[shift]

Place holder for my Osaka 320 Forest tank log.

I will be getting the tank next weekend.

Tank: Fluval Osaka 320L (84G)
Filter: Fluval FX5
Substrate: 1-1.5" of MGOPM capped with 2x bags of instant aquaria black fine gravel and 4-5x bags of Eco-complete.

Stock:
a small Army of CPD's (celestial Pearl Danios.) that i'm currently breeding
15 ish Rummy nose tetra (future addition)
Nerite snail
Shrimp (type TBD.. which ever are the most successful at breeding in the other thanks)

I'm hoping to get a batch of Manzanita wood roots for my forst theme. The plants will be a mix of stuff stolen from the current tanks and some new additions.

Pics and more info to come once my supplies arrive in a week or so.

 

[discuspaul]

Glad to hear you're finally going to be getting & setting up that beauty Osaka tank, Shift.
Get some pics up as soon as you feel comfortable with your set-up when you get done !
I love CPD's - and to have an 'army' of them would be a smashing sight.

 

[GMYukonon24s]

I can't wait to see pics of this tank!

 

[shift]

Time for some updates!

For the detailed version check out my Full Osaka Forest tank log

After a good 20 minuets of cleaning i decided i wanted to paint the back of the tank.

Many coats of spray paint later i had a nice smooth even black background.

Time for the water test.... unfortunately there was alot more scratches then expected but they are not overly obvious once the tank is filled with water. I will have to angle the light away from the front glass to hide them.. but the price was right so working with what i got!

Next i gathered my dirt'ed substrate supplies and got to work

3/4 a bag of MGOCPM, 2 bags of instant aquaria and 2 bags of Eco-COmplete later i had a nice base to work off of.. I plan on adding 2-3 more bags of eco-complete to build hils on the left/right side once my order shows up!

After about 4 days of soaking my driftwood i decided to start playing with designs and think i finally found a good layout.. Let me know what you think!

So I think this driftwood layout will look killer once i raise the sides (and the driftwood) with a valley between the 2.

The LED Nightlight Test.

 

[Mike00726]

Looks good. How's the light?

 

[shift]

the dual bulb T5HO is super bright...almost to bright. I'm going to lower it to just above the water so it doesn't blind me from the couch... I'm loving the LED lighting mod for night time too!

 

[discuspaul]

Looking fabulous, Shift - your driftwood is going to look amazing when you get it all set up to your liking. Looking forward to more pics as you go along.

 

[GMYukonon24s]

You have some beautiful pieces of driftwood!

 

[shift]

Thank ya! It took weeks of searching to find good ones. How do you like the lay out? Just picture the wood on a slightly higher hill with a more defined valley in the center.

 

[shift]

So i am happy with the driftwood on the right but cant decide exactaly what to do with the left hand peice

1.

2.

3.

4.

7.

 

[hunterlook]

I vote for #4 and #7, great progress so far!

 

[iter]

The right side's driftwood looks great! Right now from the placement of your driftwood on the right, there is a great flow that comes out of that driftwood. Since you already decided on the placement of the right side's driftwood, use the flow of the right driftwood to determine the arrangement of the left driftwood by imagining what you would like your tank to look like in the finished product. Tell us what you want to see.

However, with regards to the 7 pictures, I would agree with hunterlook that #4 and #7 are good because the curves and angles of the left side's driftwood continues the flow of the right side's driftwood. But think about what I said previously about how you want your tank to look like. I am not saying don't use #4 or #7, if it fits your picture of the finished product then go for it! If it doesn't, a good idea is to use #4 or #7 as a scaffold to produce another arrangement of the left driftwood.

Best of luck roud:


P.S. #1 is also pretty good with the exception of the left driftwood being to close to the front glass.

 

[shift]

Thanks for the tips so far.... This has originally changed from my original vision so its still in the works.... I'm scrapping 5/6 since they arn't doing it for me.. its killing me waiting for that extra 2-3 bags of eco-complete to show up!

As another idea I could potentially flip one and possibly angle it to give it the same lines at the right hand chunk..

What i do know for sure is like the wood on the right and I plan on adding hills on the left/right sides with a valley in the middle and probably a gradual slope to the back possibly with the valley winding behind the right hand drift wood.

 

[scapegoat]

i don't think those two pieces of wood compliment each other.

i'd remove the darker one, on the left, and move the one on the righter over to the left maybe an inch.

 

[AguaTropical]

I'm leaning towards number 7 the most, but I also like both 3 & 4. Regardless of positioning, the piece on the left appears to definitely be a keeper haha

If you're still struggling to find balance, scapegoat has a relevant idea of moving the lighter piece towards the center a bit.

Ultimately, it's your tank, so it's up to you!

 

[shift]

I do truly love all the crevasse and caves in the left hand pieces but to try it with out...

9.

10.

11.

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

 

[scapegoat]

i think #9 with substrate built up a bit to the sides and behind would be striking.

 

[StraightAddicted]

7 or 9 depending which option you want to go for. You could do an island in the middle with the darker as the base, and lighters as branching out. Depends on plants you are wanting to keep. Grasses or carpets would be recommended with bigger plants in the background for that setup. Overall great potential with this setup and goodluck :icon_bigg

 

[shift]

Its amazing how many different looks you can get with a few chunks of wood.. the only hard part is picking one!

20.

 

[MSG]

Glad I don't have to decide.....

I usually let the lady decide on matters like this.

Also I'm wondering how you would trim your plants when the time comes?

I think the wood has a lot of nice characteristics, but would create problems when you're reaching inside the tank for maintenance.

Look forward to see how it comes together.

I personally like the different color variations in the wood.

• BTW, how much is each of those pieces of DW?
• There was a local person selling that complete tank for $400, minus a few pieces of equipment. However they used it for saltwater I believe.

Bigger tanks are not ALWAYS better because you have MORE options. Makes it harder to decide.. haha...

Are you planning to add any ROCKS?