# Inspiration and improvement suggestions



## Basviola (13 Oct 2019)

After starting out with a 60 liter tank, I changed to this bigger tank.
It has change quite a bit, but finally I begin to feel that I am on the track of something that could get really good.
After I have some spots now where I can ad plants, and I will be really happy if you would take the time and give me suggestions, as I have learn a lot from feedback before. So critique, ideas, changes, or plant suggestions or swaps would be really appreciated.

This is my 128 liter tank.
Running about a year. 
Substrate is, layers of peat, Rexolin APN (micro), red clay, capped with gravel.
No CO2, but will be adding pressurised CO2 within a few month.
Liquet carbon, (Happy Life) 4 ml pr day,
Light: Odyssea vivagrow 60, and 1 very old T5 tube. Approx 9 hours pr day.

Plants: Hornwort, Rotala Indica, vallisneria, 2 or 3 kinds of Anubias, a little S repins, a little christmas mos, Cryptocoryne affinis and another crypt.



 

My own thoughts:

Make some white background with light at the bottom.
Grow the Hornwort (back LH corner) to a dense green with Rotala indica just in front of it. Or getting a green rotala instead of hornwort.
When I get CO2, plant a carpet of... hairgrass, MC and HC.
Plant a very read plant, just next to the "big" group of rotala indica behind Anubias. (like just under the red tailed Guppy male, close to filter).
I like the 3 caves, but the one to the left is just looking to unnatural, as I am trying to create an aquascape. So maybe cover it up with lava rock, or creating a mesh with moss on "hiding" it, or maybe just remove it completely.
Raise substrate lever in the back and trim plants to a V-shape
Lower substrate level in front.... keeps creeping down!
add new moss to the tree looking root! (it grows VERY slow)

I will be very happy for you to share your thoughts , and what ever suggestion.

(Sorry for the bad picture, it will clean up glass and take some better pictures soon)

Thanks


----------



## Basviola (13 Oct 2019)

Of was also thinking of:


planting Eleocharis montevidensis, just left to the HMF, as I think it could give perspective because it might look like the vallisneria at a long distance.


----------



## Basviola (3 Nov 2019)

So I just did some minor changes... I have some more anubias in a bucket now.

I would really appreciate your call on what to do with this scape.

I will order more plants in near future, when I finish "building" a CO2 system to support this, and another tank I am working on.

Think I might try a white background with some LED at the bottom, to get a different look. Hopefully more depth.

But you critique will be is welcome, as I find it really hard to raise this scape to the next level.

Thanks.


----------



## Matt @ ScapeEasy (5 Nov 2019)

I would move the rotala to the back right corner and behind the rock on the left, that way you will create a stronger look of having two islands with a path between and the arch going over that. Aim for a v shape to the planting - higher on the sides and lower in the middle.

Where you remove the right hand clump of rotala from, I would put a rock or some of that new anubias there. This will make the path look more like it curves gracefully round to the left.

Hope that gives food for thought...


----------



## 2born4 (6 Nov 2019)

I think I’d be heading for some red.... red tiger lotus? So darker Bucephalandra maybe?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## PARAGUAY (6 Nov 2019)

How about some larger sprinkled gravel or small rock just near the pathway entrance, which is in  the ideal place to define it a little?


----------



## Basviola (8 Nov 2019)

Matt @ ScapeEasy said:


> I would move the rotala to the back right corner and behind the rock on the left, that way you will create a stronger look of having two islands with a path between and the arch going over that. Aim for a v shape to the planting - higher on the sides and lower in the middle.



That sound like a very good idea. And that will definitely happen, and I think it could look really good, when I get some more kinds of rotala... Vietnam, bonsai and rotala green. Maybe also some Luwiga super red.
All to completely replace valesinera and hornwort, now being in the back.

To get some "not so dense" areas near the islands, hopefully I can also grow HYGROPHILA PINNATIFIDA.
To define and to get more growth/plants on the islands, also Mini-Bolbitis on top of rocks/roots. And I have to try out some buce, everyone is talking and using this, so I might give it a try... although my first thought is it will blend in and look like anubias.



Matt @ ScapeEasy said:


> Where you remove the right hand clump of rotala from, I would put a rock or some of that new anubias there. This will make the path look more like it curves gracefully round to the left.
> 
> Hope that gives food for thought...



I am not sure I understand what you mean, do you mean placing some anubias just after the arc to "force" the look of path going to the left? First I was thinking of having the "end point" behind the arc, but now I am leaning more twords having it behind the left Island. Then just have some lover plants in the middel defining the V or U-shape.

I moved the rotala from just behind the arc, I was actually just sticking two hand down inbetween the plants into the substrate and pushing then apart!!

Thanks it did gave me food for thought, thanks a lot.





2born4 said:


> I think I’d be heading for some red.... red tiger lotus? So darker Bucephalandra maybe?



Thanks, I really need some red to get some contrast, great point. I never had lotus, so why not try it out. But I could be a little afraid the leaves will be to big, but maybe it could ad perspective, having it in front of one Island.




PARAGUAY said:


> How about some larger sprinkled gravel or small rock just near the pathway entrance, which is in the ideal place to define it a little?



That is a very good ide, I will try to get some lavarock that matches the one I have, I did buy some, but I came home with the very red version, not the dark brown !!


I will update with future changes, but please keep sharing your thoughts when reading this, it really helps me learn and improve. Thank you guys!


----------



## Matt @ ScapeEasy (9 Nov 2019)

Basviola said:


> do you mean placing some anubias just after the arc to "force" the look of path going to the left?



Yes! Got it in one 

Can you upload a new picture showing the changes you have made?


----------



## Basviola (9 Nov 2019)

I will, I have not done that yet, the only change was from my first pictures to my last reply. But I think i have to figure out where I wont the end point before moving more of the rotala indica around.

But I will update this thread with changes as I make them... but I believe the true and more fun to do impact will be with the co2 setup and new plants.... this is going to feel better than christmas for a 7 year old!


----------



## Basviola (25 Mar 2020)

Completely forgot about this thread!

Scaping for me is a constant work in progress!! Anyways I really appreciate all the advise.

Anyways a lot has happened. I did try the idea with Anubias just behind the arc, to force the left turn! It worked quite well, but today the arc is not there anymore.

This is how it look today, and now running with CO2



 

Yes sorry for the plastic castle!! =) My wife and kids missed the bobbling ship and the diving treasure hunters! So the castle is a (temporary) compromise...

Some like a week ago, I have plantet a lot of MC, some HC, and quite a lot of ARM from my mountain scape. All was in emerged state of growing, so it will be interesting to see how it will go with a lot less light!
MC is not the best combo with a pair of Ancistrus sp. Propperbly why scapers normaly dont keep these!

All visual stem plants is Rotala indica. But I have plantet Rotala H'ra behind the castle to the R. Indica LH side.

I planted Ludwigia Palustris just right to the middle close to the back, and some of the long eleocharis behind it.

Then i got some Buce wavy green and Buce red, where most of it is floating around right now. Will fix tomorrow, said that for 3 days now!!

Also plantet a Cryptocoryne albida brown close to front LH side. It might grow to big for that spot!

________________________________________________________________________________


I have 1 pot of weeping moss and 1 pot of flame mos, I dont really know what to do with, it might go to the mountain scape next to this tank. Or they might share it.

I might buy a Rotala green, and swap the vallisneria out, I kind of getting tiered of it. But then again, I like the idea of the combo with the thin long Eleocharis "behind" looking like vallisneria from a very long distance!  (At least that was my idea. Anyway let's see if the Eleocharis will grow well first)
But I think more Rotala along the back will link the two sides of the scape better.

Then I might try to elevate the substrate Twards the end of the path, where the castle is.

Place the "tree" or what is left of it, somewhere else?



PARAGUAY said:


> How about some larger sprinkled gravel or small rock just near the pathway entrance, which is in the ideal place to define it a little?


This I will definitely do, I have a bigger piece of lava rock left, I will show to the hammer! Hope it goes well, did not work when I tried indoor last time...


Thanks for reading

All critique and idears is VERY welcome, thanks!


----------



## Basviola (25 Mar 2020)

Almost forgot.

Also added a bit of RICCIA FLUITANS and a bigger liverwort forgot the name, its on top of the castle ties to a stone.


----------



## Basviola (26 Mar 2020)

Is it a Buce killer that i have them floating around the tank in the surface??

I dont have that much time to play around with the tanks these days. I know Anubias dont really mind to flow around like that for weeks, but this is my first buce... and I really dont want to kill it!


----------



## Basviola (2 Apr 2020)

Well the buce now stuffed in between the lavarock LH side...

Allso I tied an anubias petite and weeping moss to wood and stone.. just to try it out!
I really like the process in scaping the tank...

The tank have been running CO2 quite some time now, and started dosing my own mix of dry salts daily a few days back.
Weekly 50% water change.

Still some BBA mainly on anubias leaves, where some deficiencies allso show... I guess it might be lack of macro, the next few weeks will tell, after my mix with daily frets... I gues!

I begin to be happy about the looks of the tank, but still believe swapping the valisiera out with some rotala stem will create a more uniform look.

This is what the tank look like today:


----------



## Matt @ ScapeEasy (2 Apr 2020)

To be honest your post has reminded me how much I like vallis...!


----------



## Basviola (7 Jul 2020)

Growing pretty wild...


----------



## Basviola (14 Aug 2020)

Quick update.

After switching some rare and not so accessible plants with another ukaps member the center of the tank is now a nursery for those plants hope they will grow in this low to medium light with high co2, and kind of EI dosing.

Had to give away most of my rare African floating plant, Ceratopteris Cornuta.
It grows like something out of this world, spawning more than 6 new plants on every leaf reaching above the water.

Now only a few babies left leaving light for the plants down under.

Removed the black back on the tank, as I will try to make some kind of back light.

As the tank is only 80x40x40 cm I will try hot glue some crushed lavarock to rise the horizontal line in the back. With only 40 cm from front to back, I hope it can look good with a almost 90° angle between substrate and the glued lavarock.
Mabe I can even glue some of my top substrate in extending the pathway.

My main concern is to kock where the path ends, but as plants and hardscape goes quite high in the sides of the tank, I might not need to cover full length of the back. Then I have some space to move the glued arrangement left and right.

Hope it makes sense!
Do you guys think this could work out?


----------



## Wolf6 (14 Aug 2020)

I'm having difficulty imagining what you are describing so cant really tell if it would work. Maybe make a drawing of sorts? Also I see you removed the castle


----------



## hypnogogia (14 Aug 2020)

Matt @ ScapeEasy said:


> To be honest your post has reminded me how much I like vallis...!


me too, but its just so intrusive I removed all of mine.  Was fed up of weekly cursing shorter and removal of runners on the the other side of the tank.


----------



## Basviola (16 Aug 2020)

I should make a sketch...  sorry it's not done. Mabe a more simple explanation works.

I will try to glue small peaches of lava rock on a 3mm acrylic plate to form some mountain hills.
Then lean this against the back of the tank to elevate the the horizontal line if you can say so.


----------

