I'm not happy with my tank and I don't know why

[lyquidphyre]

I am just not happy with my tank. *sigh*
Im not sure why though.
I don't know if its the fish... or the lack of fish I havn't found.
I don't know if its because all my fish seem small because they aren't full grown (like my angel, my red tailed black shark, and my cory cats)
I havn't found any rams or odessa barbs yet (which would add a lot of color)
I only have 2 marble hatchets, but id rather have 3-6
I hate the color of my gravel, which I think is due to the light that I have in there. Its natural gravel which in the bag is dark brown (and in the display tank was dark brown)... but in my tank its more yellow-- which in turn pales out my serpaes
My plants are okay.. not too many complants with those really.. I wish I had more variety and I wish they looked more natural (and by natural i mean they way they are grouped together and the placement of them in my tank), and i kinda wish I had a plant carpet
Maybe its a combination of all of the above...

Bah, i dunno.. im just whining

 

[BASSNMAN]

You might try changing the type of bulb in your lighting. Flourescent tubes come in a variety of "colors" of white. Can you post a pic of your aquarium? Im sure there are some on the sight that may be able to help you rearrange your tank.

 

[draX]

Can you post a recent pic of your tank?
I have the same problem...it's summer at the moment, temps have gone up, my tank has got an algae outbreak, I hate my gravel too, my plants aren't growing...I've solved it though...selling my tank (without fish) to a friend, and he is buying me a new tank, with all equipment. It's so nice to start over!

 

[lyquidphyre]

well the bulb is used to grow plants its a 250watt bulb for a 75gal tank
It's such a nice setup and I got an awesome deal on it.. im just not in awe like I am with some other tanks ive seen
Here are some pictures-

 

[Frank_the_Tank]

you may not like it, but I think it's nice, very peaceful looking and really, really natural looking. If you condensed it down to a 10 gallon and had black gravel it would look alot like mine. I was going for a "natural" look.
*edit* and if you are looking at changing gravel, you might look into black. It really makes the colors of everything else in the tank come out.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I think your setup looks amazing. I am a huge fan of the "empty" look.

I'd say another tallish plant for the back left, and perhaps a carpet plant for the forground and in front of the log a bit. Perhaps some java moss spread out?

 

[lyquidphyre]

Thanks for the compliments guys. Im not sure what it is I don't like... i love some of it... but over all its not what I want.

I would like a carpet of sorts somewhere
I was thinking when I get my rams I would build some cavern looking things in the back where I raised up the gravel a little... and maybe raise up the back somemore

I had (still have) black substrate... and i thought i would like the black, but i really didn't like it... and I don't like the yellowy tent of the gravel.. I wish it were a darker brown (like it is in the bag)

 

[spongebob69]

perhaps you might also try terracing your substrate to provide more depth. Use rocks or driftwood and create higher spots in the back so things slope downward to the front of the tank. Personally, I think your tank will look better over time once the plants fill in a bit and you can start propogating new growth. I'd also think about adding more rocks in general and create some height with some rockwork to fill in some higher portions of the tank.

 

[youronlysin]

My gravel does the same thing under the 6700K CF lights. It almost looks yellow even though it was almost a dark brown in the bag. Ive thought about changing it to sand or even just dumping a ton of sand right on top of it. Heck...I kinda like the look of the red plant substrates.
The problem I had with my tanks was seeing so much open gravel on the bottom...it just seemed too bare and empty. It still seems like it needs something to add depth, but when I get my hands in there and try to place a plant or something, it seems like I dont have any room left. I cant decide if I should move the rock formation all the way to the back glass and leave more room in the front for planting and such, or just leave it all centered on the floor of the tank so fish can swim all around it. Its hard to determine what would look best. I keep waiting to see a pic here that I like and tell myself "Thats it! Thats what I want!"

 

[draX]

Wow...I love your tank! Wanna swap?
I think some carpet plants would look great, and would cover the gravel nicely if you don't like the colour...

 

[BrianNY]

Just a suggestion here Katy. Looks like you've got some great equipment in a cannister filter and ebo jager heater. I prefer my equipment to be less conspicuous.
I'd move the intake stem of the filter to the opposite side of the outflow. This will not only look better, but help reduce dead spots of circulation in the tank. I'd also position the heater horizontally much nearer the substrate. You'll get a bit more even heating in the tank and it just looks better IMO.

 

[Billsgate]

IMO, your tank needs more plants. You have the proper lighting to do so. I would plant the whole back side of your tank with tall plants, add another piece of driftwood, and maybe some carpetplants like riccia or javamoss or glosso at the front. You could also try building a rock formation somewhere in your tank, glue some nice rocks together with aquarium silicone.
But your tank does look nice already!

 

[QTOFFER]

I really like both pieces of driftwood, and the plants around them. I think you're just lacking a big centerpiece plant, like an Amazon sword. I would also add some more rocks. Personally, I love sandstone (real sandstone, not picture rock), although it can be a bit hard to find. Red slate is nice too. A couple of pieces stacked and strategically placed would hide the 'technical' parts of your setup, provide more hideouts, and add a multilayered look.

I don't know what to tell you about the gravel. In the pics it really doesn't look too bad. Perhaps if you mixed in some very dark gravel it would give your substrate a salt-and-pepper look.

 

[smallfry]

I love your tank too.....but you have enough room to "build" a rock/wood formation with some height. More tall plants and some carpet in the front would look beautiful.

I would also suggest building "schools" of the fish you already have.

 

[tetrin]

my only gripe is the large-leaved plant right in the middle of the tank...anything that conspicuous placed in the center draws attention to itself rather than letting the eyes grasp the whole aquarium...
u could move it to a side to improve the aquascape...

and as many have told u already...ur aquarium looks awesome...and i mean it...i know many people who'd kill to have what u have created...give it some time...it's all about patience...

 

[lyquidphyre]

awww thanks guys for all ur imput (and compliments)

I think im going to build some caverns with PVC pipe (with glued gravel on top) for my rams (when i get them), and with that I will add more height to the back. Like, bury the pipes under like.. 5in of gravel or something like that

I had another piece of driftwood in the middle, and since i removed it, it looks better.

Once I have more plants, I will move the large banana plant that tetrin mentioned... because I see what you are saying

I have rocks scattered about, but I like what billsgate and others said about glueing them together

BrianNY- since I aquired the tank used, everything almost has its "stuck" position. I can only do so much with how its set up -like the intake and outflow. The way I have the inteake and outflow is the only way it will work w/o stirring up huge particles or pushing my plants down. Im not sure how to go about moving another way. However, I see what you are saying about the heater... maybe I can hide it behind plants

I need to add more plants, but when I go to the fishstore they only have so much variety. I really want a plant carpet! That will be (hopefully) my next move

With the fish stock how it is right now (and what I want to add) I will be pushing it, but if all things are stable, I might add more serpaes to have a bigger school

Thanks so much guys, you made me feel better about my tank

 

[unicorn2tears]

I hated the gravel of my tank originally. It was supposed to be a muted red (like in the bag) but under the lights it looked hot pink. I tried to change the lighting but no luck. Eventually, I just determined to change it. I took out half of it and added in pure Flourite. The mixture turned out great but it was a lot of work since I refused to tear down the tank while changing out the gravel. If you want a darker brown, Flourite might be a good option but it's an incredible pain to clean and takes a lot more rinsing then normal gravel.

 

[czcz]

I like your tank I also like your pvc caves idea, because DIY is so rewarding.

The way I have the inteake and outflow is the only way it will work w/o stirring up huge particles or pushing my plants down.

I don't know if you're still concerned with cleaning the surface of your water (reminder), but here's a pic of implementation for my hob, and it would allow you to move the intake per Brian's idea.

(The substrate in that pic is Schultz btw, which might be closer to the brown you want. Cheap, too.)

 

[BASSNMAN]

I think your tank looks good, better when the plants get bigger. Maybe a nice slate rock pile in the left 1/3. You might try to find colored celophane and lat a piece on top of the glass under the light. Blue or green maybe?

 

[frog girl]

Your tank is really nice I wish have that much floor space. I would add more plants in the back though & if not a carpet them perhaps some interesting hand picketed rocks to make the foreground less basic or even some half buried driftwood. There are some really colorful rocks out there. I use daylight CF for my tank & like the color fine (though it is a bit yellow just now from the tannins coming out of my wood (could that be your problem??). Just adding another bulb with a different color spectrum might change the look totally.