# Trying to decide on which aquascape...



## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Do you like this one:










OR this one:










Any feedback would be appreciated.


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## metricliman (Sep 3, 2012)

Number 1. The holey rock looks out of place.


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## aicardi (Sep 15, 2012)

I like the lighting and the substrate. I do agree that the holey rocks do look out of place.
Personally I like lots of rocks piled up to create caves for the fish to hide in.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Neither layout, sorry. I do love the rocks in #1 but the placement of the rocks looks artificial.

Everyone has a different preference so it really is up to what you like. I like the natural, jumbled pile of rock look.


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## fusion (Jun 21, 2012)

No 2 looks too dark with the dark substrate, so no 1 but agree with Deeda, the rocks look too uniform.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

fusion said:


> No 2 looks too dark with the dark substrate, so no 1 but agree with Deeda, the rocks look too uniform.


LOL....that is my OCD. I have tried piling them up and it drives me nuts. I am going to redo the bottom tank like the top one and try to make the rocks look more natural if at all possible.

Thanks for the input.


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## badspellar (Oct 14, 2009)

I like the colors of each one, but feel the spacing doesn't provide any protection for the fish. Have you considered a japanese garden look?

Organized but organic.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

badspellar said:


> I like the colors of each one, but feel the spacing doesn't provide any protection for the fish. Have you considered a japanese garden look?
> 
> Organized but organic.


I am open to anything. I just got back home picking up a new bag of PFS so I want to redo it this evening. I am not sure what you mean by japanese garden look. Do you have any pics I could peruse?


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## DrTenochtitlan (Jun 17, 2012)

13razorbackfan said:


> badspellar said:
> 
> 
> > I like the colors of each one, but feel the spacing doesn't provide any protection for the fish. Have you considered a japanese garden look?
> ...


Try this. It originates from Zen Buddhism.

Japanese rock garden:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_rock_garden


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## badspellar (Oct 14, 2009)

Try googling "Japanese gardening" then images. From my limited exposure to the design; I believe the aim is to achieve balance and harmony. It seems like a perfect design style for OCD.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Ok....so I went ahead and changed the sand and it really brightened up the tank as expected. I went for the more natural look piling the rocks up but didn't have enough. It made one large pile and the rest of the tank was bare looking. So I went ahead and spread the rocks out but tried the best I could to make the arrangement more random looking.










Here is the other tank. I stacked the holey rocks in this and think it looks pretty good. There is not a lot of contrast between the sand and rocks but the black background helps some.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

No offense but with your OCD you will never be happy with a natural aquascape. If you and the fish like what you have then it's a win. I think the tank looks good in the last pic, do a couple of psc in each back corner coming out to the center would look good as well..


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

JimA said:


> No offense but with your OCD you will never be happy with a natural aquascape. If you and the fish like what you have then it's a win. I think the tank looks good in the last pic, do a couple of psc in each back corner coming out to the center would look good as well..


Yeah....tell me about the OCD it drives me crazy. I am happy overall though. I want the tank to mainly focus on the fish and I think I have accomplished that. What a huge difference the sand makes with the Beamswork light. It looks twice as bright with the PFS.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Just shot a video. How does the quality of the video look? I have been playing around with a few different camera options and I have seen so many the videos start looking the same. Be sure to click on the little gear at the bottom and change to the resolution to 720p.


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## 4RSo (Aug 13, 2011)

13razorbackfan said:


>


I love this, but that Rubescens looks lonely. I would throw in 5 females and call it "Ruby Reef" :wink:


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

LOL....he is in timeout!!! He is a mean little bugger. I am considering adding some smaller malawi cichlids of some sort to go in there. He is going back to my main tank in a few weeks. What is funny is he seems to like it better by himself. I had two other fish in the tank with him and immediately after I made this rock formation he went into attack mode carving out that cave. He is not scared at all or the least bit skittish. When I walk up to the glass he comes charging.

Any ideas on fish to go in the tank would be welcome. Again...it is a timeout tank but I need to keep some other fish in the tank in the mean time. Maybe some labs or saulosi....just not sure.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

13razorbackfan said:


> Just shot a video. How does the quality of the video look? I have been playing around with a few different camera options and I have seen so many the videos start looking the same. Be sure to click on the little gear at the bottom and change to the resolution to 720p.


Other video stopped working.


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## ratbones86 (Jun 29, 2012)

it don't look bad but I think you need to pile some rocks up to give the tank more dimension. looks to plain. something *** noticed about Africans peacocks and mbuna alike is they love places to hid in. id try to make piles that go up and gives them places to swim through and caves to give them territories. mine love it


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

ratbones86 said:


> it don't look bad but I think you need to pile some rocks up to give the tank more dimension. looks to plain. something I've noticed about Africans peacocks and mbuna alike is they love places to hid in. id try to make piles that go up and gives them places to swim through and caves to give them territories. mine love it


Yeah...I ran out of rocks. So I just spread them out. I did start to make piles but it only made two really small piles. So maybe this weekend I will go out and search for more rocks.


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

You may try looking here: http://aquariuminfo.org/aquascaping.html for some more info. I realize it is speaking about planted tanks, but there is some really good information about symmetry, shape, and focal points there that might help you find some balance in your design. Take a look at some of the scapes that Takashi Amano or James Findley have done. Those guys are more OCD about rocks in a fish tank than just about anyone. It is quite possible to have an intricately designed, yet natural looking setting in your tanks. The tips in that article can really help making your aquariums look a lot better through just tricking your eyes a bit. :thumb:

Also, I realize rocks are free, but if you check out a rock yard you can get some great rocks for >$.15 a pound. It's much easier to find what you really want that way


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

jcabage said:


> You may try looking here: http://aquariuminfo.org/aquascaping.html for some more info. I realize it is speaking about planted tanks, but there is some really good information about symmetry, shape, and focal points there that might help you find some balance in your design. Take a look at some of the scapes that Takashi Amano or James Findley have done. Those guys are more OCD about rocks in a fish tank than just about anyone. It is quite possible to have an intricately designed, yet natural looking setting in your tanks. The tips in that article can really help making your aquariums look a lot better through just tricking your eyes a bit. :thumb:
> 
> Also, I realize rocks are free, but if you check out a rock yard you can get some great rocks for >$.15 a pound. It's much easier to find what you really want that way


Yeah....I usually get my rocks at a rockyard for $.20lb but I found these at a local creek. I tried to find the darkest ones. There were a bunch of light brown but these had a bit of a darker hue so I will go back and look this weekend.


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## davefill (Nov 1, 2012)

I like the picture number 1, but it may be better adding some corals again..


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## thefishermann (Apr 24, 2012)

i like the holey light sand combo too but add more rock dude!


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

The scape doesn't necessarily look bad, but I feel it just looks rather plain and symmetrical. I would add a few LARGER rocks/boulders that are similar in color to the ones you have now. As it sits now, the fish really have no structure that they can relate to or find security in.


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