Forrest scape.

[Fishfinder1973]

I have a new tank being delivered in the next month or two,schedule depending on the covid situation,and with a new tank comes a new scaping project.
This tank is almost exactly the same as my current 109g,difference being the new tank has opti-white glass.Wether I notice any difference in clarity I will have to wait and “see”.
The tank I have has never looked the way I wanted it,it was a rush job and once it’s up and running there’s no turning back,something I learned the hard way after causing a terrible ich outbreak when I decided to change the substrate while the fish were in there.This time it will be meticulously planned.
Anyway I’ve watched a few Forrest scapes on utube and they look great.
Now I’m done with buying driftwood as it’s far too expensive,and any I have purchased never really has the look I’m after,so I’ve decided to follow my instincts,collecting it myself.I managed to find some today which are oak and beech,well put it this way I found them under these trees.Pine trees were the next trees along,but after taking a good hard look at the bark,these are definitely not pine.
Once I got home I stripped the remaining bark from the wood and cut them to 22 inch lengths,which will allow them to be slightly taller than the waterline and the aluminium waterline strip.I then put them in a bin and filled with hot water.I will change the water once a week until the tanks arrive,or for longer if needs must.
This is the first step into the new project,a foot on the first rung as they say.No doubt I will hit some snags or make mistakes along the way because I’m no expert.


I found two pieces of oak and six of beech.Oak has more character and the beech is pretty uniformed,so a bit of a mix which will add character to the scape.

Now all I need is patience.

 

[Wills]

Sounds like a really great set up! What kinds of fish are going in?

 

[Fishfinder1973]

All fixtures and fittings from the current tank will be transferred to the new tank,and that includes stock,barbs,plecs,loach and corydoras.

 

[Fishfinder1973]

Switching tanks will have to be done quickly,so I’ve been thinking of getting a sheet of acrylic to build the scape on and that way it’s a simple case of dropping it into the new tank.There is a local diy store near me that sell sheets of acrylic.The tank is 140cm long by 60cm wide and the sheet being sold in store are 120cm long by 60cm wide,which will leave 10cm either side for hand room when lowering it in.
I also have a tube of gorilla silicone on its way,which is 100% silicone when dry,so should suffice.

I will be trying to balance simplicity and practicality,as there are some things I need to consider,one being pleco hides.I’m not aiming to add too many rocks and any I do add will be for aesthetics,not the plecs to hides.
I think I could have a possible solution to this with the wood.I am going to add wood root to the bottom of each “tree” to look like,well tree roots.What I need to do is stick the roots around 3 inch higher up the stumps then there would be a hollow area below the roots where the plecostomus can hide.I will need four altogether,but the more the merrier,as the corydoras like a bit of shade too,so seven out of the eight lengths could be like this.
The eighth log will be a fallen tree,and I will design this in a way that there’s a fallen tree and the stump.I might add fungi to the stump too,well something that represents fungi.
There will only be about an inch of black sand in there and the yo-yos will turn that,so the plants will be of the sticking variety,and this is where it gets difficult.Obviously moss will play a big part,but I need more than that.
I do have bolbitis heudelotii,but they are big and would be half way up the trees,no fern is that big.A solution could be to keep cutting off the bigger leaves,whorls whatever,and only keeping the young curly shoots,which would be ideal.Problem is i don’t know how the plant will react to this.Will it survive???
This is the plan so far.

 

[Fishmanic]

Great idea and planning. I foresee a tank of the month entry in your future.

 

[Fishfinder1973]

Great idea and planning. I foresee a tank of the month entry in your future.

It’s a vision Fishmanic,but wether the final scape turns out the way I see it is another thing

 

[Fishfinder1973]

So the tank arrived today completely unexpected,so much for best laid plans.Not to worry,as I’d rather have it in my possession.



One sheet of flimsy acrylic and a tube of silicone.


Now I can move on with the build.

 

[Fishfinder1973]

What I thought would be a leisurely build has now became a rush thanks to me having to get the new tank set up for Sunday.I’ve managed to get the wood done now,as it kept falling over.i need to place the fallen tree and then I can go about filling in all the gaps with a glue and sawdust mix which will hopefully draw it all together.Tomorrow will see the hard scape complete then all that’s to do is the plants.

 

[Stan510]

To reduce the Bolbitis- trim off leaves and prune the tips of the plant- it will react with much smaller leaves and also should sprout many new tips that also will have smaller foliage.
There is a semi dwarf Bolbitis that is A TRUE dwarf/smaller B. heudelotii...but nobody seems to carry it unless you are in Europe.
Wood looks good. Your going to plant them up so why buy the expensive stuff is right.

 

[Fishfinder1973]

To reduce the Bolbitis- trim off leaves and prune the tips of the plant- it will react with much smaller leaves and also should sprout many new tips that also will have smaller foliage.
There is a semi dwarf Bolbitis that is A TRUE dwarf/smaller B. heudelotii...but nobody seems to carry it unless you are in Europe.
Wood looks good. Your going to plant them up so why buy the expensive stuff is right.

Cheers Stan,I will keep this in mind when planting

 

[Fishfinder1973]

Well what’s a project without some hiccups along the way.woke up this morning and the cat thought it was a good idea to have a game of log dominos.Ever glued piece of wood was toppled,ha!
This was a big set back,but(and there’s always a but)I’ve came up with a simple idea to hold the wood that reduces the need for glue,cause let’s face it,glue us a second guessing game and I think the cat has done me a favour.I wish I’d thought of it sooner.
I bought 6 slate table mats,the ones fir sitting plates on,a packet of stainless steel 16mm screws and a packet of cable ties.
I can now work on each log individually and when it comes to planting or future repairs,I can remove the single log.
I put two screws into each log very close to the bottom for the cable ties to catch.
Phew! A close call ,but I’m well behind schedule now.

 

[Fishfinder1973]

Voila,at last some progress.I glued the logs down with some sawdust and glue mix and it’s like concrete,allowing me to remove the screws and cable ties.
Wether or not it will look like a Forrest scape i doubt,but it will look like ancient prehistoric woodland haha.
That will do for me.

 

[Fishfinder1973]

At last the hard scape of the ancient wood is complete after a lot of cutting,glueing and cleaning.
Tomorrow will be setting up the new tank and hopefully it won’t take this long as I’ve a 130 mile drive to work on Monday.

 

[Fishfinder1973]

Finished at last

I can do more with this in the future,so I’m happy with it.

 

[connorlindeman]

Finished at last

View attachment 151976

View attachment 151977
I can do more with this in the future,so I’m happy with it.

Wow, that is beautiful! You should enter in the tank of the month contest.