help with decor, on budget

[steeledarren]

hi there i have just bought a 220 litre cube tank with external filter. I so far have added gravel, a plastic moss ball with some java moss from my old tank, and the main ingredient water lol, i am on a tight budget as when i got my tank a bought the biggest i could afford, as i didnt want to regret buying a smaller one so i used all my savings,

so far i have been cycling the tank for two weeks, at the start i added some household ammonia. i have been doing tests every day, and things are going good, i want to do it properly so i dont want to rush my fish in just yet, i thought id focus on decorating it nice and make a nice home for my futre fish,

i do not want to include real plants just yet as i am still learning, and thought this would complicate things, but i definatley want some in the future.

i am going to stock it with a school of desioni barbs, a school of lemon tetras, two blue gouramis, a bunch of corys and a few ottos.

i was wanting to know are there any tips on how to decorate on a budget, i know it sounds stupid but i was looking at the price of big ornaments and they are off the map.

i was thinking maybe some slate but not sure of the price, any advice welcome, here are som pictures for you to look at

 

[eyring2210]

Find a nice clean local stream and relocate some rocks. I did that and even got some with Java moss on them. Very natural and perfectly safe. Just be sure to clean them up real well using clean water, but no soap.

 

[Twoapennything]

i was wanting to know are there any tips on how to decorate on a budget, i know it sounds stupid but i was looking at the price of big ornaments and they are off the map.

I have an excess amount of plastic plants and was thinking of selling them on eBay or Craigslist - do you want to take a look at them (I could take a picture)? I'm not looking to make a profit - I just need to clear them out so I have more storage room. I also have one large castle decor piece that I can't use because my goldfish got stuck in it (the fish you mentioned would be small enough to be safe with this ornament). If you're interested, just let me know.

(Mods, if this is inappropriate, please feel free to delete my post)

 

[jessibell]

Yeah I have used rocks from streams as well. As far as plants go I don't know what you would use - try looking on ebay and check your local newspaper classifieds for used aquarium stuff. Walmart has some pretty cheap plant bundles as well. And Garage sales.

I often wondered if natural driftwood was safe to put inside a tank? - taken from a remote source, of course. I live way out in the wilderness so pollution is not much a problem here. Plenty of mountain lakes fed by glaciers with nice chunks of wood around. Just a thought.

 

[jsoong]

The cheapest is to do "all natural" - looks much better IMO ....

As others have posted, you can collect driftwood & rocks from a local lake/stream to decorate the tank. Just make sure you collect from an unpolluted area. <I collect from a semi-wilderness area upstream from civilization.> The main worry is pesticides from farm run-off. There is a small risk of pathogens & parasites. That can be minimized by washing the specimens well. <Some people boil their collections .... OK if the specimens are small.>

A 2nd idea is to buy from local pond & landscape supply place. Slates & other rocks are 1/10 the price at a pond supplier vs a lfs. <And if you want just small pieces, some will give you broken pieces too small for ponds for cheap or free.> Also check HD or other big box store for broken slate tiles .... they usu. just throw them out .... they are perfect for smaller tanks ... you just have to reshape them with a hammer to get rid of any unsightly straight edges.

PS - google "Amano tank" for some inspirations on naturally decorated planted tank.

 

[Lowryder]

I wish I could have a "natural" tank, I however, live in New Jersey. Maybe I will try to breed Flowerhorns with a 3rd eye on their nuchal.

 

[steeledarren]

thankyou everyone for your advice, i will go find a stream in the country side, i will also look at pond suppliers, thankyou twoapennything iif you could send me a picture that would be great

 

[Halthe]

I wish I could have a "natural" tank, I however, live in New Jersey. Maybe I will try to breed Flowerhorns with a 3rd eye on their nuchal.

 

[jessibell]

LMAO Lowryder

As funny as that comment was, I feel mixed emotions about it. I live on the doorstep of hundreds of miles of uninterrupted wilderness, and it makes me sad to think that some people live in places where you can't even go to a stream and find a clean stick or rock.

 

[Twoapennything]

thankyou twoapennything iif you could send me a picture that would be great

Just letting you know that I haven't forgotten about this, steeledarren. I'll get some pics to you ASAP. Hopefully today or tomorrow.

 

[murff68]

Hi there, I also bought a cube tank 18inch square and 21 inch high I'm stuck what to do with it as far as decor and fish go, I have another tank 180l . I just bought the cube cause I always wanted one, anyway here's a pic of it with some goldfish from another tank in it, so any help you could give me on what to do with it i.e decor and fish would be a great help thanks. Think it's about 110 litre

 

[butterfly_koi]

My tank is mostly natural, rocks and DW are right from the creek beds of Missouri, sand for the tank is natural play sand from Walmart ($3 a bag) There are a few fake plants in my tank, the big one I bought at Petsmart on sale for $9. It gives my fry a good place to hide
Here's my 29, its nothing fancy but I love it

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Since this thread is from 2 years ago I'm sure the OP has their answer. If anyone has a question of there own please create a new thread.
Thread closed.