# Help with Hardscape placement. {update}



## Jon1706 (14 Jan 2010)

Hi everyone. This is a dry set up of four different types off hardscape I wish to use. But Im not sure which one looks right. I've made the base for this using a cardboardbox and used a old backing i had for a tank a few years a go ( just dosent reach each corner lol ) The base is the same size as my tank 60cm x 30 cm. The wood is bog wood and the rocks are rienna stone, big in european fish tanks can't seem to fid much info over here about them.I also have some little stones for grading around the wood and the stones. And the sub will be cat litter capped with play sand.
The planting will be:
Aponogeton crispus 
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green'
Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis 53B'
Microsorum pteropus
I would like a small grass plant to grow a long the slide the wood but not sure if i can with my light set up. And a different kind off moss other then java moss which likes a low light set up. 

Oh and no java ferns where hurt  while i was during this lol it was kept damp by using water from my tank. 
Any help would be great thank you.

Sacpe one 





Scape two




Scape three




Scape four


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## Steve Smith (14 Jan 2010)

*Re: Help with Hardscape placement.*

Hi Jon.

It's great to play about with hardscape!  I haven't had the chance to muck about with sticks and stones for a while   

I quite like scape 3 and 4, but my preference would be 3.

A tip for the orange striped stones would be trying to align the striations so they look more natural.  It might look nice to group those stones together in such a way as they look like a larger rock.

Also, with scape 4 I think it would benefit from being sloped a little more from the rear down to the front, to give a bit more depth.

Hope that helps


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## Piece-of-fish (14 Jan 2010)

*Re: Help with Hardscape placement.*

Has to be number 3 for me as well, i would move it inch or 2 to the left if you want the wood to be a focal point, sloping would give it a better look as Steve suggested.


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## AdAndrews (14 Jan 2010)

*Re: Help with Hardscape placement.*

4 for me, although, i think i would use more in the way of wood.


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## Jon1706 (14 Jan 2010)

*Re: Help with Hardscape placement.*

Thank you everyone for the replys I was caught between three and four but did like three a little more then four. I wanted to try and bank the back of the dry set up but run out off sand   



			
				SteveUK said:
			
		

> Hi Jon.
> 
> A tip for the orange striped stones would be trying to align the striations so they look more natural.  It might look nice to group those stones together in such a way as they look like a larger rock.
> 
> ...



Thank you AdAndrews  How many more peaces would you say AdAndres and what sizes?. I would like to leave a open area for the corys.


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## Piece-of-fish (15 Jan 2010)

*Re: Help with Hardscape placement.*

Ooopsy, apologies for calling you James Steve


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## chilled84 (15 Jan 2010)

*Re: Help with Hardscape placement.*

Scape 3 is looking good,   
whats ya plant list or substrate layout plans?


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## Jon1706 (15 Jan 2010)

*Re: Help with Hardscape placement.*



			
				chilled84 said:
			
		

> Scape 3 is looking good,
> whats ya plant list or substrate layout plans?



Hi chilled84. The substrate will be cat littler with a layer of peat on these of the tank and active carbon placed over the top of this from my filter as it should have a good layer of different kinds of bacteria. Then cat litter with TPN+ tabs added to it. Got a pack from my LFS cheap as the packaging was damaged. Then it will be capped in sand (about a inch of sand at the back working down to the front where it wil be about a 1cm deep)  The sand is for the corys. Also been thinking off adding bamboo charcoal to the the cat littler as well.  I plan on rising the back up with the cat litter about 3 or 4 cm at the back working down the about 1 or 2 cm. I dont want to see the cat litter at the front so im going to use some garden edging to go around the front so it just looks lit a plan sand substrate. 
The plant list so far is :
Aponogeton crispus
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green'
Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis 53B'
Microsorum pteropus
Echinodorus tenellus

But I would like a dwaf grass just to go between the wood I'm not look to make a carpet out of it but Im not sure if I can grow it with one T8. Also some moss again not sure which kind. I have java moss at the moment but I dont really like it. 
Carbon and ferts will come from easy carbo at 2ml a day and 1ml off profito a day. The TPN tabs contain N&P but hopefully placing them in the cat litter will mean that they dont get used as fast since I hope. Spent a lot of time reading things on here and hopefully want to get this right the frist time round   Any tips on the grasses or moss would be great.


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## Jon1706 (21 Jan 2010)

Hi everyone I finished off my hardscape placement design today. I went for option three but this time added a slope. The slope starts at 2cm and raises to 4cm I will build the slope with the cat litter, and then cap it with 2cm of sand. I hope to stop the slope from sliding down with garden edging (fingers crossed lol) The beach area will just have peat and activie carbon on top of it and a thin layer of cat litter to hold down the the peat and carbon, and will be capped with 2cm of sand. I have moved the wood more in to the middle of the tank to make that the focal point of the scape. The wood is just some Bog wood my LFS had but it looks great as a fallen tree branch.    I had a little play around with the rocks as well and came up with this as my finished design. 

Front view



Side view




This is my planting guide but I'm not sure on it yet maybe its just me. I have a gap which is between the crpt and the Echinodorus Tenellus which I'm not sure what to plant in there or just let them both fill and mix in together. Any help with the planting guide be great thank you.
Jon 
Planting guide


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## Nick16 (21 Jan 2010)

swap the parvula and the tennellus around. the tennellus will hide everything and you wont even see the parvula. - That would be better in the foreground.


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## Jon1706 (21 Jan 2010)

Nick16 said:
			
		

> swap the parvula and the tennellus around. the tennellus will hide everything and you wont even see the parvula. - That would be better in the foreground.



Thank you Nick16 I keep getting them two mied up    I will switch them around


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## Nick16 (21 Jan 2010)

no problems. 

you microsorum looks soo lush. have you had it long?


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## Jon1706 (21 Jan 2010)

Nick16 said:
			
		

> no problems.
> 
> you microsorum looks soo lush. have you had it long?


Yes about a year it was my frist real plant I got when I started back with tropical fish.


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