My first hardscape

[Cinnebuns]

First off, I apologize for all the crap in the background lol. 

So my crashed cycle has officially corrected itself and I can start adding my fish back in. It's been about 2 weeks since I did anything to work on rescaping the tank so realizing the cycle is back kicked my butt into gear!

This is my first time working with hard scape so I need some feed back. I did some playing around and took about a dozen pictures. I can include them all but I'll put the ones most of interest at the beginning so people don't have to look at EVERYTHING if they don't want to. 

First I started with pic 1. I really like how those 2 fit together. 

Pics 2 and 3 are some options for in front and behind those 2. 

Then I kinda played around with the driftwood as well. I do have moss I can put on the driftwood too. 

The last picture is of all the pieces I have. 

Any input is helpful and welcome. Ty!

[Cinnebuns]

Premature posting. Talked with a friend pretty thoroughly and decided on just the 2 pieces of stone and no wood. How would you treat the stone before adding?

[Guppysnail]

I actually really like the wood. It looks natural to me like a branch washed up in a creek. Wood also gives snails tons of yummies. Just rinse your stone with hot water. 
 

If you do use wood they sell plant weight coils on Amazon.  I like those to wrap the bottom so it sinks immediately 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Old man from scene 3]

I'm a newbie to hard/aquascaping myself. I'm with Guppysnail in that I love the wood element as well. Just seems to complete the look a bit more - adds something almost warm to the overall vibe. I'm also a huge fan of planted aquariums. Plants add so much aesthetic as well as many other benefits to tank health. Best of luck on your build! Looking forward to seeing the completed project. Cheers!

[SugarBassJoe]

I only have one tank with stone in it (use mostly wood myself). No matter how much i envision the scape in my head, when i start laying every thing out in the tank, i always end up moving things around, adding/removing pieces or completely scrapping my original idea and winging it, somehow it never looks complete or right until it does (if that makes sense). I guess my 2 cents would be you'll know it when you see it. I wouldn't rule out the wood all together, but its completely up to you and more importantly how the scape looks to you, I'm sure its going to look great no matter what.

[Cinnebuns]

On 9/15/2022 at 7:28 AM, Guppysnail said:

I actually really like the wood. It looks natural to me like a branch washed up in a creek. Wood also gives snails tons of yummies. Just rinse your stone with hot water. 
 

If you do use wood they sell plant weight coils on Amazon.  I like those to wrap the bottom so it sinks immediately 

Now that I look at that pic again I really do like it. 

Part of why my friend and I decided against the wood is because we decided FOR a different piece of wood on the other side and we didn't think the 2 would go together. Now I'm unsure of that decision. 

This is the wood I'm talking about. We were thinking of putting subwassertang and buce all on it and maybe something growing behind it. Now I can't decide between the 2 pieces of wood or if both would work lol

[Guppysnail]

Nothing is forever. Do both one at a time. I change my tanks all the time when I’m bored with them. It’s what appeals most to YOU not popular opinion. 

[Cinnebuns]

On 9/15/2022 at 12:32 PM, Guppysnail said:

It’s what appeals most to YOU not popular opinion. 

This is true but I'm also a woman who has a hard time making a decision sometimes lol. Maybe the solution here is to leave my mind open to 3 possibilities (both pieces, one or the other piece) and see what speaks to me most once inside the tank

[redfish]

Just from the pics here, the two types of wood do look like they might clash in the tank but I would have to put them together in the tank and see.  The rocks look really cool.

[rockfisher]

I think you really have to play around with it to get things right. I would suggest several different set-ups in the tank and see what you like. I would also take pictures. I often find that I liked one way that I tried earlier. 

[Martin]

Ooooh... those are great pieces of dragon stone!  Just use a soft toothbrush to loosen any excess dirt, then boil them.  Be careful, dragon stone is brittle and will break if you use too much force.  Don't lose the woooooood!  Wood is so beautiful!!  Bear in mind, the overall look changes once the plants are added in.  

[Robstar]

Love dragonstone, good choice. Over time the pockets do attract debris. Walmart has a really neat mini gravel vac by aqua life that could help keep it clean.