# Little mountain scape



## Dantrasy (11 Oct 2014)

I've been working on this one for about 7 weeks. I'll write about my tentative plans for the scape shortly, i think it's at a critical point. In the meantime here's a pic taken yesterday.


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## Bhu (11 Oct 2014)

Looks great. Looking forward to seeing updates.


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## Vazkez (11 Oct 2014)

Is this one of the 3 stunning tanks you have? Or that might be someone else  Anyway If that's you I like the little road you add in


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## Dantrasy (12 Oct 2014)

Thanks Bhu

@Vazkez, yes this is the newest scape of the three. It's actually the first scape I've ever done with a fts pic in mind. I usually do what I think looks good at standing height. Take that little rock at the back for example; it looks weird at standing height, it's just stands out for being too high above the hc. But down at fts level a lot of the base is covered by hc and i think is looks nice.

Things to ponder and tinker with:

The front left. I don't like the smooth left side of that rock. Anything i put on it slides off. If I were to remove the rock soil would cave down. I guess hc could grow over it. I'd like the gap between the rock and glass to fill with hc, but there's no soil there, so who knows? 

Lower the sand line across the front. 
Pull the foreground dhg closer together. 

The rock below the biggest rock. Have hc grow up behind it. Make the rock more clearly defined. 

At standing height the sand path starts 3/4 up and goes all the way down to the bottom in a continuous wavy stream. So I like it at standing height. But in a fts pic a lower portion of the path is obscured by hc. Might be moving that bottom center tuff of hc sometime soon.


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## Alexander Belchenko (12 Oct 2014)

Many thanks for sharing your thoughts! That gives us opportunity to look at your scape with different eyes. Very impressed.

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## Bhu (12 Oct 2014)

Ok all makes sense. So why don't you use the tuft of HC on the Rock on the left, try to find a way to secure it over the rock and let it grow from there using water column nutrient. Instead of disturbing substrate why not add a black card strip across the bottom of the tank to raise the level of visible substrate. It will be removable and adjustable. I personally think that the foreground dhg is ok... But we all have different tastes  I'd of like to see something fine coming up over the back from behind the large rock...


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## Dantrasy (16 Oct 2014)

After talking to some aquascaping buddies I've got a few more things to add to my tinker list

remove most of the hg in the foreground, it will grow too tall and will probably look messy. 

create a second sand path down to the foreground on the right
create a third path with steps down to the foreground on the left (might have to glue sand to little rocks)
So that's 8 things to work on. I'll get some done on the weekend and post a pic.


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## Dantrasy (18 Oct 2014)

Changed up a few thing today.

removed a lot of foreground dhg, shifted the fiss around
more sand paths down to the foreground. + lots more rock fragments
removed fiss from bigger rocks
added some ottos
added security film background
removed some hc and trimmed the rest, trying to create mounds rather than a flat/sheer surface.

Here goes:


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## stu_ (18 Oct 2014)

Love this 
If you can be bothered, have you got any plan/top down pics, to show the spacing of the rocks


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## Dantrasy (18 Oct 2014)

stu_ said:


> Love this
> If you can be bothered, have you got any plan/top down pics, to show the spacing of the rocks




Yes, I have a couple pics like that. 

toothpicks showed where the path would go




and pulling the hc


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## Alexander Belchenko (18 Oct 2014)

Cool!

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## Daniel (18 Oct 2014)

Awesome scape. Good work so far. What are the tank dimensions?


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## Dantrasy (19 Oct 2014)

Daniel said:


> Awesome scape. Good work so far. What are the tank dimensions?



Thanks mate. The tank is an ADA Mini M knock off. The brand is FIRE. The tank is turned 'round so the logo is at the back. 36 x 22 x 26cm


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## Alastair (20 Oct 2014)

Hats off to you trying to work away at the plants In such a small space. Looks tricky. 
The scape is lovely though


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## Robert H. Tavera (23 Oct 2014)

Those stones are awesome!! Sadly, in my country they are not available ! 

congrats , your skills as an aquascaper are even greater than the stones !!


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## Dantrasy (23 Oct 2014)

Alastair said:


> Hats off to you trying to work away at the plants In such a small space. Looks tricky.
> The scape is lovely though



Thank you. Yes, it is tricky working in a tank the size of a shoe box. But I figure the scape is small, so I can give more attention to each part. At least that's the theory. Some people do a similar style to me in a 4ft or 5ft tank - I really can't believe they do it. It must take up soooo much time.  



Robert H. Tavera said:


> Those stones are awesome!! Sadly, in my country they are not available !
> congrats , your skills as an aquascaper are even greater than the stones !!



Thank you.

The rocks I'm using are seiryu. But yingshi is very similar. Seiryu is very new to my location. It only became available for purchase about 6 months ago. So this is the first time I've used it.

Seiryu definitely raises water hardness. TDS in this tank sits around 200, and that's using 0 TDS rodi 30% wc'es. 200 is ok for rsc, but I haven't dared to put any crs in yet. 

Mini update: the hc on the right hand slope is struggling. I don't think it's getting enough light (shaded too much by the big rock). So I might plug the gaps with fiss on rocks while the hc slowly fills. Might get a desk lamp and shine it on that side of the tank during photo time.


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## Greenfinger2 (23 Oct 2014)

Hi Dantrasy,
Exquisite Aquascape 
I thought the tank was much larger from the first photo.Congratulations for creating the sense of depth in that small tank


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## clone (23 Oct 2014)

Dude, really awesome skape. Great sense of proportions and depth. Very pleasant for the eye and no distraction elements. Keep the good work 

How would you deal with the shrimp not mixing sand and soil ? I have problem with my cleaning crew rolling down pieces of the AS and dragging it on the sand area. I was thinking of no shrimp tank...but amanos are so good at cleaning moss and rock.


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## Dantrasy (2 Nov 2014)

Thanks GF2!
Thanks clone! - the shrimp are a little destructive. I see the odd ball of soil. I just grab the tweezers and drop somewhere out of sight. 

Some more changes, although they are getting smaller. I did a small trim, added yet more sand to make the paths a bit higher, particularly the path on the far left that doesn't show up that much in a fts. Also add a new rock back left. Next, I'm thinking of a fiss background maybe.


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## Greenfinger2 (2 Nov 2014)

Hi Dantrasy,
Love this scape  I like the changes  Fiss background sounds fab. Not sure though as i like the light background


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## Alexander Belchenko (2 Nov 2014)

What is fiss background?

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## drodgers (2 Nov 2014)

Inspiring ! I like what you did with the scape and the rock is stunning.


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## Dantrasy (2 Nov 2014)

Alexander Belchenko said:


> What is fiss background?



Yeah, wasn't the best choice of words. 

Have a look at the 2013 AGA nano winner. That scape was sort my inspiration for this one. It has a wavy line of fissidens going across the back of the tank. Another row, another shape of green, another level of depth before you hit the back glass. At least, that's the idea. I think I should really use mini fiss, but I have no access to that moss. But I have a ton of Mt. Glorious fiss (native Australian I think).    

This is the scape I'm referring to:

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2013/show267.html


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## Alexander Belchenko (2 Nov 2014)

Ah, got it. Thanks for explanation. Very nice tank indeed.  

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## Dantrasy (15 Nov 2014)

I broke the cal intake 
So here's a pic without any pipes 

Before trying to make a fiss background, I started to grow the hc up at the very back. But being the same plant it doesn't show up too well in the pic.


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## Dantrasy (22 Nov 2014)

Had a go adding a fissiden background. Here's what I've done so far.


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## tim (22 Nov 2014)

That's looking great mate, the fissidens really adds to the sense of depth IMO, can't help thinking the grass is too tall though maybe cut it back for the final image, really good journal so far.


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## Dantrasy (25 Nov 2014)

I think the grass you're referring to is actually java moss. Anyway it's been removed now. Also had a go at adding some flame moss behind the fissidens, but I doubt it'll show up much in pics until it thickens up a bit.


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## Dantrasy (11 Jan 2015)

Update:


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## Greenfinger2 (11 Jan 2015)

Hi Dantrasy,
Simply stunning Congratulation on a wonderful Aquascape


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## Bhu (11 Jan 2015)

That's fantastic!


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## Dantrasy (14 Jan 2015)

Thanks Greenfinger2 and Bhu!


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## Rob Dahl (29 Jan 2015)

Just a wonderful landscape Dantrasy. Your composition skills are terrific. The only comment I would make is I think it could use a few small accent plants at natural pocket areas that catch the eye and on the horizon.


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## Dantrasy (29 Jan 2015)

Thanks Rob! 

Truth is I'm thinking of rescaping this tank pretty soon. An ohko window or something. I'll do a desktop mock-up first.


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## Rob Dahl (30 Jan 2015)

Hello Dantrasy,
I am looking forward to seeing your  next scape plan. are you going to show your progress from the planning stage?
Coincidentally I am starting planning for a 30 li. rimless aquarium. I have an awfully lot to learn, although I have experience as a natural history living exhibit designer here in the U.S. west.
I would like enough LED light to grow a Micranthemum umbrosum “Monte Carlo” & Eleocharis parvula “Dwarf Hairgrass carpet. I'm using ADA Amazonian substrate, an EHEIM Classic 2211 External Canister Filter, augmented with an aquaclear 30 HOB filter, DIY CO2 until I can afford pressurized. Would be nice to have a rimless tank mounting system. I also am planning on installing an emergent "soap dish" planter on the side of my tank. I am going to go out hunting for interesting rocks for my layout and love your idea of doing it on a table first.
Thanks again for your fascinating landscape.


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## KarthikC (1 Feb 2015)

This tank looks really great.  One of the best nano tanks I've come across 

Cheers,

Karthik


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## Dantrasy (1 Feb 2015)

Hi Rob, yes, when the new scape gets under way I'll post pics from the beginning. As it's the same tank I'll probably just continue this thread. Do you have your led light yet? If I had my time again I'd get the flexi-mini. It get great reviews and I've seen what it can do at my lfs. The aqausky is too much light and cost too much as well. Good luck with your new scape!

Hi Karthik, thanks a lot!


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## Rob Dahl (1 Feb 2015)

Hello Dantrasy,
I presently have a flexi-mini on my "Warts and more warts" tank, but I don't think it covers enough area so I also have a Fluval 13w T5 CFL mounted on the other side. It's a real jungle. I'll post a picture that journal and then give it a haircut.


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## Dantrasy (15 Feb 2015)

This tank was empty last week and re-scaped this weekend. I've agreed to let my lfs have rights to the pictures (the shop owner wants original content for a websites he's building). In return I got a heap of rocks and and plants to keep. And the scape is in my house.


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## Alexander Belchenko (15 Feb 2015)

It sounds like a good deal.


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## Rob Dahl (15 Feb 2015)

I wish I could have seen how you would scape it, but I look forward to your next project. BTW-I now have a TMC AquaRay Mini400 for the new cube, and am cycling it, but have not come up with a scape for it yet. Just wanted to let you know how I enjoyed watching your design progress.


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## alto (16 Feb 2015)

Dantrasy said:


> This tank was empty last week and re-scaped this weekend. I've agreed to let my lfs have rights to the pictures (the shop owner wants original content for a websites he's building). In return I got a heap of rocks and and plants to keep. And the scape is in my house.



Well done - post the link when the site is done!


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## Rob Dahl (16 Feb 2015)

Sounds like a good deal to me. Congratulations, guess that makes you a professional.


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## Dantrasy (16 Feb 2015)

Yep, I've post a link when I can. The lfs might want to enter it into a comp. He's stocking ada now and last year he went to Japan for iaplc and met Amano, so I guess there's an expectation he'll support the the ada sponsored comp. 

@rob, thanks mate! it's just a friendly verbal agreement. the lfs owner is reaching out trying to connect with customers and was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. He's likely to do the same deal with others; up his chances of getting something good. Anyway Rob, good luck with your new cube.


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## Rob Dahl (24 Feb 2015)

Thanks a lot Dantrasy. May your tanks be almost algae free!


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## Dantrasy (15 Sep 2015)

Thread resurrection!

The scape I did was finish around June, so around 3 months ago. The tank is Mini M sized. By the time the water level was lowered, I figure there's only about 10L of water in there.   

I have lots of progress pics that show the changes (there were a lot of changes over the months), but here's the 'finished' pic.






I learnt a lot doing this one. It helped when it came time to do the most recent 2ft rescape.


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## parotet (15 Sep 2015)

Beautiful! You master depth in your tanks! Only gravel in there? I love these stones... What are they?

Jordi


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## Dantrasy (15 Sep 2015)

Thanks Jordi 

The rock is ohko (sometimes called dragon stone). It's my favourite rock to scape with.


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## parotet (15 Sep 2015)

Dantrasy said:


> The rock is ohko (sometimes called dragon stone)


I like them much more when they are placed this way!


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## Rob Dahl (15 Sep 2015)

Wonderful work Dantrasy, but I have a suggestion. Most of the tanks I see have paths and substrate in great contrast to the "bedrock" of the hardscape. It would be interesting to see the result if you used a substrate of the same or approximate composition as the hardscape. It would certainly be more naturalistic.


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## alto (15 Sep 2015)

Dantrasy said:


> I have lots of progress pics that show the changes (there were a lot of changes


I hope you post these when convenient - it's such a dramatic change from the beginning of this tank!

As always, extraordinary work


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## Dantrasy (1 Oct 2015)

The scape above came in at 157 in the Ista International Aquascaping Competition, got the result emailed to me today. Pretty happy with that.


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## Alexander Belchenko (1 Oct 2015)

Congrats!


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## Dantrasy (1 Oct 2015)

Thanks Alex!

The letter says there was 820 entries.


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## Rob Dahl (1 Oct 2015)

That's quite an accomplishment!


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## Dantrasy (17 Nov 2015)

found a pic of an early version:


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## Dantrasy (17 Nov 2015)

and then this:





and later this:



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