Removing Background

[Azaezl]

I've been thinking for a while about removing the 3d sponge(or whatever it's made of) background from my 4ft tank, it's been driving me mad ever since I bought the tank. At first I thought it looked great but it's a pain in the arse to keep clean, I've never had one of these before so not sure how I'd go about removing it, do they just pull off or what?

From what I can see on the back it looks like it's fixed with big blobs of silicone, so do I just really pull to get it off and then scrape the silicone off or do I need some sort of special fluid to dissolve the silicone first? I'm also going to remove the juwel filter box, it's not actually being used as I have an external filter, so seems silly leaving that in when it's not doing anything.

Also I've read alot about people using play sand as substrate, I want to change the gravel I have now for sand as it's suppose to be better for my bichir's, but I've also read that sand can mess up your filter, are there ways to avoid this? Is all play sand safe to use as I know most people use sand from argos but it's cheaper in my local Tescos?

I'm hoping to eventually change all my fake plants for real ones, after putting real ones in my bettas tank I HATE the look of fake plants now. So any answers / tips / advice on doing any of the above would be very much appreciated?

 

[Biff0r]

regarding the silicone, it is easily removed using a sharp tool like a Stanley knife etc, but the blobs on the bottom may be hard to get at so some clever thinking is in order.

Regarding the sand most people seem to suggest that as long as you fully wash your sand it is ok to use. I think the sand at Tesco you are talking about is the play sand, which I think is what is referred to as 'Silver sand' very fine stuff. Tip i have picked up is to vac it like a small tornado motion ie in swirls moves that seems to break free the rubbish and leave most of the sand alone. Practice and time will get you there.

Article here about it How to remove Silcone

Real plants I have 50/50 live and fake, as the live take over and expand I will remove and adjust to suit, there is no rules about what and what not to use really, look in the plant section there are tips on what plants to use for starters etc. If you are redoing your tank may be worth going towards the real plants and start with a good substrate based around plants. The Ricca and java moss articles look great and I think it is a must for any tanks.

Look at of the members planted tanks Here and also types of plants Here.

You also have to think about your lighting with plants as well as Co2 it does get expensive but it worth the time in my opinion.

All the above is my personal opinion so please don't flame me