[Camm1252]

Howdy. 😄

I've been playing around with my hardscape for a few hours now, after setting up the substrate last night, and have two different styles I've came up with so far:

I much prefer the last photo, I really like the look of the wood connecting. I mentioned in my journal that i'm wanting to use some sand in the front & going down the middle, and I'm considering cutting down the smaller piece of driftwood on the front left for it to be a bit more subtle, and using some of the twigs to come down through the rocks.

I still have a few Seiryu stones left, and a lot of soil (1x 9L Amazonia & 1x 9L Amazonia Powder Type).

If you have any suggestions/feedback, please feel free to comment!
Cheers

 

[minorhero]

Howdy. 😄

I've been playing around with my hardscape for a few hours now, after setting up the substrate last night, and have two different styles I've came up with so far:

View attachment 1028709

View attachment 1028710​

I much prefer the last photo, I really like the look of the wood connecting. I mentioned in my journal that i'm wanting to use some sand in the front & going down the middle, and I'm considering cutting down the smaller piece of driftwood on the front left for it to be a bit more subtle, and using some of the twigs to come down through the rocks.

I still have a few Seiryu stones left, and a lot of soil (1x 9L Amazonia & 1x 9L Amazonia Powder Type).

If you have any suggestions/feedback, please feel free to comment!
Cheers

I definitely prefer the last photo more then the first. As for other advice, the first thing that leaps to mind is that you will not be able to keep sand clean of aquasoil if you put down a layer ontop of the aquasoil. The sand will sift down to the bottom and the aquasoil will find its way to the top. Keeping it completely clean even if the sand area was only sand is a constant trial, but its at least possible with regular maintenance.

As for other advice for the aquascape.. well it depends on what level you want to take this to. If you like the aquascape then that's all that matters. If you are trying to take this to a professional level I would say you need 4 times as much stone and bigger pieces as well, then pick through the pieces you need to build things up a bit more, probably use about 2/3rds of your then available stone supply. But I also really like a lot of stone. Buying it all from fish stores gets darn expensive so I get my stone from the wild.

Hopefully this is helpful, good luck and enjoy the tank!

 

[Nicecook]

Howdy. 😄

I've been playing around with my hardscape for a few hours now, after setting up the substrate last night, and have two different styles I've came up with so far:

View attachment 1028709

View attachment 1028710​

I much prefer the last photo, I really like the look of the wood connecting. I mentioned in my journal that i'm wanting to use some sand in the front & going down the middle, and I'm considering cutting down the smaller piece of driftwood on the front left for it to be a bit more subtle, and using some of the twigs to come down through the rocks.

I still have a few Seiryu stones left, and a lot of soil (1x 9L Amazonia & 1x 9L Amazonia Powder Type).

If you have any suggestions/feedback, please feel free to comment!
Cheers

I like the 2nd photo as well.

Good luck!!

 

[sudhirr]

I like the first pic better, the one where there are 2 separate islands.

Your scape appears to have more planting area in the foreground and very less planting/ maintenance area in background for the stems.

In my experience having very little space in the background is a problem as well since we will have very little space for stems and may not be able to get the bushy stem plant background look.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sunkyokim]

our hardscapes look very similar haha! this is what I did with my 20 gallon long:

I also started a 10 gallon scape today: not sure how this one is going to turn out but looking forward to messing around with it until its perfect! I have some spider wood root accents arriving tomorrow to glue to the bigger branches for a more dynamic/natural look. we'll see how it goes:

 

[Hania41806]

our hardscapes look very similar haha! this is what I did with my 20 gallon long:
View attachment 1028755
View attachment 1028756

I also started a 10 gallon scape today: not sure how this one is going to turn out but looking forward to messing around with it until its perfect! I have some spider wood root accents arriving tomorrow to glue to the bigger branches for a more dynamic/natural look. we'll see how it goes:
View attachment 1028757

Just one question... HOW?? Your tank looks so amazing! I could never.. 10/10 I would love to be a fish in there.

 

[sunkyokim]

Just one question... HOW?? Your tank looks so amazing! I could never.. 10/10 I would love to be a fish in there.

Just one question... HOW?? Your tank looks so amazing! I could never.. 10/10 I would love to be a fish in there.

Hahaha thanks! I watched A LOT of YouTube videos and took some time off of work lol

 

[Camm1252]

I definitely prefer the last photo more then the first. As for other advice, the first thing that leaps to mind is that you will not be able to keep sand clean of aquasoil if you put down a layer ontop of the aquasoil. The sand will sift down to the bottom and the aquasoil will find its way to the top. Keeping it completely clean even if the sand area was only sand is a constant trial, but its at least possible with regular maintenance.

As for other advice for the aquascape.. well it depends on what level you want to take this to. If you like the aquascape then that's all that matters. If you are trying to take this to a professional level I would say you need 4 times as much stone and bigger pieces as well, then pick through the pieces you need to build things up a bit more, probably use about 2/3rds of your then available stone supply. But I also really like a lot of stone. Buying it all from fish stores gets darn expensive so I get my stone from the wild.

Hopefully this is helpful, good luck and enjoy the tank!

Ahh, cheers for the advice! Once I've decided on the scape I will clear out an area completely to lay sand there. I know that even doing that it, in time it may become tedious, but worst case scenario I can just swap out the sand for amazonia if it becomes too much of a hassle down the track, haha.

Yeah, I wouldn't know where to find similar to Seiryu where I live. I might price an 8kg box and if it's not too much just go for it.

I like the first pic better, the one where there are 2 separate islands.

Your scape appears to have more planting area in the foreground and very less planting/ maintenance area in background for the stems.

In my experience having very little space in the background is a problem as well since we will have very little space for stems and may not be able to get the bushy stem plant background look.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's a good point, cheers for bringing that to my attention. The tank is 450mm deep so I can't have the hardscape too wide (as I favour foreground), but I will definitely shuffle everything forward a little bit, as I do want nice stem growth in the back too.

our hardscapes look very similar haha! this is what I did with my 20 gallon long:
View attachment 1028755
View attachment 1028756

I also started a 10 gallon scape today: not sure how this one is going to turn out but looking forward to messing around with it until its perfect! I have some spider wood root accents arriving tomorrow to glue to the bigger branches for a more dynamic/natural look. we'll see how it goes:
View attachment 1028757

Verrry beautiful tank, mate! You're too right, our scapes look very similar, haha. Looking at your hardscape makes me realise that I could definitely use some more stone, and reinforces my like for having the pieces of wood touching/looking connected over being separate..
Did you soak your driftwood prior to flooding your tank, or just hold it down somehow? Also, what plants did you use? I can see a fair few different ones there.

Cheers for the replies, everyone!