Creativity in the aquarium

[black udder]

I've seen some really creative landscapes from folks.

Would some of you care to share what you do to get some of the looks?

How do you raise/lower the landscape in the tank?

Where do you get the materials (rocks/stumps, etc.) that you put in the tank?

Do you create it all from the start or is it possible to redesign with an occupied tank?

Thanks to all who share.

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

One of my fav ideas i got here is to make a cave out ofa y pvc pipe and glue gravel onto the pipe then semi bury it so that bottom dweller have little underground caverns

 

[SpaceButler]

This is a good topic.

I've been to squemish to make some really creative tanks because of potential dangers to the fish, but I love off-kilter tanks.

E.G. The Saltwater picture winner for Feb has that "Sunken ship china set" theme, which is too cool. I've heard of a tank full of old electronic equipment.

I would love to hear about and see some tanks that have things other than plants and wood.

 

[KaiserFish]

Square/round/whatever shape pieces of plastic can be used to create hills under the gravel.

Rocks/wood can be bought from a LFS... or alternatively, you can find it in your backyard, on a nature hike, etc... the majority of rocks I have in my tanks have come from my mom's garden and rocky mountain riverbeds. Boiled them for several minutes in a pot, and have had no problems with them. Plus they just look more natural than something bought in the store (ie: lavarock, etc)

My boss uses blank (or bad) CD-ROMs in one of his tanks, partially buried in the substrate, and it makes for a really neat reflective/mirrored surface that bounces light and makes it look like theres twice as many fish in the tank.

I tend to add items to the decor during my big once a month thorough cleaning of the tank(s). I clean and partial water change weekly, just do a much more thorough job of it and the filters once a month

If I buy new plants, I usually add them right away.

 

[Gulp]

My tank might not be "creative", but the slate was picked up at a local garden store in the area (Pike's Nursery). They had several palates of slate stepping stones in the back.....I gathered all the broken pieces (worthless to Pike's) and was able to get what you see for less than $20 (stingy manager wouldn't just give the stuff to me ) The tank is 110 gallons just to give you a size reference.....and that is about 4 stepping stones (normally $20 each) worth of rock. I was a little worried at first that they might have some type of pesticide on their surface....but I washed the rocks in hot water and scrubbed them with a bristle brush very well. Everything worked out and I saved a tone of money. The LFS wanted around $2 a POUND for similar rocks, I'd guess I have at least 50 pounds of rock sitting there, if not more.

 

[Jchillin]

Amazing that you would bring this up at this time. I will be redecorating my tank today using various types of rocks (slate, limestone and a boulder). This was to create something more natural looking to complement the existing decor.

BTW Gulp, that tank is gorgeous and I wish I had thought of it

 

[RoK]

My tank might not be "creative"

Are you kidding me? That was very creative to do that with the rocks and everything. 8O

 

[dsmalls]

Gulp:

Did you use special aquarium adhesive for your rock formation or are they standing on their own?

 

[Gulp]

Thanks for the compliments. I love the way it turned out......it's just not as "creative" as some of the tanks I've seen. No special "theme", just lots of rock.

Gulp:

Did you use special aquarium adhesive for your rock formation or are they standing on their own?

No adhesive used. I just started stacking the rocks, making sure each felt sturdy where it was located before adding the next level. I actually ended up pulling all the rocks out about 3 times before I found a combo. I just started with the largest, flattest pieces on the bottom and started stacking. I'd take pieces out into the drive way and drop them to break them up if I needed smaller "columns".

I did find ONE weak place in the formation a few weeks ago while cleaning the gravel. I bumped part of the stack pretty hard with the syphon and it started to topple. 8O 8O Fortunately, it did so away from the glass. I put it back together in a slightly different stack and did a "shake test" with the whole thing. It's very stable now.

 

[Clown Monarch]

I've always wanted to do an "Atlantis" tank in FW - white sand with large white ruined pillars and smaller well-positioned plants. The center would be a circular "courtyard" of white stones, pillars around the outside with plants growing through cracks in the courtyard to simulate ruin.

Seeing I have 2 SW tanks now and my wife will shoot me at the mention of another tank, that dream may be off in the distant future.

 

[severum mama]

gulp, your tank looks great! Have you ever thought about using a background?

My tank's really not creative, but it is my best looking one out of my 4 IMO so here it is. Bear with me, I still don't know how to use my camera.

I used some cheap black gravel (if I were setting it up now I would have used sand) and a black background. I picked up a few pieces of lace rock to make the main cave, and added some low light plants. It is still a work in progress, I'm planning to get more plants. I got the 2 pieces of wood at my LFS and attached the java ferns to them by tying them on there with string until the roots attach to the wood, then cutting the string off. Same with the anubias that is attaching to the lace rock. Since this pic I added one more anubias. My fish love the cave and wood, especially now that the plants are attached to them. BTW this tank is 29 gallons and I would love to hear your opinions/suggestions.

 

[Gulp]

gulp, your tank looks great! Have you ever thought about using a background?

I thought about it, but couldn't find anything good that wouldn't have seams.....the tanks pretty big. I ended up painting the glass with the same paint we were using to paint the walls. Unfortunately, I'd have to do a lot of scraping now......and actually drain the tank just to move it out far enough to scrape. Lesson learned........don't paint if you aren't 100% sure you like the color.


Here's a shot of the tank from the back:

I like the background you have, it would definitely make the brighter colored fish stand out.......too bad I screwed myself and I'm now stuck with yellow.

 

[severum mama]

Oh, wow, I couldn't tell from the pic that you painted your tank! I was actually going to suggest painting it black or dark blue, but didn't since it was obviously set up and would have been a pain to do I didn't suggest it. Personally I like the look of black and I'm eventually getting black backgrounds for all my tanks. Until I have to move them, that is, then I will probably paint.

 

[jsoong]

Here are pics of my tank ... nothing too creative, but post to give ideas on natural stuff you can use in aquarium.

Substrate - fine gravel/grit + peatmoss (for plants), covered with river rocks (got thaose at the landscape place - they call it "rainbow rocks", $2 for 2 cu. ft.

Rocks, pebbles collected from river.
Drift wood - collected from river. <I chose a river system far from civilization & therefore clean>

Everything collected/from non lfs souces are washed, then bleached, then rinsed ... & rinsed .... then sun dry/baked for a few days prior to being used.

Plants are from lfs .... intending to add more ... experimenting a bit at present to find ones that will grow well & not get eaten!

 

[youronlysin]

Not wanting to pay too much money for printed tank backgrounds (Im cheap! ), and not wanting to paint, I found gift wrapping paper in the color I wanted and taped that on the back of my tanks. Walmart had a great deep blue solid color paper for cheap, and I have enough to do a few tanks with it. The tank for my daughters hamster has a giftwrap paper background that is pink with flowers on it...matches her room perfectly.

 

[frog girl]

None of my decorations are from the pet store (except the live plants). I had all rocks in there but is mostly limestone & my KH was skyrocketing so I pulled them & have just added a bunch of found pieces of driftwood (just make sure its not from saltwater). I am still rearranging but like to stack my stuff up since I have a tall tank (the fish seem to love all the hiding places).

Its wood but its fun wood. I will post a pic when its done.

 

[waterlilly]

Gulp you could make your own 3D back thats what my husband and i did we just bought a piece of strofoam block and carved it by hand and the after that was done we painted over it.

 

[Gulp]

Gulp you could make your own 3D back thats what my husband and i did we just bought a piece of strofoam block and carved it by hand and the after that was done we painted over it.

That's a pretty cool idea, but I'd still have to drain that tank and somehow slide it out far enough to scrape all the paint off. I'm screwed.

I'll keep that in mind though......it's definitely creative. [/img]

 

[Billsgate]

That looks very nice waterlilly! Great tank, especially since it's your first!

 

[youronlysin]

Gulp you could make your own 3D back thats what my husband and i did we just bought a piece of strofoam block and carved it by hand and the after that was done we painted over it.

That's a pretty cool idea, but I'd still have to drain that tank and somehow slide it out far enough to scrape all the paint off. I'm screwed.

I'll keep that in mind though......it's definitely creative. [/img]

I dont think you'd have to scrape the paint on the back of your tank with the 3d background shes talking about...I think theirs goes inside the tank, so it would cover up the paint.