Author Topic: how much decoration ? (Read 2986 times) 8 replies

Luke · « **on:** June 20, 2016, 05:08:58 PM »

almost ready to start filling my tank but before i do have a quick question about how much of the tank to fill with decorations/plants-real or fake?

the tank i have is a Fluval Edge Aquarium 46L White Gloss - amazon.

Sue · « **Reply #1 on:** June 20, 2016, 05:29:14 PM »

The Edge, even the 46 litre one, has quite a small footprint, but it is tall. Dimensions in cm are 43 wide x 26 front to back and 59.4 high. My personal opinion would be to go for tall thin decor.

We have already decided that you need some form of calcium carbonate for your soft water, so either a substrate made of coral or limestone (gravel or sand) or rocks such a tufa. A large rock or a few small ones would look good.
The chap I mentioned on your other thread (the one who says calcium carbonate is a waste of time) also reckons that driftwood would be OK as it lowers pH not hardness. If you could fine some tall thin pieces that would stand up reasonably well, they would add height to the tank

Then, depending on which you prefer, some tall silk plants (silk look better than plastic) or real plants. I'm not very good with plants so I'll leave others to advise on tall live plants.
But I do manage to grow java fern and anubias attached to wood. You should be able to attach them to rocks as well. They won't give much height but are useful at lower levels.

Cora · « **Reply #2 on:** June 20, 2016, 05:34:14 PM »

I like it when decor is functional. I prefer a natural layout of things which one would find in the natural habitat of the fish. I've seen some brilliant aquascapes on YouTube but they are +70% plants/hardscape - which is great for a work of art but it seems to diminish the fish! I got a fishtank to look at fish, not rocks

My tank is probably 40%-50% decor (to look at, not by volume

) but that consists of thin spidery wood, tall plants along the back and small plants at the front, so there's lots of shelter and decoration but the fish are still the main attraction - I can see them all pretty much all the time (except the pandas).

Based on my limited experience as a newbie, I would suggest that you browse the net for a "look" that you like, and select your decor based on that "theme". When I started out I bought bits of everything and when I tried to put it all together it looked a mess. I also wasted money on fake plants that I ended up not using. Less is more; stick to a few colours and substances and build the aquascape up. Stop when it looks right. I don't think there's a hard rule, but obviously the greater volume of decor you use the less water you will have. That's why live plants are the best!

ColinB · « **Reply #3 on:** June 20, 2016, 05:36:19 PM »

One of the problems with the Edge (apart from his collaboration with Bono) is that it's very tall for a tank and doesn't have really intense lighting, so growing Java Fern and Anubias on driftwood is a really good idea for two reasons. They're low light plants and, by using the driftwood, you can raise them closer to the light. The other plants you may find useful are Cryptocorynes as they will grow in the substrate under low light conditions, but quite slowly.

fcmf · « **Reply #4 on:** June 20, 2016, 07:53:58 PM »

Quote from: Sue on June 20, 2016, 05:29:14 PM

The chap I mentioned on your other thread (the one who says calcium carbonate is a waste of time) also reckons that driftwood would be OK as it lowers pH not hardness. If you could fine some tall thin pieces that would stand up reasonably well, they would add height to the tank...
Then, depending on which you prefer, some tall silk plants (silk look better than plastic) or real plants.

As another very soft water tank owner, in addition to my limestone rock (mentioned in the other thread), I have driftwood - I've actually not found that it makes any difference to PH (or hardness) if that's of any reassurance.

Brands of silk plants include Aqua One, AquaManta, Hugo Kamishi, and BiOrb. The ones with the ball-shaped, weighted base are particularly good as they don't topple over, otherwise you have to carefully build up the substrate around the base of each plant to cover them and stop them toppling over. This is particularly the case with taller silk plants. I do have a couple of taller silk plants without the weighted base, but I find that I have to drape them over the driftwood or over the tops of the other silk plants to keep them tall.

If you go for real/live plants, then you'll be doing this in tandem with me as I'm just giving this a go myself and bought my first one yesterday.

Fiona · « **Reply #5 on:** June 21, 2016, 01:25:52 PM »

Vallis is a good plant for tall tanks, the strip like leaves can reach a couple of feet in length, it's also pretty good at low light levels, it looks very effective planted in large groups and its spread rate is moderate, just cut off the runners if they grow where you don't want them and cut the tops off if they get too long. There's a couple of different varieties, some with wider leaves and some twisted.

apache6467 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 21, 2016, 01:47:52 PM »

In my dad's tank we have a tall plant with small round leaves. dunno what it is called though $:-\$

Matt · « **Reply #7 on:** June 21, 2016, 07:29:47 PM »

Bacopa caroliniana?

ColinB · « **Reply #8 on:** June 21, 2016, 07:37:34 PM »

oooo - we can have a 'guess the plant' competition in parallel with the fish photo quiz!

How Much Decoration ?

How Much Decoration ?

Author Topic: how much decoration ? (Read 2986 times) 8 replies

Luke

how much decoration ?

Sue

Re: how much decoration ?

Cora

Re: how much decoration ?

ColinB

Re: how much decoration ?

fcmf

Re: how much decoration ?

Fiona

Re: how much decoration ?

apache6467

Re: how much decoration ?

Matt

Re: how much decoration ?

ColinB

Re: how much decoration ?

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