SuperColey1
Planted Section
Long time since I last started a journal on my main tank 
The last one was 'Once upon a time at the riverbank' which started on 2nd March 2009 and ran until April this year. I thought I would start this journal early so you can laugh at how much I change my plan before I set it up.
I had already planned the new scape at the prior to breaking down the tank and had named it 'Rio Bonito' however I then decided to change the decor of my lounge and I always tend to scape to the surroundings. Therefore I felt 'Rio Bonito' wouldn't be the scape for the new decor.
I'll show you pics of the lounge when I set up the tank so you can see what I mean however it is quite modern looking, minimalistic and pretty techy. Not in a gadgety bachelor pad way. It has class (at least I think so) Therefore I want the scape to 'mirror' the modern minimalist feel of the room.
I will do Rio Bonito later on in my life
So inspired by the new lounge I had in mind something like Felipe Oliveira's 'Rounded Stones' when it was in it's infancy and the plants were still quite low.
http
/www.aquascapingworld.com/forum/aquascaping-showcase/1570-xmas-gift-200lt-rounded-stones.html
This is Felipe's site:
http/faao.blogspot.com/
I don't want to copy things. just use inspiration and this was the starting point. so I googled aquascapes using lots of stone and less planting or at least discreet planting.
Low and behold up came a picture that I instantly loved. Clicked on it and it was George's original Project Scree George's scapes have always had a heavy influence on my scaping although probably not noticeable from my attempts. lol
http/www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=12095
I am no fan of Iwagumi. I find them uninspiring and pretty boring with stones placed in carpets etc however this scape of George's seems to have taken Iwagumi or at least rock hardscaping to another level.
At the moment I can't see too far past George's scape in terms of what I want to do. A bit like being inspired by a song and then everything you write yourself sounds just like it. lol. however I want to do something along those lines albeit with the trademark Needle Fern in the scape. I don't mean it is easy to copy a scape. I can easily put rocks in similar positions to George's however I am not so sure I have the eye that George has so of course mine may not have that perfection of placement etc.
It will of course have to have some thinking over suitable components within the tank as I do not select fish for a scape. My fish move from scape to scape. Therefore I have to make sure the substrate is suitable for my Corys. Another consideration is I can't use sand if I want to have a slope as they will level it out within days.
As I was planning to return to CO2 and 'higher' light for Rio Bonito I've already bought most of the new CO2 rig. Just need to get an FE and some 4dKH. I have sourced my rocks, started looking for suitable substrates and the plants I plan to use (which will likely change and change back etc prior to starting) are from my little nursery (One of those 3 tier mini greenhouses filled with propogators and the like in my cupboard)
Never really worked with rock before. Just used stones as accents and I've always let the plants do their thing jungle style. Not letting them get out of hand but enjoying the sight of loads of green Therefore tis will be a challenge. First time with no wood in the tank and trying to use the open space well (meaning above the scape)
Hope things go well and you enjoy the journey. And apologies to George for using his hardscape as a starting point. I will probably try to imitate his completely before I start moving things around a bit.
Regards
Andy
The last one was 'Once upon a time at the riverbank' which started on 2nd March 2009 and ran until April this year. I thought I would start this journal early so you can laugh at how much I change my plan before I set it up.I had already planned the new scape at the prior to breaking down the tank and had named it 'Rio Bonito' however I then decided to change the decor of my lounge and I always tend to scape to the surroundings. Therefore I felt 'Rio Bonito' wouldn't be the scape for the new decor.
I'll show you pics of the lounge when I set up the tank so you can see what I mean however it is quite modern looking, minimalistic and pretty techy. Not in a gadgety bachelor pad way. It has class (at least I think so) Therefore I want the scape to 'mirror' the modern minimalist feel of the room.
I will do Rio Bonito later on in my life
So inspired by the new lounge I had in mind something like Felipe Oliveira's 'Rounded Stones' when it was in it's infancy and the plants were still quite low.
http
/www.aquascapingworld.com/forum/aquascaping-showcase/1570-xmas-gift-200lt-rounded-stones.htmlThis is Felipe's site:
http
/faao.blogspot.com/I don't want to copy things. just use inspiration and this was the starting point. so I googled aquascapes using lots of stone and less planting or at least discreet planting.
Low and behold up came a picture that I instantly loved. Clicked on it and it was George's original Project Scree
George's scapes have always had a heavy influence on my scaping although probably not noticeable from my attempts. lolhttp
/www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=12095I am no fan of Iwagumi. I find them uninspiring and pretty boring with stones placed in carpets etc however this scape of George's seems to have taken Iwagumi or at least rock hardscaping to another level.
At the moment I can't see too far past George's scape in terms of what I want to do. A bit like being inspired by a song and then everything you write yourself sounds just like it. lol. however I want to do something along those lines albeit with the trademark Needle Fern in the scape. I don't mean it is easy to copy a scape. I can easily put rocks in similar positions to George's however I am not so sure I have the eye that George has so of course mine may not have that perfection of placement etc.
It will of course have to have some thinking over suitable components within the tank as I do not select fish for a scape. My fish move from scape to scape. Therefore I have to make sure the substrate is suitable for my Corys. Another consideration is I can't use sand if I want to have a slope as they will level it out within days.
As I was planning to return to CO2 and 'higher' light for Rio Bonito I've already bought most of the new CO2 rig. Just need to get an FE and some 4dKH. I have sourced my rocks, started looking for suitable substrates and the plants I plan to use (which will likely change and change back etc prior to starting) are from my little nursery (One of those 3 tier mini greenhouses filled with propogators and the like in my cupboard)
Never really worked with rock before. Just used stones as accents and I've always let the plants do their thing jungle style. Not letting them get out of hand but enjoying the sight of loads of green
Therefore tis will be a challenge. First time with no wood in the tank and trying to use the open space well (meaning above the scape)Hope things go well and you enjoy the journey. And apologies to George for using his hardscape as a starting point. I will probably try to imitate his completely before I start moving things around a bit.
Regards
Andy
