My Re-Aquascaped 3ft Display - NEW ADDITIONS!

[Mr Discus]

Hi guys,

I spent 4 hours yeasterday re-aquascaping my 3ft display tank - took alot longer than I thought but it all came together exactly how i wanted it to.

I just need to get a few more plants to fill in some of the empty spaces at the back (probably some hygros or similar) - but other than that I am pretty stoked with how it has turned out.

Now it looks alot more balanced, and there is more free-swimming space for the Discus. Plus the Cardinals school around together more now that there is more front open space (safety in numbers!) It looks alot more 'natural' which is what I wanted. I think the vertical driftwood structures accentuate the height of the tank as well, plus the focal point right of centre adds some depth to the tank, and nice shadowing in there.

Well here are a few pics, it was obviously quite cloudy yesterday after I was done, but it cleared up perfectly overnight.

Here is what it looked like BEFORE yesterday...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/MrGTRacer/17After5Weeks.jpg

And here is what it looks like today, AFTER the aquascaping...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/MrGTRacer/18FullShot.jpg

Here is my Red Turk and Cobalt, very soon I will have another 2 in there, hopefully a Red Melon and something else a little different...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/MrGTRacer/19DiscusPair.jpg

And here is a Photochop I did, something like how I want it to look with plants added at the rear...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/MrGTRacer/20FullShotPhotochopped.jpg

Let me know what you all think!

Cheers.

Josh.

[boost.puppy]

wow.. I love your driftwood & how you have positioned it.. it makes a real contrast to the green :)

and I actually like the gap in the middle, because it breaks up the two sides.. if you put much more in there it might look a little "busy" if you get my drift...
but thats just my opinion...
you have given me a few Ideas for my tank ;)

[fish_r]

looks great, well done http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/KharmaKazi/thumb.gif

[Mr Discus]

Thanks guys.

boost.puppy, yes the open middle 'valley' section will stay as is, as the idea is for that to be the focal point.

It is only the spaces up the back left and rights that I will be filling out with plants and maybe some more driftwood (look at the photochopped bottom pic for the general idea).

[Matt15]

Josh it looked great BEFORE but NOW looks fantastic. Might need your help/advice for a tank makeover oneday.....:):)

[discusluver]

hi there very nice :D

[Mr Discus]

Cheers for the comments.

Haha no worries Matt - when my hygros start growing out and I am pruning sections off, I will have to show up at your door with them in one hand and some driftwood in the other!

[Merrilyn]

Looking great.

Love what you've done with the driftwod :P

[jzz30]

I looked at the first pic and thought that it looked good, but the rest are great. As above love the new drift wood setup.

[nicholas76]

sweet look Josh much improved!!!!


only problem is your tank is too small get a bigger one!!!!!!!!

[Mr Discus]

Nah nicholas - 3ft is a good size for me to maintain, not too big not too small. Plus it fits neatly in a particular spot between the kitchen and loungeroom.

Well today, I caught up with Matt15, and we had a look at some FOTU's that a bloke had who dabbled a little in breeding from home, close to us on Brissie's northside. He had some gorgeous snow whites which were crossed with blue diamonds or something similar, which gave them a blue halo around the perimeter of the fins, but alas he was not willing to sell those ones!!

Needless to say I walked away with 2 of his better FOTU youngsters, my fiance picking one she liked and I picked a 2nd one, to bring my discus total to 4 instead of 3.

They have been in the tank for about 4 hours now, and seem to be loving it. The cobalt is asserting his dominance a little but thats to be expected. Hes not giving them too hard a time which is good. Both the FOTU's have taken bloodworms from me already which is always a good sign!

Here is a pic showing the tank as it stands now, I'm still yet to take some of the sunset hygros on the left hand side out and replace them with giant hygros like the ones in the centre. I think that will give it the balance it needs as it looks a little too 'hygroie' on the left at the moment.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/MrGTRacer/21FullShot17-02-08.jpg


Here is a shot of both the new FOTU's. The parents had some wicked blue flashing on the top and bottom finnage, so hopefully as these guys mature they will develop the same flashings.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/MrGTRacer/22FOTU17-02-08.jpg


And finally, a closer, sharper shot of the larger FOTU. He's about 10 or 12cm from nose to tail.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/MrGTRacer/23FOTU17-02-08.jpg

[Mr Discus]

Woops! Double post! :oops:

[Matt15]

Josh...good to hear they have settled in well. The colour variance between your discus looks great now. The orange really sets things off. :D

[Andy123]

what are the total dimentions of the tank? it looks great. i also hav a 3ft planted discus tank and hope it can look great like urs some day!

[Mr Discus]

Cheers Andy,

The dimensions are 36" long x 18" wide x 24" deep.

Makes for a nicer scape for discus I think when the tank is 6" taller than the conventional 18".

[boost.puppy]

wow.. that looks fantastic....

you have done an incredible job!!!!