# How Do You Aquascape



## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

I would like everyones opinion on how they aquascape..and by that i mean how do you decide what you want to do.

I will start this off with how i do it. Before i even start to plan a scape i go to creek beds and river beds and take lots of pic's of wood laying on the ground..even better is a bunch of wood thats been tangled together. or how rocks come up out of the ground.

when i have the pic's i want i go home a decided what kind of scape i want to do..driftwood, rock, or both.

Then i choose the right size tank for the scaping materials i have ( putting an small piece of driftwood in a big tank is not realistic)

then i do my layout.i choose my one piece for my focal point(usually the biggest piece) and i place it in the tank. I never put my focal point piece in the cent of the tank. it either off to the left or the right of center.also if i am putting driftwood or rock for that matter on both ends of the tank i will put one end towards the back of the tank and on ther other end i will put it towards the front of the tank. It give the tank balance with your attention still on your focal point.

That how i do it..i would like everyone's opinion on how they do it. maybe i can make something better.

Rick


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## Alasse (Mar 12, 2009)

I decide i'm gonna scape a certain tank and i just do it, no planning needed.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Taking the pics is a good idea if you live close to water...too bad they couldn't be underwater shots. If I'm starting over I like to go th plantedtank forum and look through their gallery. Never claim to be very good at it, but I try to stick plants better suited for back, middle, and front where they should be. You have to read about the plant for that info. There is an aquascaping forum out there also. 

This place can give you some incredible inspiration, if nothing else: 2010 AGA Aquascaping Contest - Aquatic Garden, Smaller than 70L


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I don't really have much of a plan or anything, I'm new at this and it's all trial and error at this point, if i dont like how something looks i move it. I look at pictures of all the great tanks here and try to mimic the things I like.


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

i just get what i find like driftwood then just play around with it laying it in tank till i like the look and then find plants and just plant them, honeslty never really giving to much thought to it all just do it, and if i dont like it once its done move things around again tilll i like it


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## Underwater City (Nov 6, 2011)

I'm brand new to the aquascaping world so I don't have much of a plan. What I do is look at what others have done to get ideas, look at what I have to work with and make some changes.

Yesterday I changed out my gravel for Tahitian moon sand, and MAN does that look SO much better! I will never go back to gravel again.

Because of this, I was able to play around with decorating and getting my plants where I want them now that they'll stay in place! 

Along with the 60 pounds of sand I purchased, I bought two new rock decorations, one being like a rock wall which allows you to "build" layers. I love it. I also have another rock formation that I just bought and instead of doing what I always do, which is try to make everything symmetric, I just put things in random places, (bigger objects towards the back), and it looks great.

I have a ways to go, especially plant wise as I only have about 20 plants right now in a 40 gallon but I'm learning and scaping as I go.

Right now, the fish are favoring both the left and the right sides of the tank that look vastly different from each other and are sometimes hanging out in the middle. 

I'm not sure where I'm going with this set up I have now but I am going to build on it and things will undoubtedly change.

But plan ahead? Take photos? No. Again, I just look at others' tanks, see what they have done, allow my mind to be completely open to anything and everything, play with what I have, look for rock or driftwood and more plants and see where it takes me. I think decorations wise, I'm done. I have my rock stuff, I have my driftwood. I just need some of the plants to spread out, (the ones that grow UP are doing brilliantly), cover the floor of the tank and then I have to figure out what to do from there.

In the end, while I may gain inspiration from seeing others' tanks, mine will be unique BECAUSE there is no plan.


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## frogwings (Aug 26, 2011)

I pretty much just did what Summer and others did, but after I finished I found this interesting website which could be of some help with a project. I haven't had the time to use it as yet, but I will try it out when I get another tank. Have fun and experiment, I would recommend not adding the livestock until you think you have what you want, that way it is easier to move stuff around. At least that is what I did. Or maybe that is standard practice? 



Design your Fish Tank | Aquarium Tools


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## Underwater City (Nov 6, 2011)

frogwings, that link is perfect!

I was actually looking for something like that a few weeks ago.

I remember using something like this to help redecorate my room and I thought, "Surely they have one for aquariums!" but couldn't find one.

I like what I've done right now after my "rebuild" on Friday when I changed out gravel for sand but this is excellent for future use!

Thank you!!


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

It certainly is an art form. I know floweriest have a technique which could be beneficial to aquarium scaling.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

tall in back, short in front?

my .02


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## bchris113 (Dec 6, 2011)

I find this to be very inspirational
AQUA JOURNAL- Natural expression


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

that is basically what i try to do, only i dont go through books..i try to do it myself with a camera..there is only so much you can do with a glass box, hence the title for this thread. 

Rick


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