We were all beginners once...

[ranmasatome]

Just thought i'd post some pictures of my planted tank progression....
As you can see, we were all beginners once..and as time evloves, we get better and better when we work at it... Hope you enjoy the pictures and progression... and hope it encourages other aquascapers out there to keep at it in your own planted tank..

My 2feet low tech progression...



Rescape!!


Bleh... didn't like..rescape again..



Rescape time!!


After a while i redid entire tank because i go an ADA clear glass tank...This is its current look...aren't low techs awesome??? LOVE them!!




My 3feet high tech progression...



Planted some new plants


Left it to overgrow..


Final phase 1


Shifted plants around...and did a slight rescape..


Growth period



Final Phase 2...this tank has since been taken apart as i left for japan around this time as well...so cannot take care of it.


Looking back i can see what i would have done differently in each picture...but i still throughly enjoy these tanks as they have provided a learning source for myself...i hope they help you guys out too..

[doubleace]

Nice improvement bro. Hope i will be like you.

My 2feet low tech progression...


My 3feet high tech progression...

Bro got some questions to ask you. From the first picture you insert a thing on the inlet. Where can get it? On the second and third pictures you place the rainbar below at the back wont it blow off the plant if the flow is too strong or you place the hole blowing upwards?

[yeoyl87]

oh gosh, Bro, your setups very nice. All don't look very beginner to me. Anyway, Whats the foreground plant for this setup? They dont look like E tennulus to me.

[Shadow]

even the 1st picture does not look like beginners at all, very nice.

What is that brown/red thing on the substrate of the last picture? look like falling leaves.

[marle]

Your tanks look very nice! I love the lushness of all your tanks!

[zenscape]

Beautiful tanks! Agree that the first one already scored like a pro

If you could remember the estimate dates put it in and it would be nice to see the evolution over time... the new layouts in the ADA tank are fabulous.

Justin, what is the name of the plant that creeped in the foreground of the 2nd tank?

[Aquaculture]

Either you're too humble or you're so gifted that you didn't realise it bro..

Your 1st tank already look so good...

[ranmasatome]

Har??? good?? i think because they are my own tanks i can be too critical on them... i sometimes have a perfectionist streak in me... probably passed down from my mother... anyway...

Doubleace : That thing i can't remember where i got it from..but it must be either NA or C328... i'm starting to think more likely it was NA... can't remember price also..haha.. sorry.. but do head down to check it out if you're interested.. think they might still have some... not too sure.. it works pretty well for me..

Also for the rear rain bar.. i placed it facing about 30 degrees diagonally... initially, when i started the tank.. it did blow my plants outwards a bit.. but as time went on and the tank got lusher...the plants were fine and this set up actually posed the least problems in water circulation. However, for some strange reason.. i could never grow the thin-leafed rotalas at the back region... i don't know whether it was water parameters in this tank or something else.. they just wont take off... everything however, exploded like mad..and algae was the least of my worries in this tank.. only had a little of the usual GSA and GDA.

Yeoyl87 and Zenscape : That foreground plant is lilaeopsis brasiliensis...also commonly known as brazilian micro sword... grows like mad and runs all over the place... in fact, it can even grow in remotely dark regions!!! Think this plant usually gert overshadowed when talking about foreground plants... for me i found it easy to take care of..and if you have a large tank like 5ft or so.. you rarely even have to trim it..Talking about rarely used forgroundplants... i found this other plant that is great for foregrounds!!! but it needs to be trimmed to make it bush out... i'll be testing it out in japan then try to make a scape with it...and take some pictures..

Zenscape : see what i mean about small red fishes?? look at the last picture.. i used i think 50 axelrodia rieseii and about 50 Corydoras hastatus in that scape... see anything?? small red speck right?? can only almost make them out as fish... not much presence in the scape.. Looking back,for this scape, i would have used larger fish, did something to the left front corner plants as the leafage was too large/disorderly/distracting and layered the plants more to give greater depth..

Shadow : Yup... those are falling leaves... this was meant to be an Autumn scape. Phase 1 was summer, Phase 2 was Autumn. i wanted to progress this tank for a spring and winter scape then in the end put all 4 pictures together...but finally only ended up with 2 out of 4 because i didnt have time to setup the other 2...pity...otherwise i think it would have looked quite good when all 4 are placed together... maybe give it a name like "seasons"..hahaha..

Didn't really expect all your kind comments but Thanks guys for them...glad the tanks are helping out.

[zenscape]

Haha, you were right.. can't any fish in it even there were hundreds of them.

Ok, will wait for your rare found foreground plants from nippon

[rwalker]

Simply gorgeous! How do you define low tech?

Hope to learn some tricks from you on how to achieve those towering and bushy effect!

[Sunfire]

Actually my favourites are the 3ft high tech and the ADA low tech. Very nice. I take it that these tanks are located in Japan?

[illumnae]

wow i'm awed! hope one day i'll be able to progress to hit your "beginner" standard...i'd be happy even to be able to do that!

[ranmasatome]

Hi rwalker...

my low tech tanks are simply..ADA substrate..plants, water, hardscape and fish... thats about it... no co2, no weekly water change, no dosing...well maybe once a month.. topping up evaporated water and feeding fish.. thats it..

Sunfire... all tanks are in singapore..haha.. thats why i took apart the high tech and left the low tech to florish.... i added some stones into the low tech.. still feel it looks funny.. maybe sometime this week i'll take a rough photo..

[Shadow]

If you can get all 4 seasson, summer, Autumn, spring and winter, I imagine must be very nice. Though I wonder how are you planning to make it into winter scape? Freezing it

[doubleace]

Use freezer..

[Goondoo]

If you can get all 4 seasson, summer, Autumn, spring and winter, I imagine must be very nice. Though I wonder how are you planning to make it into winter scape? Freezing it

Use freezer..

FYI, winter does not necessary means slow and ice......

[Shadow]

I know, I was just joking , still wondering how to make viewer to have winter perception or feeling. Interesting to see

[REDDOT]

is a drug ................thumbs upz!!

[benkho]

hey...at the final phase 2...your plants on the right were really packed...how did you get them like that? the gravel is just flat to the back right? i am afraid if we put the too tightly they will no get enough place to grow and rot and die...will they??

[marle]

No c02 even? wow. What about your lighting?