# 240L



## nico (27 Aug 2009)

Hi everybody , 

Here is a lay-out i'm working on, the tank is 240L , 120*45*45cm , i still have to finish the plantation , the background will be fully planted (nothing in the left part at this moment) , i want the background to be light and colorful , only have to wait for it to grow   

hope you like it 

















and some pictures of the inhabitants , quite a few varieties in this tank as recently rather than keeping a big school of fishes i'd rather have many different species

Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis






Tanichthys albonubes






red phantom






rasbora dorsiocellata in an earlier version of this tank






puntius rhomboocellatus also in an earlier version of this tank











a shrimp


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## Dan Crawford (27 Aug 2009)

Oh my lord, thats going to be incredible! That wood is delightful, i shall be doing something similar in the near future so i'll be keeping a keen eye on this one!

Lovely work


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## mattyc (27 Aug 2009)

It is grate fun waiting for things to grow you can neaver be 100% what you are going to get. looking good keep us posted on the tanks progress


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## JamesM (27 Aug 2009)

Very nice indeed, Nico


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## rawr (27 Aug 2009)

Wow, that's amazing! I especially like the last photo.


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## andyh (27 Aug 2009)

Excellent pics and tank! keep posting !


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## hydrophyte (27 Aug 2009)

I think I remember seeing this over on APC. It's looking great. What is that tan-colored carpeting plant? It complements the driftwood very well.


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## Superman (27 Aug 2009)

Super stuff, can't wait to see everything when it's grown in.
The wood is uber-nice.


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## samc (27 Aug 2009)

awsome!  

i am really into these type of scapes at the moment.


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## SunnyP (27 Aug 2009)

Very nice job. Looks amazing at the moment. Can not wait to see the mature version.


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## Stu Worrall (27 Aug 2009)

great tank nico, the layout of wood is superb


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## nico (28 Aug 2009)

Thank you for your comments  

Hydrophyte , the carpet is mainly composed of tenellus , but there are also 3 varieties of eleocharis some glosso and some moss , actually i am not even sure what it's going to look like once finished  

for this lay-out i feel like something is missing in the foreground , maybe some more wood on the ground to give a more natural -less organize- effect for the lay-out that seems to "clean" at this point ?

once this version will be finished , i'll try a version with some stones in the foreground , not so sure it will match with the scene though but it is worth a try 

those are the plants used for this lay-out , quite a lot of varieties for this one  

background  , rotala sp green , eleocharis vivipara , green macrandra , hygrophila polysperma , vallisneria nana , ludwigia arcuata needle leaf , rotala indica , myriophillum matogrossense , hygrophila sp ,MU

middle section : microsorum narrow leaf , bolbitis ,cryptocoryne wendi green , fantanalis sp , vesicularia sp , tenellus , (

foreground :tenellus (2 varieties , red and green , i'll try to keep only a little bit of the red one), cryptocoryne parva , eleo acicularis , eleo parvula , eleo short , glosso , vesicularia sp .


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## nico (1 Sep 2009)

i modified a bit the hardscape , still i am not satisfied yet so i will work on it a bit more  
anyways here is the central part


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## Dave Spencer (1 Sep 2009)

It`s starting to show some nice textures, Nico. I especially like the foreground and the ferns around the wood.

Dave.


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## Dan Crawford (1 Sep 2009)

I'm gutted because my next layout is going to be almost identicle to this, plant list and all  I hope it'll turn out as well as this!


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## neelhound (1 Sep 2009)

it looks great!    
Im really loving how you captured the water surface moving too


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## nico (1 Sep 2009)

Thank you for your comments  

Dan , there are tons of tanks using wood with those plants and still they all look different , so i dont think that you have to worry about it


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## ScottYalloP (1 Sep 2009)

I wish i could get my tank to look like that.


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## rawr (1 Sep 2009)

I love how this is turning out! I love the natural woodland type feel to it.


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## Vito (1 Sep 2009)

Great scape Nico, the hardscape and planting is spot on mate not to mention the great pics, An awesome tank and its still early days.


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## zig (2 Sep 2009)

nico this is very very good, excellent, I don't know how I missed it here until now! 

You have made huge improvements with this aquascape in such a short time. A very strong composition. I think the moss just needs to mature that you have added to the driftwood branches to give it a more aged feel or less "clean" feel as you call it. I would say this aquascape will get better and better as you make slight changes to the hardscape, more rocks or fallen driftwood would work well in the foreground. Great work so far, one to watch for sure


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## viktorlantos (2 Sep 2009)

Great tank! Congratulations. A bit of a moss on the wood here and there. Adding a bit more parvula to have a more natural front (or just need to wait til the current ones grows in). otherwise great!


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## alexandre (5 Sep 2009)

Salut Nico,

Long time he! As usual very nice, carry on like that. I agre with Zig few fallen driftwoods won't hurt, it will help to do the transition.


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## nico (16 Sep 2009)

Thank you for your comments  

Hi Alex , long time no read , everything's fine? for driftwood i am looking for a piece that would fit in the right part but didn't find it yet as i have a precise idea of what i want .... :? 

a few new pics from the tanks , the background is not full yet so only details pictures , it starts to look the way i want  

















Hope you like it


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## Mark Evans (16 Sep 2009)

loving your work nico, a real inspiration to me


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## Mark Webb (22 Sep 2009)

Very nice. Where did you source your wood?


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## nico (25 Sep 2009)

thank you   

Mark Webb , for the wood , i used many different varieties , some come from a mountain in the north of Osaka  some from some friends who didnt use it anymore , most from aqua shops  

here is a video of the tank , quality s*cks but we can see better the depth of the hardscape , there is still a lot of work to do on the background which will be fully planted and foreground ....anyways , i hope you like it  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Y4Ivb3i_A&feature=player_embedded


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## samc (25 Sep 2009)

thats a great video even with the bad quality. it gives you a real idea of the size of this

looks real good


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## rawr (26 Sep 2009)

This is actually my most favourite tank of all time. I love everything about it, the plants, wood, fish - everything! Thanks for posting the video - it's always nice to see aquascapes in that format. 

Nice one!


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## nico (5 Oct 2009)

Thank you Saintly , pictures dont really show the depth of the tank , video is way better to see it   

Rawr , thanks a lot though there is still a lot of work to try to get to the level of some tanks we can see here and there , simply by looking in this forum you can see some wonders  

here is a pic of the center part of the tank , i'll put a full shot when i will have time to take off the material out of the tank


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## Mark Evans (5 Oct 2009)

well nico, if I'm totally honest i really feel this is thee best scape on this forum. so damn natural.

the vid is excellent. 

your keeping me inspired for sure.


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## rawr (5 Oct 2009)

I would have to agree with Mark on this one. That's not to say there's not other amazing aquascapes on here - this one is by far my favourite though. I thought it looked amazing to begin with, but it seems every time you post a more up to date photo it looks even better than the last time! I sometimes lose intrest as aquascapes mature, not with this one it seems.


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## nico (16 Oct 2009)

plants finally start to show all over the background , still there is a lot of work of trimming to do as it is still quite thin , anyways here is a picture , hope you like it


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## hydrophyte (16 Oct 2009)

This is wonderful. Is that the red _E. tenellus_ in the foreground? That color is beautiful.


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## Dan Crawford (16 Oct 2009)

Thats just awesome, truly inspirational.


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## viktorlantos (16 Oct 2009)

looks really great. the red tenellus is awesome in this ammount. 
congrat mate!


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## Superman (16 Oct 2009)

Tanks like that make me very jealous.
Looking at the photos makes me excitied too!
I bet it looks even better in the flesh.

Awesome, Well done   

Please you pass on any trimming/pruning techniques you have.


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## TBRO (16 Oct 2009)

Really amazing stuff, the drift Â´wood is beautiful with it`s subtle cracks and holes, the scene is refreshingly light, great autumnal colours. Inspiring me to re-scape my big tank !

Congrats - Tom


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## Stu Worrall (16 Oct 2009)

thats grown in really well, uber wood! looks even more stunning now with that red tennelus at the front!


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## andyh (16 Oct 2009)

excellent scape, i really like the natural look of the tank. Defiantly one of my fav tanks on here.


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## nico (30 Oct 2009)

thank you for your comments  

Hydrophyte , i think that it is classic E.tenellus and not red E.tenellus ...i am not sute though ....i some other tanks i do with lower lights it stays green   

the background is high enough i will trim it this week to give it a better shape as it is quite messy at this point , microsorum did new leaves it looks better , crypts and bolbitis starts to show ... a few more months to go ...i must say i am quite impatient this one matures  







a bigger size picture here http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7172/240l26oct.jpg

the microsorum part starts to look better , more organized






the mix of plants in the foreground is quite fun to watch growing , tenellus grows very fast so i have to trim it quite often , as for the other plants they compete to occupy the space ...not sure which one is going to be the main   






a view of the foreground/midground from upper






and a view of the dinning room , there is no TV there   






hope you like it


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## Mark Evans (30 Oct 2009)

wonderful.


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## Dan Crawford (30 Oct 2009)

WOW, it just keeps getting better!


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## Stu Worrall (30 Oct 2009)

wow nico, that tank is looking amazing! The ferns look great how theyve grown in on the wood.


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## Superman (30 Oct 2009)

Thats the most natural looking thing I've every seen in an aquarium.
Totally breathtaking, IMO this is a perfect scape.


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## viktorlantos (30 Oct 2009)

Superb tank. Congratulations. The last photo is shocking   
Once the stems will dense and you will trim it will looks perfect.
Very cool. The red tenellus gives a great contrast on the front.


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## George Farmer (30 Oct 2009)

Wonderful!  This is Nature Aquarium style at its best, but with Nico's distinctive style too.

The extensive use of fine textures creates a really complex yet naturalistic appeal.  

This is truly world class, especially in a couple more months or so.

Kudos.


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## aaronnorth (30 Oct 2009)

Amazing, the last shot i particularly like


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## rawr (30 Oct 2009)

Like Dan said, this just keeps getting better for me which is suprising because sometimes I find that aquascapes are a bit of a let down once plants etc are added to great hardscape. This has looked amazing from the offset though.

Definately my favourite aquascape - keep it coming!


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## LondonDragon (4 Nov 2009)

You can have my TV in exchange for the tank hahaha looks awesome 
Really love how this tank is turning out  congrats


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## nico (12 Nov 2009)

Thank you for your comments  

here are a few shots tonight , no big changes but the plantation starts to mature well , especially the microsorum , crypts and the bolbitis that finally starts to show ...i love this plant  
















hope you like it


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## Steve Smith (12 Nov 2009)

Wow, I love the Rhomb Barb Nico. I've wanted a tank with some of these fish for some time, since seeing Amano's large sized scape in the 2008 ADA catalgoue.


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## zig (12 Nov 2009)

Great work nico its looking really beautiful.


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## LondonDragon (12 Nov 2009)

Looking good Nico, don't forget to keep that glosso thin with plenty of trimming, and if you need a home for the cuttings let me know I am after some decent glosso haha


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## Tony Swinney (12 Nov 2009)

I can't believe I've missed this journal Nico !

A truly beautiful scape. Makes me want to tear mine down and try again !! 

Keep the pics coming ! 

Tony


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## Stu Worrall (12 Nov 2009)

its looking very nice and growing in great nico.  very ada looking on the close ups


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## nico (16 Nov 2009)

Thank you for your comments  

London Dragon , i dont think the glosso would survive the travel from Osaka to your place  

i went to the mountain this morning to find inspiration and some stones ... forest starts to look red , was quite nice , here are a few pics


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## planter (16 Nov 2009)

I could spend some time there! stunning!


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## Marco Aukes (16 Nov 2009)

Wow, stunning nature!

I would have to drive a while to find such mountains.....

Any luck with collecting rocks?


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## TBRO (16 Nov 2009)

Fabulous scenery, yet more temptation to visit Japan!


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## marck k (14 Apr 2014)

Great scape and fish.. 



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