Re-scaping Fluval Edge

[KCB]

I bought a 46L Fluval Edge tank a couple of weeks ago but recently decided the decor looked too mish-mash for my liking, so I'm doing a bit of interior design. Here is what it looked like a couple of days ago:

And here it is a couple of days after putting the new sand in. Unfortunately it wasn't the orange I wanted but it was the closest I could find . God was that a pain to put in!

I put a background on it yesterday which was also a pain, but it was worth it. The photo is of the Monument Valley in Arizona/Utah which I took when I went to America in June.

And here you can see I had a little trouble fitting in my new rock hide. I didn't measure the opening of the tank before purchasing it from eBay, so now I'm sending it back and hopefully will get a smaller hide tomorrow .

After this I plan on putting some artificial plants in, then when the tank is cycled I can finally put some fish in as well!!

Thanks for looking .

 

[brian1]

I love sand substrata, it will look great when it's all done, I am not up on plant names but it would look better with real plants (small)if you decide not to put real plants in you may as well take some of the sand out to about 1.5" give more room for the fish,.....here is my small 16 gallon tank

 

[KCB]

Very nice set-up you've got there! I would love to have real plants instead of artificial as they look much better, but I don't think I have enough knowledge to keep them well enough. I've heard things about CO2 injectors and plant food etc that I just don't get, so I'll stick with the artificial ones for now until the tanks established then look into live plants .

I did think I'd gone a bit overboard with the sand but it was such a hassle to get in the tank I'm not sure I want to take it out again lol. Maybe when I've worked up the courage!

 

[brian1]

It's no big deal, I just put a small amount of liquid fertilizer in once a week from lfs,lots of tiny plants would look fab.......

 

[KCB]

It's no big deal, I just put a small amount of liquid fertilizer in once a week from lfs,lots of tiny plants would look fab.......

I'm going to a large Maindenhead Aquatics shop tomorrow to pick up a new rock hide, if they're not really expensive I might pick up some plants whilst I'm there. Any recommendations for a beginner?

Also, in case anyone wonders; the dip in the sand is not a permanent feature, it's just where I changed the water when I added the sand and haven't dared disturb it yet .

 

[KCB]

Bump.

Any plant suggestions for a beginner, ones that would go well with my tank?

 

[kylealastairlove]

why dont you try out some of the cryptocoryne species, there are a few species that will stay small too, just google it !

 

[KCB]

why dont you try out some of the cryptocoryne species, there are a few species that will stay small too, just google it !

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll do some research .

 

[KCB]

Didn't find the rock den I wanted today at my LFS but still managed to buy £40 worth of stuff anyway! I've ordered a reptile den from eBay so lets hope this one fits through the bloody hole .

Pics to follow tomorrow when my tank is less cloudy .

 

[RossC]

Didn't find the rock den I wanted today at my LFS but still managed to buy £40 worth of stuff anyway! I've ordered a reptile den from eBay so lets hope this one fits through the bloody hole .

Pics to follow tomorrow when my tank is less cloudy .

Those crafty LFS they do the same thing to me aswell. Don't stock what I want but still make me walk out with a lighter wallet LOL

 

[KCB]

Those crafty LFS they do the same thing to me aswell. Don't stock what I want but still make me walk out with a lighter wallet LOL

I went in there the other day to buy a new bulb, thankfully that's all I came out with this time .

Here is my tank thus far.

The two 'plants' in there are just temporary to see how it would look. I was thinking of popping to my LFS today to pick up some real plants, but I'm still quite intimidated by how complicated it seems to care for them, I kind of thought they could regulate themselves with no intervention .

 

[RossC]

Not all plants are demanding to keep its just we like to complicate things when we do fully planted tanks LOL some real plants would look great in there. And Two nights ago I went to buy some Cory cats, they were'nt on sale due to late delivery so instead I walked out with lots of plants, frozen foods and other pet accessories hehe

 

[KCB]

Not all plants are demanding to keep its just we like to complicate things when we do fully planted tanks LOL

Cool, so I could put a few easy-care plants in and they'd be fine? Or would I have to at least put some plant food in there?

 

[RossC]

Not all plants are demanding to keep its just we like to complicate things when we do fully planted tanks LOL

Cool, so I could put a few easy-care plants in and they'd be fine? Or would I have to at least put some plant food in there?

Yeah you could try without plant food/fert and see how they go, if they start looking a bit shabby then you could add some. The premixed liquid stuff isn't to expensive anyway. So long as they've got light, a bit of CO2 from the fish, and some nitrates those are the very basic requirements.

 

[KCB]

Yeah you could try without plant food/fert and see how they go, if they start looking a bit shabby then you could add some. The premixed liquid stuff isn't to expensive anyway. So long as they've got light, a bit of CO2 from the fish, and some nitrates those are the very basic requirements.

Awesome, thank you for the advice .