newbie design questions - Aquascaping

LiLGuppyGal181 · 02-16-2006, 06:34 AM

hello! Im new to planted tanks and wanted opinions on how to design my tank! I would like to use the plants I have since Im a poor college student, but any suggestions for the future (when I get some $) would be appreciated! here are my specs:

12g nano tank
DIY co2
high wpg
guppies
golden SAE (who likes to dig up plants, but doesnt eat them)
mystery snails
hillstream loach (thanks for the ID emc2)
cherry shrimp

what I have to work with:
gravel substrate
petoskey stones
driftwood with java fern (covering part of the intake for the filter)
dwarf onions
corkscrew vals
sagittaria subulatta
water sprite

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Emc2 · 02-16-2006, 09:24 AM

I'm not a great aquascaper but if it were my tank and I had to use what's on hand, here is what I would do.

Remove the sign. Use the wood for hardscape somewhere in the midground. Use the vals to hide the intake. Leave the sag where it is to spread into a carpet. Just keep in mind that it may get relatively tall compared to the tank. For that matter. most of the plants in there will be large for the tank dimensions. When you can afford it you may want to purchase smaller plants that will help the tank appear larger. I would probably add a backdrop of some sort to hide the wiring also.

Make sure you uncover the bulb of the onion plant. If it's buried to deep it may rot.

All you ever wanted to know about Hillstream loaches.

http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q...-US&FORM=CVRE8

BigChuckP · 02-16-2006, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emc2

I'm not a great aquascaper but if it were my tank and I had to use what's on hand, here is what I would do.

Remove the sign. Use the wood for hardscape somewhere in the midground. Use the vals to hide the intake. Leave the sag where it is to spread into a carpet. Just keep in mind that it may get relatively tall compared to the tank. For that matter. most of the plants in there will be large for the tank dimensions. When you can afford it you may want to purchase smaller plants that will help the tank appear larger. I would probably add a backdrop of some sort to hide the wiring also.

Make sure you uncover the bulb of the onion plant. If it's buried to deep it may rot.

All you ever wanted to know about Hillstream loaches.

http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q...-US&FORM=CVRE8

I am trying to use my vals to hide the intake but they just get sucked to the intake and that part dies, is there a trick to stopping this?

Emc2 · 02-16-2006, 11:47 AM

I've never had a problem with the vals getting stuck to the intake. Actually, I should say I've never noticed the vals getting stuck. The stand of vals in my tank covers the entire length of the tank and is fairly thick so I might not notice. I also added a second pipe to my intake so that I could drain 40-50% of the water without turning off the filter. This puts my strainer closer to the base of the plants which may be why they don't get stuck.

BryceM · 02-16-2006, 02:52 PM

Another thing that would make an ENORMOUS difference is to paint the back of the aquarium or use a sheet of blue or black paper to provide a bit of contrast. As it is, the effect of the plants is sort of lost.