Please critique my tank before I go ahead

[Farmer]

Hi all,

I found some great wood on my farm and finally it was something I could use in my tank that wasn't too big.


I came up with this after some fiddling around with rocks and such...



It wasn't quite right. The 'gap' in the islands was too far left to fit the thirds lines I strung up. I like the shape of the rocks on the right in this more than the modified one. But I can work with them.

after the change I have this...



This conforms better with the rule of thirds.



I want to use a dark substrate like Amazonia. The black rocks may well be changed. I had pale grey ones in and it looked bad but it could have just been because of the background. But maybe with plants things might change. I do like dark. I'm mainly interested in comments about the shape and placement etc. Any suggestions welcome. if you have an idea about rocks etc I have a lot to choose from.

The white is just the bottom of the tank. I presume this will be contrasting gravel but I'll see what you guys think.

Linds

[Dx3Bash]

Looks nice. I also like the dark rocks combined with dark substrate. Post pictures when you get it filled with water/plants.

[LyzzaRyzz]

I think the setup looks great!
The rocks look sperfect, but have you wet them? Rocks hide their true colors til they are wet. Maybe you should wet the lighter rocks, see what they actually look like?
Maybe mix the two colors??
Also, what type of wood is that? regular wood will decay alot faster than DW.

[Absntmind]

Looks very nice! The wood looks like cypress. What kind of tree is that from?

[xspidermikex]

Looks great, cant wait to redo mine. Nice driftwood

[aokashi]

thumbs upppp

[MARIMOBALL]

Looks very good. I think you need to add one or two larger stones because the ones in the picture appear to be all the same size. Making them look too even.

[Farmer]

Originally Posted by Dx3Bash

Looks nice. I also like the dark rocks combined with dark substrate. Post pictures when you get it filled with water/plants.

Thanks, I will do. It may not be for some time though.

Linds

[Farmer]

Originally Posted by LyzzaRyzz

I think the setup looks great!
The rocks look sperfect, but have you wet them? Rocks hide their true colors til they are wet. Maybe you should wet the lighter rocks, see what they actually look like?
Maybe mix the two colors??
Also, what type of wood is that? regular wood will decay a lot faster than DW.

Thanks for the feedback.

I have wet the rocks. The ones in there are charcoal black. They are actually the stuff they use on roads. The lighter colour ones I have tested too, they don't change under water. I don't like mixing rocks in a scape like this because it tends to make the design less attractive. If I was doing a rock riverbed I would. but then they would mainly be the same shape. I think one differing factor is enough.

The wood is the root off a willow (probably) It is light but will last long enough. What do you mean by driftwood? I mean what makes it driftwood and not regular wood?

Linds

[Farmer]

Originally Posted by Absntmind

Looks very nice! The wood looks like cypress. What kind of tree is that from?

The large bit I'm pretty sure is a root from a basket willow, the samll bit is not, I think it's a small shrub from the bank of the river, I found it half buried in the gravel. It gets the twists and knots from the stones. I have found pieces with stones buried in them.

Linds

[Farmer]

Thanks Spidermike and aokashi

[Farmer]

Originally Posted by MARIMOBALL

Looks very good. I think you need to add one or two larger stones because the ones in the picture appear to be all the same size. Making them look too even.

Ok, I'll have a play with it.