My two ugly 29s

[FF_Member146894]

i agree that you need to put a black (or 3D) background on your tanks
i also think that you should try to turn off the lights in the room when you take your picture

 

[OliveFish05]

If they were my tanks, I would put a black or 3d background on there. I would also add some hard scape. A couple pieces of dragon stone would look very nice. I would also add some red plants to add some variety.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Looking at your competition entry, there didn't appear to be any effort put into basic aquascaping.
There's no argument that your plants looked healthy, but it looked like everything, (and I mean everything), was in the centre of the tank...and that's where you'd expect to find the fish to display themselves.

A black background, as already suggested, would help things 'pop' immensely.
Now looking at that Vallis (?) or Sagittaria (?), if that was to each side, you'd have your plastic pipe and filter hidden from view.

A possible Show Piece plant could be that good-looking Madagascar lace, but's overwhelmed by the rest.

 

[Fishmanic]

I find it commendable that you are seeking input from other members in an attempt to improve your tank(s). When you make some more changes to your tank(s), we hope you will re-enter a future contest.

The contests are not only about trying to win, but also about showing other members your tanks so they can get ideas for their own tank(s).

 

[Wills]

Your 120 is amazing! I really like the sponge filters you mentioned feel like its a better style of sponge filter than the free standing ones (though they have their uses).

I think as a first step add black backgrounds to both tanks. Looking at them again, how about making the bottom tank an island style scape? You have a few pieces of redmoore/spider wood so you could keep the edges of the tank quite clear and have the big jungle val kind of sat in a wood/twig nest type structure? Maybe with a few crypts around it too?

Wills

 

[Uberhoust]

There's no argument that your plants looked healthy, but it looked like everything, (and I mean everything), was in the centre of the tank...and that's where you'd expect to find the fish to display themselves.

It is the standard to have a opening in the middle foreground. Its also the very common, and having the plants in the center give the fish a larger swimming area.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

It is the standard to have a opening in the middle foreground. Its also the very common, and having the plants in the center give the fish a larger swimming area.

You could argue that it's common for a reason and the available swimming area can be the same in both schemes.
One could look at a tank from the front and use a Rule of Thirds, as one might when composing a photograph, or painting.
Or one could imagine a journey your eye might like to trace, through the interior of the tank.

Essentially, it's all down to personal tastes and aesthetics are subjective.

 

[anewbie]

I think as a first step add black backgrounds to both tanks. Looking at them again, how about making the bottom tank an island style scape? You have a few pieces of redmoore/spider wood so you could keep the edges of the tank quite clear and have the big jungle val kind of sat in a wood/twig nest type structure? Maybe with a few crypts around it too?

Wills

It has 5 or 6 crypts they just aren't easy to see. They are fairly mature (well over a year old); just not very large. The 120 has the wide leaf jungle val (1 inch wide) so i could transplant a little of that into the 29. I need to prune both the 120 and 29. The 29 didn't start with the italia val in the middle but it spread that way and then the edge pieces sort of died off (probably related to the current). I have to be a bit careful with the white 29 given the stocking. It has 3 pleco (one of them is a bit grumpy and lives in the coconut shell - the tail is sticking out); the other 2 are extremely skittish. I might take a poke at moving the val closer to the edge on saturday's water change.

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

I would never vote for myself………..ok, yes I would!

Paint the backgrounds black! And your tanks aren’t ugly. If you want to see an ugly tank, I’ll show you one

 

[NannaLou]

I think that the tank looks great, But the competition is tough around here. Also, I think that the contests here should be anonymous, we shouldn't know who owns the tank and it's backstory before we vote. This can bring up favoritism and bias.

Brilliant idea! That would make it a true “tank” competition

 

[Ellie11]

So I recently posted one of my 29s in a contest here and it received exactly 0 votes (tanks with plastic plants received more votes) so it must be pretty awful. I thought I would post both 29s and see what simple aquascaping they need so next contest it can get 1 vote instead of 0 (the white one received 0; the black one was not posted):
View attachment 147006

View attachment 147007

So what minor tweaks are needed or does everything have to be ripped out and plastic plants added ?

Very pretty. You have my vote.

 

[otterblue]

I never really look at the stories or the person who owns it until after I vote... I go by how much I like it

If I see that the person I voted for also voted for him/herself, I change my vote to the next tank I like best.

Voting for yourself is unsportsmanlike and just generally lame.

 

[ClownLurch]

I would never vote for myself that is dishonorable. One must have an ounce of pride.

You’ll learn.

 

[AquaBarb]

So I recently posted one of my 29s in a contest here and it received exactly 0 votes (tanks with plastic plants received more votes) so it must be pretty awful. I thought I would post both 29s and see what simple aquascaping they need so next contest it can get 1 vote instead of 0 (the white one received 0; the black one was not posted)

View attachment 147007

So what minor tweaks are needed or does everything have to be ripped out and plastic plants added ?

Your tanks are certainly not ugly, the plants look lovely.

A black background would make your plants and fish really pop tho so i agree with the others on that

 

[itiwhetu]

You have a Madagascan Sword plant, just make that shine. Move the Vallisneria to either end of the tank. We can't get Madagascan Sword plants in New Zealand, I would do anything to be able to have one, you lucky thing you.