Newbie in aquascaping

I bought a 3 gal tank with the intention of putting it in my bathroom with some shrimp. I started looking up decor ideas online and somehow ended up down a rabbit hole into aquascaping. I’m interested in trying it. It’s just so fascinating to me. I got a deal on some easy green, and I noticed the guy had this beautiful rock, and he said I could have it! My first question is...is this too big for my tank? I did buy a cool smaller one today at my LFS. I don’t fully know what I want to do with the decor, but I like the look of sand, and was hoping to go for some kind of beachy, island kind of look (if that’s even possible for a 3 gal).
ok, possible issues...
The internal filter is behind the rock (also attached a picture) so I’m probably not able to pack it with aquasoil up to the top of the rock, right?
There’s a slight dead space next to the rock, so I was thing something cool and tall, like Val, but is it ok to trim it back like that?
is the rock too big? Should I start over with a plan using smaller rocks? I attached a pic of the smaller rock. I only have the one, I’m guessing I’d need to get some smaller stones to go with it.
I could also go vertical with the big rock (just barely), but I don’t like it as much.
Here it is vertically

 

On its side, right in the middle with some moss on it and plants around could look nice.

 

I bought a 3 gal tank with the intention of putting it in my bathroom with some shrimp. I started looking up decor ideas online and somehow ended up down a rabbit hole into aquascaping. I’m interested in trying it. It’s just so fascinating to me. I got a deal on some easy green, and I noticed the guy had this beautiful rock, and he said I could have it! My first question is...is this too big for my tank? I did buy a cool smaller one today at my LFS. I don’t fully know what I want to do with the decor, but I like the look of sand, and was hoping to go for some kind of beachy, island kind of look (if that’s even possible for a 3 gal).
ok, possible issues...
The internal filter is behind the rock (also attached a picture) so I’m probably not able to pack it with aquasoil up to the top of the rock, right?
There’s a slight dead space next to the rock, so I was thing something cool and tall, like Val, but is it ok to trim it back like that?
is the rock too big? Should I start over with a plan using smaller rocks? I attached a pic of the smaller rock. I only have the one, I’m guessing I’d need to get some smaller stones to go with it.
I could also go vertical with the big rock (just barely), but I don’t like it as much.
Here it is vertically

Honestly, I think the rock might be a tad large for the tank, but best bet would be on it's side I'd say. Depending on your viewing angle you could also put the rock against the not filter end of the tank so it's not near there. The moss idea sounds interesting.

What sort of shrimp are you planning to raise?

I mainly ask since I'm not 100% sure on what sort of rock that is, but I'm not sure if it's "inert". You can check by putting some acid on it while it's dry (eg. vinegar) and seeing if it bubbles (try different area, if it has some white veining, make sure you test that area too). If it bubbes it's not inert (you can google/watch some videos for more detail).

With a rock that large in that small a volume of tank water if it's not inert it could heavily alter your water parameters, and depending on shrimp type that could cause issues, especially since they're so sensitive to changes, trying to adapt to altering parameters (when doing water changes) from a rock could cause unneeded difficulty.

 

Honestly, I think the rock might be a tad large for the tank, but best bet would be on it's side I'd say. Depending on your viewing angle you could also put the rock against the not filter end of the tank so it's not near there. The moss idea sounds interesting.

What sort of shrimp are you planning to raise?

I mainly ask since I'm not 100% sure on what sort of rock that is, but I'm not sure if it's "inert". You can check by putting some acid on it while it's dry (eg. vinegar) and seeing if it bubbles (try different area, if it has some white veining, make sure you test that area too). If it bubbes it's not inert (you can google/watch some videos for more detail).

With a rock that large in that small a volume of tank water if it's not inert it could heavily alter your water parameters, and depending on shrimp type that could cause issues, especially since they're so sensitive to changes, trying to adapt to altering parameters (when doing water changes) from a rock could cause unneeded difficulty.

It is seiryu rock. I appreciate your honesty on the rock size. The tank is going to have to be against the wall exactly like it is in the picture. I actually didn’t think the rock was going to fit, but since it was so cool, thought I had nothing to lose from trying (plus the guy threw it in for free since he’s moving and didn’t want to move it). As far as the shrimp, probably cherry shrimp. I can’t decide between red or blue though!

 

It is seiryu rock. I appreciate your honesty on the rock size. The tank is going to have to be against the wall exactly like it is in the picture. I actually didn’t think the rock was going to fit, but since it was so cool, thought I had nothing to lose from trying (plus the guy threw it in for free since he’s moving and didn’t want to move it). As far as the shrimp, probably cherry shrimp. I can’t decide between red or blue though!

Both definitely look nice! What color substrate you thinking?

 

Both definitely look nice! What color substrate you thinking?

I really like the look of sand, but know I need a better substrate if I want plants! I suppose I could get blue and red, and try to just get males.

 

I really like the look of sand, but know I need a better substrate if I want plants! I suppose I could get blue and red, and try to just get males.

True. Was thinking, depending on color substrate, red stands out a lot more than blue. Especially if you go with a darker one.

 

It is seiryu rock. I appreciate your honesty on the rock size. The tank is going to have to be against the wall exactly like it is in the picture. I actually didn’t think the rock was going to fit, but since it was so cool, thought I had nothing to lose from trying (plus the guy threw it in for free since he’s moving and didn’t want to move it). As far as the shrimp, probably cherry shrimp. I can’t decide between red or blue though!

Thought it might be! I've got some in my tank, it's very pretty, especially when cleaned up.

Seiryu is NOT inert (or what is at least marketed as that outside of Japan), though if you use a pH lowering soil it might help counter balance it a bit, as well as tannin releasing products (eg. cholla wood, elder cones, certain kinds of driftwood). But yeah, it could increase your pH and hardness significantly over time. Our tap water is pretty much devoid of any mineral/super soft (TDS ~ 10) and pH 6.8 so I use it to help increase my hardness and pH a bit.

Neocardinia (such as cherry shrimp) are much more hardy than the cardinia so its more likely to be fine, depending on what your source water is like.

If you like the rock and are a bit handy you could consider using a hammer and chisel (with safety gear like goggles) to break the rock into smaller parts that could be more manageable.

I can't really help with the shrimp colors. I kinda want them all myself. I have red in my 5 gallon and they're quite pretty. We've got golden back yellows in our 32.5 gallon and I really like those, they just glow against the plants so even in a larger tank like that you can see them well. However, for yellow or red I'd recommend a dark substrate to make the pop. On the other hand, I'd recommend a lighter one if you went with the blues.



If you like sand (especially the lighter sand) I'd go for the blue shrimp. You can put a better growing substrate for example "behind" the rock and plant most of your plants there, and put white sand in the front for the ascetic while avoiding putting to many plants there. You could also put down a decent substrate under and cap it with the sand, but be careful to avoid mixing it up when cleaning/moving plants.

I'd personally avoid just straight regular sand though, not a lot of nutrients (though you could put root tabs for example under plants) and can compact and create anaerobic environments that can cause problems.

 

i think the rock is nice on its side like in the first pick, pile up the sand behind it in that corner and plant a load of stem plants in there and then u can have a big beachy sand area all infront with some smaller plants for detail like crypts or similar. Neocaridina are ok in more alkaline and harder water so the stone not being inert shouldnt cause many problems. The bigger the hardscape the better. If u just had a small pebble in the middle it would look silly

 

Thought it might be! I've got some in my tank, it's very pretty, especially when cleaned up.

Seiryu is NOT inert (or what is at least marketed as that outside of Japan), though if you use a pH lowering soil it might help counter balance it a bit, as well as tannin releasing products (eg. cholla wood, elder cones, certain kinds of driftwood). But yeah, it could increase your pH and hardness significantly over time. Our tap water is pretty much devoid of any mineral/super soft (TDS ~ 10) and pH 6.8 so I use it to help increase my hardness and pH a bit.

Neocardinia (such as cherry shrimp) are much more hardy than the cardinia so its more likely to be fine, depending on what your source water is like.

If you like the rock and are a bit handy you could consider using a hammer and chisel (with safety gear like goggles) to break the rock into smaller parts that could be more manageable.

I can't really help with the shrimp colors. I kinda want them all myself. I have red in my 5 gallon and they're quite pretty. We've got golden back yellows in our 32.5 gallon and I really like those, they just glow against the plants so even in a larger tank like that you can see them well. However, for yellow or red I'd recommend a dark substrate to make the pop. On the other hand, I'd recommend a lighter one if you went with the blues.
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If you like sand (especially the lighter sand) I'd go for the blue shrimp. You can put a better growing substrate for example "behind" the rock and plant most of your plants there, and put white sand in the front for the ascetic while avoiding putting to many plants there. You could also put down a decent substrate under and cap it with the sand, but be careful to avoid mixing it up when cleaning/moving plants.

I'd personally avoid just straight regular sand though, not a lot of nutrients (though you could put root tabs for example under plants) and can compact and create anaerobic environments that can cause problems.

My ph out of the tap is 6 (we have an acid neutralizer, it used to be lower!), so increasing my ph would be ok, otherwise I’d need to add cuttlebone in the filter somewhere.
as for substrate, I was leaning towards an aqua soil behind the rock, and pool filter sand in front. Again I’m concerned about the filter intake though. Would that be as issue with dirt in front of it? Is there a way to avoid that?

 

I feel like your one big rock could use some similar but smaller rocks to balance it out. Creating a slope with your substrate, high in the back and low in the front, could add some depth too.

 

What about the big rock vertical slanted to the left with the smaller rock vertically slanted to the right peeking out from behind it

 

i would suggest leaving enough space around the rock to allow the shrimp to travel freely. My suggestion would be to 1) use some kind of flourite, a tank that size will need all the help it can get with live plants and 2) put the rock vertical. You can try burying the bottom in the flourite so that there is no threat of it falling. Alternatively, you could lean it to the side and allow for a cavern type hiding spot.
i have a planted shrimp tank so let me know i you have questions. Also, i used mostly sand. Don’t use sand. Plants dont root well in sand.