# need help in how to make a good hard scape with the driftwood I have



## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

I have a 55g and don't know where to start with this driftwood. I would like for it to look like this but I don't know if my tank is wide enough... I can get a 75g for around 45 at a LFS if they still have it. :lol:
only thing is how to get a 75g to work on a 55g stand...







also can any one tell me what carpet plants these are? 

here is what I have to work with. I can also use rocks if need too.































<-- yeah I know stuffed animal it's my 7 year old nephews, I watching him yesterday. guess he didn't get everything before leaving.









now the magic would be to get it all in to or most, or just some of it in to this. :-kop2:









and here is a box of the plants I would like to use..









the box is 2x12x 8-12 tall. to give you an ideal of how big the java fern, and anbuis nana is.


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## James He (Aug 24, 2009)

You can use Glosso. HM and HC as carpet plant.

Nice driftwood by the way, where did you get them?


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## Lizzz (Nov 28, 2010)

I ran into the same problem setting up my 55 after i stared at 40 gallon tanks for ideas. I had a friend of mine phi ratio my tank out in length, width, and height. Since 55s are so narrow, scaping across and vertically are your best shot. I can scan the phi ratio drawing if you'd like. I'm awful at math so a picture is way easier than a bunch of numbers


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Heavier pieces and parts of the wood should be kept low, perhaps horizontally across the front. 

Lighter pieces can form the up and out sort of flare.

The difficulty is as noted above, the typical 55 is so shallow from front to back, you will end up with basically a fan sort of layout of the wood. Try laying it out flat and taking some pictures and posting them. Whatever seems best you can zip-tie together and put into the tank. 

Easiest way to find the Golden Mean: Divide the tank into 5ths, and place the bulk of the wood one side or the other of the center. 
Here is a tank divided into 5 sections. 

|-----|===|-----|===|-----|

Put the largest mass in either of the sections indicated by equals signs.


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

Lizzz said:


> I ran into the same problem setting up my 55 after i stared at 40 gallon tanks for ideas. I had a friend of mine phi ratio my tank out in length, width, and height. Since 55s are so narrow, scaping across and vertically are your best shot. I can scan the phi ratio drawing if you'd like. I'm awful at math so a picture is way easier than a bunch of numbers


YES PLEASE, that would be helpful.


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

Diana K said:


> Heavier pieces and parts of the wood should be kept low, perhaps horizontally across the front.
> 
> Lighter pieces can form the up and out sort of flare.
> 
> ...


that's i'll lay out the pieces and take photos one by one. oh and to ever asked where I got it.
I got it at a local fish store. DNA = Dallas North aquariums... (www.dallasnorthaquarium.com)


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

well I played around with the driftwood and this what I came up with, might tweak it a little bit,but it gets me started and I didn't use all of the driftwood. now need a yes, no, maybe to it. to you other planted tank people does it look right, what should I change? right side of tank.







left side of tank







and some straight on shots.


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## Jardineiro (Dec 22, 2010)

I like the driftwood. Not sure about the layout though... The current layout is creating focal points near the top corners of the tank, making you look away from the center of the tank. Also you are creating simetry...Too much of it. I would adress it, by either laying the driftwood away from the top corners/Top of the tank, as you want the driftwood to direct your eye to the plants in the lower to mid level of the tank, and not to the surface which most likely wont have plants at all, and placing it in a way that it has no simetry on both sides, making the layout be assimetrical, or at least with a disguised simetry. Im not telling you should concentrate your driftwood on one side, but maybe you could make an arrangement on both sides of the tank with the driftwood but in a way that makes it look particularly different when you look from right to left. 
Also without any plants or at least a diagram of the plants makes it hard to see your final plan=P 

hope it helped.


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

Thanks it does help... um what about these, are these any better? 























or maybe this one it looks closes to the photo I posted.
















plants - I plant to use microsorium peteropus "java fern" , rotala rotundifolia "tooth-cup" , anubias nana, some type of sag or vals, and don't know what to use for the fore ground. - suggestions are open .

fish - some type of tetras. thinking about rummy nose,lamp eye aka red eye, or black neon.. open to fish suggestions too.


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## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

Looks good joe. i think i would turn that piece on the left upside down. But thats just me, I like roots and stumps.


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## Lizzz (Nov 28, 2010)

Looking good! I cant find the power cord to my scanner atm, but I should be able to scan it by tonight if you still want. The dividing it into 1/5th as Diana K. mentioned is a very basic way to achieve a golden ratio tank, and wont have the perfect look that a true phi ratio expresses.If you'd like to learn more about it, or create a more true ratio (essentially you want each section you break your tank into to be either 1.618 larger or smaller than the previous section) visit the Golden Number website, itll give examples of how it should look visually.


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

Tips do help me out... guess I will keep trying what about this one..







or this one my eyes are wanting to go to the left piece, and flow to the center and look go down then I'm looking at the right piece and looking up then back to the left... does this look good or keep trying?


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## Jardineiro (Dec 22, 2010)

I like this last layout the best....


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

Thanks, I like it too, I will go fill my spray bottle up and plant around with some of the java fern and anubias and see how it looks.


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## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

Jardineiro said:


> I like this last layout the best....


i agree this is your best one. nice!


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

Thanks so should I keep it and start to do the laying down of the organic humus,sand,and soil master select? only problem is how do I keep the driftwood down, do I just go to lowes/home depot/ a garden shop, and get some slate and drill holds in the slate and use stainless steel screws throw the slate and driftwood to keep the driftwood down and from floating?.... 

the plants I want to use are java fern, anubias nana, dwarf sag, and rotala, and maybe some crypt sprillias and lutea too.

fish - I want to use black neons,

fish that I have that I could put in this tank onces it's set up are pearl gouramis, angelfish,albino cory,regular neon tetras,and some danios... I even thought about getting some chilli rasboras from niko.


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## Jardineiro (Dec 22, 2010)

well keeping the driftwood in place is the hardest part... You coul do the way you said, and tbh i think its the best way seeing as the driftwood you have is really straight, and due to the positions you have, laying rocks on top of it can be a hassle. For the horizontal ones you can easily fill glass stocking with river gravel, weigh the wood down, and cover it with soil/substrate... Thats how i did with my gardens of Kadesh layout (grapewood floats like hell=P specially if you dont boil it). But for the more vertical wood i advise you to screw it in place=P


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

cool guess I will have to make a trip to home depot/lowes/ace hard ware, etc and find some slate the LFS (local fish stores) around here charge a arm and leg for it. 2-4 dollars a pound...


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

so it's finished I went with photo 2, now just need the dwarf sag to fill in and get a few more plants in there.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

i personally liked it better on your first attempt. looks like you need more substrate though, and maybe a few rocks to help keep the wood down at first


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

ddavila06 said:


> i personally liked it better on your first attempt. looks like you need more substrate though, and maybe a few rocks to help keep the wood down at first


see my journal


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