Waterfall aquarium- need help finding supplies

So I’ve been watching these videos on youtube where this guy builds these amazing aquariums with a waterfall in them and I want to take a crack at it. The problem is I’m not totally sure what he uses and where to get it. Specifically I want to know if he is using fake or real rocks and if so what type. Also if anyone has suggestions on a small water pump or any other odds and ends (such as plants) I would need for this it would be appreciated. Above all I have not been able to locate a cube style tank that isn’t really expensive. I would like a 5-8 gallon cube(could go to 10 if needed). If you know where to find one of these for a reasonable price please let me know.
Thanks in advance for the help

 

Those are all real rocks and plants. He uses small water pumps and tubing for the water fall and by the looks of it abs plastic sheets for the dividing of sections.
You should be able to find the pump on amazon but these specific rocks you'll have to buy from an aquatic store. Keep in mind they can be pretty expensive. The plants can be sometimes be found in garden centres but you will have better luck at stores that specialize in aquascaping or terrariums.

Unfortunately nearly all of the supplies needed for this style of build will be expensive no matter what. The tanks aren't mass produced like standard stands and pumps are usually used for bigger things like ponds and fountains. Lava rock, polyfill, and moss can all be found pretty cheap but that's about it.

 

Personally, I'd try something a lot more small-scale before getting into something more ambitious. These sorts of builds are never cheap nor very easy, and folks who make builds like these tend to hand-build their own tanks and buy scaping supplies wholesale. I'd want to get a feel for what I'm doing on a smaller scale, as well as experiment with plants, before coughing up big bucks for a build like in that video.

You can find small and cheap yet powerful water pumps on Amazon. Unless you have the good fortune of having a landscape store nearby that sells rocks, be prepared to shell out like crazy at an aquarium store. A 60-watt equivalent Ecosmart LED lightbulb will satisfy most plants.

I replicated this build for my first waterfall project. Cost didn't exceed $80, and the most expensive thing was the rock and driftwood.

 

For plants and pumps and stuff you can check out joshs frogs. You will want fertilizer free plants.
honestly doesn’t look that hard to build to me. It looks very cool but a lot of work for 5 gallons of fish tank water. If it were me I’d go with a 120 gallon tank so you can get some decent tank water volume. I’d do two water falls personally.

 

You can also use spray foam to make a faux rock wall. The size of the pump will depend on how high the waterfall is so id plumb it first when you build it but leave buying the pump itself until after its made.

 

Personally, I'd try something a lot more small-scale before getting into something more ambitious. These sorts of builds are never cheap nor very easy, and folks who make builds like these tend to hand-build their own tanks and buy scaping supplies wholesale. I'd want to get a feel for what I'm doing on a smaller scale, as well as experiment with plants, before coughing up big bucks for a build like in that video.

You can find small and cheap yet powerful water pumps on Amazon. Unless you have the good fortune of having a landscape store nearby that sells rocks, be prepared to shell out like crazy at an aquarium store. A 60-watt equivalent Ecosmart LED lightbulb will satisfy most plants.

Cost didn't exceed $80, and the most expensive thing was the rock and driftwood.

I like that style, it looks a lot easier to do but I want to have enough water to put a Betta fish in. Do you think it would work if I scaled it up? Also do you know where to get that style tank but bigger?

 

It’s just a rimless cube tank. Rimless and cubes definitely add to the cost.

 

I like that style, it looks a lot easier to do but I want to have enough water to put a Betta fish in. Do you think it would work if I scaled it up? Also do you know where to get that style tank but bigger?

Wellllll that's an acrylic sorting tray. You might have some luck at a LFS but I'd just use a normal 10 gallon.
No reason it shouldn't work if scaled up. Pump pushes water up, gravity pulls water down over rocks, it's all the same principle.

 

I got a rimless 3.5 gallon cube that came with a light (bad light but whatever) at my lfs and I think I spent maybe $40 on it. You just got to go searching and you’ll find one. Thanks to you posting this I am going to try it out!

 

If you’re goal is to do this and a waterfall with enough room for a betta then you don’t need something huge.
I think you could do this easily. Just take it slow and plan it out. Remember water always runs down hill. Sides and ramps will make it easy to accomplish. Rocks can be had at Home Depot or found locally. This doesn’t have to cost a fortune.

 

I'm working on something similar to this on my palludarium. Honestly I just made a false wall and am using a Whisper HOB filter to make my waterfall, and used DryLok over the top of styrofoam to make the walls/rocks and then painted. Also have a false bottom on the tank. It's still a work in progress so I can't say it works perfect or anything, but just wanted to throw some ideas out there.

 

Thanks for the replies, I think I found a tank for about $60 shipped (7 gal cube) that should work pretty well. I found some generic rocks on amazon that I might use but does anyone have specific suggestions? Also what kind of rocks do I need to avoid if I get them from a non-aquarium dealer?
I’ll try to post an update when I start to build it. Probably gonna be a month or so before I can get around to it.

 

Cool. A 7 gallon is pretty small. You should be able to have a betta but you’ll have to plan carefully with the structure and plantings. It will be tight and hard to work in such a small space.

 

Have been slowly collecting all the supplies I need for this tank but am unable to find the type of rocks he uses. Does anyone know what they are called/where I can find them???? I have looked all over.

 

I don’t see that you need to use the same rocks. There are all kinds of rocks you can use. Slate, sand stone, pea gravel. I just grab rocks from my parents stream or slate from a local creek and use that.