Fish tanks are expensive! The one i have at the moment was free as it was dirty grubby has no lid etc.A piece of junk basically.
Thanks for the help.I think anything that i could do in a 10g probably isn't worth doing as it'll take up too much room.
Have you thought about a 15g long? They are only a bit more, and have a great footprint for this type of setup. 20g longs are also fantastic.
Grubby doesn't mean useless. It is amazing what coarse salt and hot water will do to clean up a tank. My 20g was an old grubby tank.
But if you are stuck with the 10g, I think a riverbed is possible, just on a much smaller scale. I've seen entire forests aquascaped on a much smaller tanks than a 10g. If the tank lacks a hood, you can orient a HOB on the side of the aquarium rather than the back and set it for maximum flow. That may work to get the water circulated in the one-direction motion you want for a river bed. It is the cheapy solution, but not the best. They also sell powerheads that don't need to be attached to a ugf to be effective. I keep corydoras and was contemplating getting extra powerheads myself. Small, smooth stones are great to use scattered sparingly around the substrate and driftwood that is thinnish and has that blasted look is great. If you've enough light, vallisneria looks amazing, especially if allowed to drape across the surface. If light levels are lower, attached mosses, java fern, and scattered cryptocorynes will help with the look too. Aim for a scape with the look of a right triangle, with most of the hardscape (the fat part of the triangle) positioned closest to the powerhead, and the rest of the hardscape tapering off to one side. It'll contribute to the look of "moving" water which you are trying to create.
Good luck, sounds like a fun little setup. I applaud you trying to make your WCMM home more appealing. They will also benefit from cooler temperatures.
llj
