Heather M

I need some tips on decorating a tank. I want a lot of live plants, but I also want it to be as elegant as possible. It will be a guppy and cory tank. Thanks!

aquarist48

Hello Heather. Tall plants in the back and short ones up front. Caves are always nice. Terracotta objects are always nice too...and good for the biological aspect of fish keeping. You can be as wild as you want in your own tank or as subtle as you want. Surprise us with some pictures Have a good day today!
Ken

Heather M

Thanks! I'm still trying to talk my mom into letting me get a tank. I'm obsessively planning for the tank I don't have yet.

Beth1965

Take a look at the photo gallery on this site. You'll great a lot of great ideas

Heather M

I'll have to do that. Thanks!

harpua2002

That's the way to do it Heather! Obsessive planning tends to yield positive results in aquaria.

Live plants are awesome, but your choices will be dependent on what kind of lighting you can get. Low light plants like anubias, java fern, cryptocorynes, and java moss are good beginner plants that are beautiful and easy to grow.

Here's a thought, and you'll need your mom's help with this...
Have you been checking out Craigslist or Kijiji for used tank setups? Often you can find great prices (depending on your area), and of course be sure to get permission to contact the sellers beforehand. If you aren't old enough to drive, also make sure you're able to get a ride to check out tanks and equipment. It can be a pain to wait for the right deal, but once you find it you'll save a ton of money. You may even be able to run across a 20-30 gallon setup used for what you would pay for a 10 gallon new.

Best of luck Heather!

Heather M

Thank you so much for recommending those sites to me. I found a 29 gallon tank for $60. It includes the stand, hood with light, and filter! I don't know if I have room in my room for something too big, because I'm hopefully about to redecorate, but it's definitely worth looking!

aquarist48

That sounds like it could be a great deal Heather. I'm sure you'll find a bunch of them and when you are ready to make a purchase there will be even more. Have fun planning it. That's a major part of fish keeping. Patience is also required for us all.
Take care and keep us up to date!
Ken

jwokmuba2

make sure that you do your research on what fish you and what the best kind of aquascape is for them. also for your substrate, sand, gravel, river rock, ive also seen some tanks with a varity, some fish like the sand better. lots of hidey holes are good to. but its all just about your personality and what you want the tank to look like. i would like to see some pics when you finally get it set up. good luck.

Leni

Make sure you cycle the tank before you put any fish in. When I ran across my 29g with the stand, and everything but substrate and a filter, at a thrift store for $40, I bought it in a heartbeat, and put 2 corys in it a week later. One died and I ended up taking the other back to the LFS. It's tough to hold back on putting stuff in your new tank, but it's worth the wait - the 3 weeks I had to wait for my cycle to finish now has a nice list of residents. I just added 5 more today, actually.

$60 for an entire setup is a very good deal for a 29g. That's about what I spent to get mine up and running. If you plan on having any bottom dwellers, like cories or loaches, make sure you get a sand-type substrate rather than a gravel-type, which is what you're likely to find at Wal-Mart. Pool filter sand is a good inexpensive substrate, just make sure to rinse it well first and don't vaccuum it out during water changes.

Good call on live plants btw. It will help signifigantly with your water chemistry. I have a bunch of live plants in my tank, and even with the decay of leaves and whatnot, I never have problems with ammonia or nitrate. The plants use both as fertilizer.

ATKINSON

Godd luck Heather

Heather M

Thanks everyone! I will definitely cycle fishless, Leni.

Leni

Make sure to post pictures when you get it set up. I still have to post pictures of mine... :P

peacemaker92

It does? Wow! I myself should do it often! LOL (sorry off topic)

Good luck Heather! You can do it Be sure to get photos! can't wait! haha