My 2 month 3ft ugly tank... advice needed..

[rc311]

Hi all,

Here is my roja 3ft tank. I just cant seem to get my art into live.

Tank profile
- 3ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft tank.
- Eheim 2226 filter, CO2 glass diffuser.
- Resun CL280 Chiller, set at 24c (tank show as 25c)
- CO2 @ 2bps for 10.45pm - 2am, 4am - 7am
- 4 x 39 T5HO @ 11pm - 3am, 4am - 8am
- Gex 4 x 8kgs, ADA 1 x 8kgs
- Using Seachem full set of liquid fert plus daily dose of ADA green bacter.

- Plants: lot of it...
- Fish: lot of it too... approx 30pcs
- Prawn: lot of it too... approx 30pcs

Let the picture do the work.

Whole


Side


Please comments... and hope I can improve further.

Thanks for viewing as well as comments.

RC311

[lampeye]

It's not bad...not bad at all. The main thing you need to work is simply avoiding symmetry - clumps of plants the same size/shape, and regular, linear arrangents of the plants. I think making it "live" would be as simple as skewing the arrangement of those three bacopa(?) in the middle, maybe trimming them to different heights, and waiting a bit for things to grow in. Don't get discouraged!

[valice]

Nice planted tank you have there.
When you mentioned art, what was in your mind and vision you have when you set up the tank?
What kind of picture or feeling you want to create for visitors? Is it a scene, a picture or just plants, like in a garden.

PS: INtroduce to your regime another liquid called Green Gain. And for your dosing of Green Bactar, you can reduce it to only doing it during your weekly water change. Similar for Green gain.

[Salphur]

Wow, your tank is quite a beauty with some good coordination of red plants within the scape. By the way, do i see some riccia on the right side of your tank?

Cheers!

[ranmasatome]

Wow... looks like a garden..

[rc311]

Wow, your tank is quite a beauty with some good coordination of red plants within the scape. By the way, do i see some riccia on the right side of your tank?

Cheers!

Ya, i suppose it is the riccia. I have limited knowledge of plant's name.

Btw, anyone can share how do i spread the ricca? I intend to create a slope from frontground to the background. It is growing but only in vertical. Can i trim it when it longer and replant the trimmed to another wire mesh?

[Jungle-mania]

Yes, you can, but please note that riccia grows like wild fire and in their natural environment, they actually are floating plants. So constant trimming and maintenance is a must.

[rc311]

Hi,

Here is my photo after a trimming..

Before,


After,

[torque6]

Looks like a dutch tank with everything properly align

[StanChung]

Hi RC,
I think you need to get your golden section worked out and plan for some depth that makes the eye want to look into and get mesmerized. Right now everything looks nice and neat. You plant choices are somehow biased towards those pointing upwards and tend to make your layout still. You can still correct this by creating slopes and using trimming technique to thicken the plant groups. Many aquascapers are afraid to use the scissors. Just go in there and cut. This act will cause double, maybe triple sideshoots. This makes the whole group nice and bushy. I do think you need mid ground plants to cover the legs of your stem plants once the bottom leaves melt off. These are usually ferns, anubias or crypts.

I would also keep in mind the view is normally from the front, so keep the front of the tank clear. Only low growing plants. Riccia will be a bit hard to handle once it starts to float and stick everywhere including your mosses.

[Jervis]

Nice... it feels like a underwater garden... can zoom in to show some plants?