# 220 Gallon mono culture of belem hair grass and rock



## plantbrain (17 Aug 2013)

I just finished up a nicely scaled ridge style lava rock scape using some faux Unzan stone.
Tank came out very different from what the client had expected. He really likes.

Video a couple of days later:


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## plantbrain (17 Aug 2013)

We were a little thin on of nthe hair grass, the front edge is something I tend to do, it'll fill in and look similar to the 70 Gallon I did with the Manzy burls and belem grass.
Gerry is fairly good with CO2, and maintenance so he should have few issues with this scape. Sitting on the couch while he works from home is the main spot. the tank will have about 400-500 Cards and Apistos and then the cleaning crew. I'll be interested to see the tank in 3-4 months.

I also did a 75 Gallon(Cypress knees) and 57 Gallon tank(Seiryu stone).
The Cypress knees, I've never seen anyone other than myself use it. 
Not sure why. The 57 is a fairly standard Chinese style rock scape.

So he got 3 scapes done, with tank break down and multiple water changes to clean and clear things up, moving fish etc in 3 days basically.


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## plantbrain (20 Aug 2013)

Gerry says the tank is really nice and super clear now.

I have been using these larger clear CO2 reactors, just large water filter housing basically, but you can add the filter cartridges and still use them as CO2 reactors also, they sell these cheap carbon block 5 micron cartridges for a few $ so you can ultra filter the water, then remove after 1 day or use only at night, then get a nice pic, or have your mates over for brew. Like George Farmer, I clean the snot out of any tank that's redone. This makes the client happy and makes the tank look better and it's a good time to do it.


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## foxfish (20 Aug 2013)

Tom I cant work out the flow pattern, there seems to be opposing flow at the front of the tank.
I am guessing the Co2 is flowing back through the rear return..is that C02 bubbles we can see?

You might be interested in my reactor design, linked in my signature.


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## plantbrain (20 Aug 2013)

Hi Foxfish, the CO2 is run through a 4.5" x 20" inch tall clear water filter and uses a stand pipe that pulls water from the bottom to exit.
So it's similar. This out put then mixes with the sump water and is placed near the return pump, the intake is near the start of the sump, exit near the end of the sump etc.


The return are the two pipes, they are split from the return pump so both have CO2 rich water coming out of them.
The Vortech  MP40 is on only for a brief time for 1-2 hours, then turns off during the day, it comes on all night. So it shuts down for about 6-7 hours.
Circulation is circular in the tank, the fish will school better this way once he adds the 500 Cardinals back into the tank he now has in the other 2 aquariums.

It'll looking bitching once it's filled in and fish are added.


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## flygja (21 Aug 2013)

Hey Tom, I still don't understand the use of the Vortech MP40 then. It's still opposing the flow from the outlet on the left when its turned on? Or do you intend to sort of reduce turbulence at night so the fish can rest?


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## plantbrain (21 Aug 2013)

No, it's more for mixing the CO2 at the start up phase, then plenty of current at night to degas.
A 2x1 meter surface area that's skimmed and clean offers a massive area for degassing, so we do not need that much flow since the tank is wide and long and shallow, even more so with 1/3rd of the pushed up due to the sediment.


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## flygja (22 Aug 2013)

Thanks Tom


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## Ady34 (22 Aug 2013)

Nice....but noisy!
Guess its ok in a dedicated room, kind of therapeutic the sound of trickling water, but for most people it would interfere too much with daily life. Just have to keep struggling on with external canister filters and fiddly co2 levels  
Must be great having all that room around the tank for access and maintenance.
This will be stunning once the grass has filled in and watching 500 cardinals will be breathtaking.
Hope Gerry doesn't blow it with his use of mega light for videos 
Cheerio


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## plantbrain (26 Aug 2013)

It's much less noisy than you think. 


More video of my putting the soil in. you get an idea of the size of the rock in this one.


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## Jack12 (26 Aug 2013)

wonder how long 2kg of CO2 lasts in this one?


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## DrRob (26 Aug 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Nice....but noisy!
> Guess its ok in a dedicated room, kind of therapeutic the sound of trickling water, but for most people it would interfere too much with daily life. Just have to keep struggling on with external canister filters and fiddly co2 levels
> Must be great having all that room around the tank for access and maintenance.
> This will be stunning once the grass has filled in and watching 500 cardinals will be breathtaking.
> ...


 

Sumps don't have to be noisy, I have one in my living room, no trickling water, just the hum of the cheap pumps that I need to replace. The secret, as far as I'm concerned, is to make sure that most of the flow is on a full syphon (valve to allow a little to go down the wider overflow, but only a little) and to exit the water onto a sponge. If the overflow starts making noise then something needs maintenance.

As for the tank, lovely. I need to get it into my head to keep the planting simpler. I'm scaping with too much of a cross between a dutch plant mix and a hardscape of this sort (although I use more wood than rock). I would kill for a tank like that, or, more likely, be killed by the other half.


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## viktorlantos (26 Aug 2013)

Great tank Tom. I could live with it too 
Is that a starphire glass?

Also did you do anything with the lava rocks? Nice textures!
The tubing is a bit of hars to this beauty glass wonder, but if the client won on the maintenance on the long term and the tank will be healthier, then well it's ok.


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## plantbrain (26 Aug 2013)

Jack12 said:


> wonder how long 2kg of CO2 lasts in this one?


 

We use 20lbs tanks, so 8-9 kg. They run about 6-7 weeks.


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## plantbrain (26 Aug 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Nice....but noisy!
> Guess its ok in a dedicated room, kind of therapeutic the sound of trickling water, but for most people it would interfere too much with daily life. Just have to keep struggling on with external canister filters and fiddly co2 levels
> Must be great having all that room around the tank for access and maintenance.
> This will be stunning once the grass has filled in and watching 500 cardinals will be breathtaking.
> ...


 

He has the volume cranked on the video, it's very quiet and can be made even more so if he wanted. He has a bean animal which is the the quietest design. 
He works mostly from the couch(does IT code), so he's right next to the tank most of the day.


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## plantbrain (26 Aug 2013)

viktorlantos said:


> Great tank Tom. I could live with it too
> Is that a starphire glass?
> 
> Also did you do anything with the lava rocks? Nice textures!
> The tubing is a bit of hars to this beauty glass wonder, but if the client won on the maintenance on the long term and the tank will be healthier, then well it's ok.


 

Yes, starfire.
About all I use these days.

No, we did nothing to the rock, I dusted it off and rinsed it before. But not even much of that for this tank.

Yes, the tubing is an eye sore to me also.

I suggested a nice stainless steel tubing set, say 17mm ID. He has cats and they would likely break anything glass. Inside the tank, the glass slip on flares will look nice and be easy to clean versus say a lily pipe. I have a glass blower that does Lab glass work that's going to make some return elbows for me this coming month.
This way any filter can have an add on Glass in tank flare that provides various flow routines and is easy to clean and hard to break. Sort of a take on the Mame overflow design with the tubing that connects the modular design.

The rock is really pretty in person, I'd originally thought of using it like Amano but a more grouped Unzan style stones. But once you get the rock and place it, then all that goes out the window and the rock defines the space. The more open space would look nice for different plant species and better for more plant area, but this looked better for the hardscape. I tried a few things to see. All is going well for the client's tanks.


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## plantbrain (27 Aug 2013)

FYI, you might try contacting a local glass blower to make the eblows and then simply slip some vinyl tubing over the U shaped pipe so all you see in the water is the glass elbow. Should not cost much and you can add a flare or other customized things, or dabble with glass blowing yourself.

I think I shall since it takes awhile for some of the artist to fill the orders.


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## plantbrain (4 Sep 2013)

Update time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIc_5oOMS-Y


you can see after 20 days, the huge change in the plant, i's now a different color and submersed growth has started and taken over the old emergent growth. It's now time to trim the taller old emergent stuff down to the same height.
Then add lots of shrimp.

I suggested painted Fire shrimp(hyper red RCS basically).
Amano's, maybe 100.

Then the week after, he'll start with 100 Cardinals and then 1-2 weeks later, another 100 and so on.
Lastly, the Apistos.

They will eat the baby shrimp, but the grass will offer a lot of cover.

Enjoy.


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## Deano3 (4 Sep 2013)

wow great tank the thing is HUGE must cost fortune for tank + substrate etc  but one day I really hope lol grass and rocks look amazing so simplistic without loads of plants and cannot wait to see stocked will be so soothing for you and great to sit and look at, the last vid gives real perspective of its size couldn't belive it   the grass has grew massively in 20 days, when you stocking then mate ?

Thanks Dean


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## plantbrain (5 Sep 2013)

Th stocking will be done shortly, 

Amano shrimp and otto's, maybe 100 shrimp and then 40 Otto's, but likely will end up with about 10-20 Otto's.
Some Painted Fire shrimp.

Cardinals will go at 30 or so a week. About 400-500 total, but this too will widdle down to 350-400 or so.
I'd add 100 a week, but that's just me. Trim time and then another 2-3 months, the tank will be looking pretty nice.

The issue for many people with such tanks after the honeymoon grow in period: they get bored, there's so little to do after.
But that's what this guy said he wanted. The rocks look really nice in person. 

Much better than I thought, but I did spend some time scaling things.


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## plantbrain (8 Sep 2013)

He updated the tank and trimmed, added some livestock finally.
The grass is almost totally grown in and looking good.


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## plantbrain (8 Sep 2013)

BTW, this is the same mini hairgrass you folks can get from Tropica, same genetic clonal stock.
This is as tall as it gets. 

If you hate HC and trimming, this is your plant.
Also, if you enjoy mixing HC and Riccia etc, and want some other plant mix to hold it down in place so you do not need to trim so much, this is the grass to do the job.


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## viktorlantos (8 Sep 2013)

Looking great Tom! Nice work. I love the size, the huge stones and the minimal look. The tons of live stock will make it more interesting, so hopefully the client will not get bored without the maintenances


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## plantbrain (8 Sep 2013)

Well, the Client wanted the minimal work load specifically. n the past, all the various stem plants and other plants he had trouble with took some of the value away really, it can take a 1-2 years for clients to realize this and come to their senses.
I cannot convince them otherwise, each aquarist must come to this point on their own.

They added about 150 Cardinals yesterday. Due to the depth and shallow height, the schooling behavior looks far more intense than in my 180 Gallon tank. He will end up with about 300 I'd say, but the water is only 20 cm deep in the rear sections, so the cardinals will appear in denser schools in the back upper regions.
They are also already large since he got them some time ago.

The video of that will be forth coming in another week or two I'd say.

Grass should loo pretty awesome in 1-2 more weeks, but it'll keep getting denser.
Apistos will be added last.

If you have not done a mini hair grass monoculture, it's perhaps the easiest and best for clients.
Trimming, CO2 demands, among the easiest and everyone likes the fine grass like lawn.

The rocks are really nice at this scale. He'll remove the pennywort which distracts(it's actually for me) and this will give a nicer cleaner look like when I 1st set up the tank.
He will go a reef or maybe a a different plan next 2 years. We will see. I have an idea for the next scape for both plans.
The valleys between the rocks look really nice now.


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## Jack12 (9 Sep 2013)

Tom, the pearling looking great. Every time I turn on Hydor pump pearling goes away for me. If the pump is off every plan pearls. Is this normal?


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## plantbrain (9 Sep 2013)

Some pearling goes away when you add more flow.

I still have it even with this amount of flow and the tanks at my home.

Okay, now the tank has fish in it, he'll add more later.


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## plantbrain (9 Sep 2013)

Cardinals always look better against darker backgrounds. I had some other ideas for the tank plant's but the client needed to be able to grow those species, I knew he could grow this plant and it would be easy to care for.


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## Tim Harrison (9 Sep 2013)

Tom, that is a pretty awesome sight...and there are still more to go in!


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## foxfish (9 Sep 2013)

The tank looks fantastic although it is pretty C02 hungry....10kg last about 6..8 weeks!


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## plantbrain (10 Sep 2013)

foxfish said:


> The tank looks fantastic although it is pretty C02 hungry....10kg last about 6..8 weeks!


 

Yes, this rate is pretty standardized actually IME.
I've used my 180 Gallon as an example and been able to compare it to the 1600 Gallon and this tank and a few others.
But the large fish school's health is well worth the degassing rates.
Current is nice etc.

I have used pure RO for one client and then Baking soda, then the pH/KH chart, then the inverted mls container /seconds for a rate, then a mass flow controller for the rates.
They all are highly predictive in gauging CO2 rates and consumption.

I use an Alicat mass flow controller:
Mass Flow Controllers, precision gas flow controller products - Alicat

About 1200.00 $ new.
Not cheap. But then I know the rate and can scale it pretty well. If 3 methods all agree, then I'm in pretty good shape.
I use the inverted mls container method the most, = nearly free.

Another 150 or so cardinals left to add.


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## plantbrain (10 Sep 2013)

HD with more fish:


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## plantbrain (10 Sep 2013)

BTW, some hobbyists _really_ hate the rock placement. Haha 
But..the tank, when you are sitting in front of it, is awesome to to look at, the stones look like they go back forever into the rear.
The scape will evolve still also, some mini pellia and the penny wort will make the valleys look a bit different.


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## foxfish (10 Sep 2013)

Looks great to me Tom...it is what it is.


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## plantbrain (11 Sep 2013)

I understand, some things I see rub me the wrong way, maybe later on, folks come around, I often have to some elements that are added.
Sand waterfalls? I'm okay if they are done well. REcently, addign a non aquatic bonsai tree to a tank, I'm still not okay with that, in a paludarium, okay.


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## flygja (11 Sep 2013)

Style is subjective. I guess this arrangement doesn't follow the iwagumi textbook as written by Mr Amano. That doesn't mean its wrong, its just different. I mean the NA gallery has one tank that has 5 rocks standing straight up spaced almost equally apart from each other which was weird to me. Personally I would've arranged the rocks slightly differently, I don't like rocks to look the same in a tank. Some should be bigger, smaller, etc.

I can just imagine sitting in front of this tank watching the cardinals school against the dark rock and lively greens. The rocks are also amazing, full of texture. Added bonus that they're lava-based so light and easy to handle!


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## plantbrain (24 Sep 2013)

Check out at 8:00 on for the brief version. 
Card's schooling behavior is now about where you want it. 

the client always wanted a big tank full for card's that was easy to care for. They move through the rocks nicely and the simple mono culture will rough texture contrast strongly with the colors. 

Several scaping options are available, such as using a mix of Rotala green and R. colorata in the middle of the rocks and in the rear, some Cyperus or grassy crypts. Trim the domes of Rotala about 10 below the tops of the rocks' tips and then the plants will regrow nicely and mold the rock work nicely. Grass border for the foreground/sides and back left side would remain.
Penny wort could be added between the Rotala and the hairgrass in the front.
This would force the fish into the front, but.they would also hide in the dense stem plant thickets, I've seen this, so for showing the fish, this open style without any real stem plants is best.


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## Jack12 (24 Sep 2013)

Tom, its a crime to record such a tank in non HD quality 
a. Whats PAR reading at the bottom of the tank and at the surface when tank was set up? I hear he reduced PAR as algae appeared 
b. How long are lights on at the moment? and
c. whats watt/g ratio?
d. why there are no plants at the front of the glass of the tank?


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## Jack12 (24 Sep 2013)

Also TOM, would you suggest any PAR meter that is affordable? does the reader device needs to be submersible?


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## plantbrain (24 Sep 2013)

Apogee light meters seems pretty good, the local UK folks should all pitch in and then ship and share it.
This way it only cost a few $ per each hobbyists.  

I think 50 umols is a good range once the grass grows in nice. About 8 hours total, that includes the ramp up/down. 12 x 39W but these are ATI and they have dimmers and are not ran at full power, so the watt/gallon is meaningless(generally), but even more so in this case.
Hence umol units instead of Watts/gal/liter etc.
He already trimmed the front edge. Keeps the front looking nicer, clean and new growth fills in, who wants to see several cm of gravel in their tank's front view?


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## plantbrain (25 Sep 2013)

I nagged him to tripod and HD the sucker, there's no bad views from this tank really. Each side is pretty well done. It's not a FTS tank. I really do not enjoy such tanks. I need to see and be around the tank. 
One of the reasons why I cannot judge tanks for on line contest, it's a photography contest, not an aquarium contest.


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## Greenfinger2 (25 Sep 2013)

Hi, Scape Exquisite. And the shoal of fish adapting to the flow and moving as one So natural


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## plantbrain (26 Sep 2013)

One thing that is interesting is that we have a single type of stone, a single fish species (mostly), single plant species(not including the pennywort), and at a large scale.
  You can see how the fish schooling behavior is influenced by the scape. If you added more plants and other designs, you'd rarely see this. Here, you see it all the time. 
This tank requires very little work, and highlights the fish very very well.


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## plantbrain (26 Sep 2013)

I've had a few Asian folks really hate this scape and the rocks. Mostly ADA fan boys. They felt like I just tossed the stones in here any which way
They did not justify it much, said it lacked a focal point. But it's clear as day when you sit in front of the tank. 

Scaping for a specific picture and viewpoint/perspective  is very different than scaping for a live, moving thing.
The fish dart through the stones just as I'd planned.
There are few large schools of fish more powerful than hundred's of fat healthy cardinal tetras schooling through and around large dark stones with a bright green lawn below.


Now I could have done something like this with the same position of rooty trees for placement where each rock was...............and added a few other elements, using Monte carlo as the theme plant and then Blyxa around the trees etc. 
This also would have looked nice with very little design change, just materials alone and swap the plant species. 
But, the client could not grow MC for some reasons, but grass is easy. He was also tied of wood and wanted to try something no one else had.


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## webworm (26 Sep 2013)

Stunning


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## Greenfinger2 (26 Sep 2013)

Hi Plantbrain, Some people are fans of ADA but that's there choice.As I am new to Aquascaping only 7 months Well everything looks fantastic some are jaw dropping But all look Beautiful to me. My thing at the moment is Nature scape's i Know old hat well so i have read Never mind i just love the look But that's my taste So all i can say if you like it go with it. But am a big fan Of Wabi-Kusa Have learnt more about growing plants in 6 months well with a lot reading too than ever before


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## foxfish (26 Sep 2013)

It takes all sorts to make the world to go around... for every single criticism I am sure there would be one hundred praises  
Besides that ..even if the scape is not exactly to everyone taste, it hardly makes it unappealing!


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## plantbrain (27 Sep 2013)

Well, for the mor epicture oriented folks, this is a bit more relaxing than video:
Nice run of various shots.

Now one thing many of you may not realize, I had to fly 3000 miles across the USA and ship/bring everything to this site to do this scape.
Not the easiest thing either.  

Day 43 Lava Scape Slideshow by gerrydirish | Photobucket


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## plantbrain (27 Sep 2013)

Greenfinger2 said:


> Hi Plantbrain, Some people are fans of ADA but that's there choice.As I am new to Aquascaping only 7 months Well everything looks fantastic some are jaw dropping But all look Beautiful to me. My thing at the moment is Nature scape's i Know old hat well so i have read Never mind i just love the look But that's my taste So all i can say if you like it go with it. But am a big fan Of Wabi-Kusa Have learnt more about growing plants in 6 months well with a lot reading too than ever before


 
I keep companion plants out in my bonsai which is really where and what Wabi-Kusa is all about.
I enjoy those very much and use aquatic plants instead of more traditional Bonsai herbacous species.
A tank this size can do many things and often times that gets away from many aquatic gardeners. I like the simple approach, one plant, one rock, one fish, one shrimp(more or less), but done as a different scale than we typically see.
Nature style spends a lot of $$$ and effort on the aquarium and hardscape, as well as the photography. But they go really really cheap on the fish. Spend 2000$ for a tank, then add 20$ worth of common fish.
I find it ironic personally. 

Wabi-Kusa is easy to add to various tanks and locations, particularly as the background and as accents by the hardscape and transition zones.
Nature style, well, at least ADA, does focus strongly on the hardscape set up adn how to trim the plants, in fact, this is their main message.
Cut cut cut.
Trim trim trim.
Many new folks are scared to do this, but this encourages new healthy growth. Even with the Hair grass in this tank, it benefits from some trimming every so often.
ADA AJ details this out nicely for the many newbies.

I come from a Bonsai and Japanese garden approach for the terrestrial side of things and there are just so many myths by Western culture and just plain bad books written on the subject.
I tend to keep that separate from my aquarium views. I am more traditional there, but not with aquariums.

I am NOT a fan of clutter in gardening or aquariums, neither are the Japanese generally speaking.
This tank is not cluttered. I have done more jungle like scapes, but that's what the client's wanted.
If I have a lot going on, I tend to have a very organized flow, otherwise, simple and with space is the rule for me.

I did this tank maybe 14 years ago now in response to someone saying I do not know how to aquascape, I let my driftwood do the talking 



A very open Nature style.
Or is it?


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## plantbrain (27 Sep 2013)

Other versions:


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## plantbrain (27 Sep 2013)

Slide show is pretty nice and mellow:

Day 43 Lava Scape Slideshow by gerrydirish | Photobucket


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## Edvet (27 Sep 2013)

I was wondering, with this amount of fish you need to feed a lot and get a lot of droppings. How do you clear in betweeen the gras? I Always got a lot of mulm between my carpets. Do they have to "hoover" diligently?


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## Tim Harrison (27 Sep 2013)

plantbrain said:


> I've had a few Asian folks really hate this scape and the rocks. Mostly ADA fan boys. They felt like I just tossed the stones in here any which way
> They did not justify it much, said it lacked a focal point. But it's clear as day when you sit in front of the tank.
> 
> Scaping for a specific picture and viewpoint/perspective is very different than scaping for a live, moving thing.
> ...


 

I’m with you on this one Tom. Something like this scape captures the essence of nature, which for me, and many others, is what it’s all about. So who cares if it doesn't adhere to a set of rules arrived at by the mutual consent of others. Less is definitely more in this case. I really like the minimal aesthetic and it definitely makes a refreshing change from wood.

The Asian aesthetic seems to be increasingly heading in the direction of the diorama which I consider a corruption of the original naturescape vision - I've read somewhere Amano himself isn't very fond of it either. It appears to be more about miniature landscape modelling, and reminds me more of my kids train set than a natural habitat; in essence it’s the antithesis of a biome.

IMO diorama’s often rob the aquatic critters placed in them of dignity…it’s almost as though they’re forced to become performing circus animals, and for me that completely misses the point. So I don’t think you’re alone in this. I've also read that a lot of prominent aquascapers are turning away from competitions like the IAPLC for similar reasons.


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## TOO (27 Sep 2013)

This is nice, but perhaps I felt the rocks were too uniform in size and kind of pointing in the same direction = lack of dynamism. I also think that slightly smaller stones might have created a better sense of scale. But impressive indeed and doing this over a distance of 3000 miles not less so . 

And agree with Troi: old school NA rocks!

Thomas


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## Ady34 (27 Sep 2013)

Seems the focus of this tank is the fish. The green a contrast to them and the rocks provide highways for their movement. If the rocks were small the fish would move differently. With different plants they would have opportunity to hide, so this scape is built around viewing the fish, they create the movement within the scape. Dare I say it is a fish keepers tank?
3000 mile tank install, I'd much rather watch this than tanked! You need to start a tv program Tom


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## plantbrain (1 Oct 2013)

Edvet said:


> I was wondering, with this amount of fish you need to feed a lot and get a lot of droppings. How do you clear in betweeen the gras? I Always got a lot of mulm between my carpets. Do they have to "hoover" diligently?


 

Shrimp are effective and then bacteria and microinverts. They break the waste down well.
The tank stays very very clean. I could set up a dozen such tanks and maintain them pretty well without that much work.
nd they could support high fish loads. I think the ADA aesthetic frowns on good fish loads or flashy colors etc, they prefer a a more subdued species and only a few. 
I think this is for a few reasons, but one is rather obvious: they kill a lot of fish with CO2 gas. Low O2, canister filters, lily pipes, low flow etc.
No way around it for many.

Amano has a large sump and a modified skimmer cup that is similar to a bean animal design for his own home tank.
I wonder why.


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## plantbrain (1 Oct 2013)

Troi said:


> I’m with you on this one Tom. Something like this scape captures the essence of nature, which for me, and many others, is what it’s all about. So who cares if it doesn't adhere to a set of rules arrived at by the mutual consent of others. Less is definitely more in this case. I really like the minimal aesthetic and it definitely makes a refreshing change from wood.
> 
> The Asian aesthetic seems to be increasingly heading in the direction of the diorama which I consider a corruption of the original naturescape vision - I've read somewhere Amano himself isn't very fond of it either. It appears to be more about miniature landscape modelling, and reminds me more of my kids train set than a natural habitat; in essence it’s the antithesis of a biome.
> 
> IMO diorama’s often rob the aquatic critters placed in them of dignity…it’s almost as though they’re forced to become performing circus animals, and for me that completely misses the point. So I don’t think you’re alone in this. I've also read that a lot of prominent aquascapers are turning away from competitions like the IAPLC for similar reasons.


 


I agree about Diorama, I feel it's a bit tacky, but I like it at the same time. So I tend to go with if it looks good and is well done, it is good. 
But it's nothing we might see in a well done Japanese landscape garden. Some elements can be added, but.........I do not think you would ever see Amano do this.
It would be very un Japanese. Still, he and others have accepted some of this. 

Why?

Well, it adds another layer and style to aquascaping I suppose.
Oliver Knott is not above some tacky additions, but he does so with tacky purpose in mind, almost as a joke.
But a Japanese style would be perhaps like myself, it would use an offensive naturally formed piece of redwood to make the point perhaps, not a ceramic or a mini Balsa wood figurine.

I would never have topiary, but  *tamamono is used often in well done scapes.*



I think this will help some UK folks thinking about scaping methods and general ideas. 
These are not some Zen or mystical horse manure myths put forth, they are very logical and practical approaches to gardening.
They have been gardening for 1000's or years and have more vocab for various techniques than English does.
Diorama- I likely will never do it. It is nice, but I have time for a few things in life, that ain't one of them.
I am in complete agreement with the Japanese aesthetic here.


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## plantbrain (1 Oct 2013)

TOO said:


> This is nice, but perhaps I felt the rocks were too uniform in size and kind of pointing in the same direction = lack of dynamism. I also think that slightly smaller stones might have created a better sense of scale. But impressive indeed and doing this over a distance of 3000 miles not less so .
> 
> And agree with Troi: old school NA rocks!
> 
> Thomas


 

They are very different sizes, but you cannot tell so much after the tank was put together. 
We tried to use some smaller stones in the front and other spots, just did not look right at the end.
If I had my way, I would have sawed the stones down about 10-15 cm and made them flat on the bottom, I can do that at home, I cannot at this guys place.

Since they are large, pointing them other directions makes them look really weird.
Did not feel right.

So unless I could cut the rocks and had more to chose from, well............
But I do agree, one of the better explanations thus far.

I wanted a tropical mountain range, but there's too much space between the rocks and the front range should be shorter and more compressed towards the back ridge. 
Also, a steep slope would help.


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## plantbrain (1 Oct 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Seems the focus of this tank is the fish. The green a contrast to them and the rocks provide highways for their movement. If the rocks were small the fish would move differently. With different plants they would have opportunity to hide, so this scape is built around viewing the fish, they create the movement within the scape. Dare I say it is a fish keepers tank?
> 3000 mile tank install, I'd much rather watch this than tanked! You need to start a tv program Tom


 

Yea, but I had my issues with that also. Client liked the idea a bit much.
I wanted to nibble down the rocks, but if I broke one the wrong way, I had no real backups. 
I could not risk it.

I also wanted a steeper slope, but he was concerned about having less pace for the fish to swim. 
I was like "this will push the fish up front!"

Still, ended up being a very untypical tank.
When I work with folks, I can only place my own aesthetic so much.
And the next round, they get a bit better and better.

So it's an on going process for the clients'.


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## TOO (1 Oct 2013)

Hi Tom,

Thanks a lot for your thoughts on this. Always interesting to hear a bit about the rationale and challenges behind a scape. I think you are right that what looks good theoretically/in your head sometimes just doesn't work when applied. In my last scape I obviously had some ideas, but much of it was really decided in the process.

I can see the issues in combining your own aesthetics with those of a client: must be hard at times, but also fulfilling when you see a happy client. Thanks, by the way, for the video on pruning technique and Japanese garden. Love the systematic approach.

Thomas


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