# Setting up hardscape and i could use some critique



## F. Jeppesen (22 Dec 2015)

Got myself 30-45lbs seiryo stone and been trying to work out some hardscapes over the last couple of weeks worth showing off ...
But damn you guys make this look easy!
None of them seem to work together..
They will be sitting on a layer of black nutrasoil, a thick carpet of monte carlo or cuba, and eventually i will add some grass around them to give a little depth.. Tank is 60x45x40

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So much to choose from, yet so little .. I lack a proper main stone, the three large ones has no really good sites to show..


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## Martin in Holland (23 Dec 2015)

Keep fiddling, you will find a layout you are pleased with after a while. You might be able to put two stones on top of each other to make them look as if it's one stone (some moss bewteen those 2 stones could help).


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## alto (23 Dec 2015)

Pick up some cheap sand (if you don't want to practice in tank with substrate) & use this to raise/lower rocks, adjust/support angles etc - also look at your rocks wet & under tank lights: light/shadow play off the stone surface will also impact perception ... then take loads of photos & label rocks etc to more easily replicate the same scape in-tank

You can also create support layers to raise rocks/substrate as you see in this journal 

Looks like a nice collection of stones.

Don't forget that many of those stunning scapes you see begin with rocks/wood selected from boxes of materials - I think Viktor Lantos has some great photos of an aquascaping day at his shop (local aquarists come in, form teams & scape several display tanks that run for the next months) ... my local shop rarely has a single full box


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## Fran (23 Dec 2015)

Hi, nice selection of stones. I have used seiryu stones lately along with Aquasoil and monte carlo. The best advice I can give you is to think 3 dimensionally. Remember that if you have a sufficient depth of soil you will be able to place any of your stones at any angle you wish. With your current thinkering on a table top, you will only be able to create one percent of the possible combination of positions available when aquascaping in soil. Furthermore, monte carlo grows fast and deep and will cover your smaller stones quite quickly if not trimmed regularly. Just a few things to think about

Enjoy!!!


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## Dantrasy (23 Dec 2015)

Use tuna tins, baked beans, books, wood, other rocks, cardboard anything to build up the rocks as a tabletop substitute for soil. It's not easy, but when you get something nice you'll know it.


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## Halley (23 Dec 2015)

The layout where you just have the rocks placed on the kitchen table is actually quite interesting (your last pic).  Maybe dont over think it - look into the rules of iwagumi, golden ratio and rule of the thirds. Imagine you are trying to replicate how you would see rocks in a stream.


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## Worshiper (24 Dec 2015)

The rocks layed out on the table look really nice. I actually thought it was one of your layouts  I'd go with that or something similar.


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## Jakes (24 Dec 2015)

I like your collection of rocks, I recently did mine with the same type and I found that by using the natural lines in the rock I could 'line them up' kinda like a natural geo movement if that makes any sense.

I think I had about 20 different styles and in the end I went with what the wife liked best... She is my harshest critic 


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## F. Jeppesen (24 Dec 2015)

Thank you all for your inputs  I will keep practicing, and set up scapes until i find the one i like. They have been set up with different height levels, i just didnt think of showing it.
I wont be able to use the full setup unless I get a 100x50cm tank haha. there are more stones than it might look like  
I will post the final layout in a journal.


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## Halley (24 Dec 2015)

Think about tension and flow


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## Will.P (27 Dec 2015)

One tip I read somewhere was, once you have a layout that you're happy with, leave it set up for a day or two, that way you will get to live with it for a short while.
How many times do we have a layout set up only to find we want to change things a couple of days later?


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## F. Jeppesen (28 Dec 2015)

Halley said:


> Think about tension and flow
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Can you elaborate?


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## Halley (28 Dec 2015)

What part dont you understand?


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## F. Jeppesen (28 Dec 2015)

Halley said:


> What part dont you understand?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Tension in a hardscape. Do you mean how close the stones are put together?


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## Halley (28 Dec 2015)

No - I mean how 2 stones can point in opposite directions but the majority of the rest of the stones support the direction of the main stone.  This thought helped me when I was trying to understand the iwagumi style.  There are certain points you want to hit in a hardscape in an aquarium (rule of thirds/golden ratio etc) but I think you should set up your hardscape and look at it for a while thinking how does it feel to look at.


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## F. Jeppesen (28 Dec 2015)

Alright thank you  
Thats what i tried to say earlier. I have some sweet stones individually, but unfortunatly the "good" sides point in opposite directions, I wanted to have them all point to the left because my in and out take are on the right side of the tank.


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## Halley (28 Dec 2015)

The tension is the 2 stones pointing in opposite directions and the flow (the release) is the other stones supporting the main stone.


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## Halley (28 Dec 2015)

I think the flow should follow the direction of the water but like any rules they are there to be broken.  Try to find a nature scene and replicate it.


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## Halley (28 Dec 2015)

By the way - i am a beginner aswell and just learning 


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## fli1979.fl (29 Dec 2015)

Hi you have some really nice rock there I to liked the layout on just your table and could see that working with kinda a island type scape higher in the middle going lower to front and to left and right I found that using a box same height and size as tank  made it easier to layout with a bag of cheap playsand to get different heights and shapes my little one thought it was fun to

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## F. Jeppesen (30 Dec 2015)

Alright, just to clarify for everyone. The last picture was just to show the selection of rocks i have. There is no way i can fit them all inside my tank  That would fit a 2-300l Tank


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## Halley (30 Dec 2015)

I think the point is that you arranged the rocks according to size with the largest to the back, in your picture.  In nature the same thing generally happens due to erosion by water.


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## F. Jeppesen (1 Jan 2016)

While i have an active thread i might as well use it. Do you all put some foam under the tank?


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## Wombat (2 Jan 2016)

F. Jeppesen said:


> Do you all put some foam under the tank?


I think that depends on the type of tank you have. As far as I understand it some tanks benefit from a layer of foam under the glass, other tanks specify not to use foam underneath.

Or did you mean foam inside the tank under the rocks? Some people certainly do. If I was using very heavy rocks I might do but I think I get enough cushioning from my substrate so I've not done so.


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## F. Jeppesen (2 Jan 2016)

I have a custommade 60x45x40 rimless tank in weissglass


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## F. Jeppesen (2 Jan 2016)

Finally got my cabinet finished. After a few hours tinkering, this is the best i've come up with so far  Gonna leave it overnight and see how i can improve it tomorrow morning


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