Changing My Tank Decor Any Ideas?

[omese]

im thinking of changing my decor inside the tank, im also going to change from black substrate to sand i think, any ideas on how to make the tank look awesome?

in it at the mo i have a large piece of bogwood,few plants a moss ball,fake grass and an ancient ruine head piece with cave

i also have an air pump but not in tank

any help would be good

 

[shroob]

I always think natural tanks look the best.

Without a picture of your tank it would be hard to suggest ideas or improvements. From your description I would loose the artificial ornaments (fake head and grass), replace with real plants, bogwood or aquarium safe stones. It also depends on the fish you stock, for example malawi cichlids would look out of place in a South American themed tank.

Having said that, let me stress that one persons idea of 'awesome' is different to anothers, and when all is said and done its your tank so decorate it how you like.

 

[omese]

my tank is mainly dif barbs and tertras, black ghost, few platys few dainios and a south american puffer


i need to have a cave for my black ghost knifefish, and doing real plants isnt it alot of hassle?

aquarium safe stones?

 

[shroob]

my tank is mainly dif barbs and tertras, black ghost, few platys few dainios and a south american puffer


i need to have a cave for my black ghost knifefish, and doing real plants isnt it alot of hassle?

aquarium safe stones?

Quite a collection you have there.

Caves can be created by strategic placement of decorations such as bogwood, or even I think slate caves (someone used to sell them on this forum, don't know if they still do) can look attractive.
Plants can be easy depending on the species you get, for example Elodea densa is an easy growing plant.

By aquarium safe stones I simply mean inert stones that wont drastically alter the pH or leech toxic chemicals.

 

[omese]

do you know what stones would be safe? and where i can get them

also growing plants..do i not need to get peat and co2 into my tank?

what plants would be easiest and best to keep

 

[shroob]

Aquarium shops will sell suitable stones (though often highly priced). Other sources could be gardening shops. There is always the option of going out into local environment and collecting some yourself, though you have to go through several stages to make sure they are safe. There is the 'vinegar test' whereby you squirt a few drops of vinegar onto the (dry) rock, if it fizzes or bubbles don't use it. Then you place the rock in a bucket of aquarium water, leave it overnight and test the stats to see if it has changed. Test it again a week later.

A few internet searches should tell you how to test and what to avoid. I would stress that if you are unsure or don't feel confident about doing this, don't risk it.

Generally safe rock would be slate, granite, quartz or lava rock.


Peat and CO2 is not necessary for many plants, there used to be a site called 'plantgeek' which listed easy plants, but unfortunately it seems to be down at the moment. It may be worth a quick look at this sites plant subforum to get an idea of what you like.

 

[omese]

ive been redoing my garden and i was taking an old fence down when i discovered there must of been an old dyke going through it at some point do u think if i clean the rocks leave them in water overnight and do a vinegar test they could be alrite to use in my tank?

 

[shroob]

ive been redoing my garden and i was taking an old fence down when i discovered there must of been an old dyke going through it at some point do u think if i clean the rocks leave them in water overnight and do a vinegar test they could be alrite to use in my tank?

I wouldn't know as I don't know what type of rocks they are. Just to add when leaving them in water overnight (a week is much prefered) remember to test the water, don't just let the rock sit there and then automatically put in in your tank. I stand by my earlier assertion, if you're not 100% sure, don't risk it.

I've found an article that might be of interest to you, click HERE to read it.