Rescaping my planted tank

[hiisoka]

Did a rescaping of my previous setup.

from this



to


this



as you can see, the result wasn't satisfactory.
the rocks dont match, the contrast was too much, the
focal point was not obvious enough, etc.
so this setup will only be temporary.


this is what i plan to do next:


please pardon the messy drawing.

changes:
- to white background (if im using fine sand)
- substrate: powersand/bacter + amazonia
the slope down, i will either be using fine sand OR HC.
if im using sand, then the front portion of the tank will be sand as well.

-bolbitis heudeloti<< may be optional
just realized it might not fit into the picture.

and so.
the hunt for the rocks / driftwood / plants begins today

[Shadow]

nice sketch, cant wait to see the actual. You might want to reconsider the java fern. Mayaca fluviatilis is log stem with small/needle leaf where as java fern big fat leaf, it does not match, the different is too drastic. Unless you can get mini java fern

[hiisoka]

thanks for the advice!

for the java fern , i was actually thinking about
the narrow leaf variety.

by the way, what plants would you suggest
in place of the java ferns?


im stil not really sure if that will be the final layout, because the frontal
portion seems to be "jungle" , so the background mayaca and mid-foreground hemianthus micranthemoides might not work.
But then again
i might just do away with the bolbitis and ferns.

Stil contemplating the different possibilities

[Shadow]

narrow leaf might work.

To create depth you can do it with plants. Let say hairgras at the back just tiny bit, follow by mayaca, follow by HM. Then narrow left tied to the wood infront. Put a bit of jap hairgrass here and there in between rocks. You can also add couple of small leaf red color plant to spice it up.

[hiisoka]

Thank you for the advice!!!!

[wongce]

Your tank is nice....keep up the good work....

[sateman]

What happened to all those glosso (I assume) you had in the previous setup?
Great job to have them carpeting so densely.

[hiisoka]

thanks for the kind compliments
it's very encouraging for a beginner like me.

i removed the glosso and placed it in a container
the whole "carpet" came off very nicely intact.

[hiisoka]

before planting:



this is how it looks like at the moment:
please pardon the poor photography. very tired at 4am last night when the picture was taken.

the slope effect seem to have disappeared after planting
will need to top up the sand after i finish scaping


as you can see, it's still very much work-in-progress
-going to get more rocks, preferably smaller ones of matching shapes / colors
to border around the "path" or fill gaps in between
-1 more fissiden on rock for the right side
-a few more slightly bulkier driftwood to complement what i have now.
(too many thin and branchy driftwood)
-have not planted the HM (didn't manage to get them yesterday)
-will be filling certain gaps around the driftwood with petite nana tied to small rocks/driftwood.

some questions:
-Is the way i planted the mayaca correct?
-for the HM, do i plant in clusters or individually?
-Do i have too much variety of plants??



flora currently inside:
-us fissiden
-mini fissiden
-spiky moss + taiwan moss
-bolbitis heudeloti
-bacopa madagascariensis << not very sure, got it from polyart
-petite nana
-mayaca fluviatilis

planning to add
-hemianthus micranthemoides between
foreground and background to create bush effect

[e[V]o|ut|on]

Hi Bro,

You might want to read about building up height in the substrate here: http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com...ight-substrate

[hiisoka]

Hi Bro,

You might want to read about building up height in the substrate here: http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com...ight-substrate

Thank you!

[wongce]

Hi Bro,

You might want to read about building up height in the substrate here: http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com...ight-substrate

I am using the same method with my tank...haha, see my blog for infomation...i ran out of space to post pictures in AQ.. :P

TS, white sand hard to maintain...but they look really nice....

[Shadow]

Try get something slightly brownish. Too white also hard to take picture also

[hiisoka]

i blame the lousy iphone 3gs camera.
will take a better picture once the scape is done

[hiisoka]

I am using the same method with my tank...haha, see my blog for infomation...i ran out of space to post pictures in AQ.. :P

TS, white sand hard to maintain...but they look really nice....

hi bro

i saw this on your blog
http://theplantedtankblog.blogspot.s...ysterious.html

very useful information indeed

by the way, where do you get those rocks from?
im trying to find such rocks, but smaller pieces

[wongce]

Thanks for the compliment...haha it seems both of us like "trail & hill" scapes...haha

The Small rocks are from seaview,y618. Not much stock left during my visit last week.

[e[V]o|ut|on]

hi bro

i saw this on your blog
http://theplantedtankblog.blogspot.s...ysterious.html

very useful information indeed

by the way, where do you get those rocks from?
im trying to find such rocks, but smaller pieces

You may like to try mainland tropical or those fish farms along pasir ris farmland to search for rocks...i'm sure you'll be able to find what you want...

[IAMTHOMAS]

Incredible!!!!!!!!!

[hiisoka]

update on 1 december:


don't mind the blur photo

[hiisoka]

update: 16 december



changes:
-more branchy driftwood, some with mosses tied at different parts.
-sprinkled some small pebbles along the edges of the "path"
(painstakingly handpicked those pebbles with colors what will match the
overall look.... )
-trimmed the mayaca fluviatilis at the back
-added in some new plants at the back / mid ground.
(staurogyne repens and some nice plant which look like HM on mesh / rock)