Decorating Aquarium

[lightningryan]

I have a 10 gallon aquarium that I want to make more exciting and natural. I want to give it a natural yet exciting look. some big structures with lots of hiding holes.

Please help with ideas.


Thanks

[justrelax]

slate is always a good medium for original structures. what kind of fish are you putting in there? there's some cool biotope designs on the web you could check out, if you really wanted to make it into something your fish would love.

i buy a lot of the decor for my tanks at landscaping supply stores. they often have a great selection of rocks and such. just make sure you boil or bake them.

[QTOFFER]

I agree that slate is a great material to work with - and it comes in natural red, gray, and blue. You can stack pieces to creat very natural-looking caves.

Driftwood, petrified wood, and sandstone are great natural materials too.

[justrelax]

yeah, to echo what fishypeanut said... for sure check out your local landscaping place. my lfs charges 2$ a pound for real slate pieces, but where i go to get it only charges .20c/lb!!

[crazycat]

lace rock is also a good aquascaping rock--it can be very "holey" and provide a lot of places for fish to hide. some types of driftwood also come with very intricate whorls and shapes that are quite dramatic.

in a 10 gallon tank, i would recommend getting one simple piece that acts a central focal point. i wouldn't overdo it with too many small pieces. you might want to add one smaller object as a counterpoint to the main piece.

have you thought about plants? they would be a great addition to any tank and would help with the "natural" look. there are many plants that do very well in low light tanks. check out the planted tank forum for info.

jmo

[zacusmaximus]

Fair warning, slate can and will explode violently when exposed to high temps for any duration. I've only ever seen it occur in firepits, but better safe than sorry, right? Always exercise caution when heating stone. With any baked stone operation, I'd suggest letting the pieces cool IN the oven overnight. (even a day or two for big pieces)

[crazycat]

i don't think you really have to boil or bake stone. just give it a good rinse in water (no soap) to get the dust and dirt off.

people recommend boiling driftwood, and/or soaking it for a period of time, so it releases its tannins before you put it in the tank. it's more about making sure that your water doesn't get yellow than it is about sterilization. i soaked all of my driftwood in hot water before i put it in the tank. i left it to soak and changed the water daily until i could see no more tannin in the water--some pieces took about a week. i'm sure the driftwood exuded more in my tank, but not enough to color the water.

i have slate in my tank (about 40lbs of it) that i picked up from the land around my house in upstate ny. i put it in my tank with just a cursory rinse--no problems as of yet, and it's been about 7 months.

[3newbie3]

Can I put sea shells in a fresh-water aquarium? I have mostly live-bearing community fish & add the suggested 1 tsp per gal of sea salts. Are sea shells contraindicated?

[lightningryan]

Originally Posted by FishyPeanut

i buy a lot of the decor for my tanks at landscaping supply stores. they often have a great selection of rocks and such. just make sure you boil or bake them.

why boil or bake them?