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http://www.34i.org/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=sunset-tank

The new pics of the tank are at the beginning right now - I removed all of the fake plants and decorations and replaced it with live plants, driftwood, and a couple of rocks.

Plants - a few small java fern, java moss, apongeton, and crypts? Oh and a small mystery plant that Jim sent me and a little bit of hornwort floating around. The tank is low light, so I can only keep low light plants.

I think my tank is kind of plain and empty right now, but I'm not sure how I could rearrange the stuff better. Unfortunately I have a very tight budget, so if i could just rearrange rather than buy new stuff that'd be much better. Any tips or suggestions? I do still have all of those fake plants, but I worry that they'd just look bad with all of the nice real stuff.

The pottery that growls!

It looks pretty a good on the right side bbut a cheap suggestion is getting a background, it would make it look much better and less empty also

-Vincent

Your tank looks like it got a little of the new tank blues.. its not to say that its not nice or cant be nicer but really that the plant haven't had time to fill in the empty area. some patience and tlc will mean that in time you tank can grow into a fuller looking tank.. i.e. if trained properly that java moss will make for a great carpet plant.
anyway to answer you question
If you want to aid in the quest for fuller looking plant you might need to make sure that you can meet the needs of the plant i.e. co2, ferts, and lighting. DIY yeast systems are a really cheap way to make sure that you plant cant flourish..

I have to say i really agree with Budzilla in that a background will do wonders. I often use black poster board against tank's back to quickly increase a tank's jenesequa (sorry about the spelling)

Thanks guys. I'm not a huge fan of tank backgrounds other than plain black. I will probably add a background when I move to the new house, but right now I leave the back clear so that I can look at my fishies from the front or the back. Any suggestions for rearranging the plants/driftwood/rocks?

The pottery that growls!

Hey i know this is really unrelated but you P8150031.jpg image is really freaking me out.. every time i look at it all i can see is a what looks like a ghost in the water....just above the right side of the silver bar and just underneath what looks like a sunset appear a wailing type face.. it freaky..

okay so to answer your question it looks like you tank has a an A like mid ground.. the drift wood and tall plant a little of center toward the right.. what i would do is go for a W Tall plant and the extreme left and right.. drift wood center. and medium plant in between . it think that might balance the tank out a bid more...

HAH! The glass is dirty in the back. That's the crazy ghost you're seeing. I should get around to cleaning that sometime!!! Funny though.

I'm not sure what you mean about the W set up though... sorry =/ do you have any examples or something?

The pottery that growls!

I assume to got the reference to the letter A in that while you tank isn't centered it seems peek off center like an A (really the fern and the driftwood being the tallest,(normally complementary but in this case they create an A )). ( ___/\__ )the reference to W is similar in that the leg of the W are at the extreme end.. so picture this .. the fern at the right, the driftwood centered, and the wort at the left, with the small plant in between, so it look like this: tall, mid, tall, mid, tall or |\_/\_/| (W), like a wavy type setup .. it only my suggestion given your requirements, if money werent an object i think this topic would be chock full of idea's .. .

PS. I would also try to incorporate some of those plastic plant you had.. i think that its okay to mix the two while your set is in transition...
i'll keep checking in, to see if my latest suggestions are still vague

Thanks! I see what you mean now. Isn't a W format kind of boring though? No offense, but symmetry is can be considered plain and boring in composition. Maybe we should just leave it open and I can slowly update the tank as i get money? What could I do with a larger budget? I might put some of the fake plants back in. Now that I have the driftwood and real plants though, the fake plants look so plain!!

The pottery that growls!

you could umm... place the real plant in front of the fake..

k so i was think bout the boring comment and it ring true .. but my thought were that it would be more like a textural symmetry as apossed to mirror images.. a balance that offer gazers a ying to the yang.. like van gooh a cypress to balance the end... k... maybe not.. its was a hard requirments like a said before.. no money + no plastic plant = ? (your current predicament )..

This is hilarious because i'm an art major and all, but i can't seem to think of any sort of good composition when it comes to fish tanks!

So feel free to give ideas for a tank with a budget. I can maybe just have a goal to reach and slowly try to reach it!

The pottery that growls!

Hey ART major coolz!.. so you know what i'm talking about..
http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2006.cgi?&op=ishowcase&category=0&vol=0

This a great site of contestants.. The best part is that most of the entrants seem to gravitate to a minimalist style. A common plant some well placed stones and a piece of wood.. browser the site.. most will list their stock and other pertinent info

Ok I tried a diagonal kind of composition for the tank using some of my old fake plants along with the live plants. I think it's more interesting than what I had before! What do you guys think?? What else should I do? I removed the rocks too because I couldn't figure out where to put them.

Here's the link again, the first 3 pics now are the new set up. http://www.34i.org/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=sunset-tank

The pottery that growls!

Looks good on cam.. i think some of the fake plant really helped to fill out the tank ... it should be fine until the plant grow out...

I like it ...I think that may a carpet plant would do wonders to fill out the rest of the tank.. nothing overwhelming. just something to buffer between the gravel and plants..

I did not answer this post early as I knew my thoughts would have been too harsh on you.
I am certainly no Art Major all my working and teaching career as evolved around design and who it is for.

Now saying that you have forgot the first thing you must think of when desining who is it for and what is its purpose. You started off desining a tank with a no type of budget (fish keeping is a big budget hobby) and all you could think of was budget and your self not for the fish in the tank.

Now for the suggestions.
Pull it down completly (Take more photos first) The concept is certainly improving I actually like it.
Replace all the substrate with a natural colour 1-3mm river pebbles.
Toss out all the fake plants they do nothing for the fish.
The actual placement of the Fake Plants you have is EXCELLENT. That is why I want you to take lots of photos.
The Drift Wood around the front of your Aquscape is like putting up a HUGE fence, and stops the natural flow of your design.
Move them out and try several random locations NOT all facing the same way) even a few small rocks around the DW would help in that open space. In front of them buy several low plants Anubias is excellent and cheap to buy. These can be fixed to the rocks and on the DW.

That filter (center) MUST go place it behind at the back LH corner. It sticks out a sore thumb.
Paint the background a good flat black water based paint several coats to give it a good soild body.

By now you should be able to see the tank is now for the fish who will be far healther and happier in the real plants and that glare gone.

OK cash is short dont worry buy one plant a month Some one in your area might have some plants to spare. I could easly help out but you are too far away. About every two months I toss out a lot of floating water sprite and I have odd piece of Anubias now and again.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
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Thanks for the suggestions. I actually REALLY want new gravel (the awful white stuff came with the tank) but again.. that's money. I'm about to move so money for this moment is VERY tight. Later on I will probably do the gravel, but that is sad since the perfect time to change it out would be when I move the tank!!! I do plan on replacing with real plants when I can, but it's hard since I have low light in my tank and am limited in my options. I wouldn't say that the fake plants do nothing for the fish... they really like to hide out in there and go there to get a break from any overly amorous males. I was very reluctant to put them back in though since I like the real plants so much better. For now they are serving their purpose.

As for that "fence" piece of driftwood... what else do you think I should do? I kind of liked it as a fence to separate the areas, but I see what you mean about it interrupting the flow. I guess that's me and my love of contrast! Buying one plant per month is probably a good idea, and a good way for me to update the tank without spending a fortune at once. There are a lot of rocks around the yard out here... would it be ok to use any of them for the tank? Thanks for the in depth evaluation. Believe me... i've survived 3 years of art school. I can handle a harsh critique. Yours was not at all offensive!

The pottery that growls!

VCP

Where about in the states are yas? I can send ya some Vals and some Hornwort which will help out and help stabilize the tank.

Also If you like contrast. keep it.. its your thing. We can give suggestions all day long but its how you want the tank to look that gives it the uniqueness. If you want to use the rocks then dont forget to clean them up really well, boil them to sterilise them and then test them to make sure that they are not calcium based or you are liable to raise the PH in the tank like me. You can do that by breaking off a small piece and putting it in some acid to test if it bubbles, if so then you wont want it in your tank if you have neutral or acidic fish.

HTH

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Thanks for the offer, fish. I'm in Reno, so not super far from you. I got some plants in the mail though, and they didn't do so well. The java moss is great, but just about all of the java fern were dead. I'm worried other plants wouldn't do well either, and the cost of shipping is pretty high! I don't think I have enough light for vals. I've always loved vals though. I wish I could keep them! Thanks for the suggestions though. I will be sure to clean and test any rocks i might use.

The pottery that growls!

As for the rocks just be careful and follow all the advice otherwise you will have more problems than you want. The DW fence break them up a bit and not in the continual line move some out just a little and put them at different angles this will break up the line. I have always tried to give constructive critisims it is easy to say this and that does not look as good as it could with out giving the infomation on thoughts how to improve the situation.

I have always thought that fish and animals kept in captivity always look better in their natural surroundings.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Here's how I did my 32g tank as cheaply as possible:

The biggest cost was obviously the whole tank itself, after hashing out the numbers I wasn't really saving anything buying piece by piece over buying the kit. This included the tank, filter, heater, and hood for around $200. (I live in a remote area so everything is probably 1/3 - 1/2 more than it would be if I lived somewhere sensible.)

Then I collected my own gravel, sand, and rocks from some nearby beaches. I soaked everything in bleach water before putting it in the tank. I don't care if it leaches carbonates or minerals becuase my water is too soft anyway.

I happened to see a lawn ornament that I really liked so I bought it for my fish tank. I washed it thoroughly and removed some electrical components (that were originally there for a built in light). This cost me about $15.

I had to order live plants special from my pet store for $5/bunch or each depending on the plant, they don't carry any live plants on a regular basis. This was my biggest cost aside from the tank itself. Because I knew that I wouldn't be able to afford a lot of plants and I couldn't afford to lose any, I made sure to order plants that were fast growers and hardy, mostly Hygrophila (and some anubias and java fern). I spent about $50 on plants.

I then made a diy co2 system using 2 - 2L bottles, some airline tubing, a gang valve, and yeast and sugar. This basically cost me about $5 for the tubing and a new valve since my old one was leaking air.

I also ordered fertilizers from Rex Griggs. This ended up costing me about $20 since it had to be shipped to me out of the country. What I got will last me a year or more for sure.

I then bought a pair of mollies to put in the tank for $13. I already have a number of molly and guppy fry that I'm intending to populate the tank with once it cycles and the fry get nice and big. So no cost to me there. Even if I didn't, eventually the pair of mollies I have would populate the tank eventually.

So adding everything up - including tank and all - I was around $300. The tank looked fairly bare at first since I had so few plants but with the ferts and co2 it really filled out nicely and cost me a lot less than trying to fill up the tank from day 1 with plants. Get the right plants and treat them right and you won't have to spend as much money buying more.

Here's a picture, at the time this was taken it had been set up for 4 weeks.

http://ctmusic.4t.com/100_1427.jpg

Just an update... when I moved to the new house I changed the gravel. All of my tanks have brownish gravel now. Much more natural looking! I'll try to get pics up soon. I kept that diagonal layout with the 29g, but that big driftwood piece in the front that looked like a fence was moved into the new 10g along with the dark green fake plants. The small 2.5gallon or something baby platy tank has a rock in it that came with one of the tanks I got used.... Still need to replace some plastics with real, but overall the gravel did help a lot!

The pottery that growls!