Red1313

Well maybe not true aquascaping since that's probably the easist and most fun with something way larger then a ten gal but I'm trying to make my tank look as natural as possible and was hoping for a few pointers, or fine tuning help with the rough idea I have right now.

... I just realized that this would probably be easier with a picture but I can't draw so try to stay with me....

I was thinking of trying for a river bed type of look. I don't really know the best way to go about it though. My thought was to try and make the back wall of the tank sort of the "bank" trying maybe for a few exposed roots (they've got that kind of thing in plastic at petsmart) and a piece or two of driftwood on the bottom of the tank with some smoothed rocks against it to give the idea that it had stopped them from going on with the current. Then I was toying with maybe sloping the gravel from one end to the other, it would be a really barely there slope (water flows downhill). For plants I'm kind of at a loss I'd really like to do a planted tank so I was thinking of java moss on the driftwood and some of the rocks and from there I'm open to suggestions about low-light plants. Java fern will probably be in there with the roots

Anyway that's pretty much as far as I've gotten with the planning anyway (prone to changing). I could also scrap the river idea and just go for a sort of natural look tank to if anyone has a good suggestion on how to do that either.

Thanks ahead of time,
Red

Oh yeah anyone know how to make a current in a tank?

Steve113

with a ten gal your not going to have a lot of playroom.

Why not try a decent sized piece of wood with some java fern/moss attacked. try and go for an interesting shape so fish could swim about it and hide under/through it -instead of a boring lump.

For a natural look avoid synthetic ornaments - even the fake stones look silly I think - I used to have this fancy plastic stone tunnel thing which just looked pants. Instead, I got a few pieces of bog wood, attached some green stuff and built a balanced structure with tunnels and gaps to swim through, put a few leaves & shoots from your plants, through and under some bits to make it look less "man made."

STEVE's TIP OF THE WEEK:
As for backing paper, use shiny plastic plain black - it reflects and makes your tank look massive - and you appear to have more fish without overstocking. Looks great, and means you havent got pictures of fish or plants in the background. Pics with detail will fade over time, the black stuff wont. - Trust me, it's neat, tidy & looks great; especially in a heavily planted tank.

and most importantly AVOID BUBBLING PLASTIC NEMO DECORATIONS AT ALL COSTS!

:P

Why not try cory's idea of a moss wall as you're looking for a "natural looking" back drop...

Linky link:
Moss Wall Progress

takes a few weeks until the moss establishes but then it'll look ace.

That's how my 30l is going to be set up.

Amanda

I have the same look for my 55 gal. I used pool filter sand as my substrate, and have clay flower pots, PVC piping, and driftwood on the bottom. But depending on the type of fish you plan on keeping-sand may not be a good idea. If you plan on keeping a betta in there, then sand is a big no-no.

Red1313

haha, thanks steve, I was just about to come and remove this anyway since reality hit me but I guess I'll leave it up instead.

My tip of the week:
don't plan for you tank without your tank in front of you... it's always bigger in you imagination.

Thanks for the advice thougth, I hadn't really been thinking about a background (I usually don't have one). I'll make sure to stay away from the nemo decorations too. AS for tacky and plastic once the driftwood is in I think I'll add plants (Java moss is on order), and when I move Red over his plastic bell will go with him (it's his security blanket). and that should cover it.

One last quick question though do you need an air stone?

Steve113

Air stones are not really needed generally.
They look nice but in a tank that size it's unlikely to be needed.

overstocked tanks result in the O2 in the water being used up. That and if your tank is too warm, the o2 will deplete faster.

Remember that PLants add O2 and convert CO2 as on land. And if you have any surface agitation, this will also re oxygenate the tank. As the water moves it will absorb o2 from the air. If you have a trickle filter that makes bubbles, this will be more so.

The more surface agitation, the better gas exchange.

I have a bubble machine / light thingy in my 200l(55gal) but nothing in my 30l(10gal) as i have an overhead trickle filter.



edit - air pumps are noisy too! :P

Steve113

Explain - I have a betta in my 55gal community tank and sand substrate. No issues.

Betta will stay mostly near the tank surface so what's the issue...?

tkfury

Most of us keep our bettas in shallower tanks so theydo tend to hang out at the bottom as well as the top which is why the type of substrate really needs to be taken into consideration for bettas. While I don't believe all bettas will, it seems a great deal of them have a habit of picking at the sand and eating it, resaulting in death. Just a good idea to stay away from anything small enough to fit into their curious little mouths is all.

Steve113

hmm... interesting, My betta doesn't seem to mind the sand - hasn't done him any harm in the past 6 months or so...

although I didn't know that about the betta. thanks.