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Hello fellow FPillians, i am looking for all those pro aquascapers for a little advice, i have a 40G tank long so i only have 12 inches to work with from front to back and i cant get the look im going for, i want to add a little depth to the tank but itz hard with only a foot to work with, has anyone scapped a tank from left to right instead of front to back? Just looking for some ideas, im attempting to breed bolivians and there will be slate rock work or diy caves either or, as well as some dw with a large number of plants as well. All help would be greatly appreciated

Here are some pictures of my 40G long to give you some ideas. The tank has gone through a few changes but I don't have any new pictures yet.

As for making it look bigger than it is:

Try to make your plants go from very short in the front to very tall in the back. I also think its a good idea to have more substrate in the back of the tank and less in the front. I think this gives it the look of more depth.

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

Thnx for the reply, btw thats a fantastic looking tank u got ma envy. I tried the scape with the background with more rocks then going down on a slope but i didnt feel it, didnt like the way it looked, what about going with more substrate on the left and right and sloping to the middle would that give it the same feel? im out of suggestions lol me and my gf were standing for three hours trying to scape and both of us coulnt get anything we liked. u think if i got different slate and dw it would give a totally dif feel?

Last edited by Donkynutz at 16-Jan-2006 17:35

You could give it kind of a half bowl effect:

High in the back right and left cornners then slope it down to the middle. Might be kind of cool. This thing is your tank and you have to like to look at it. Not me.

Different DW and rocks make huge difference in what the tank is. If you have the cash (something I normally don't have) you could go out and buy a good hand full of different chunks of DW and rock then come home and start playing with ideas. Just something to try.

Back grounds also make a big differnce in your tank. Personally I like a black or dark blue back ground. It for me makes my work in the tank pop out.

Your plants are also going to change things a lot. If you are doing live plants then your tank will be forever changing. Which I think is kind of fun.

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

I always work from left to right. Depth can be achieved by painting the back and sides black. Use only tall small leafed plants at the back and LH end corner. Keep the number of plant species limited 4-5 would be a good number. Any rocks and slate keep them all the same colour. Try to create a natural flow of evenness(if there is such a word) and certainly keep away from sticking some thing in the middle of the tank because it looked nice in a shop window.

I hope this helps and does not confuse you too much.

My Betta tank has a depth (front to back) of 12ins.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

[link=Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos]http://photobucket.com/albums/b209/keithgh/Betta%20desktop%20tank/" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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thanx keith, i love ur tanks just amazing. I def understand what ur saying i'm going to try scaping it from left to right when i have the rest of the dw and after i get the plants ordered so that i can get the actual feel ive been tryin with not soo good dw and plants that are too big for the tank, so im going to order the plants today or tomorrow, just curious if i could get some examples of low light-medium light(2.2wpg) with smaller leaves and thin stems, will use ferts if necessary.

I am using liquid ferts from Seachem It is debatable weather you use them or not though I personally think it is advisable to do so. I have found out that my Betta tank requires different ferts to the 5ft Anubias tank.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

[link=Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos]http://photobucket.com/albums/b209/keithgh/Betta%20desktop%20tank/" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]

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

I think that depth can also be added by not having everything visible from every angle. Larger rocks and driftwood partly or mostly hidden by plants look farther in than if they were totally or mostly visible. I like a tank that needs to be looked at from more than one angle to see everything. Planting in triangles (outdoor gardening technique for small spaces) as well so that one group of plants trails into the one next to it also adds depth. Because we have limited colours to work with leaf shapes and textures are very important as well. An outdoor gardening technique using colours is brighter colours (reds, yellows) appear closer, making a space seem smaller, darker colours (blues, greens) appear farther away making a space seem larger. Again the colours we get to work with are limited, but there are many shades of greens, reds, yellows and oranges that aquatic plants come in. Play with them, see what makes some spaces look larger and other spaces look smaller! It'd be a fun way to 'scape a tank!

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