Any aquarium decorating gurus here?
- Thread starter Eli
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Have a look at this, it's apparently some sort of coral type thing:
Air fern - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I've never heard of it before and can't find much info about it, but thought I would give it a go because it's nice and light so doesn't look like the tank is too overcrowded in such a small space. I hope it works out okay because I think it's quite pretty!
Air fern - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I've never heard of it before and can't find much info about it, but thought I would give it a go because it's nice and light so doesn't look like the tank is too overcrowded in such a small space. I hope it works out okay because I think it's quite pretty!
Horsegirlmaddy
Aquarium Advice Activist
If you don't mind plastic plants... I have a 60 gallon hexagon that had a lot of dead space, because it's tall and bottom decorations don't fill the tall space. So I bought reptile terrarium plants- they hang on the inside, attached by a suction cup, and they fill up the empty space with some color! Here's a pic/:
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That's a really interesting idea! I've got floating turtle plants in my other tank but for some reason never thought of the ones with the section cups which might even be better for my big tank as the floating ones do get a bit lost sometimes.
Tetra1990
Aquarium Advice Addict
Nice job.
That's great, it looks nice, even with not real plants. lol
As a suggestion perhaps clustering the stones across the front into little groups around the sides, rocks in nature do not situate themselves at regular intervals in a line. Unless you want them that way and then keep em!
If you find plants you like you can add them! I have one tank which has two fake plants now, overgrown with real plants lol. I have a pink some kind of tall fine coral type plant and I really like it in there I took it out (it wasn't a real plant) and then put it back 'cause I liked it in there, it just brightened it up and the shrimp love it!
You do what you like!
Nice tank.
As a suggestion perhaps clustering the stones across the front into little groups around the sides, rocks in nature do not situate themselves at regular intervals in a line. Unless you want them that way and then keep em!
If you find plants you like you can add them! I have one tank which has two fake plants now, overgrown with real plants lol. I have a pink some kind of tall fine coral type plant and I really like it in there I took it out (it wasn't a real plant) and then put it back 'cause I liked it in there, it just brightened it up and the shrimp love it!
You do what you like!
Nice tank.
ztigris
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2012
- Messages
- 221
Looks great!
PolyptRus
Aquarium Advice Freak
I created my own hand sculpted aquarium decorations using clay sealed it very well after of course i had it mistaken for a real piece of wood!
How awesome!!!
owen0992
Aquarium Advice Freak
How did you do it? Did you bake the clay, paint it? What did you use to seal it? Sounds like a cool project to try!
Tetra1990
Aquarium Advice Addict
I wanted to do this in my high school pottery class. Never did though.
PolyptRus
Aquarium Advice Freak
You can use pottery clay or sculptures clay. Of course there is the problem with needing a kiln to bake the clay. I and probably most of us don't have a kiln or have access to one so instead of using clay that needs to bake i bought bricks of all natural sculpting clay from the dollar store for only 1.25 each! On the package it says the clay dries naturally and turns from grey to white. I will worn you the clay smells like it was just dug up out of the ground.
Anyway in order to sculpt your clay you will need to have a bowl of water beside you the water makes it more pliable and allows you to add peices. I formed the general shape i wanted just by hand and after took a tooth pick and added detailing to make my sunken log look realistic. I let the clay sit over night by that time it was not yet completely dry i could have just let it sit until it dried completely but i was inpatient so i put it in my oven at around 200° keeping an eye on it you don't want to burn it just bake until its dry.
After the peice cooled down i could than paint it. Do not paint the clay while it is hot the paint won't coat it properly. The paint i used was acrylic paint i did a black base coat on it and layered the brown over it so all the notches really stood out than i just added some detail some lighter and darker browns here and there some green moss. The painting is the fun part. Than once your paint has dried completely you can use a clear coat most clear coats will do the same thing but alot of people prefer clear coats for outdoor use you can buy clear coats at any hardware store. I did one coat let it dry completely and than added a second just to be sure i didn't miss anything.
If you can't find sculptures clay or are not sure what to look for you can always use Polymer clay. Polymer clay comes coloured or you can buy just white bricks and paint it. You can bake it in your oven to harden it you don't need to use water while working with it its basically alot like plastercein. Another good think about polymer clay is that if you decide you don't want to paint your peice you don't have to seal it, once you bake it, it basically becomes like pvc. However if you like the shine you get from the clear coat than you can always use it. You can buy polymer clay at art stores or hobby shops.
Hopefully i explained everything well enough if you have any questions please ask. I did my research on these homemade aquarium decorations by searching the web so you can always do the same if you would like to find out more.
I also make my own plastic plants if anyone is interested on knowing how to do that let me know. (saves alot of money!) i don't limit myself to just fish stores for my decorations besides they are so expensive! any others know any way to save a dollar when it comes to aquarium decor?
Anyway in order to sculpt your clay you will need to have a bowl of water beside you the water makes it more pliable and allows you to add peices. I formed the general shape i wanted just by hand and after took a tooth pick and added detailing to make my sunken log look realistic. I let the clay sit over night by that time it was not yet completely dry i could have just let it sit until it dried completely but i was inpatient so i put it in my oven at around 200° keeping an eye on it you don't want to burn it just bake until its dry.
After the peice cooled down i could than paint it. Do not paint the clay while it is hot the paint won't coat it properly. The paint i used was acrylic paint i did a black base coat on it and layered the brown over it so all the notches really stood out than i just added some detail some lighter and darker browns here and there some green moss. The painting is the fun part. Than once your paint has dried completely you can use a clear coat most clear coats will do the same thing but alot of people prefer clear coats for outdoor use you can buy clear coats at any hardware store. I did one coat let it dry completely and than added a second just to be sure i didn't miss anything.
If you can't find sculptures clay or are not sure what to look for you can always use Polymer clay. Polymer clay comes coloured or you can buy just white bricks and paint it. You can bake it in your oven to harden it you don't need to use water while working with it its basically alot like plastercein. Another good think about polymer clay is that if you decide you don't want to paint your peice you don't have to seal it, once you bake it, it basically becomes like pvc. However if you like the shine you get from the clear coat than you can always use it. You can buy polymer clay at art stores or hobby shops.
Hopefully i explained everything well enough if you have any questions please ask. I did my research on these homemade aquarium decorations by searching the web so you can always do the same if you would like to find out more.
I also make my own plastic plants if anyone is interested on knowing how to do that let me know. (saves alot of money!) i don't limit myself to just fish stores for my decorations besides they are so expensive!
any others know any way to save a dollar when it comes to aquarium decor?
PolyptRus
Aquarium Advice Freak
Forgot to mention if you decide to use polymer clay and can't find it you can order it online alot of art and craft web sites sell it you can find it on ebay too. A good brand is sculpy you can order it off their website they sell bigger packages of it which is a little more convenient and probably cheaper.
Www.sculpey.com
Www.sculpey.com
Aqualady40
Aquarium Advice Addict
You can absolutely use CFL (spiral bulbs) 13 watt 6500k daylight ...I use 2 on my 20g high and get alot of growth
Hey I wanna try this! U inspired me. I once made a "cave" from a shot glass (Hornitos-- shaped like a bull horn)coated with gravel to match the substrate that a Betta-keeping friend passed along to me. Your method seems a bit less "co-ed" dorm, but way fun!
I also like the pottery my aunt makes at home, regular clay on a throwing wheel, fired and glazed for use as tableware so food safe. Would those items be toxic if put into a tank? Should I seal those the way you seal the clay you dry at home?
PolyptRus
Aquarium Advice Freak
If you use a glaze over the pottery it should be fine a glaze is the same as a clear coat if you want to be safe put two clear coats on it. Let it sit a few days wash with warm water and you are all set. I buy pottery or clay figures for my tanks at art shows for great prices! Never had an issue with them in my tanks as long as they have been clear coated properly some materials are safe with out a sealant like ceramic.
Mrs.h2012
Aquarium Advice Addict
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2012
- Messages
- 1,977
Sorry for stalking and hijacking the thread... But I was wondering if I could grow low light plants with a normal bulb, and this answers my question! I was looking at light fixtures on amazon for when tax refunds come, but this is much much much cheaper! Thanks so much!
phishfriend
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yup I use the 23w 6500k in my 40g. I use pps-pro and am able to grow anything not just low light.
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