Aqua Scaping

Hi I am reasonably new to the hobby, I have had this tank since the start of last year. I have tried lots of different plants to see which grows best and have currently found the ones in the picture. However, I am horrible at arranging things so if possible can I have some advice about the placement of plants and decorations etc in order for it to look good? I am going to get a large, branchy piece of driftwood but haven't found one that I like yet. I can't remove the fake rock and fake pottery as they were gifts.
Thanks!!

Taller plants along the back.
Medium sized and smaller plants along the sides.
Leave middle open for fish to swim around.
Don't bother adding wood to the tank unless you have suckermouth catfish, there's not enough room.
Put a picture on the back of the tank.

You need to be mindful of the water requirements of the plants too. I have had many plants melt away to nothing over the years all because the water was too hard.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I am within 20 miles of the most amazing place in the UK for aquascaping. Horizon Aquatics.

Lynnzer said:

You need to be mindful of the water requirements of the plants too. I have had many plants melt away to nothing over the years all because the water was too hard.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I am within 20 miles of the most amazing place in the UK for aquascaping. Horizon Aquatics. View attachment 157312

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I am not jealous...nope...not at all

Lynnzer said:

You need to be mindful of the water requirements of the plants too. I have had many plants melt away to nothing over the years all because the water was too hard.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I am within 20 miles of the most amazing place in the UK for aquascaping. Horizon Aquatics. View attachment 157312

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I have researched specific plants before to know their requirements but unfortunately there aren't many places in my town that sell live plants and they usually sell them in bundles

Colin_T said:

Taller plants along the back.
Medium sized and smaller plants along the sides.
Leave middle open for fish to swim around.
Don't bother adding wood to the tank unless you have suckermouth catfish, there's not enough room.
Put a picture on the back of the tank.

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what do you think would be a good bushy plant to add? when I move the tall ones to the back it looks really bare. I thought a small branchy piece would look nice. I have been looking for something to put on the back of the tank but none of them are the right size.

Also should I get a different substrate? More sandy?

Perhaps a layer of substrate with growth medium would provide a good starting point. I struggled for years on just plain sand or gravel substrate, but only recently gave my tanks a reall good going over and replaced all the substrate. A layer of a 18-22mm of larger pebble sized stones that act as a bioligical safe for the the beneficial bacteria, with a layer of growth medium and another top layer of sand or gravel type substrate. This gives a good balance of water condition for maximising plant growth.
My own plants are now really coming along fine with some of them now even growing out of the tank top.

I use fluval stratum, there’s a new one they have that comes with nitrifying bacteria in it already, and a couple other brands who make similar stuff.
But it’s a good idea to cap it off with sand or gravel like what you already have so that the nutrients in it don’t leach out into the water column.
I cant really give you good advice on placement since all my tanks look like they were put together by a redneck who only had $5….
Which is exactly how it went down…..
I like black and red lava rocks though, you can get big ones that look pretty cool, and they help filter your bioload as well. You can use a holesaw and a screwdriver to turn them into flower pots. They can float, but if you give them time they should sink, and if not you can drill them and hit the air pockets forcing them to sink. I’m starting to experiment with thunder eggs as shrimp caves, I just think they look cool.
Another suggestion is agate or meteorite slices if you want a cool looking wall or some ground cover other than plants.
Also go on Etsy and search “mineral specimen” or “mineral sample” you’ll find a bunch of cool stuff.
All of this stuff blends well if you use it tastefully but I’ll leave implementation up to you since it’s more like painting a picture than following a recipe.

SparkysBois said:

what do you think would be a good bushy plant to add? when I move the tall ones to the back it looks really bare. I thought a small branchy piece would look nice. I have been looking for something to put on the back of the tank but none of them are the right size.

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You have the tall plants at the back and the middle open so the fish can swim around in the middle and you can see them. If you have plants all through the aquarium, you don't get to see the fish as much.

If you want a small plant for the front, get pygmy chain swords. They grow to about 2 inches high and spread by runners.

If you want something bigger, look at Cryptocorynes, but most of them grow to about 6 inches high.

You can put a small bit of driftwood in the middle if you like, it's up to you how it's set up because you have to look at it.

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Aquarium backings come in different heights and you can cut them with a pair of scissors to make them fit. You can also use coloured card or a piece of plastic (rubbish bin liner). Some people paint the back (on the outside) but you have to empty the tank and move it outside to do that.

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SparkysBois said:

Also should I get a different substrate? More sandy?

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Only if you have catfish or loaches. If you don't have catfish or loaches, then you don't need to change the gravel.

Check out MD Fish Tanks on Youtube. The guy is a genius with scapes. He also has some really good tips and tricks on running heavily planted, non C02 scapes and also has plenty of vids on smaller setups like yours

You definitely need more hard scape, driftwood, stones, etc. Also look for some taller plants in the back, and shorter plants up front. This will provide a nice sense of depth.

Colin_T said:

You have the tall plants at the back and the middle open so the fish can swim around in the middle and you can see them. If you have plants all through the aquarium, you don't get to see the fish as much.

If you want a small plant for the front, get pygmy chain swords. They grow to about 2 inches high and spread by runners.

If you want something bigger, look at Cryptocorynes, but most of them grow to about 6 inches high.

You can put a small bit of driftwood in the middle if you like, it's up to you how it's set up because you have to look at it.

-----------------------
Aquarium backings come in different heights and you can cut them with a pair of scissors to make them fit. You can also use coloured card or a piece of plastic (rubbish bin liner). Some people paint the back (on the outside) but you have to empty the tank and move it outside to do that.

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Only if you have catfish or loaches. If you don't have catfish or loaches, then you don't need to change the gravel.

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Wb rotala indica, trim it plant cuttings like hedgerow.
Big and bushy.
I like anubias too and that’s big but not as bushy

I also have this thing which is basically 4 rhizomes on a coco mat, I don’t know what it is, it was listed as “plant on coco mat” at petco, but it’s fairly bushy.
They also had some Marimo moss Christmas trees and a bunch of interesting stuff.

Duckquarium said:

View attachment 157405
I also have this thing which is basically 4 rhizomes on a coco mat, I don’t know what it is, it was listed as “plant on coco mat” at petco, but it’s fairly bushy.
They also had some Marimo moss Christmas trees and a bunch of interesting stuff.

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That looks like el nino fern