# First time 10 g



## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

I need some comments on this tank go hard on me  for more info go to my site.

John


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## Erirku (Oct 5, 2004)

Ok, here goes nothing. I won't critisize your aquascape, but I'll say some stuff
1) It reminds me of Amano's artwork. But, everyone uses his concept, and this feels like it
2) change the background to black or dark blue. The white throws it really off
3) Where all the background plant?:-k Maybe alot of the tall hairgrass, and I mean alot.
4) more tetras?
5) Either than that, there are some good aspects: the driftwood, and all that riccia. 
But this is my opinion, and I'm not an expert at aquascaping. So no offense if I offended you!


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## Pseuro (Aug 23, 2004)

nice healthy looking riccia you got there.
well heres what i think.

i think you might need to add some plants in that little 'hole' you have on the right side of the tank, maybe just by balancing it out with hairgrass like you've done on the left.

A background as erirku stated would also be a good idea, i suggest black.

Also, with all that negative space on the right, it forces your eyes to wander around there to find things to look at, which ends up as your equipment.
Since you got a little tall piece of driftwood on the left, why not use it to hide your equipment?

Your 'carpet' in the front i think needs alittle bit of pruning, it seems too thick right now.

Finally, when taking pictures of your tank, you might want to include fish as part of the composition, right now it just seems like a quick snapshot (which it probably is) and lacks the professionalism/beauty that we see in stronger aquariums pictures (if that is what your trying to achieve)

that being said, the driftwood with riccia attached provides a strong focal point and is where i think is the strongest part of your tank, good job!


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

My suggestions:

1. Take out all the equipment before photography.
2. The Riccia fluitans carpet is toot thick. It needs to be trimmed down lower, since it seems overwhelming right now.
3. The driftwood arrangement on the left is not balanced by any feature on the right. For a monospecific layout to be a successful, you really need a strong/balanced hardscape throughout the layout. 
4. Try brightening up your white background by placing white cardboard on the back wall and shining light upon it. You'll get the Amano 'endless white' background effect that way. 

Just a few ideas,

Carlos


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## travdawg (Mar 3, 2005)

Turt, I acutally liked your earlier pics of your tank better, when it was less "fluffy".


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

Is that a ZooMed 501 filter I am seeing? If so then how cool! Does it work well for your tank? And mine is still subjugating to the abuse of a turtle tank! 

About the tank, I can say this for myself. Being able to grow plants well is one thing; being able to scape it into a great scenery is another. Both takes skills, no doubt, but both are as distinct and yet intimately connected to one another as the sky and earth are. You have undoubtedly reached the first. And you are well on your way to reaching the latter. I totally believe with more scaping practice you have a great potential in this year's contests! Everything others had said makes sense. You just have to digest them and think about also what you like and dislike. So please keep us updated on this tank's progress!

Paul


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

right now the tank is in it's wild growth stage so I can earn some money on the riccia, so that explains the fluffiness and the empty space in the back, will trim we I get it sold, I was going to take out all the equipment but I'll do that next time, I actually had a black background but it hid the wood when I took pictures, yes that is a zoomed. The hairgrass in the back just started to spread runners so give that a month. And as for picture quality, I will take pro pictures when my new camera arrives, no equipment and all the lighting stuff. This tank has 11 cardinals and about 40+ shrimp so yea..


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## antreasgr (Nov 28, 2004)

i think it looks very nice with the riccia like that.if you cut it down i think it will show too much of the wood.before adding plants in the background try the method carlos suggest for taking pic and remove all the equipment.i think it will look nice.


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## Leopardess (Mar 14, 2004)

I kind of like the fluffiness; maybe more so on the wood than on the ground. It gives it a cloudlike, ethereal feel.

I don't know, but it might be nice to see more hair grass interspersed among, and closer to, the driftood.

I've also seen some people knock off some of the bubbles on the riccia where there are a lot to cut back on the light they throw back.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

One thing I've found that makes a great photo in Riccia tanks is to take a pic from directly above the tank in the morning before the Riccia starts pearling. You can see down into the depths of its whorls in an almost mesmerizing way. Just a suggestion. Great work on the growth man


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

thanks on the riccia growth, I was thinking, should I spread the hairgrass all the way across the background? or should I just stop it where the wood ends like now? Or should I a small piece of wood on the right to balance it out a bit? Btw, I just trimming the riccia way down so I hope it'll please you guys the next time I take a picture.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

IMHO, and I'm just a newb so don't take it seriously, I like the negative space on the right the way you have it set up, although if you insist on keeping the hairgrass you might try it on the right to see how it balances things. I never know until I actually put something somewhere and can sit back and look at it. I do really like the upper-left to lower-right effect you've got going but it needs something more than just the Riccia, again IMHO. Excellent work for such a small tank  But you've got to hide the equipment somehow. It catches the eye way too much.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Don't worry, next time I will take it out.


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## dwhite645 (Jan 9, 2005)

looks great to me. If you're looking for a little more diversity, I'd suggest adding some stargrass to the back. It can become leggy, but with regular trimmings and replanting, it becomes a really dense bush, which would compliment the riccia nicely.


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## MrHarris (Mar 19, 2005)

how much light are you using? do you have to have co2 injection for riccia?


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

It looks ike an all Riccia tank. The hairgrass you can hardly see, there is just not enough contrast. It needs something else with sharper contrast. The hairgrass won't be enough


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## Osteomata (Jan 11, 2005)

That tank looks great! I'm on the fence on the hairgrass. On one hand it is barely visible, almost blending in with riccia, presenting a subtle look. On the other it has no contrast. If you replace it, go for a darker green/broader leaf plant. If you keep it, I would NOT extend it all the way across the tank, stop it at the wood.

Glad to see another Zoomed in a small tank, I love mine. Carlos turned me on to it, and I have no regrets. Have you ever tried an inline CO2 reactor on the zoomed? I'm considering a DIY for my 15G. Not sure how it would work.


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

Definately have a nice minimalistic scape going on there 

If it was my tank, I would keep the "ground" riccia 1/2 as fluffy, and make the "tree" riccia 2x fluffy. I think the hairgrass is just fine here...but you need more of it and have it spread a little bit more. You do have the right idea to keep it localized to only a section of the tank though. Letting the hairgrass grow througout will take away what you have built up composition wise.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

I trimmed the tree and am now letting it grow out, the hairgrass is slowly growing, it didn't grow as fast as I thought it would so it blends in with the riccia right now. Yes, Carlos told me about the zoomed, and I decided to use it because my HOBs weren't doing their job. The light was bought from Carlos, its a Current USA satellite 40watt 20" I swapped the bulb to a 6700k/10000k combo and bought some leg mounts. I have DIY co2 injection around 30ppm.

John


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## Aqua1 (Mar 2, 2005)

*Another awesome tank*

I thought it is awesome, nothing wrong with Ricca growing so thick. I wish my tank could look like that. May be a few pointers from you expertes. :smile:


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

thanks for the comment, I'm about to plant some glooso in the front along with the riccia.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Ok here'd the latest, what do you think of it now? The scape, not the picture.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Very impressive. The first of the three bulbs of Riccia is hitting the surface though. Angle of photo should be adjusted to take advantage of your technique.


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## russell (Dec 7, 2004)

i must say, i am impressed. ricca is so versatile.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Yes! Riccia is a great plant that grows fast, if you don't trim it, it may get wild.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

ahhh look at the growth, just planted hairgrass on the right to fill in the blank space, this time the picture has not filter or heater. Comments please.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Not to be a smartass, but picture please


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## jppurchase (Dec 15, 2004)

travis said:


> Not to be a smartass, but picture please


This is page 3 of the thread. Go to page one - the photos are there.

James Purchase
Toronto


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

OK so the pic is new - duh! Sorry, I've been known to be a bit _slow_ sometimes.

That looks like a Riccia tree now  The tank photo is pristine. Beautiful


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Hairgrass background
taiwan moss and riccia midground
hc foreground


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## russell (Dec 7, 2004)

same tank? man, that's a lot of change. did you get aquabid happy selling riccia?  i'm not sure what you are going for with this next scape, but i'm sure you will make it work. i loved your last layout.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Thanks, I actually did go crazy on aquabid with my riccia, I still have a mass portion left haha, it could have filled a 60 g I have enought for a 30g right now.


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## Leopardess (Mar 14, 2004)

I like it so far. It really does look bigger than a 10g. I'm thinking of doing something similar (less maintenance). The one thing that catches me as maybe a little off is that the two front, larger rocks are at nearly the same angle, just reversed. Perhaps shifting one of the two ever so slightly will help? Right now it's very \ /. Even without the change, you've done a really great job! I can't wait to see the foreground grown in some.


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## SnyperP (Dec 10, 2004)

The new setup looks great so far! Are you still using the same equipment as in the previous setup?


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

nothing has changed only the scape and plants


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