Vote on my Aquascape Driftwood Placement! (Please)

[Torrey]

On 3/11/2022 at 5:02 PM, AndreaW said:

Well, I left the set up in place until my son got home from school and he says he likes the latest option and loves how many arches and tunnels there are and is excited for the new scape. I will keep the tall plants on the right side mostly, and taper down on the left, which actually works best because you see the left side of the tank first. 

@Brandon p ~ On your vertical pieces, how did you secure them so they stay that way? I think I will be able to use hot glue to secure and keep mine balanced; just curious though.

You already have fish in the tank, so it will be a little bit more tricky.

For large, heavy pieces I typically use a piece of egg crate light diffuser (under the rock or wood), as that also does a great job of stabilizing. Then I cover with dirt & lava rock/gravel. With fish already in there, You are going to want to carefully and gingerly bury the bases of wood into the substrate. Might want to ask another adult to help with stabilization/holding, and then once it feels like the wood/rocks/substrate are firmly balanced carefully let go.

I typically remove the fish for my piece of mind. I have found I am much less likely to "bump" into a disaster if I am not nervous.

[AndreaW]

On 3/12/2022 at 7:30 PM, Torrey said:

You already have fish in the tank, so it will be a little bit more tricky.

For large, heavy pieces I typically use a piece of egg crate light diffuser (under the rock or wood), as that also does a great job of stabilizing. Then I cover with dirt & lava rock/gravel. With fish already in there, You are going to want to carefully and gingerly bury the bases of wood into the substrate. Might want to ask another adult to help with stabilization/holding, and then once it feels like the wood/rocks/substrate are firmly balanced carefully let go.

I typically remove the fish for my piece of mind. I have found I am much less likely to "bump" into a disaster if I am not nervous.

I will be gluing pieces together so they are balanced/stable before placing in the tank. By the time I start, I should be able to set them in and nestle them into the gravel. There is already an UG filter grate in place so that will help distribute any weight in spots so I shouldn't have pressure points directly on the bottom of the tank. The driftwood and rock are pretty heavy though. That does make me nervous. 

The fish I worry about the most are the bottom dwellers that like to hide so I'll work on the right side first, then the left. I will glue the large driftwood to the rock on the right and place that piece in, then the two driftwood pieces on the left will be glued together and placed in and matched up (but not glued). That will essentially give me two large pieces to work with.

I currently have a large castle feature in the tank. Typically, when working in the tank I have my son crouch down and keep an eye out as I place the castle to make sure I'm not setting it down on any fish that might be trying to hide out as I move it around. The fish are usually pretty good about scattering and staying away from the side of the tank I am working on. I'll have to make sure the Mystery Snails are in a good spot while I work. I will probably move the Pleco since he tends to get a bit skittish and dart across the tank at times.

Any other things I need to consider? 

 

[Torrey]

On 3/12/2022 at 8:02 PM, AndreaW said:

I will be gluing pieces together so they are balanced/stable before placing in the tank. By the time I start, I should be able to set them in and nestle them into the gravel. There is already an UG filter grate in place so that will help distribute any weight in spots so I shouldn't have pressure points directly on the bottom of the tank. The driftwood and rock are pretty heavy though. That does make me nervous. 

The fish I worry about the most are the bottom dwellers that like to hide so I'll work on the right side first, then the left. I will glue the large driftwood to the rock on the right and place that piece in, then the two driftwood pieces on the left will be glued together and placed in and matched up (but not glued). That will essentially give me two large pieces to work with.

I currently have a large castle feature in the tank. Typically, when working in the tank I have my son crouch down and keep an eye out as I place the castle to make sure I'm not setting it down on any fish that might be trying to hide out as I move it around. The fish are usually pretty good about scattering and staying away from the side of the tank I am working on. I'll have to make sure the Mystery Snails are in a good spot while I work. I will probably move the Pleco since he tends to get a bit skittish and dart across the tank at times.

Any other things I need to consider? 

 

Use superglue instead of hot glue, then. The hot glue won't give you the hold, or the grip, you need. It also has been known to leach in heated aquariums.

Otherwise, sounds like you have a solid plan!

[AndreaW]

On 3/12/2022 at 10:59 PM, Torrey said:

The hot glue won't give you the hold, or the grip, you need. It also has been known to leach in heated aquariums.

I've heard the craft kind of hot glue is not toxic and won't leach anything unless it is heated? I may need to use silicone instead of the hot glue as I doubt super glue will secure the driftwood to the large rock well enough. Or maybe I'll get some epoxy adhesive that can be used for potable water tanks? Hmmm.

[AndreaW]

On 3/11/2022 at 12:59 PM, Katherine said:

I like A better. I really dislike the placement in option B but I can't pinpoint why.

My 4yo wanted to make sure you know she loves where the rock is in option B. 😂

 

@Katherine ~ Did you notice the rock in my final scape? I made sure your daughter's rock made it -- it's the little rock on the far right!

 

Here's my final scape, all in place with a bunch of happy fish! I'm super happy with it, but most important, my son loves it!

Thanks everyone for your input! I can't wait until the plants in the back right grow tall and fill in! 

Here's the view from the side (and sideways since no matter how I rotate it, it auto rotates sideways):

[DaveO]

Turned out real nice.

[Katherine]

On 3/16/2022 at 11:41 PM, AndreaW said:

@Katherine ~ Did you notice the rock in my final scape? I made sure your daughter's rock made it -- it's the little rock on the far right!

That is so sweet of you. I'll be sure to show her.

And the tank looks great!

Edited March 17, 2022 by Katherine

[Jeff]

I would go with option B. Remove the piece of wood on the right; and just use that big rock you have instead (for the right side).

[Odd Duck]

That looks great!  When your plants grow in, it will be even better!

I’ve taken to cropping my photos before I post them, even if it’s just a smidgen.  It seems to keep them from doing the crazy autorotation.

[Patrick_G]

Very nice ! 😁 And it looks like those two snails on the left need some privacy!

[AndreaW]

On 3/17/2022 at 1:33 PM, Odd Duck said:

That looks great!  When your plants grow in, it will be even better!

I’ve taken to cropping my photos before I post them, even if it’s just a smidgen.  It seems to keep them from doing the crazy autorotation.

Thanks, I'll try that! I noticed pic I put in a collage don't have that problem, so a slight cropping makes sense.

@Patrick_G ~ Thanks!  And yes, I swear I find them like that once a day. I went in wanting two of the same sex and I got the happy couple (It's just my luck). They've already laid one clutch (I had to remove) already. My son has plans down the road to set up a breeder tank and make enough snails to take over the world. For now, he's experimenting with bladder snails in my quarantine tank.  

[Widgets]

Here is a thread on the orientation issue. The camera app is using its native orientation and storing the rotation as an EXIF tag. If the tag is stripped off the file the orientation is lost. The photo editing tools have to rotate the image for the edit, then just save the rotated image instead of using the EXIF tag.

 

 

[anewbie]

One comment - if you have a male pleco he will want a cave - if you did something closer to option A where the wood is on the substrate; he will dig under it and make a nice cave. As you have it now - he might end up digging a lot all over the tank looking for a place to make a cave. If you pleco is a she then she won't dig.

[AndreaW]

On 3/17/2022 at 5:24 PM, anewbie said:

One comment - if you have a male pleco he will want a cave - if you did something closer to option A where the wood is on the substrate; he will dig under it and make a nice cave. As you have it now - he might end up digging a lot all over the tank looking for a place to make a cave. If you pleco is a she then she won't dig.

"Gary" must be a female then. Never any digging. Of course its the oddest Pleco I've ever had so who knows? He/She spends most of their time wedged in a corner or sitting with their nose in the gravel. I've given him corners and spots to *hide* but he doesn't use them. 

I'm totally serious when I say I've never seen him eat or poop. I put algae wafers and cucumbers in after dark but don't know if he ever gets them. I've never been able to tell what or how much he eats. Somehow he is 8" long, and has survived since 2019 (if I remember right). He's never sucked on the glass or anything. I've always wondered if his mouth is deformed as he has a very flat, square nose and a lumpy looking head.

[anewbie]

Do you know what type of pleco he is ? 

[AndreaW]

On 3/17/2022 at 10:55 PM, anewbie said:

Do you know what type of pleco he is ? 

We bought him as a "Common" but he's not like any other common I've had. I'm used to seeing a pointier nose and having them suck and hang on the glass.

[anewbie]

Definitely not a common. I'd post some pictures somewhere where they can identify the species.