I need help aquascaping!!

I have a 33 gallon tall-ish tank. Here’s what the completed stocking will look like (other ideas are welcome)
red male halfmoon betta
6 peppered corydoras
ivory mystery snail
10 neon, cardinal or rummy nose tetras

I’m painting the back of the tank with acrylic paint instead of buying a background so that will be finished soon. Right now I have a white small gravel substrate with some bigger black and blue gravel mixed in that I’ve been trying to sift out forever but they’re still mixed in there. There are some smooth rocks that I found on the beach in there and some bigger ones that have red and gold hues in them, they’re rough and more square shaped. I have a separate bag of very fine sand that I was thinking of using to replace the white gravel to make the Cory cats happier, but after an experiment I found that they don’t prefer one over the other so I just left the gravel in there. That beautiful piece of driftwood I found on a river bank and cut to fit the size of the tank, it has streaks of purple in it and I super glued java fern to it. The other live plants are pothos that I stuck in the substrate just to temporarily give the corys more hiding places, the fake plants I will NOT be leaving in there and they’re covered in algae. The filter I have in there is way too strong for the betta, so I have a sponge filter that is currently being shipped. Just while I’m here I have a question, how long do I have to leave both filters in the tank and running for enough bacteria to get on the sponge filter so that I can take out the power filter? My guess is six weeks.
Any and all ideas are very much appreciated! I’m not necessarily hoping for a certain “look” I just want it to be aquascaped and not look like a mess. Thank you!

 

Oh I forgot to add that I have a budget of $50, I can order any plants or supplies as long as it’s not too expensive. I’d prefer if I could find the things myself like hardscape.

 

I have a 33 gallon tall-ish tank. Here’s what the completed stocking will look like (other ideas are welcome)
red male halfmoon betta
6 peppered corydoras
ivory mystery snail
10 neon, cardinal or rummy nose tetras

I’m painting the back of the tank with acrylic paint instead of buying a background so that will be finished soon. Right now I have a white small gravel substrate with some bigger black and blue gravel mixed in that I’ve been trying to sift out forever but they’re still mixed in there. There are some smooth rocks that I found on the beach in there and some bigger ones that have red and gold hues in them, they’re rough and more square shaped. I have a separate bag of very fine sand that I was thinking of using to replace the white gravel to make the Cory cats happier, but after an experiment I found that they don’t prefer one over the other so I just left the gravel in there. That beautiful piece of driftwood I found on a river bank and cut to fit the size of the tank, it has streaks of purple in it and I super glued java fern to it. The other live plants are pothos that I stuck in the substrate just to temporarily give the corys more hiding places, the fake plants I will NOT be leaving in there and they’re covered in algae. The filter I have in there is way too strong for the betta, so I have a sponge filter that is currently being shipped. Just while I’m here I have a question, how long do I have to leave both filters in the tank and running for enough bacteria to get on the sponge filter so that I can take out the power filter? My guess is six weeks.
Any and all ideas are very much appreciated! I’m not necessarily hoping for a certain “look” I just want it to be aquascaped and not look like a mess. Thank you!

The problem that I seem with this tank is that the wood is too long for the tank. Maybe try cutting it in half to have 2 pieces that go out of one side instead of 1 piece that fills the whole tank. For additional hardscape, I think river rocks would look nice. If you are looking to order plants online, the best place to go is Marcus Fish Tanks as they have cheap, healthy plants and charge only $5 for shipping, Kathylee will tell you! Hope this helps and happy scaping!

 

I really like that driftwood a lot! It’s a very nice piece! I would personally suggest going out into your yard or the side of a road, or really anywhere and just grabbing some rocks. Once you wash them (and bake at lowest oven temp for an hour if you want to be cautious) most rocks are safe for the tank. You can create some really cool stuff adding rocks in for extra interest. And if there is one thing I could say to anyone wanting a good aquascape it’s HEIGHT. Rocks and hardscape can really help achieve that. Once your plants grow in, it should make a signifIcant difference but it’s something to keep in kind. It may also be cool to add some more wood detail, if you can, go to a local lake or river and pick up some smaller pieces of driftwood and boil them for an hour or so or until you get water free of tannin (if you don’t mind tannin or have purigen 10 minutes should be fine to disinfect) then add them to accompany the large centerpiece wood.

 

The problem that I seem with this tank is that the wood is too long for the tank. Maybe try cutting it in half to have 2 pieces that go out of one side instead of 1 piece that fills the whole tank. For additional hardscape, I think river rocks would look nice.

I wouldn't cut it. I think it looks epic, and since it doesn't have many branches, it doesn't overwhelm the tank IMO. But I'm not an aquascaper, just a noob, I might be wrong. I agree that it could use some rocks, I'd add one large enough to come above the wood in the background towards that end with a branch (because the arching end is too beautiful to be cluttered with additional detail), then place some smaller ones around it, glue some of those anubias to them. Maybe you could add some moss to the wood, including that branch sticking up. Moss on wood looks so cozy to me.

 

Oh I forgot to add that I have a budget of $50, I can order any plants or supplies as long as it’s not too expensive. I’d prefer if I could find the things myself like hardscape.

I just bought a whole bunch of plants & cholla wood tubes from Marcus Fish tanks. It cost me about 53$ with shipping, was not bad at all if you'd like to take a look on his website. I'm still learning how to aquascape myself. Takes a lot of experimenting huh?
With the filter, I couldn't fit 2 on my tank & have the lid close properly, so when I upgraded, I let the 2 filters sit side by side for about 2 weeks, I transferred the media from old filter to new & just left a sponge in the smaller filter. When I removed the old filter after 2 weeks I kept a close eye on all my parameters & was fine, no troubles. That's just my experience though, other members may suggest longer.

 

You could leave the wood, and cover it with those anubias plants (gel super glue them on) along with maybe some java moss (same glue method). This would be a really cool look. Is there a way you could push the wood back further? This isn’t necessary for my idea but I was thinking you could add some kind of foreground plant thats easy. Pearlweed is a really good option because it can be used as a carpet plant but it’s not super short...which makes a really natural “jungle” look imo. That being said, the left and right sides would look a little empty without the anubias, so maybe a nice “filler” type plant like rotala rotundifolia or water wisteria could look really nice.