# Scaping help needed please - VOTE NOW!



## Ray (20 Jul 2008)

Hi everyone, 
The benefit of your collective wisdom on this would be very much appreciated for my new tank.  The substrate will be 2/3 Aqua Soil Malaya and 1/3 sand in the foreground with a path going back in accordance with the golden ratio.  Planting will be various crypts, narrow and needle leaf ferns, mosses, P. Helfrei, C. Helfrei, Blyxa and eleocharis.

So far I have 1 piece of malaysian driftwood, I think I need more but what do people think of the following orientations?










Or, somewhere in between the two:


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## Garuf (20 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*

Number 3 gets my vote but don't stop altering and seeing if you can improve it. I'd like to see it coming forward from one corner, maybe that would work well?


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## Mark Evans (20 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*



			
				Garuf said:
			
		

> Number 3 gets my vote but don't stop altering and seeing if you can improve it. I'd like to see it coming forward from one corner, maybe that would work well?



exactly what i was thinking!


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## Ray (21 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*

Thanks guys.  Unfortunately in that orientation it won't go any further back.  Also I am hard plumbed in the back right hand corner.  Maybe it has a better side, try this:





I like it better but it is not at all what I was planning to do - the hard plumbing on the back RHS is supposed to be hidden by crypts and _Cyperus Helfrei_.

And, to put things more in perspective, a shot of the tank and stand:


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## Mark Evans (21 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*

can you pick it up slightly like in pic 3? thats a beautifull stand ray.


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## Ray (21 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*



			
				saintly said:
			
		

> can you pick it up slightly like in pic 3? thats a beautiful stand ray.


Thank you, the stand is my own work - it was a never again experience but I am quite pleased with the end result  

Here, picked up slightly, I like these best so far - you are very good at this Saintly.  Pictures are a little gloomy I'm afraid - not much light to shoot any more and too soon to get the luminaire out   

4a (raised 2 blocks):




4b (raised 3 blocks):


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## Mark Evans (21 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*

they both work for me, but if i HAD to choose?...i would pick the first one.(2 blocks)

im interested in this thread, because my next scape will be something similar. 

shame you live in switzerland, you could of made me one of those stands  



			
				Ray said:
			
		

> you are very good at this Saintly



i wished i was ray. im a complete noob to aquascaping, hence watching what your doing. 

i think youd get a good response in the journals section ray


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## Ray (22 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*



			
				saintly said:
			
		

> shame you live in switzerland, you could of made me one of those stands


  You'd never have the patience - took me months to make that thing   


			
				saintly said:
			
		

> i think youd get a good response in the journals section ray


I'll start one shortly, this aquascaping part of the forum just seems to be just the Ray and Mark show, none of your fanatical fanboys from the journals section here!   

Now then, what do you think of more central?:





Or how about this for something completely different:





It could be a sort of dam with higher substrate behind than in front - like Amano demo's in NAW book 1, sort of like this if it makes sense:





Or maybe I've made a mistake and bought the wrong piece of wood?


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## Dan Crawford (23 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*

Nice one Ray, it's deffanatly 2 blocks for me although no doubt it'll change somewhat once the substrate and water go in. With the wood in the middle it almost cuts the tank in half if you know what i mean? Having the wood to one side draws the eye across the scape. Just my thoughts   

It looks like you've got it all planned and it should turn out real nice!


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## Mark Evans (23 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*

when will you put the AS in and the sand path? actually you cant put the sand in until you know where the wood is going.... :? im stupid sometimes.
i reckon then you'll start to get a clearer picture of what it may look like. 

i would say putting the wood in the middle would unbalance the layout, not unless you didnt have the sand path. it's kind of one the rules you might have to follow on this one ray 

wood in middle = NO path..... unless you had a sand front. now that would lok great. (what im planning on doing  )

path = wood in opposite 3rd

the c helferi is a beautifull plant. one of my faves, along with hc, and e tennelus
mark


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## Ray (23 Jul 2008)

Thank you Dan and Mark, I think, with your help I've narrowed it down to 4 options.
_*Everyone - your votes please!*_  8) 

*Option 1 "The Path"*




*Option 2 "The Island"*, with extra wood




*Option 3 "Terraced", *




_*"Terraced"*variant b to add more wood_




*Option 4 - none of the above*, _keep trying or find another piece of wood!_


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## Mark Evans (23 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*

good work ray.

id choose 1.

2 would be good if the sand didnt go right around the sides. maybe along the front 3inches (80cm). as it stands it limits your planting. just a thought.

mark


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## ceg4048 (23 Jul 2008)

Hi Ray,
          All good ideas.   I like 3b the most.

Cheers,


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## REDSTEVEO (23 Jul 2008)

Ray said:
			
		

> Hi everyone,
> The benefit of your collective wisdom on this would be very much appreciated for my new tank.  The substrate will be 2/3 Aqua Soil Malaya and 1/3 sand in the foreground with a path going back in accordance with the golden ratio.  Planting will be various crypts, narrow and needle leaf ferns, mosses, P. Helfrei, C. Helfrei, Blyxa and eleocharis.
> 
> So far I have 1 piece of malaysian driftwood, I think I need more but what do people think of the following orientations?
> ...


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## planter (24 Jul 2008)

*Re: Scaping help needed please for 90cm Asian theme tank*

Hi Ray,

For me its a ll about the picture below -  



			
				Ray said:
			
		

>



I can see the left hand side planted with taller stems (crypto balansae back left?), maybe a fern and some anubias tied onto the bulk end of the wood, Moss growing on the branches that extend out to the right, Moss stones and crypts around the base of the wood perhaps? ahhh im getting carried away now    its a nice peice of wood, I can see a nature aquarium style tank!  Only thing i would say is watch that sawn end (visisble in som of the other pics), you dont want that showing if you can help it.

Ohh and what a gorgeous stand - I want one!


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## spaldingaquatics (24 Jul 2008)

REDSTEVEO said:
			
		

> Personally I liked the very first picture but I think the Basketball needs to be a bit more to the left



 

I like your varient b of the 'Terraced'
The extra wood will stop it being lost, if you know what I mean? Whilst trying to picture each option planted I just feel that the originol 'Terraced' would end up with the wood being hidden


Thanks
Adam


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## jay (26 Jul 2008)

Hi Ray, loving these ideas of yours.

excellent idea from Mark about the angle of the wood, personally I'd go for that every time.

Not sure about the island theme... lots of people doing that.

*looks over at tank*

yeah way too many people doing that  
I keep going back to the terraced layouts though, i love them.
Especially if you were able to get some branchy wood to go along with it.
Can just imagine pogostemon leading up to the wood, then some nice stems flowing behind.

Personal choice is the name of the game i suppose. GREAT cabinet by the way.


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