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Critique my hardscape Been shopping - hardscape purchased. Comments welcome please!

jasonjleach

Member
Joined
25 Jan 2022
Messages
53
Location
Worcestershire
Hi All, had a great morning at Aquarium Gardens yesterday. I will be tinkering for a good few weeks while i get some cash and a plant list together. This is my first proper scape.

Nature style, triangle with la plata sand beach to the front.

I dont have an substrate in there at the minute so some of the stones arnt laid as it like. I'm getting some floss in to set them up.

Its an EA aquascaper 900.

How can i improve it?

Thanks

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I'd probably swap the third big stone from the right for something a little lower so you get a lower line, then put a cool big stone in the open area on it's own
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I think I’d bring the stones forward more too, especially on the right hand side, and have a narrower strip of sand there.

Can you cut the branches peering through the stones too and try to have them wrapping around the stones more like roots.
 
Bit of a shuffle around. Trangle is better. I think some more detailign wood may be in order along with small stone chips to blend the big stones into the sand.
thanks
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I think it still looks a little to uniform and almost forced. Have a quick Google search of 60P aquascapes and you’ll find lots of examples using the same materials as you are.
Personally I really like the wood coming out from the rocks, but it’s all personal preference and hopefully you’ll find a little inspiration on there.

Maybe try find some more of the same wood too and combine them together to create a larger wood structure as I think your current one is teetering on the edge of being a little under powered.
 
Sorry it really feels like I’m hammering your scape, Its not my intention. The concept is there, it just needs a little tweaking.
Have you propped the stones up on bags? Because I think you may find you’ll end up with a deep sand bed to try covering that, and this scale will really benefit from a real thin sandbed.
 
Looking much better mate, see what the wood looks like more over the right hand side so it’s less central, or try to find another piece to fill that space also.

It’ll come together with sand and plants added that’s for sure.
 
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ok some thoughts on planting. Keeping the focus on the RHS third. with a big feature plant, fern/trident or similar.

Needs to detail stone and more wood but not much. Comments still welcome. TIA.
 
I think the previous layout was better, the pyramidal stone on the right looks odd!
Hi there,
The layout before was the best, it had the stones in a nice undulating line leading your eye across the tank. The extra wood makes a big difference too, it adds weight & height to the right hand side.
Perhaps add a random sprinkling of coarse gravel/small pebbles leading from the rocks & blending into the sandy area.
 
Second to last without the triangular stone on the RHS looks really good to me.
Maybe add in some longer grass like plays to the background like Cypreus Helfrei, have the flow push it towards the left so it flows in the same direction as the wood, I think this would create a lovely effect of movement in the tank.
 
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