to no main focal point. It depends on the tank and the person who set it up but 99% of the tanks I see that totally blow me away have some sort of strong focal point like a really nice rock structure or an amazing looking piece of wood that has a lot of character to it. You might have heard of the 1/3rd or 2/3rds rule (just google it if you haven't) that also helps with the aesthetics.

[TWA]

I'm with you.

Solution for me: make my girlfriend scape.

[Eldachleich]

Sketch it out first...
Take what you have or want and sketch.
Thats what I do... Though my scapes are far from perfect...

It helps me have a much clearer idea of what I'm doing before I go in to arrange...

[Kathyy]

Somebody put a temporary [I hope] backdrop on the tank with all the pertinent guide lines drawn in and scaped the tank. There are the thirds, golden mean and a really cool spiral and some more triangles you can look to make.

Here are a number of them illustrated and discussed. See other posts on this blog for more analysis of scapes.
http://www.scapefu.com/2010/11/23/an...ur-preciousss/

Me, I read all that stuff and draw lines on my tank photo I put into Paint and all but my main goal is to keep focal points away from dead center and stop stuffing plants into the corners of the tank. As far as I can tell you are doing just fine on both those points, tanks look very nice as is.

[Snowflake311]

For me I throw all the plants in where I think they might look good and hope it grows in well. It does not work.

I have scratched what I want but I always end up making changes and mess it up.

I worry about the fish. I try and make them happy and this ends up making the tank look like a mess.

As for the hair net it is a ripped up bath scrunchy. You know those mesh bath scrubbys. They work great for moss. And once the moss fills in it will look better but I am not crazy about the placement of the moss rocks.

Thanks everyone for the tips. The 80gal I torn down to nothing and re did it so I had a black slate and still did not get it right. Maybe once I get more plant growth it will be better.

[jeremyTR]

I love your scape! And I'm like you, I like to scape to make it more fun and interesting for my shrimp, not how it pleases the eyes.

Your scape is a lot better than any of these rubblescapes around here. I just don't understand the appeal of a tank with a bunch of rocks on the bottom with the substrate and nothing else. Kinda boring.

[Snowflake311]

Originally Posted by jeremyTR

I love your scape! And I'm like you, I like to scape to make it more fun and interesting for my shrimp, not how it pleases the eyes.

Your scape is a lot better than any of these rubblescapes around here. I just don't understand the appeal of a tank with a bunch of rocks on the bottom with the substrate and nothing else. Kinda boring.

Thank you. I think the 80gal still has room to grow and could fill in nicely. The 20gal I feel like it is a mess. I need to clean it up organize it better.

[Miles]

I actually really like your 80 gallon haha Could lose whatever those floaters are though