# Aquascaping Noob Needs Some Advice



## DGalt (Jul 1, 2008)

So I'm doing a semi-rescape of my 15 gallon low light tank. I'm going to be changing the substrate to ADA Aquasoil, and I'm going to try and grow some glosso. I figure, though, since I'm going to be taking the tank apart I might as well consider some different scaping options. So here is what it looks like right now (excuse my pos camera):



















http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm462/DGalt11/DSC01508.jpg

The plants are going to stay the same (i.e. mosses, anubias. adding the glosso obviously, probably either taking out the clover or relegating it to the back of the tank incase the glosso doesn't work out).

I'm looking for some alternate ideas in terms of hardscape placing. Obviously I can put it all back together as it's seen now but with a different substrate, but again I figure I could at least consider some more interesting options.

I want to create some more depth / height to the tank but I don't want to do it by adding stems plants. I'd rather pile up hardscape and cover it with moss, something like that. I'm thinking of maybe a V type shape, with the big piece in the center to one side of the tank and possibly using the other two pieces to overlap over the center (kinda like in this tank: moss scape). Maybe piece of some substrate on either side and put all the anubias together surround the base of one of the thinner pieces of driftwood.

Don't know, not good at this stuff (hence why my tank looks like stuff was just kinda dropped in there). Any advice would be greatly appreciated

thanks 

p.s. to anyone who is concerned about the angels in there, they're not permanent. my roommate had to move to Boston for the summer for an internship and he had nowhere to put them (couldn't leave his tank here in the apartment since he's not living here next year). They'll be out of the tank by July.


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

Slope your new substrate; 1 inch or so in the front, 3 inches in the back. I have yet to see anyone go back after doing it once. The illusion of depth that this method creates is pretty nice.

Get some rock work in there perhaps. Make sure it's inert. Some will say to only use one kind because, "Amano says so" but this rule can be broken if you're careful.

Try leaving some of the wood moss-free perhaps. It can be a little or a lot, but seeing some of it emerging from the moss might help to add layers of visual complexity. 

-Philosophos


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## DGalt (Jul 1, 2008)

I was thinking of doing something with some rocks, but I don't know what yet. I'm going to wander around and see if I can find something tomorrow. How do I test if they're inert? I know of a whole bunch of rocks around here that have some nice angles. Don't really know how to describe them - they are basically made up of various layers of blackish/grayish/whitish stone. They are all around where the drainage pipes come out (I'm assuming so the running water doesn't erode the soil).

Edit:
did a bit of digging, I'm guessing the stuff I'm thinking of is some type of gneiss


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

Gneiss can be safe. There's a number of ways of testing as to whether rocks are safe.

The first and easiest is a visual check over. If it looks like there's a mineral red, orange or green staining the outside, it's probably not safe. If it looks/feels soft and chalky, leave it be.

Next up is the acid test; stick the strongest acid on it that you dare, and see if it fizzes. Toss it aside if it does.

Third would be the water chemistry tests. Get together as many tests as you can for GH, KH, pH, Fe, Cu, Mg, PO4, etc. The average person won't have half of this stuff, so don't worry if you can't do it all. Leave the rock in a bucket of DI water for as long as it takes to change 50% of the water in your aquarium. Give it a swirl every day if you like, just to simulate a bit of current. Test the water, double the amount and call that the absolute max amount you'll experience in fluctuation. In reality it'll probably be less; the bucket holds far less water than your tank. If you're feeling real fancy, set up a control with some of the same DI in an identical container beside the one you're testing.

And finally there is the canary method... stick the rock in a small tank with a cheap fish and see what happens. 

How much of this you want to do all depends on how tough your fish are, and how motivated you feel.

-Philosophos


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## DGalt (Jul 1, 2008)

would something like HCl make any rock fizz or just non inert ones. 

maybe i'll just get some vinegar ound:


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## DGalt (Jul 1, 2008)

I decided to try and play around with some configurations. The container I was using isn't as long as my tank, though, so I did it in pieces. The distance from the front to the back of the container is 12" like my tank though.

Here's what I was thinking:
Left side:









As I said, around the base of the piece of wood I'll put the anubias petites.

Right Side:









I'm not as big of a fan of the right side. Both of those pieces are rather awkward in terms of the shape. I can't get the big piece into the corner; that's that closest I could get it. As for the branchy piece, the angle between the two branches is giving me a lot of trouble. I can't position the top one where I like and still have the lower one far enough off of the substrate.

The piece looks like this:









I could break the two halves into two pieces, but that's a last resort (once it's broken it's broken ).

Between the two sides there will be about 5" at the apex of the ^ and then of course it will fan out. I think both sides are about 4-5 inches from the front of the tank. Hopefully I'll actually be able to get a glosso carpet to fill in that space.

So yeah, suggestions? The right sides seems kid of plain but I don't know what to put in there.

thanks

p.s. yes Schultz Aquatic Soil sticks to EVERYTHING


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

The left side is looking great. Only suggestion there would be to add one more branch, and one more rock. Odd numbers are aesthetically pleasing.

On the other side, your root piece is creating a very similar setup to what I've got on the right of my 20g. What you're doing on the left of the stump is good; it's creating something that guides the eye towards the left of the tank. I've done the same with some dark red crypt. Try planting something in the crook of the branch; tie on a little java fern if you like. The base of the stump could be helped out with some anubias tied to the "roots" and a little moss over that cut top couldn't hurt.

I like where your layout is heading, could you do a picture of both sides together from a "front of the tank" perspective?

I'll try to get some pics of my 20g out later on, my right side has similarities to yours. First a water change and trim, though; it's looking a bit shabby.

-Philosophos


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## DGalt (Jul 1, 2008)

I can't get a full picture because the container isn't really big enough. The would end up looking too close together (my tank is about 7" longer than that container). 

Maybe I could put a small crypt in that spot between the two branches? I'm just trying to think what I can get at my LFS (they're not big on plants lol). I do agree that some anubias at the base of those roots would probably be best. I've liked the petites so far, I'll have to talk to the guy I got them from. 

You won't see the top of the stump once it's in my tank. Otherwise I would have covered it a long time ago 

Where do you think would be a good place for another rock on the left side? I can obviously just drape another branch in there, but I don't know where I could place another rock and not have it look out of place


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## DGalt (Jul 1, 2008)

Something like this on the left maybe?










Reminds me of a cliff near my campus 

Camera angle doesn't do a great job showing the different gradients, but I think you get the idea


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

I was going to say move them out and nestle the third one between the two, but what you've got there looks superior. Third branch would look great angled towards the front of the glass. Maybe nestle some monoselenium tenerum (pellia) or a rosette of some kind in the middle of the branch/rock "basket" that's created.

Crypt would work well on the right side. C. wendtii "brown" is what I've used. The darker color pushes things back visually. I'm using a black background though, and it might not look so good with light or no background. Green or bronze might be a little nicer looking.

Anubias barteri nana is nice stuff. I've got some growing in a germination tray. Seems a little more algae-sensitive than other varieties. The price of the stuff can be insane depending on who you buy from. If this is the case, just buy a little and let it grow emerged; frag as needed.

The pictures may be a while in posting... there are some apisto fry making things difficult.

-Philosophos


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## DGalt (Jul 1, 2008)

I have a black background so I'll see if I can find a darker crypt.

I had an Anubias barti v. nana a while back but I killed it when trying to treat some BBA (used a bit too much hydrogen peroxide and it didn't like that ). I've found that the petite nana looks better if a tank my size though. The regular leaves a much larger; the petite nana are pretty much a smaller version:










I have 3 of those in my tank right now, although I could probably chop at least 2 of them in half since they've grown so much since i got them.

hopefully I can find some driftwood at my LFS. They tend to not have anything useful though :/


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