hardscape

Hi UKAPS! Here's the build log for my living room aquascape. As per my intro, I currently have poison frog vivariums but am returning to the planted tank world, having dipped my toes in a couple years back. This time I'm looking to take it up a notch with higher end equipment and heavy...

Hi everyone. Began brainstorming ideas and browsing and came across nature aquariums and their stunning layout. So bought a 60l a while back and decided for a triangular layout scape. The rock is that dragon stone thingummy and I'll be adding more pieces of driftwood and spider wood to...

Hi all, Charlie here - I'm fairly new to ukaps and this is my first journal post. I've been aquascaping for around 3 years now and this is my first 60p composition. I'll be sharing updates as things progress over the months and welcome any feedback along the way. Side note: does anyone else...

Trying layouts for first tank. 30L Dennerle Nano Cube tank. Sadly limited choice of materials and I already wish I had bigger tank 😅 Not going to risk suggesting it to my wife quite yet. Need to maintain winning aquascape at home for at least a year first before I risk it 😁 With gravel With...

Hi everyone! This is my first aquascape (see pictures below) - I'm wanting to do it all "right" - or create the best conditions for the plants and fish to thrive (as we all do :) ). I chose a "dark start" fishless/plantless cycle strategy as what I gleaned was the most conservative/successful...

Hi Folks, I have been thinking about a river bed idea for my 50x25x30cms 37.5 ltr tank. I hope to have a twinstar 450sa, CO2 injection and oase 100 external thermo. I plan to bed the rocks in tropica soil and plant into all the nooks an crannies. I will reuse some of the sand I already have in...

Hey all, I purchased some stones from my LFS but am having a tough time identifying them. It was labeled as ADA-rocks and the shopkeeper couldn't remember the name as they forgot to note them down (a very long time ago). The only thing they could assure me is that the rocks will not affect the...

Hi, I am rescaping my 54 litres aquarium and being a novice I am just so confused :D. I have a black background tank and plan to do a triangle layout nature scape with emphasis on the wood. I got some red moor wood and initially thought of just a wood only layout as such : But I feel there...

Hey everyone! I'm new here so hope I'm doing this right haha... I'd love it if I could get some feedback on my first ever iwagumi hardscape! This is 36cm tank so pretty small and will have the Chihiros WRGB light hanging above it. I hope to plant a Hemianthus Callitrichoides 'Cuba' carpet with...

Hi, this is my first serious attempt to set a hardscape. I set up a 54L tank before, but it was a very minimal effort. The tank is 120cm x 40cm x 50cm (Eheim VivaLed 240L) Main stone: dragon stone Substrate: Seachem flourite black (I ran it out last night, and am waiting for more to have the...

Hi I am putting together my 2nd Aquascape (1st was a 30c nano tank). One of the things I find the hardest is creating a smooth transition between plants. I am looking for feedback on my plants selection and if you foresee any issues with the layout plan or the equipment. Some details below on...

Hi, In an effort to improve my aquascaping skills I have decided to get a nano cube so I can re-scape it often and try new designs. I have bought a cheap 20cm cube and am going to try to recreate this: How much rock will I need? Given it's such a small tank I'm planning on buying a bit more...

Hi guys, I'm going to be driving form London to Lille in France for a short trip and wanted to know if anyone could recommend any nice Aquascape shops around North France / West Belgium I've seen quite a few vids of George Farmer doing some store vists but difficult to filter and work out by...

Hello, Here's my new hardscape. I'm looking for plant suggestions. I'm pretty set on using rotala rotundofolia, Rotala H'ra in the background. With some Proserpinaca palustris in the middle to break the color with another tint. I might be missing some green though? Otherwise, I'm stuck with...

Tank - Fire Aqua 1500 x 210 x 240, 10mm low iron glass. 20G / 75 ltr Stand - Ikea Kallax bookshelf's as stand, with extra soild wood top. Filter - 1 x 1400lph canister filters (eheim copy) Light - MML LED Tube on a Cade hanging kit Hardscape - Bog wood / random wood Substrate - Gravel Plants -...

Will be starting a new tank in the next few months and want to find somewhere that has a large selection of hardscape materials. I have been to numerous shops and in general the choices are not very large. I want to find somewhere that has a large choice and large wood pcs.

Hey everybody So I’ve a Juwel Lido 200 that I think is ready for an makeover. I’m looking to go heavily planted but have no co2 etc as of yet (just the lights/heater/filter). Happy to go co2 to ensure a better balanced tank. We can talk everything from substrate to hardscape to plants. All...

Hi there, I'm new to the forum and currently embarking on my first aquascape! I'm keen to collect my own hardscape locally and many sources state that basalt is a safe, igneous rock for aquariums. However, basalt was formed from "magnesium and iron-rich lava" Some of the same sources will...

Is it safe to use glue gun to secure wood? The packaging of the sticks don't say anything about what's in them. Anyone used before?

Hello everyone ! I'm setting up my first "real aquascape" and I wanted to create a paludarium in my 30L nothing too crazy I want to keep everything simple. I was inspired by this paludarium : So I started to play around with the rock and try to create an hardscape : I think that it...

Hi. I’m working on the hardscape for my first nano tank. I gathered some rocks from the beach and this is how I positioned them but I’d like opinions before I glue it. I’m Planning on sloping my soil up toward the back left to cover the base stones. I’ll be keeping it quite simple and safe with...

Hi everyone, I have decided to go big or go home and ordered an Evolution Aqua Aquascaper 900, part paid for by my fabulous partner for my birthday, I originally asked for permission to have a 600 as it is going in the lounge, she asked if I would prefer the 900 :) needless to say I jumped at...

Collected some dead heather while on the hills. Have jammed it into a wee 12 ltr tank. I quite like the effect. If i actually turn it into a scape it'll be in a 15ltr tank that's a bit deeper front to back. Challenge will be to find plants small enough not to quickly overwhelm the hardscape...

I am hoping to use rock for the first time in an aquascape and wanted some advise please. We are in an area of the UK which has exceptionally hard water (according to the local waterboard my postcode has a reading of 324ppm, a GH of 18.4 and a high ph of 7.35) is there a stone that won't raise...

A scape box helped me a lot to improve my hardscape skills faster. Full video about why you should use a scape box, how it can look like, some general tips and a few hardscapes of mine.

Hi, would welcome thoughts on early draft options for a new hardscape for 90cm tank. Ignore the stone, im trying to find the right arrangment for the 3 pieces of wood i have. There are options for central island, 2 islands, and triangles going left or right. This is a short list after an hour...

ada60-p. I am playing again with my aquascaping tools... This time a kei stone spiderwood setup.

Made a new Scape. Starting the hardscape: Included the details: Ready: Will return after a few weeks growth.

Hi guys, Again, before I start, not sure if this is the right post area but not sure where else to put it). I have a really quick question, I put a lot of oak branches in a water butt around 3 months ago, maybe longer and now want to put them in my established aquarium to see how they look...

Figured i start the new year with a new setup in my 200 litre. So, i worked even more on the hardscape part and i'm well aware of the grade of maintenance i'll have to do. But where's the fun in it if there's no challenge? Starter pack : LxWxH - 100x55x45 cm Lighting - 6x39w (3000k and 6500k...

Hi all, I live in the Wiltshire area, I have a lot of countryside around me and would love to find a piece of wood/ pieces of wood to use in my new scape. Could anyone suggest safe and common wood types that I could use in the scape?

Hello all, I am in the process of setting up a Trigon 190 tank. I have decided on wood as my hardscape base underpinned by some rock. I saw some very nice wood at ridiculous prices at sevceral of my local FS and discovered that the wood was grape vine stems. I have free and random access...

Really need to start a journal but wanted your quick thoughts and advice in where to plant these stones. One is quite large as I wanted to add a sense of height. It's difficult working with the big rock but it seems supported even now with one 9l bag and propped up in the supporting stone. I...

It’s been a while since I posted something here on the forum. So I would like to share a cube aquascape I set up a few weeks ago. The tank Is a fluval Chi. I bought this for 10£ on the festival of fishkeeping. They normally have some good prices during the show, specially on second hand tanks...

Hey fellow enthusiast, I have got this DoAqua! 30x18x24 cm, i just don't know what to do with it in the sense of a hard scape, i want this to sit on my window sill and be a natural tank capturing the sun, obviously when the winter months come i will apply an led over head light system. I do not...

Hi All Just a quick question regarding Lava Rock as hardscape. I've read in numerous places that lava rock acts as a great area for colonising denitrifying bacteria and thus will improve water quality. . Just wanted to ask you guys if (from your experience) you have found this to be true. The...

So i found this on the beach at the weekend. It's actually too large for any tank i own, but it looks cool and i can sort of imagine what i'd do with it. I'll keep it in the hope i may have use for it in future (although i'm open to offers;)). Curious to hear what others would do with this.

Hi all, Firstly many thanks to all of you that made the effort and submitted your hardscape entries. There were 25 in total, with some very strong entries, making it very tricky for the UKAPS AE Committee to judge! Here are the Top 10, in no particular order, with the artists name above each...

Hi guys, Have been working on this hardscape for some time, but due to lots of other projects and assignments, haven't quite finished it yet. Probably will refine some details and finish it after the Aquascaping Experience on the 5th of March :) Tank: Optiwhite 120x50x50 cm Hardscape: full...

The UKAPS Hardscape Challenge is an exciting head-to-head live competition that allows aquascapers to compete using a dry layout consisting of hardscape materials and substrate. 10 entrants are selected from UKAPS Members through a qualification round. The UKAPS Hardscape Challenge will be...

I needed help carrying that up 3 flights of stairs it was super heavy. Its the biggest tank I've ever owned. I started off with a 60L then went up to 2 100L's and now I have graduated this. It was a mission just getting the wrapping off. It was hard getting the cardboard off aswell. This...

First of all, I don't people telling me that my substrate and gravel choices are bad or my stone should be moved/ changed. This is simply for feedback on my redmoor placing. So with that established, I am setting up a planted aquarium using a 200L (43G) Fluval aquarium. I have a JBL 2kg CO2...

Hi all, I'm new to Ukaps and having found it after deciding to set up an aquascape (or at least try to) I've been amazed at the amount of knowledge freely available from such a generous bunch of likeminded people! Hopefully you'll be able to help me with a couple of questions I have, I have a...

Hey there ladies and gentlemen. Im looking to get back into the game soon (and have eyed up a freaking lovely 135l tank with which to do so) and i have the misfortune of living in a hard water area. If i could afford the RO kit id be going for it without question but its not an option for me. I...

Hi I am currently setting up my new tank (90x50x45) but will be a good for weeks before I can add water. I have started to collect my wood and rocks and have done a bit of practice out of the tank to see what it will look like. The problem is that I will be using a lot of substrate to bank...

After my last scape "3 stones" i am now starting a new thread for my next scape. It is made with kei stones and spider wood. I wanted a v shape layout this time and also wanted to include white sand in front. I am at this moment in de hardscape stage and refining the layout. I will post...

I remember in the past we've seen so many nice CAU examples and other asian ones how they refined their layout to the contests. Preparing tanks to the contest is not just about trimming and timing. Til you have time you can do almost any change to have a better appearance on your layout...

In this thread, i will be posting some new info on my latest iwagumi aquascape called "3 stones" Because a picture says more than thousand words I start with that.

My name is Robertus. I have been keeping aquariums for over 30 years now. Some of you might know me (Robertus-Reeftanks.nl) During that time I always had freshwater setups. Now I have become more active in the aquascaping direction. I will open a thread with my latest iwagumi setup called...

Hey guys I am looking for some comments on my current hard scape (no plants ordered yet). Be as truthful as you can :) if you think it looks rough be sure to let me know, and let me know what you would change personally! I personally dont think it looks quite right yet but cant seem to put...

Cheers guys. Not had a journal for a long time, but i hope this isn't a problem if i will post one or 2 around these days. Maybe helpful for some as i also got a lot of inspiration here too. This tank was rescaped a few days ago. 90P opti white 90x45x45 Filter: Eheim 2075, Eheim Skim 350...

Was flicking through some old photos, and was thinking a thread on 'readymade' aquascapes would be interesting: shots of nature that just look like an aquascape, with the basic proportions of a tank. Here are my best efforts from a while back. (Hope not too familiar to some people on here)...

Starting my second tank... Journal will be a slow build as am waiting for various pieces on order. But I’ve learnt that planning things properly, and taking time to get it right, is the best way to go. Hoping for help in thinking it through! Comments and advice on my other journal have been...

A beginner's guide to making and learning from every mistake possible. [EDIT Feb 2013 Here are a few shots of the tank in it's journey... so you can see where you're going. END OF EDIT] Right, I'm taking the plunge, after reading lots of journals and articles on this site. And I'm...