I like to see different height plants with larger/taller in the back and moving to shorter and ground cover in the front. Maybe fill in with artificial until your real ones grow. I agree with grouping like plants, don't spread them out. Perhaps a larger piece of wood or rock as a centerpiece.
Yeah, well for starters, and some may disagree....I'd get some sort of neutral "poster" cover for the back of your tank..could even be black. Many heavily planted tanks have no need for one as the plants are so thick and overgrown the back glass of the tank (along with your HOB filter, wires, and other accessories) isn't even visible. But its certainly a cheap way to dress things up for the time being, and is purely personal preference. Before I went planted I picked up a fish-pattern one which doesn't really mesh well with my plants and fish. This is why I'd recommend something neutral.
Secondly I think some more ''hard'' objects like Zambize said (rocks, driftwood) would probably create some more depth and texture in your tank, and grouping the plants in, on, around these ''hard'' objects will probably be more natural and aesthetically pleasing.
Just be careful with rocks and wood, wood especially. I see you have some wood in this tank but have no way of telling if its fake or not. :) If you aren't experienced with real pieces do some research, as many types wood and rocks will often change the chemistry of your water, possibly not in favor of its ''swimming'' inhabitants. :)
firth thing i'd do....rip that gravel out.
its too much.
i think sand is the best, but i know others arent a fan, if not, fine black gravel is great and really brings out the other colours in the tank.
Tmercier83 is def. right about black background, thats what ive got, i think its brilliant, and with black gravel your fish will look amazing.
next thing...bunch your plants together, and make fill the back with it, have bogwood to the right, something else to the left (a rock?) then create some open space in the middle area.
et voila!
I agree with the black background and black gravel. That's what I use in several tanks and it's beautiful, very classy, without distracting from the inhabitants. I also like the idea of an open middle. It will encourage the fish to swim there and be more visible.
all of this that i will say is personal preference but adding some plants of diff colors and textures will spruce up the tank, a black or dark blue background will make the plants and fish stand out, the gravel is fine if you use liquid ferts, i am not a huge proponent of using chemicals, however your tank seems small enough to where only a little bit with do the trick, if also add diff plants with diff leaf structures and sizes this will add texture, if you are to change your substrate you may be want to look into the eco-complete plant substrate, the design and how you go about doing it is completely up to you these are just some suggestions that you may want to take into consideration.
Hope this helps,
Brandon
I think you should leave the wood as it is and clear a bit of a channel or make a virtual stream bed that courses from the front to the back of the tank and goes by the wood on it's left. I would move the Amazon sword or whatever is next to the Java fern, and replant it more in the left corner in front of the filter intake. If it's Amazon sword it will become the biggest plant soon and will be a good background. Move the Java fern to the left about 3 inches leaving space between it and the wood. Take and pull up much of that crawling vine type plant and replant on either side in a more compact bunch leaving a bare area in front. Having the whole ground completely covered is too full. I think there should always be some bare gravel, especially in the front somewhere, and I prefer to have the illusion of a little stream that draws the eye into the composition like a little journey into a fantasy paradise.
RSbadger15. Now you have an eye for composition. Your tank is beautiful. There is as I see it a little stream or canyon going back into the tank and it's balanced nicely by the wood on one side and the foliage on the other. There is bare sand in the front too. It's got all the pieces of a nice composition in my opinion.
why thank you kind sir!
it's always been a dream of mine to create a real masterpiece within an aquairum...problem is....i end up wanting to change it every week but cant because i dont want to stress the fish! :D
i cant wait to get my big tank when i move...i wont stop until its perfection lol.
1. Yes, that's 4 Leaf Clover in the front.
2. I WILL get a black background hopefully soon
3. It is real driftwood, it leached tannins for a couple weeks.
4. Flourite is the substrate, and I don't really want to replace it with something else since it clouds like #$%^&* when you first put it in.
5. What should I use to create the "river/channel"?
6. It's a Parviflorous Sword, maximum size is slightly larger than what it is now.
7. Sorry for not being so active...I have many other forums to check, and this one is in th eback of my head :P
You don't have to do much else besides create a pathway leading into and possibly turning out of sight by separating the Java fern from the wood a little more and having an open space in front.
To have a illusion of depth make the "stream", the bare area, much wider in the front and have it narrow quickly as it leads the eye back.
You could place a few pebbles randomly on the sides of the "stream", but don't line the sides as this looks too overdone. Just a few at 2 or 3 key points may look good, but this isn't as important as having the bare streambed IMO.
It may take some skill to replant the clover when you remove it from the front. I would use a finger to push the individual plantlets by pressing on the horizontals near the platelet bases into the substraight.
I'd love to see what you do with this tank. Please send us pics!!!
