Wolfgang8810

i just got a 50 gallon tank and im looking for some good decoration ideas its a tall tank so i need a pretty big centerpiece. help pick decorations and stocking i am thinking tropical community

Tom

If you could find a fully grown amazon sword plant, that would be a nice beautiful plant that could go in the centre of everything and build around it.
Tom

Isabella

The gravel alone looks nice already Thinking of a community freshwater tank? You know, the kinds of fish should determine the way your tank will look. Or, you should match the fish to the particular setup you want. Do you have any specific fish or any specific setups in mind?

There are lots of center pieces you could have, depending on - like I said - the setup type. I personally love planted tanks with driftwood because they provide most natural looks. And I like anything that looks natural. If you'll have the usual community fish like Angelfish, Gouramis, various Tetras, etc ... then plants would look very nice in such a tank. If your lighting is standard and your gravel is inert (i.e. regular non-nutrient-rich gravel), then get some low light plants. I am afraid Amazon Swords won't do well under standard lighting, but if you want, you can give it a try of course. Great low light plants that don't even require any substrates are: Java Ferns, Anubias, and Java Moss.

Wolfgang8810

i like the drift wood idea but there isnt any good stores by me that have any good stuff and im afraid that if i get one that is the right size and at a decent price that i wont have a pot big enough to boil it. i hear tanic acid does a number to water quality. but i also like pirates haha. im jsut gonna let it go for a couple days to get it dechlorinated and what not. but ill be thinking and any sugguestions help. will transplanting plants from an established aquarium of mine to a new one help the cycle?

Isabella

Well, plants generally do help filter the tank too by using up nitrates, so theoretically they should help (if they're healthy plants). But I think you'd have to have many plants to help you cycle tank fast. I am not sure if a few plants would visibly speed anything up.

Wolfgang8810

thanks isabella my dethco has a pecial on plants 3 12'' plants for 9 bucks they arent in water they are in individual tubes with gel around the roots

Tom

Now what you could do is get a ton of plants, and then stock it with a bunch of cardinal tetras. That would be so beautiful.
Tom

Allie

Definitely...go planted, they are worth the extra work. Get a mix of tetra that you'd find in the same area.
I have been working on our smaller tanks...planted seems so much more natural.

Wolfgang8810

i agree i love plants heres mt 2.5 gallon as of now

COBettaCouple

For the centerpiece, how about:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...id=12026&rel=1 (the extra large)
or
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...5&pcatid=13985 (the biggest one)

and i've seen a very tall circular roman columns type decor at petsmart too that might be cool.. i'm considering it for the centerpiece of our 30g tall.

MrWaxhead

I with tom on his option a ton of plants and bog wood and cardinals they look fantastic in plants.

And yes tanic acid does do a number on your ph but I personally like what it does, lowers ph / kh, I use c02, bog wood and peat filtering to intentionally keep my ph nice and low and soft for my cardinals.

If your going to planted I would highly recommend planted a very large amount right of the start with real fast grower like cabomba and hornwort etc. They will eat up any nitrates etc that your tank has and grow real fast and not let algae get a foot hold. Then have a scape in mind and slowly remove areas of your starter plants with your more permanent choices for plants. Isabella made a good point to you in choices of java ferns and mosses and anubis etc, as they don't require fertile substrate as they are tied onto bogwood or rocks etc (use cotton thread as it will rot by the time the plants rhizomes have attached to your wood). They are also excellent choices if your tank is not a high light tank as they do very well in low light tanks, and they are very low maintenance. The stronger / more plants you can keep healthy drastically reduces any chance of algae as they will soak up the nutrients in your tank and not leave any behind for the algae to feast on.