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Nice tank as normal Ben. I am glad things seem to be working out for you.

I really like how you have a wall of plants in the back. The way you layer everything really amazes me. I normally only have 2 or 3 layers of plants at most and it looks like you have 5-6 easy which gives you much more depth. Very cool!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Gorgeous, just beautiful.

Thanks , but what do you think of the tank or the wife

Yeah - salt. Some sites recommend salt , others don't mention it. Hmmmm.... I've had mollies for years without salt. They (Glassfish) are quite common here and in complete freshwater and seem to do fine.
The females are totally clear and colorless, the males are little stunners though - very yellow, blue edges, red tailsfins and black spiked dorsals -as I said like little squished Rams.

As for the layering - the trick is to use the rocks and wood and plant them carefully. They give layers that would be impossible to achieve otherwise. Not trying to pick on Ingo, but it's an example that srprings to mind at the moment, if you look at the recent pics of his re-do, you can see how the basic structure is just a flat bed of gravel with some branches sticking out. There are no "platforms" or "stages" to work on. This will make scaping very difficult. It's natural and instinctive for the human eye to go from the top corner to the bottom corner when looking at an object or scene - NOT side to side. Photograhers, artists use this principle when composing scenes , it's also the reason why the golden ratio works.

Textures also play a big, having different textures is like adding an extra dimension or layer.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

You mean the earth isn't flat

Even a grassy field has subtle contours, etc that need to be duplicatd in an aquarium to really make it a fest for the eyes.

I've been nudging Ingo in this regard as well. Anubias all lined up on one level in a row. Some should be raised up with rock all other methods to create another level and depth.

In the same way a magician fools the eye. A scaper can create many illusions both with natural and articifial means.

My Scapes

Now you really owe me an entry in my log to elaborate on the issue that you see with my flat tank

- Will you please?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ben,

Thanks for the scaping tips once again!

BTW what is the foot print on this tank?

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Beautiful tank & great scaping tips as well. What is that beautiful pinkish plant you have. It is such a gorgeous colour.

Cheers
TW

I post all my gut wrenching "swan paddling like fury" pictures and you just show up with the perfect tank!!!



It looks wonderful. really does.

visit more often please! - but not tooo many photos!

GFG

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

Had to pop in a greet you with a good 'ol fashioned "nee how"!

Ben, man, you gotta visit more often.

Been a while. Unfortunately moving house and starting a new job at the same time is not an easy thing. Even typing for long is difficult as the computer is temporarily set up on the floor of my new den and the tile floor is a bit hard on my scrawny old butt

Unforunately the tank took a real beating during the move. 35o tropical heat does not help. Lost pretty much all the fish except for the Krib and remarkably the Otto's. Haven't had time to replace them or get the tank properly back in shape.

I'll get round to an update but for now it's 13 hour days, lot's of travel (Singapore next week and Greece in early Jan swiftly followed by trips to Poland and Romania) and continuing to try to get the house in order.

Maybe I can finish it off next weekend

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

I'm sorry about your tank Bernard, but I'm sure you'll get it back in shape without too much trouble. Just do it in your own time and try to find those important moments to relax every now and then.

Take care!
Martin

Sorry bout the losses Bensaf. That's always sad.

Cheers
TW