advice on redesigning

[Ochana25]

Hey everyone so before I start I have attached a picture of my current tank it's a 90 gallon, I liked the look with the ship for about a day lol then realized the ship is taking up to much room and it's to fake I wanna give the tank a natural look and give the fish more room in the tank and hopefully try to put in live plant since there's advantages I would like to put driftwood and rock big als was extremely expensive though if anyone has any information or any design on helping me rebuilding would be greatly appreciated thanks here's the pic

 

[Convict2161]

You have the black sand that's a plus! Get some slate and river rocks. A few pieces of driftwood. If you want easy low light plants get some Anubis. You can glue them to the driftwood.

Also is the background painted or a print? You could always paint it black.

 

[Ochana25]

The background is printed and taped to the back lol

 

[Convict2161]

Ok, lol. You could switch to black to add the illusion of a bigger tank and deeper. If your a fan of driftwood, it would look nice and natural. Rocks and slate, making caves and tunnels. You can do so much!!

 

[Ochana25]

Ahhhhhh that sounds amazing sweet km excited lol Umm any idea where I can get the rock and slat big Al wants 7 99 per pound

 

[Convict2161]

Ahhhhhh that sounds amazing sweet km excited lol Umm any idea where I can get the rock and slat big Al wants 7 99 per pound

Have you tried homed depot? Lowes?

 

[Ochana25]

Not yet but does it have to be a certain type

 

[jcolon]

Ahhhhhh that sounds amazing sweet km excited lol Umm any idea where I can get the rock and slat big Al wants 7 99 per pound

Agreed with Convict2161 .... Any home improvement or landscaping company should carry slate. You want the type used for path's / walkway's .. Those tend to be about an inch thick. Plenty strong to stack them. I also highly recommend rounded quartz river stones ... Again the same stores, plus I know Petco / Petsmart sell them.

DW and low light plants like Anubias and Java Fern will add to the natural look. Both can be attached to rock or DW. I used to have a similar pirate ship, other fake stuff in my 75gal and after a few months it all wore away from me. Plus your right ... The ship does eat up a fair amount of space.

The black sand and black background's the way to o ..IMO.

 

[Ochana25]

Lol ya don't like the fake decorations anymore thanks gonna check it out

 

[Ochana25]

Hey was thinking of a background like the pics I attached there about 200 on ebay

 

[mazie51109]

Check out TheGreenMachine.com for some amazing ideas.

 

[Ochana25]

Awesome site thanks I really love the grass setup really cool I have cichlid in my tank the people at big als said cichlid will ruin them all is there a real plant I can put in the tank that the cichlid won't ruin

 

[Ochana25]

Hey so I got bunch of nice rock from where I hike wondering if I can use it in my aquarium after its cleaned. Of course here's a pic

 

[FishingMouse]

Have you heard of the vinegar test? If you drop it on and it bubbles then don't use it. Or hydrochloric acid if you can find it, I believe the nitrite test may use it. Look to see what's in the tests if you can. HCl is stronger and will be more accurate.

 

[Ochana25]

I have never heard of any of those tests lol would love to know more about all of them though

 

[Convict2161]

Those rocks are awesome!! The 3d background is nice also.

 

[FishingMouse]

Do you have a liquid test kit? If you do, look at what's in the test solutions if you can. Vinegar is fine, but HCl is stronger and will react to any trace of calcite, which means you cannot use the rock in your aquarium as it can dramatically change your ph.
But wash the rocks well, and pour vinegar or a drop of HCl on them. If they don't fizz then yore good to go. Then wash really well after the vinegar or HCl also.

 

[Ochana25]

I'm from Hamilton so we have a mountain brow and there's so much shale stone to fill millions of tanks lol

 

[Ochana25]

Stupid question what's hci and yes I have a test kit

 

[FishingMouse]

HCl is hydrochloric acid