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I missed this one before, how is the growing in going mate ? I like the hairgrass area on the right... looks promising.
 
I like it. And I like the source of inspiration.
 
The inspirational images are great. The layout also is great.

A little 'unbalanced' but a good exercise in growing plants, and an exercise in which it looks like you're succeeding at.
 
Mark Evans said:
The inspirational images are great. The layout also is great.

A little 'unbalanced' but a good exercise in growing plants, and an exercise in which it looks like you're succeeding at.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. This is the first scape I've made any decent progress with. But I'm really happy with how the plants have grown, and the overall layout.
I think the hardscape needs a bit of tweeking, but theres nothing I can do with that now as its embedded into the substrate. Will have to wait until I re-scape the tank next time, where I can make some improvements.
Not sure how to balance it better from what I have though.. Any thoughts?
 
Hi.

When I say 'unbalanced' it's just a minor niggle; nothing major. Sorry, I should have elaborated in my previous post.

It's not the hardscape that throws it out. The grass to the right distracts the eye a little. A simple trim and keeping it lower will improve things.

Firstly, and more importantly, you've managed to grow healthy plants. This is a hurdle where many fall.

The aquascaping/design part comes with time, and can be the most exciting part.

Take heart in what you've done, and look forward to the next layout.
 
Tank looks amazing, just need a reaaaally good trim on the grass to the right.
 
love the hairgrass on the right, does this give off runners? I've gotten some in my tank only just put it in, was just wanting to know if it gave off runners? and is there anyway to trigger this?

thanks Dav.
 
Mark Evans said:
Hi.

When I say 'unbalanced' it's just a minor niggle; nothing major. Sorry, I should have elaborated in my previous post.

It's not the hardscape that throws it out. The grass to the right distracts the eye a little. A simple trim and keeping it lower will improve things.

Firstly, and more importantly, you've managed to grow healthy plants. This is a hurdle where many fall.

The aquascaping/design part comes with time, and can be the most exciting part.

Take heart in what you've done, and look forward to the next layout.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark, the whole tank has had a good trim and I'm waiting for the plants to come through again.


nayr88 said:
Tank looks amazing, just need a reaaaally good trim on the grass to the right.
Click to expand...

Cheers mate, I've cut the hairgrass right down, and just waiting for it all to grow back. Will get some pics up soon, once I've sorted out a decent camera. !!
 
Scott Dav said:
love the hairgrass on the right, does this give off runners? I've gotten some in my tank only just put it in, was just wanting to know if it gave off runners? and is there anyway to trigger this?

thanks Dav.
Click to expand...


Thanks Dav, there's both Eleocharis parvula, Eleocharis acicularis in there. They both send out runners, especially with ferts and CO2.
I've read people recommending E. parvula over E. acicularis, but I'd recommend E. acicularis over the former any day. It grows a lot faster, at least in my tank, and grows a lot taller too. You just need to keep cutting it back. But this allows you to have it at pretty much any height you want, rather than with E. parvula, that hasn't grown more than a few cm's in my tank.
Hope this helps.
 
Hey everyone.

Just an update on my tank. Got a new camera today and couldn't resist taking a few shots of the tank. I'm still learning to use the camera and going to have a read through a couple of books tonight, and the threads on here. :bookworm:

Plants need a bit of work (trimming/ repositioning), so will have a play around with them this week. But this is the tank as of tonight..

IMG_0023_zpsa3a6e516.jpg
 
Hi guys.

This is the tank from Mid February. I'm looking for some advice on my plans for a big chop on the plants this week, and I'm going to re-position a few things (subtly!) too.

This is the tank from last night.

AquascapeJan2013_zps83428cfa.jpg

Here's my plans for some point this week!..


AquascapeJan2013plans_zps7b4c265e.jpg


I need to balance the tank out a bit better, so I'm going to grow a lawn of hairgrass on the left hand side (similar to that on the right), and re-position a couple of the Cryptocoryne wendtii 'brown' in the front, that I'm hoping will come through quite nice and dense with a bit of occasional trimming, and split up the foreground nicely. What do people think?

1). New Hairgrass planting.
2). Moving this Cryptocoryne to the left by an inch or so.
3). Trimming the hairgrass back (Using this to plant on the left)

# What do people think about adding some Red-ish plants in the background too? Not sure about this one?..
 
Hello everyone,

Its been over a month since I've updated this journal, so thought I'd update my progress since then as I gutted the tank a bit last night and replaced my fish (a few tetras and keyhole Cichlids for three German Blue Ram Cichlids).
*Still undecided on the fauna for the tank, but definitely going with just inverts and Cichlids.

I've trimmed the hairgrass on the right right down, and I think the tank looks a bit more balanced. I've also planted some hairgrass in the front left and played around with plant positioning a bit, but will have to wait a fair few weeks for it all to come through.
The hairgrass is Eleocharis acicularis, which I think is great compared to Eleocharis parvula, as it grows a lot faster, and I've had far more success with (I had the two, but the E. parvula seems to have disappeared, or the E. acicularis has dominated). The only problem with the E. acicularis is that it does grow extremely quickly, and when its trimmed down to near the substrate it isn't very robust, so I think weekly trimming may be necessary for the lower stems to get enough light. Just needs to be managed a bit more than E. parvula, but on the whole it does extremely well and is a bit more versatile.
I've also added a few stones around the place for the Cichlids to spawn on or establish territories. And I think it makes it look a bit more natural too.

This is the tank as of last night;


IMG_0660PSMarch_zps134b7f51.jpg

IMG_0662PSMarch_zps081e2ba1.jpg


Still a few more things to do, i.e trimming the Bolbitis heudelotii and Java fern but lost patience with it yesterday so just left it as it is. But happy with the progress so far and looking forward to the plants coming through in the next few weeks.
 
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