best way to add "shelves"

[harmy4993]

im planning on getting a 100 or 125 tank as soon as my 29 is running and stocked. but im in the planning stage of what i want to do with it.

sorry im not a photoshop artist but this gives a little idea( dont laugh to hard)

i was thinking of using lexan stripes to block off the sand at the diffrent hight/layers i needed. hide it behind the rocks and the stumps. any issue with putting lexan inside of a tank? im looking for a step down look at each layer instead of it being sloped. any thoughts?

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

lexan should work as long as its flexible. I love the idea I've been playing around with my tank and made some tunnels as well as caves. That would be another cool thing like a PVC tunnel that goes from the top to the bottom layer.

I dont think you really need 6" deep on the top layer, you could put rocks or something as a filler there and use 4" of substrate. Just to save money.

I'll post some new pics of mine tomorrow night, I have some pretty massive hills and the tunnels mentioned. I just need a piece of slate to cover a couple of the PVC tunnels.

 

[harmy4993]

ya i was thinking of using about 4 inches or so of pfs on top then cover it with black soil of some kind for the look. pfs runs 11.00 next to my work for a 50 pound bag. even cheaper then gravel.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

that would work and its cheap

 

[harmy4993]

yes cheap can be good in the right places. i can already tell my 29g tank is going to be fun buti wouldnt classify it as aquascaping. prolly going to have a jungle look to it. on the bigger tank i definetly want to try and create something.

the stumps may be a little big and may take up to much room but i know i will want a 3 step/stage look to it with clear boundries between each stage.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

it may also be cool to create steps going up the middle or slightly off to one side

 

[Atl300zx]

lexan is pricey, i bet normal plexi would work fine.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

lexan is pricey, i bet normal plexi would work fine.

Yeah lexan is pricey, I have it for the rear windows in my car. Its also a pain to cut. You an buy some at a glass store(or autoglass store) and they should be able to cut it for you.

 

[Atl300zx]

pain to cut? id rather cut lexan anyday over plexi. Plexi will crack easy. when working with lexan, i just sandwich btw two boards and cut with a jig saw.

 

[harmy4993]

my boss does a side job working with lexan. i can get a sheet of lexan for about 5 bux. the thickness would be .20 or .40 and i already own lexan cutting scissors so cutting wouldnt be an issue. thats the reason i was wondering about lexan. i can get it pretty cheap and know how to work with it.

 

[Robert H]

If you want shelves to put plants at various levels, there is a new artificial rock product that is extremely realistic looking and attaches to the aquarium wall with magnets. These are very strong magnets to keep it very secure, but you can easily move it at will to any location you want:

Plants and moss attach easily to it, but there is also one that has a 4" diameter hole to hold a potted plant. They can decorate an aquarium or terrarium, and they come in different sizes.

 

[Atl300zx]

this new product seems sweet, but i am an advocate of eveything being natural.

i wonder if there are magnets strong enough to hold a real rock.

 

[Robert H]

Since when is cutting sheets of plexiglass or plastic natural!

This is used in museums, public aquariums... Attaching actual rock to glass or even acryllic, NOT a good idea!

I know what you mean though in principal, but we are not talking about live plants vs plastic plants. Rock is used soley for decoration purposes, and an extremely realistic looking artificial alternative, that is not cheesy looking has so many practical advantages. Its along the same line as foam rock backgrounds, which sell for hundreds of dollars, (for the really good ones)

 

[harmy4993]

Since when is cutting sheets of plexiglass or plastic natural!

the lexan plastic wouldnt ever be seen. it is used to allow diffrent hight in the soil.