Angelfish Aquascape

[Silister Trench]

Note: Some time ago I started a thread with the equipment of an aquascape and not the aquascape itself. Since the setup is often just as important as the layout, and some of you like to see the hardware, I decided to start this thread the same way, revealing the smaller details before the actual visual.

This tank is intended for my trio of angelfish. For several months they've been housed in a hardscape-only tank and have recently outgrown the smaller, temporary tank. With some more pressing projects completed I've finally found time to build there (very custom) new stand.

Previous hardscape-only tank for the trio, which you can probably see wasn't a tank suited for them long-term. They've almost doubled in size since being added to the tank. The tank isn't planted, it just has excess plants thrown in there at the moment.

Hardscape-only tank thread:
Just Add Sand! | Aquarium Aquascaping 372476

 

[Silister Trench]

The Stand: 36" x 18" x 34"

Custom europeon frameless cabinet stand made out of 3/4" Sande Plywood. The interior is stained a natural dark color and then finished in satin to protect against water damage. The exterior is painted gunmetal grey with a satin finish. The structureis reinforced with multiple layers of overlapping plywood and a center brace. It features two doors that use full-overlay hinges and magnetic spring latches. I always make these stands to look good on the inside and outside, but follow ADA styles in color that do not distract from the tank.

Note: all the cutouts for electrical cords and filter plumping are placed on the backside instead of having the hosing routed inthe traditional way out the side panels.

 

[Silister Trench]

Traditional hose routing on the 40G stand I made vs the back panel cutouts on the angel's stand. I've designed this stand and the access cutouts for a very specific tank design and look I hope to achieve.

 

[Silister Trench]

Aquascape Design

- The actual aquascape layout hasn't been finalized yet, and I'm open to suggestions. The tank is over 40 gallons, and I have two ideas on the backburner. I want the tank to showcase the fish and not my layout, I think.

1) Hardscape-only design using similar wood and stone from the tank the angelfish are pictured in post #1.

2) A somewhat traditional nature aquarium layout using large pieces of wood, smooth rivers stones and larger species of java Fern and anubias, or simply a variety of moss. Low-Tech, low-maintenance styles.

 

[Pescado_Verde]

Personally I like the bare wood and rock layout but I didn't look to see what variety of Angel you have. If they're your basic black and white then that would be my preference.
If they're a more colorful form then maybe go with the planted idea.

As to the stand it's very nice. My only large tank is a standard 55 and the access cutouts on the stand are on the back, I can't imagine any reason to want them on the side really. It sits out from the wall maybe 8" so when I've needed to get back there I've been able to.

 

[Silister Trench]

The Aquascape skeleton - just two pieces of driftwood we found last fall that I scrubbed and bleached for safety a few hours ago.

 

[Silister Trench]

Et FinI -

"Touché Amoré"

 

[Silister Trench]

As to the stand it's very nice. My only large tank is a standard 55 and the access cutouts on the stand are on the back, I can't imagine any reason to want them on the side really. It sits out from the wall maybe 8" so when I've needed to get back there I've been able to.

Thanks! The reason high-end aquascape aquarium cabinets - ADA for example - run filter hoses through the sides instead of the back is easily overlooked. It's more convenient to remove intake/outflow (glass primarily) from the hose at the cabinets side, instead of reaching and twisting around the back, during maintenance. Anyone who has broken glass inflow/outflows trying to remove them from the hose knows they can be tricky sometimes. Another reason is aesthetics. In aquascaping we don't like to use the usual backgrounds, which can destroy depth if it's a solid color, so running the hosing from the side hides the filtration from the overall visual. This keeps the look very clean when observing the tank from the front window. The final reason that I can come up with is improved circulation when using canister filters. When the intake/outflow is ran from the same side of the tank and directed to the opposite side of the tank the flow starts at side A. hits the opposite side B. and is forced to return back to the intake of side A. and thus circulating the entire tank. And yeah... I know you can do this with canister filter attachments when the hose is routed from the back, but again, this comes into play more with less adjustable intake/outflow such as glass and stainless steel.

Sorry for the late and lengthy reply, but I read your post once again and it made me think: "Hey! Why is it we do that thing we do, you know? Is there a smart reason we do that thing?"

Just the reasons I came up with.

 

[Pescado_Verde]

Thanks for the reply, belated or otherwise! I can see having the ports on the sides for ease of access and to some extent not having the piping run up the back because it would be hard to hide. I guess I've never seen a full stand and tank view of a 'scaped tank, it just seems that whatever coming out of the sides would also detract for the overall appearance.

Do you run more visually pleasing tubes down the sides of the tank and into the cabinet so that it's not just standard aquarium tubing poking out from inside the cabinet?

 

[Silister Trench]

Thanks for the reply, belated or otherwise! I can see having the ports on the sides for ease of access and to some extent not having the piping run up the back because it would be hard to hide. I guess I've never seen a full stand and tank view of a 'scaped tank, it just seems that whatever coming out of the sides would also detract for the overall appearance.

Do you run more visually pleasing tubes down the sides of the tank and into the cabinet so that it's not just standard aquarium tubing poking out from inside the cabinet?

I can try and take some comparison photos of the different routing options. I happen to have both stands right by each other.

On some tanks I replace the hosing with clear tubing, but I have tanks that have green or black tubing. Clear tubing is the best, visually. Like other aspects, if the tank is healthy and done well you never even look at the plumbing, however.

 

[Silister Trench]

Added my Angel's to the tank with 12 red-eye Tetra. Everyone is loving it, and I am too! The plants are all very low light because I wanted to keep the lights very subdued. Because the current has to be very mild for the Angel's I decided to use a bubble wall on the back glass in conjunction with the mild flow from a spray bar.

This is a very different tank than most I've made in the past, so tell me your thoughts, critque, etc...

 

[Silister Trench]

Oh yeah! And I'll also be adding some corydoras to the tank to sift the sand since I have waaaay too many in my other tank. They just refuse to quit breeding...

 

[Silister Trench]

So it's taken quite a while for plants to acclimate, but everything has really started to perk up, however, slowly. The Angel's have gotten huge, the red-tetras have gained size, and I've added 5 upside-Down Corydoras, which really hurt my eyes to look at.

I just trimmed all the bad growth from the plants, so over the next month we can expect to see better defined plants.

 

[StarGirl]

Nice job!

 

[Silister Trench]

Nice job!

Thank you! It's coming along. Not sure how much I'll change it as the plants develop more.

 

[Silister Trench]

So I did a rescape to this tank, and went to clean it up, change water, so I could take a picture, buy my angels said "not today!"