Suggestions to improve

[pseud]

Hey, my riccia will be here wednesday probably, so I'm gonna be working on my tank and I wanna get as much done as possible in one sitting, rather than fiddle a little here and there. So, I totally need suggestions on how to improve it. I know I should really invest in some driftwood or rocks, but I don't have the funds right now, so anything that you can suggest that I do that will improve the look of my tank without having to buy anything else would be great!

Plants in tank at the moment:

Hygrophila Polysperma
Hygrophila Polysperma (Tropic Sunset)
Hygrophila Corymbosa
Ludwigia Repens
Hygrophila Difformis
Sagitarria Subulata

The slate is where the riccia will be. I'm unhappy with how the ludwigia looks. Is there a particular place, or way, that this plant should be used?

 

[rixy]

i know your short on funds,but i really think bogwood would make so much difference.i had my plants in my tank just like yours and have added 2 very large pieces of bogwood.my tank looks 10 times better now.

 

[annka5]

You're tank is a zillion times nicer than mine... so you should problly slap me around the head for commenting..!
However, I think the plants are too much of a straight-line-across the back, which doesn't hide the heater so well. I'd shift them about to give more of a curved effect - maybe plant more densely in one corner and have an empty space further along.
Also, the slate looks quite "clinical" and precision where it is. Maybe you could try for a more relaxed, casual kind of arrangement, possibly with some overlapping?

 

[RedShark]

Im pretty sure the riccia will be placed on the slates, right pseud? Atleast the ones in the center and right-center i'd assume.

If your bored with your setup, Maybe you could have one of the sides of the tank elevated just a bit or you could just push some of the substrate more to the back of the tank so it looks like the tank has some depth to it. Ya know, just keep it asymmetrical.
I think the setup is good but will look so much more better w/ the addition of the riccia. Can't wait to see it in full blossom

p.s. hope it gets there by wednesday.

 

[pseud]

However, I think the plants are too much of a straight-line-across the back, which doesn't hide the heater so well. I'd shift them about to give more of a curved effect - maybe plant more densely in one corner and have an empty space further along.

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Ooh, ok, yeah, I see. I think I need to take some cuttings from plants and grow them, or, get some more plants. But I see what you're saying with the curved effect. Thank you.

 

[pseud]

Im pretty sure the riccia will be placed on the slates, right pseud? Atleast the ones in the center and right-center i'd assume.

If your bored with your setup, Maybe you could have one of the sides of the tank elevated just a bit or you could just push some of the substrate more to the back of the tank so it looks like the tank has some depth to it. Ya know, just keep it asymmetrical.
I think the setup is good but will look so much more better w/ the addition of the riccia. Can't wait to see it in full blossom

p.s. hope it gets there by wednesday.

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Yeah, Riccia is going on the slate. I have a load more slate, but I cna never do anything with it to make it look good

Hmm, yeah, that's a good idea too. When I put the sand back in I unintentionally put too much near the front so it's a level playing field. I don't feel like uprooting all the plants, moving the substrate and replanting, any suggestions on how to transfer some sand from the front to the back?

 

[pseud]

Man, can't wait til the mail comes today!

 

[RYO]

Yeah, Riccia is going on the slate. I have a load more slate, but I cna never do anything with it to make it look good

Why not build a cave set up with the slate and use the riccia on the roof

 

[illusion54]

I'd say add some driftwood in the middle, not a large piece just something to catch the eye, then add some plants on the sides of the tank to focus your attention on the center and to get rid of that look that everything is in the back row.

Nice tank and plants though!

 

[George Farmer]

You have the basis to create a nice U-shape composition. Allow the left and right plants to reach the surface to excentuate the U and trim the central plants accordingly.

A nice piece of wood with moss or ferns attached place just left or right of centre would look good as a focal point.

At present you lack a real fore and midground, the wood will provide a nice transition if you carpet the foreground or use the Riccia as planned.

A good start though, well done.

 

[pseud]

Thanks to all the advice so far!

Well, last night I trimmed some of the plants and did a little moving around. I trimmed some of the hygro on the far left and planted some along the left side of the tank to try and get it to go around the corner, kinda. So there's like an arc of it, rather than a block.

I trimmed the ludwigia next to it and split it into groups of 3 or 4 trimmings a few inches in length, and then replanted it twoard the front of the tank so it's now in the midground. I also used some of the ludwigia from the right for this, and replanted some on the far right just to the left and behind the sags. There's some ludwigia left that I'll be doing more work with tonight to finish it off.

I'm going to take the cave advice and build two caves, one on the ground on the left, and one built up a little and at the back on the left, replacing where the ludwigia was. Caves will have riccia on top.

I'll take the U shaped advice also, just gotta wait to grow it out. I'm considering bringing the Hygro Corymbosa forward some. What's your opinions on this?

I'm gonna have a couple of gaps, so I think I need to get some more plants. Maybe someone has some cuttings to trade for some riccia? I'll post in the sell/wanted section at a later date.

 

[pseud]

Grr. Riccia didn't arrive today, which is fine, but the guy I purchased from didn't e-mail me to tell me he didn't mail it as we arranged. So now I have to rearrange schedules and hope I can be here tomorrow to sign for it when it arrives. I see negative feedback being left.

 

[pseud]

Well, the Riccia may not have arrived, but I did some work anyway, and wow, it really looks like a different tank! The pic doesn't really do it justice, but oh well.

Excuse the difformis floating, unsure what to do with it and I hate to just bin all that!

Any more suggestions guys?

 

[lljdma06]

Well, the Riccia may not have arrived, but I did some work anyway, and wow, it really looks like a different tank! The pic doesn't really do it justice, but oh well.

Excuse the difformis floating, unsure what to do with it and I hate to just bin all that!

Any more suggestions guys?

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I'd hate to bin all that too. The tank looks good so far, other than the deformis hanging up there like a dead body, but otherwise quite nice. That stuff grows like a weed in my tank. I prune it down to 8 inches, then in two weeks it's almost doubled, and that's before I started adding CO2. I like the rock work better and can picture the riccia in my mind, so that should look really purty. My only quibble, and only a minor one is when are you going to cover the heater? That's a great place to put the Deformis for now! In a week, you'll be like "where's my heater?"

Great job!

 

[pseud]

Hehe, I know, I totally put off hiding the heater because I've been moving stuff around so much. I'll probably finish any major changes in the tank tomorrow when the riccia is here, so I'll hide it then.

I'm considering swapping the difformis over to where the corymbosa is and vice versa... what do you reckon?