# Mountainscape



## zig (30 Dec 2007)

This is the newest layout in my small tank.

54L 60x30x30cm Juwel tank
Eheim 2211 filter
3x24Watt T5s @ 8 hours per day, 6 hours 3x24, 2 hours 2x24.
ADA Aqausoil amazonia (mud)
17 mini landscape rocks (pointy one's  )


Plants and fish.
HC, Hemianthus callitrichoides ''Cuba''
Lampeye killifish

50% Water changes every 3-4 days and I dosed 2ml Tropica plant nutrition+ daily.
CO2 1bps.

I grew this out without a heater in the tank and added the fish later, the fish were a good choice for this size tank IMO, perfect size really, they seem pretty happy in there now.


----------



## Dave Spencer (30 Dec 2007)

Very nice, Zig. You beat me to it....i am just about to do a mountain scape in my 120l using HC and HM.

Dave.


----------



## Arana (30 Dec 2007)

Nice sense of balance and perspective... well done


----------



## Ed Seeley (30 Dec 2007)

Fantastic scape Zig.  Love the lampeyes too.  love the contrast of harsh, pointed rocks and soft HC.


----------



## GreenNeedle (31 Dec 2007)

Its the scenery for the next Lord of the Rings movie......What do you mean they've done all three....Wake JRT up and get him to write the 4th.

I love it.

There are so many tanks using this style with the rocks and the HC and the path but yours looks superb.  very realistic whereas others seem to loook a little false.

No doubt when you ad the rest of us think it is great soeone on a judging panel wil shoot us all down in flames and say 1 rock is 2mm out of position but who cares.  To me it looks awesome and I am being inspired for the first time to actually get some rocks and lights and try this myself. (budget allowing of course)

I shall be coming back for more on this one.

Andy


----------



## zig (31 Dec 2007)

Thanks guys

Dave a 120cm tank would be great for a scape like this although you would need a lot of rocks and substrate which obviously would make the tank very heavy, got to be careful with that many rocks in the tank, if even from a scratch point of view.This tank has some very large heavy rocks in it although you wouldn't think it. You would have much better plant choices though because of scale.

Thanks Arana, getting the scale was pretty easy, getting the perspective correct was much harder, a lot of rocks went in and out of the tank over the course of a few weeks, although the basic rockwork was set from the beginning.

Cheers Ed, very happy with the lampeyes, they school great and are happy to pose for the camera at the right moments.


----------



## zig (31 Dec 2007)

SuperColey1 said:
			
		

> Its the scenery for the next Lord of the Rings movie......What do you mean they've done all three....Wake JRT up and get him to write the 4th.
> 
> I love it.
> 
> ...



eh cheers Andy, sorry I missed your reply there when I was typing away. I will post it up on APC and see what happens. The planting on this is very simple which a lot may dismiss as too easy.

Good to see you back.


----------



## George Farmer (31 Dec 2007)

Too easy!!! lol

Just kidding, Peter.

Superb balance and execution.  Well done indeed.  Another worthy contest entry for 2008.

Happy New Year mate!


----------



## Tom (31 Dec 2007)

Almost definitely the best looking tank I've seen come out of the UK yet.   Love it!

Why is it, that as soon as I settle on a layout I see something else I want to try!!   

Tom


----------



## Ray (31 Dec 2007)

Very nice, just to find such nice rocks is like the first task for Hercules, arranging them like that the second, getting the HC cover just right the third, just getting hold of lampeyes the 4th, I'm not sure we'll get to 12 but lets just say I'm quite sure its not as easy as it looks....

I like the way side panel reflections extend the range further still...

I would be interested to see a shot from the beginning with substrate and without the HC if you have one?


----------



## CJ Castle (31 Dec 2007)

Very Nice, Zig... The best scape so far, IMO...


----------



## GreenNeedle (31 Dec 2007)

I know you only posted it on APC earlier today but very good comments so far (speaking too soon probably. lol) I'm soo surprised.  Normally I think that looks good then scroll down to see many posts of aquascaping snobbery. lol

Maybe my eyes are working properly and I am right for a change in thinking that this tank looks awesome.

Hope you keep getting the positives Zig.  Good Work deserves the plaudits it receives.

Andy


----------



## Graeme Edwards (31 Dec 2007)

Another one in the bank Zig, theres no stopping you now ahy!!!!

Looks sweet, very nicely balanced, the fish in the picture take some searching, maybe take some more to find the best position for the picture. Oh and being very picky here so forgive me. Maybe change the ripples too. I say these things cause its an ace scape, and like me im sure your after perfection.

Cheers.


----------



## zig (31 Dec 2007)

Hey thanks everyone only getting back to this now, today was a work day for me  and I was really busy.

I will post up some more shots later, maybe tonight, yeah Im staying in, I believe they have bell ringing on BBC1 at midnight, that should be good  

Happy new year folks!


----------



## Arana (31 Dec 2007)

zig said:
			
		

> I will post up some more shots later, maybe tonight, yeah Im staying in, I believe they have bell ringing on BBC1 at midnight, that should be good



I'll be staying up for those  

Happy New Year


----------



## zig (1 Jan 2008)

This is how I put the tank together

This is the original hardscape, I knew I was going to change it as I went along but this was the basic layout I started with, the rest was added on over the course of a few weeks. The front section stayed intact, I didn't change these rocks because these rocks were banking the whole thing up, these are quite large rocks with just the faces showing, the rest of them are buried beneath holding up the soil. The most difficult thing about this scape was obviously the rock placement, but what made it challenging was the depth of the tank at only 12 inches, so trying to achieve a sense of perspective and depth was actually quite hard and needed a lot of rock changes along the way to find the best combination that I was happy with, also when you are dealing with a limited supply of rocks thats another factor you must obviously consider. Anyway here's some shots just to give an idea of how I approached it.





This is probably about a week in and I have added some extra rocks already.





More changes





Mist effect with muddy aquasoil





Here's a different shot to finish off, note the perfect ripples!!!!!  





I will probably keep this layout going for another few weeks and try and get better photos.

Thanks for looking folks and a Happy new year to everyone


----------



## George Farmer (2 Jan 2008)

Great progress shots.  

This really is a superb aquascape, Peter.  Your best yet - and that's saying something...


----------



## Themuleous (2 Jan 2008)

Love the path way, esp at the back where the really steep adjacent rocks give it a real sense of huge mountains.  You'd feel very small walking along that path.

Sam


----------



## Graeme Edwards (2 Jan 2008)

Very very good, that last picture is very nice. Again the fish are difficult to see, think it would benifit from them being a little more visible.


----------



## zig (3 Jan 2008)

Thanks guys!

Graeme you could be right about the fish, the problem Im having is that once the lights go on the fish stay at the middle bottom section of the tank and nearly always at the front, whereas I would prefer them at the top back to get more interesting shots, Im also only using available light here for the shots, so that has me limited as well. I have an external flash but cannot get it to sync with my point and shoot camera, I will look into getting an adaptor but I don't think one is available for this camera (Canon A610) for the type of flash I have.

An added problem is that the light I am using blew the other night so no more shots until I get a replacement, but basically the easiest thing would be to have the fish move in the upper section of the tank so I may need to use different fish for that anyway as these guys do not venture there, ever, once the lights go on. 

But there is no problem, I will solve these issues, and because the scape is the easiest in the world to keep, time is not really a factor thankfully.

Thanks for the great comments everyone.


----------



## George Farmer (3 Jan 2008)

You need a DSLR in your life, Peter.  You won't look back.

Canon 400D or Nikon D40x are nice entry levels with good spec.

This way you're not limited by your camera, which is a nice feeling, especially with the levels you're attaining with your 'scapes and P&S shots.

Keep it up mate, you're leading the way...


----------



## Ray (3 Jan 2008)

zig said:
			
		

> ...have the fish move in the upper section of the tank so I may need to use different fish for that anyway as these guys do not venture there, ever, once the lights go on.



Not even when you feed them?

Perhaps you could use some of my female guppies with blue contact lenses as stand ins - mine will do anything for a pinch of food?!


----------



## Jeremy (3 Jan 2008)

Awesome aquascape!

Fancy doing a feature on it for PFK?


----------



## George Farmer (3 Jan 2008)

Jeremy said:
			
		

> Awesome aquascape!
> 
> Fancy doing a feature on it for PFK?



Yeah, it's about time PFK had some decent planted tanks in there...


----------



## Tom (3 Jan 2008)

Thats a good idea     With links to UKAPS of course


----------



## Themuleous (4 Jan 2008)

Definitely, not that rubbish 30cm nano anymore  

Nice to see Jeremy on here 

Sam


----------



## Dave Spencer (5 Jan 2008)

Well, I am ready to do my rocky scape this week, Zig, but I`m not sure I`ll bother now  

Think I`ll stick to sunken galleons and bubble walls where there is less competition to make me feel inadequate.

Dave.


----------



## james3200 (5 Jan 2008)

Missed this tank, fantastic work

Not 100% if the path works IMO, looks a bit unnatural, i think filled in would have still given the look you were after and be a little more natural, but thats just my taste


----------



## zig (6 Jan 2008)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> You need a DSLR in your life, Peter.  You won't look back.
> 
> Canon 400D or Nikon D40x are nice entry levels with good spec.
> 
> ...



You know it George

 Just as I finally convince myself that I want a DSLR do I realise I have Missed the Canon cashback offer by a few days  



			
				rayi said:
			
		

> Not even when you feed them?
> 
> Perhaps you could use some of my female guppies with blue contact lenses as stand ins - mine will do anything for a pinch of food?!



Not sure food floating around would do anything for the photos TBH but good idea anyway, thanks.



			
				Jeremy said:
			
		

> Awesome aquascape!
> 
> Fancy doing a feature on it for PFK?



Jeremy thanks for the offer and apologies for not getting back to you sooner, I spoke to George via pm today and he will fill you in on some details, Im sure, if thats ok. Thankyou.



			
				George Farmer said:
			
		

> Jeremy said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



They do, have you not seen Jeremys tank in the last issue!  

Its the way I tell em, sorry George couldn't resist that one! easy.



			
				Dave Spencer said:
			
		

> Well, I am ready to do my rocky scape this week, Zig, but I`m not sure I`ll bother now
> 
> Think I`ll stick to sunken galleons and bubble walls where there is less competition to make me feel inadequate.
> 
> Dave.



Go for it Dave, plenty of ways to make a scape with rocks!! 



			
				james3200 said:
			
		

> Missed this tank, fantastic work
> 
> Not 100% if the path works IMO, looks a bit unnatural, i think filled in would have still given the look you were after and be a little more natural, but thats just my taste



Thanks James, I sort of like the path although I have another mountainscape planned and it won't have a path. Originally there was a gap at the back of the scape where the path led and then things got changed around but the path stayed. I think it helps give it more depth to the scape because the eye leads up through the pathway past the rocks placed either side.

Thanks everyone


----------



## George Farmer (16 Mar 2008)

This is now featured in the April issue of PFK.

Nice one, Peter!


----------



## Moss Man (16 Mar 2008)

Congratulations Peter!
Definitely well deserved!


----------



## zig (16 Mar 2008)

Hey thanks guys, didn't realise this was out right now, better get down to the shop tomorrow and see what George is saying about me!


----------



## Lisa_Perry75 (17 Mar 2008)

Loved the article and thought the scape is amazing. It definately decepts the eye into thinking the scape is much bigger than it really is.

Well done that man!


----------



## George Farmer (17 Mar 2008)

zig said:
			
		

> Hey thanks guys, didn't realise this was out right now, better get down to the shop tomorrow and see what George is saying about me!



Hey Peter,

It's just come out to subscribers, so you may need to wait a few days for general release.

Might be worth subscribing now...  There's a Great Planted Tank to be featured every month for the next 12 months.  There's some crackers planned, including internationals.


----------



## TDI-line (17 Mar 2008)

Lovely scape Peter and great write up George, excellent.


----------



## Themuleous (17 Mar 2008)

Nice work Peter, well deserved 

Sam


----------



## Martin (17 Mar 2008)

A scape to aspire to. Great feature , well written. Looking forward to the rest in the planted series.I think we are all playing catch up to you zig. Top notch!


----------



## zig (18 Mar 2008)

Thanks everyone, aye a subscription is what's needed alright, no sign of the magazine in the shops here yet , cant wait to see it. 

I put this aquascape into a slightly bigger tank 65Wx36Hx45D and the difference is amazing, it really has a sense of scale now, I was really limited by the size of the other tank. I made some changes and hopefully improvements for mountainscape V2, I'd say it will be another 3-4 weeks before its fully grown out and finished, hopefully it will work out the way I want it, I still need to do some work on it here and there though but so far so good.

@Martin, there's a few on here already there Martin thanks for the kind words though.


----------



## beeky (14 May 2008)

It's been about 2 months now. I'm still waiting for Mountainscape V2!

GIVE IT TO ME!!!

please?


----------



## JamesM (14 May 2008)

Can't wait to see v2... Mountainscape is probably my favourite scape of all time.


----------



## George Farmer (14 May 2008)

Version 2 is Peter's ADA entry...


----------



## beeky (15 May 2008)

Arghhh!

This is so frustrating!! Damn those rules!

I feel so left out   
Now I want a 'scape I can't show anyone.  :?


----------



## JamesM (15 May 2008)

hahaha, tell me about it 

I'm surrounded by - arguably - some of the most beautiful rocks in the world, but I still haven't found the _perfect_ collection for a great layout... Or have I?


----------

