How to improve this ‘scape

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

My wife isn’t sure what annoys her about this scape but she knows it’s messy and that it’s not “right.” I started out with a planting plan of having the Hygrophila and Java fern on the left, background Val, swords and crypts in the foreground and Brazilian pennywort and tiger Lilly on the left mid to background. The right will just take time. The left and middle of the tank I agree with her is a muddled mess. 
 

Honest feedback and criticism appreciated. Have fun everyone! 

Right after adding fish and the scape is raw having been planted a week prior. 
 

These are last night after the convo with my wife. 

[Mmiller2001]

I think there's too much foreground happening that stops your eyes from wondering around. Try to create some depth and move some plants back with the larger plants furthest away.

[JoeQ]

I'm the last person who should be critiquing someones scape, but IMO its just too busy!!! It needs spaces of scarcity up front to give the eyes a break. Or atleast some order, think tall plants in back, short ones upfront. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Step 1 clean up the front a bit 

Step 2 plant in the back 

Step 3 clean up

Step 4 post pics

The sword on the right in the foreground I almost pulled it but instead I cleaned up around it and clipped some leaves, it’s color really pops now.  

Also pulled some frogbit and finally planted some tiger Lilly’s.

[Jimmy]

I like it but I’m not into aquascaped tanks myself. I do more of a jungle style if I make any attempt lol. I think it looks great but I don’t have a artistic eye. If I was to guess that’s a 45 tall? I kept one for years but they do have a strange foot print and that might be a limiting factor. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

This video is great.

 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Ken Burkehere’s your babies! 

[Guppysnail]

I had a tank with fine sticks like that. I was never able to make it look right that it was not hard on the eyes though I loved the twig look. I pulled them out to redo the tank and hubby walked in and said “now that looks really good whatever you did”. The only thing I did to that point was remove the twiggy sticks and made space in the front sort of a beach. You know my jungle tanks though not pro -scaped at all. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I’m open to changing the hardscape @Guppysnaili was just worried about it being too symmetrical and that the triangle the wood forms around where the middle and right third meet would be even more distracting.

[Patrick_G]

In my opinion It’s a fish persons’s aquascape, closer to a biotope than an aquatic garden, at least that was my impression when you showed it to me. It’s got insanely high NAF (NERM approval factor) but relatively low SAF (spousal approval factor) 

For more of a garden look I agree with @Mmiller2001, a little bit of clear space in the foreground with some big plants at the back. Or just give it time and let the plants naturally scape the tank. 

 

 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I am working on the SAF as I like making her happy. @Mmiller2001 how much more do I need to clear out you reckon?

[Mmiller2001]

On 10/18/2022 at 2:21 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

I am working on the SAF as I like making her happy. @Mmiller2001 how much more do I need to clear out you reckon?

Not much, I would just have that stick placed more to the flow the tank already draws my eyes. I would move the forward right plant more middleish to create that front to back draw. 

Continue growing the plants to create that depth you already have going.

I'm drawn to these channels already.

Some Val or tall sag in the back right could be nice too.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Mmiller2001should I reverse the wood so it’s going the same direction of the Malaysian driftwood?

The right corner will have Val and Brazilian pennywort, just taking time. If I’d just setup a little bit of CO2 it would be well on its own at but I’m not quite ready to go looking for the cylinder although maybe tonight after the kids are in bed! 
 

There are also some tiger lotuses that with time will give more pops of color.

[Patrick_G]

I had an idea that might make this type of scape pop. How about a spotlight type light for that mysterious shimmering effect?

for inspiration:

 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Just need a good deal on a Kessil!!

Seriously that second tank is exact what we were talking about.

[Mmiller2001]

On 10/18/2022 at 4:08 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@Mmiller2001should I reverse the wood so it’s going the same direction of the Malaysian driftwood?

The right corner will have Val and Brazilian pennywort, just taking time. If I’d just setup a little bit of CO2 it would be well on its own at but I’m not quite ready to go looking for the cylinder although maybe tonight after the kids are in bed! 
 

There are also some tiger lotuses that with time will give more pops of color.

Try the claw looking section down towards the front. Give a few angles a try. Maybe even going under that nice wood it's leaning on.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

If I recall correctly @Mmiller2001 won best scape of 2022 nerm week yes?

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/16/2022 at 10:48 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

My wife isn’t sure what annoys her about this scape but she knows it’s messy and that it’s not “right.”

Oh I totally see what she means!

On 10/18/2022 at 12:40 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

I’m open to changing the hardscape @Guppysnaili was just worried about it being too symmetrical and that the triangle the wood forms around where the middle and right third meet would be even more distracting.

I think in my eye, what I don't see is the hardscape.  I am in love with dutch style and jungle tanks, but I think what you have here isn't really either of those?  I don't like the idea of a "mold" and "style" and I specifically enjoy scapes that look a certain way and have some aesthetic emotion to them....  I want to pull a few screenshots and hopefully explain what's going on in my brain when I saw the tank.





When I look at these two parts of the tank the analogy here is like trying to see through a pile of spider webs.  It's obscured.  It's difficult for me to see or make sense and artistically I'm trying to put things in their place in my mind.  It's kind of like OCD or something where you want to clean a messy desk?  I don't intend any negativity in any way, but I am just trying to explain the reaction internally to try to make sense of what your wife had said.  Hopefully that helps!

There are two other things that catch my eye.
1.  There is two types of wood and they don't really compliment one another.
2.  The branch shown here is trying to be a "centerpiece" of sorts, potentially, and I don't think the flow suits that specific piece of wood.

For #2 and the photo above, what I am trying to explain is that it kind of makes sense to cut that piece of wood back and stick it into the substrate and add to the mass of other branches in that region.  Being able to see the rocks better, those branches a little bit easier in the left side of the tank is what I really want to see.

A very cool carpet in front of the cave, some plants or moss tucked in the rock pile, but I really am drawn to that feature on the scape.

If that front piece of wood (the piece in the middle of the tank I circled and the split branch directly below it in the middle front of the tank).  I kind of like that piece that's on the ground to be the focal mid water. I would try to flip it over and see what you think of it.

[Odd Duck]

The twiggy look can be very challenging to do and still make it look like anything but pure chaos.  The twigs need to be all angling kind of the same way as the main pieces so they look swept and sculpted by the water (*air*) flow.  And very simple planting is better in a twiggy tank - more plants of the same kind or same/similar shape so you’re using them to play with and enhance the perspective.  Like using the finer stuff farther back to trick the eye into thinking it’s even farther back in the scape.  Limit the shapes and colors to keep the overall scape simpler since your twiggy stuff brings enough complexity for the mind to absorb.

Just try either 1 or 3 pops of concentrated color, not 2, you want some asymmetry.  You could do 2 blobs of color on the opposite side of the mass of hardscape and bring one color pop to the right side so there is some color on each side but the 2 pops of color would add weight to the left without the twiggy complexity and tend to “balance” some of the visual weight that’s on the right without being too much the same or too symmetrical that would make the overall design stagnant.  If you think it looks too busy with 3 blobs of color, then just do one on the left opposite the main mass of hardscape.

You can do the same perspective trick with your twiggy stuff - push the finest stuff to the back and pull the biggest stuff closer to the front trying to create visual layering effect so it makes the fine stuff look likes it’s waaaay back there in the “distance”.  Josh Sims talks about this some in a couple club talk videos that are very enlightening.  Might have been a couple ADA or Green Aqua talks?

The material you have has great potential.  It needs to be more organized to look more natural (if that doesn’t sound like a complete contradiction).  Nature doesn’t tend to grow a plant here and a plant there.  It’s usually a group of these, then a swath of that.  A mix of visually dynamic hardscape yet calming colors, or vice versa, tends to be the most comfortable for us to look at and mentally absorb.  That’s why Dutch scapes work - great color and texture contrast, but a very minimal hardscape.  The most dramatic hardscapes tend to look best with only very minimal color variety to the plants.  I’ve seen a couple that were all red plants but usually slightly less dramatic hardscape or it’s just too much.  It makes our brains jiggle a little if it’s too much complexity or color together.  😝 😆 

Redo’s are fun!  Step back and breathe, close your eyes and picture it.  Then start.

Eat lunch, look at it again, fiddle only if it needs it.  Sleep on it, look again, fiddle only if it needs it.  Repeat until NAF and SAF meet.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

This will be fun to take on as the rain comes in this weekend.

Ive gotten some great suggestions and now it’s just trying a few different things and seeing what sticks.

[Tanked]

I think you have gotten some great suggestions.  For my part, I would at least remove the tangle of twigs. To my eye at least they are a distraction.  @Odd Duck described it best as "pure chaos".

[Janoš Bećar Pecaroš]

I think it’s looking much better now.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Thanks everyone. Gives me an opportunity to play this weekends. We’re about to get our first big rain in awhile perfect time to scape. 

[Patrick_G]

@Tanked, nice photoshop skills! 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Tankedit was so pleasing to the eye that I couldn’t even notice. Well done. Thanks for pointing that out @Patrick_G!