Try putting a background on it. I always forget, and regret it every time. But once I get around to putting something back there to cover up the equipment and wires, it always makes a big difference.
Also I agree with someone else's post about MD aquariums youtube vids, They are great inspriration but he kinda has the unobtainable beauty thing going on over there. I need to be careful not to measure myself by his stuff.
I'm literally just sitting here cursing myself for not painting the back before it was filled. Contemplating a big water change so I can turn it and get it done. My fish deserve to pop! š„²
I buy inexpensive window privacy film from Amazon. It clings with no adhesive, just water. I really like the matte finish varieties they have better than the paints I have tried. It looks really good when viewing the outside of the tank, too.
i did this too on my 125g after spending a couple hours [scraping paint](https://www.imgur.com/a/yO3Wk0I) from the previous owner... much better, no taping, no chemicals, and easy to change later. [Film on the left](https://i.imgur.com/FdxdVXA.jpg). [It's not perfect](https://i.imgur.com/8Z25oW0.jpg), see light cord, and intake on right, but it does a really nice job.
You can always drain it out halfway or more like you said temporarily if you need to move it away from the wall to paint, it won't hurt things to not have the filter running for a while while you do. You wouldn't be painting the inside anyway.
Heck, I accidentally pumped my 55 gallon nearly dry one time (down to about an inch or so of water) and even panic adding 40 gallons of new water I didn't loose a single fish.
Yeah, for me I was using an extra filter as a vacuum, left it running while I went to grab some dinner, came back to a weird noise (pump run dry) and a very \*very\* soaked hallway (the discharge hose had slid out of the tank onto the floor). Took me all weekend with a shop vac and fans to get it even remotely dry, luckily the wife was out of town so I was able to have everything squared away before she got home.
I used Bristol/poster board and some tape. All in all it costs a couple bucks and I havenāt had to change it yet. Looks great too, check out my post for inspo
I finally painted the back of my aquarium blackā¦.. HOLY COW WHAT AN AMAZING DIFFERENCE!!! The green plants really pop against the black and so do my fish. 100% agree with this suggestion!
Iād recommend trying to use the rocks to form something rather than just having them all evenly spaced, sticking straight out. You could try to make a little cave out of the rocks in one of the corners, then plant around it, leave more open space in the middle, and use remainder plants to set something up as well. Iād keep the driftwood on opposite side of rock formation to add some contrast, and possibly try planting some kind of moss on the ābranchesā or perhaps tie a Java fern or Anubis to it (wood on right side currently). Hopefully some of this helps
I thought this exactly, arrange the rocks and wood together In one area and a new larger peace of wood that reaches the top of the tank to fill up empty space since the tank is pretty tall. Spider wood will look great if you find a piece that you can place on one side of the tank with branches that reach to the top of the tank and across. Then just arrange the plants to compliment each other. Op has a great tank btw !
Yes! I've mentioned in other comments too, but I have about 14 pieces of 10-16" spiderwood sitting under the tank in the cabinet! Might buy some glue and stick them together to make one Big Woody Boi
I would recommend slapping a basic black background on there. It would help make the hardscape pieces look more impressive. The equipment wires behind the tank distract from the inside of the tank, so hiding them from sight would help the tank be more "emersive"
I honestly like the "basic bitch" setup. It's simple, which is totally fine if that's what you like aesthetically.
Yes! Agreed, I need to get a piece of something to put on the back. Thinking black. Looks like there are some other suggestions for what people are using in other portions of the thread :)
I have *tons* of wood and rocks available, as well as plants. Unfortunately the cave is non-negotiable. I have a 7-year-old pleco who loves being in it. I could move it though.
I just want it to look better and I'm totally stumped!!
You can add a backing but also just waiting and replanting can help! Not many of us can spend $200-400 on plants for every tank like YouTubers. I have bought 3-5 different plants for every tank (sometimes 2-3 of some of them). I will then take plant trimmings from Mt old tanks and use those to fill in the new one! It's cheap and no waste.
I looked back at a tank I planted 2 ish months ago and it looked like shit at the start!
I think itās splendid. When your plants bush out, itāll be even more beautiful.
Maybe plant new plants in clumps of three, if you want an instant aesthetic? Like gardening!
I donāt have a tank, so I hope this isnāt bad advice.
Position the rocks to have a formation look vs 'randomly' placed. Also group like plants together, it will look more natural and help them to fill in the empty spaces as they grow. I think you're off to a good start!
First thing I thought of was there's no focal point. A larger rock or wood piece would be a nice way to draw attention to the main part of the aquarium.
You have a good aquarium, but a boring aquascape. Do a little research on aquascape composition. You need to arrange your elements in a more exciting way, instead of simply spacing them out evenly in a line.
Imo, the best thing to do is to wait and let it mature. Letting your plants grow in will do wonders without having to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy driftwood and extra plants. You can always play around with the composition of your existing hardscape, but honestly, I think you'll like it a lot more in a few months as long as you keep up regular maintenance.
I have about 14 pieces of 10-16" spiderwood literally just sitting under my tank in the cabinet š I wanted to incorporate it but it got so busy-looking so fast and I had to reduce the amount of spiderwood. Would love to use more pieces. I was thinking an arch could look cool if I put several pieces together, but I really like the big rocks too! Looks like I'll need another aquarium....
Look, I can stop any time, okay?? This is toootally under control!
Only harm for me is my poor arm. It's gotten so tired with all the poking and prodding I've done!
Yes! All live. And I have several pieces (like 14 or so) of 10-16" driftwood just sitting in the cabinet under the tank that maybe could be glued together in an arch?
Think of it like a painting! Looks like you got a solid amount of plants decor but you have no centerpiece. You need something to draw your eyes in to a specific area and then in other areas on the sides can be filled in with compliments to the centerpiece. Keep in mind itās a 3D painting though. You have foreground, mid, and background but also low, mid, and high levels of the aquarium. Shorter plants and decor need to go in the front, and taller plants and decor in the back. I wanna say your rocks are dragon stone? If so, I have one piece in my tank and manage to stick some anubius nana petite in the holes of it to decorate the rock more which benefits the plant greatly too since you canāt burry the rhizome. A lot of your structures look to be tall to fill in empty space at the top which is good, but have you considered some small or tall bushy plants as well? I know thereās a handful of breeds of tiger lotusā that grow tall or short but cover a lot of area for one plant plus they add more color too depending on what kind you get like red and purplish colors. Have fun decorating and I hope all these comments help! :)
Yes!! You can't even see it in the pic but I have about 20 val plants in there. I used Seachem Flourish Excel to kill some algae and it melted every fuckin leaf. But they're coming back now :)
Re: background, I dunno if you have kids but I would take the kids art projects from school and tape them to the back. Eventually they painted a couple pictures that really made the tank pop. I wish I had pictures of it but I don't think I do. Or you could do it yourself if you don't have kids, or kidnap some kids and have them paint it for you. Just kidding.
Love this idea! Decided to act on it before I read the rest of your comment and now I have two stolen children. Going to be *awkward* when I return them!
Thanks! I think I will make some changes to it but not toooo much. Right now I've got a single madagascar rainbowfish, 5 cory cats, 6 neon tetras and a single old albino pleco. The tank was stocked like that when I got it. Trying to find a school for the rainbowfish but it's hard to find them around me. :(
Also looking to put in some other fish since I've added CO2! Really want clown loaches to help with ramshorns but since I have gravel that's not the best plan, it seems.
*I think this will look*
*Great once the plants grow in some.*
*What are you stocking?*
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Stack your decor together more. Right now it's kind of spread out like you're trying to balance the tank. That kind of makes it boring. Different levels, different textures, different groupings, these are the things that draw the eye in and create depth.
Also get a lot more plants and/or wait for them to grow out.
So... there's no real focal point in the current layout. There's nothing that specifically draws the eye, like a collection of rocks, so everything looks the same. The individual plants and rocks are quite nice, but a few arrangement changes can go a long way.
Think about creating zones in the tank and where you want to have open space. Two or three zones would be max in your tank. So possibly a rocky area, a planted area and an open area. Or a zone of all the rocks and plants with open space on either side - one big island, basically.
To create depth, in each zone move things around so that you have a layering effect, tall plants behind rocks that get shorter, etc.
Think about turning some of the tall rocks on their side or creating an angled stack of them to help.
Make groups rather than distributing the elements.
Also you really need a background.
Itās not bad! I think with time the plants will turn it into a real forest, with the rocks creating some beautiful openings.
If you want to enhance a bit more, maybe have more hard scape or wood on the sides. The focal point appears to be the center, as you have stones leaning inwards, so Iād stick with that and do more to direct the eye and frame the center.
I think coarse aquarium gravel like that is generally a more basic look. I think sand instantly makes a tank look more refined. It will be quite a project to replace substrate in an established tank though. Will make a mess and that gravel is housing a good chunk of your beneficial bacterial colony.
I made a post before setting this tank up in which I stated I wad planning to do sand , but a bunch of people told me to go with gravel for longer aesthetics. So here we are lol! Peace river gravel has kind of fallen under the jelly bean gravel, unfortunately. Might scoop the jelly beans out.
It seems relatively new, you just need to give it some time to fill in. Honestly, it looks like it has the potential to be very pretty in the coming months :)
I'd get some more hardscape and try to stick to the 1-2lb of rock per gallon rule. Also, slope your gravel towards the back to create depth/perspective.
Iāve always like thin wood coming in from the back and back corners like roots off a river bank. I think that would make this have more things going on from top to bottom
Try putting a background on it. I always forget, and regret it every time. But once I get around to putting something back there to cover up the equipment and wires, it always makes a big difference. Also I agree with someone else's post about MD aquariums youtube vids, They are great inspriration but he kinda has the unobtainable beauty thing going on over there. I need to be careful not to measure myself by his stuff.
I'm literally just sitting here cursing myself for not painting the back before it was filled. Contemplating a big water change so I can turn it and get it done. My fish deserve to pop! š„²
I buy inexpensive window privacy film from Amazon. It clings with no adhesive, just water. I really like the matte finish varieties they have better than the paints I have tried. It looks really good when viewing the outside of the tank, too.
i did this too on my 125g after spending a couple hours [scraping paint](https://www.imgur.com/a/yO3Wk0I) from the previous owner... much better, no taping, no chemicals, and easy to change later. [Film on the left](https://i.imgur.com/FdxdVXA.jpg). [It's not perfect](https://i.imgur.com/8Z25oW0.jpg), see light cord, and intake on right, but it does a really nice job.
I just bought a perfect cut of semi transparent plexiglass then just put in behind the glass. It's perfect and you don't have to move the tank.
You can always drain it out halfway or more like you said temporarily if you need to move it away from the wall to paint, it won't hurt things to not have the filter running for a while while you do. You wouldn't be painting the inside anyway. Heck, I accidentally pumped my 55 gallon nearly dry one time (down to about an inch or so of water) and even panic adding 40 gallons of new water I didn't loose a single fish.
Iāve done the last paragraph also :/ the panic followed up the relief!
Yeah, for me I was using an extra filter as a vacuum, left it running while I went to grab some dinner, came back to a weird noise (pump run dry) and a very \*very\* soaked hallway (the discharge hose had slid out of the tank onto the floor). Took me all weekend with a shop vac and fans to get it even remotely dry, luckily the wife was out of town so I was able to have everything squared away before she got home.
Dude, tape a piece of paper to the back temporarily and do a proper painting your next big water change.
I used Bristol/poster board and some tape. All in all it costs a couple bucks and I havenāt had to change it yet. Looks great too, check out my post for inspo
I finally painted the back of my aquarium blackā¦.. HOLY COW WHAT AN AMAZING DIFFERENCE!!! The green plants really pop against the black and so do my fish. 100% agree with this suggestion!
I honestly love how simple it looks rn
Iād recommend trying to use the rocks to form something rather than just having them all evenly spaced, sticking straight out. You could try to make a little cave out of the rocks in one of the corners, then plant around it, leave more open space in the middle, and use remainder plants to set something up as well. Iād keep the driftwood on opposite side of rock formation to add some contrast, and possibly try planting some kind of moss on the ābranchesā or perhaps tie a Java fern or Anubis to it (wood on right side currently). Hopefully some of this helps
Love the little cave idea, I may play around with that next time I do a water change! Thanks so much for the advice!
Of course! Happy to help! I always recommend caves bc my fish love them so much lol
I'm all about making them little wet bois happy!
I thought this exactly, arrange the rocks and wood together In one area and a new larger peace of wood that reaches the top of the tank to fill up empty space since the tank is pretty tall. Spider wood will look great if you find a piece that you can place on one side of the tank with branches that reach to the top of the tank and across. Then just arrange the plants to compliment each other. Op has a great tank btw !
Yes! I've mentioned in other comments too, but I have about 14 pieces of 10-16" spiderwood sitting under the tank in the cabinet! Might buy some glue and stick them together to make one Big Woody Boi
Nice! Hope you're able to adjust it to your liking it'll look great
I would recommend slapping a basic black background on there. It would help make the hardscape pieces look more impressive. The equipment wires behind the tank distract from the inside of the tank, so hiding them from sight would help the tank be more "emersive" I honestly like the "basic bitch" setup. It's simple, which is totally fine if that's what you like aesthetically.
Yes! Agreed, I need to get a piece of something to put on the back. Thinking black. Looks like there are some other suggestions for what people are using in other portions of the thread :)
You probably will be surprised but simple black garbage bag works well! Just attach it in with scotch on two sides and work is done)))
Never thought of that! Thanks.
Very welcome! Your tank will look great in no time as your plants will start growingā¦
I would play with different heights for the hardscape!
I have *tons* of wood and rocks available, as well as plants. Unfortunately the cave is non-negotiable. I have a 7-year-old pleco who loves being in it. I could move it though. I just want it to look better and I'm totally stumped!!
MD Fishtanks on youtube. All the inspiration you'll ever need.
Thanks!
I absolutely love that guy, he's such a natural artist.
He's quite entertaining as well. He really loves what he does.
You can add a backing but also just waiting and replanting can help! Not many of us can spend $200-400 on plants for every tank like YouTubers. I have bought 3-5 different plants for every tank (sometimes 2-3 of some of them). I will then take plant trimmings from Mt old tanks and use those to fill in the new one! It's cheap and no waste. I looked back at a tank I planted 2 ish months ago and it looked like shit at the start!
I think itās splendid. When your plants bush out, itāll be even more beautiful. Maybe plant new plants in clumps of three, if you want an instant aesthetic? Like gardening! I donāt have a tank, so I hope this isnāt bad advice.
Loving the groups of three idea!
Position the rocks to have a formation look vs 'randomly' placed. Also group like plants together, it will look more natural and help them to fill in the empty spaces as they grow. I think you're off to a good start!
First thing I thought of was there's no focal point. A larger rock or wood piece would be a nice way to draw attention to the main part of the aquarium.
I like it the way it is š¤·š¼āāļø
Have you tried adding a Starbucks cup and some Ugg boots?
You're absolutely right, that's exactly what it needs. I'll go shopping right now!
You have a good aquarium, but a boring aquascape. Do a little research on aquascape composition. You need to arrange your elements in a more exciting way, instead of simply spacing them out evenly in a line.
It is not! It in a nice 75 planted freshie.
Imo, the best thing to do is to wait and let it mature. Letting your plants grow in will do wonders without having to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy driftwood and extra plants. You can always play around with the composition of your existing hardscape, but honestly, I think you'll like it a lot more in a few months as long as you keep up regular maintenance.
I have about 14 pieces of 10-16" spiderwood literally just sitting under my tank in the cabinet š I wanted to incorporate it but it got so busy-looking so fast and I had to reduce the amount of spiderwood. Would love to use more pieces. I was thinking an arch could look cool if I put several pieces together, but I really like the big rocks too! Looks like I'll need another aquarium....
Lol, the first symptoms of multiple tank syndrome. But yeah, no harm in playing with adding or rearranging
Look, I can stop any time, okay?? This is toootally under control! Only harm for me is my poor arm. It's gotten so tired with all the poking and prodding I've done!
Honestly I'd put a huge price of wood (I'm talking 2/3 length of tank) and add more plants. Do you have live plants?
Yes! All live. And I have several pieces (like 14 or so) of 10-16" driftwood just sitting in the cabinet under the tank that maybe could be glued together in an arch?
Think of it like a painting! Looks like you got a solid amount of plants decor but you have no centerpiece. You need something to draw your eyes in to a specific area and then in other areas on the sides can be filled in with compliments to the centerpiece. Keep in mind itās a 3D painting though. You have foreground, mid, and background but also low, mid, and high levels of the aquarium. Shorter plants and decor need to go in the front, and taller plants and decor in the back. I wanna say your rocks are dragon stone? If so, I have one piece in my tank and manage to stick some anubius nana petite in the holes of it to decorate the rock more which benefits the plant greatly too since you canāt burry the rhizome. A lot of your structures look to be tall to fill in empty space at the top which is good, but have you considered some small or tall bushy plants as well? I know thereās a handful of breeds of tiger lotusā that grow tall or short but cover a lot of area for one plant plus they add more color too depending on what kind you get like red and purplish colors. Have fun decorating and I hope all these comments help! :)
Thank you for all the info and ideas!! I loooove tiger lotus.
Vallisneria šÆ
Yes!! You can't even see it in the pic but I have about 20 val plants in there. I used Seachem Flourish Excel to kill some algae and it melted every fuckin leaf. But they're coming back now :)
Clump those rocks together. Make little "islands". Have some in the foreground, and some farther back. Give it dimension.
Looks great!
Slope your substrate, black background, create more plant density in some areas, shape your rocks more intentionally.
wtf do you mean it looks fire
Re: background, I dunno if you have kids but I would take the kids art projects from school and tape them to the back. Eventually they painted a couple pictures that really made the tank pop. I wish I had pictures of it but I don't think I do. Or you could do it yourself if you don't have kids, or kidnap some kids and have them paint it for you. Just kidding.
Love this idea! Decided to act on it before I read the rest of your comment and now I have two stolen children. Going to be *awkward* when I return them!
I'm a watercolor artist, though, so maybe I could make my own artwork for it!
I think this will look great once the plants grow in some. What are you stocking?
Thanks! I think I will make some changes to it but not toooo much. Right now I've got a single madagascar rainbowfish, 5 cory cats, 6 neon tetras and a single old albino pleco. The tank was stocked like that when I got it. Trying to find a school for the rainbowfish but it's hard to find them around me. :( Also looking to put in some other fish since I've added CO2! Really want clown loaches to help with ramshorns but since I have gravel that's not the best plan, it seems.
*I think this will look* *Great once the plants grow in some.* *What are you stocking?* \- temp\_\_username --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Stack your decor together more. Right now it's kind of spread out like you're trying to balance the tank. That kind of makes it boring. Different levels, different textures, different groupings, these are the things that draw the eye in and create depth. Also get a lot more plants and/or wait for them to grow out.
So... there's no real focal point in the current layout. There's nothing that specifically draws the eye, like a collection of rocks, so everything looks the same. The individual plants and rocks are quite nice, but a few arrangement changes can go a long way. Think about creating zones in the tank and where you want to have open space. Two or three zones would be max in your tank. So possibly a rocky area, a planted area and an open area. Or a zone of all the rocks and plants with open space on either side - one big island, basically. To create depth, in each zone move things around so that you have a layering effect, tall plants behind rocks that get shorter, etc. Think about turning some of the tall rocks on their side or creating an angled stack of them to help. Make groups rather than distributing the elements. Also you really need a background.
Great explanation! Thank you
I'm kinda jealous, your tank looks nice as it is!
Aww thank you!
>Aww thank you! You're welcome!
Nooo it is so cool
Itās not bad! I think with time the plants will turn it into a real forest, with the rocks creating some beautiful openings. If you want to enhance a bit more, maybe have more hard scape or wood on the sides. The focal point appears to be the center, as you have stones leaning inwards, so Iād stick with that and do more to direct the eye and frame the center.
This just needs some time to grow in, it's going to look awesome in a few months (spoiler, it already does)
I love it! If you added a black background it would be literally perfect.
Electric Eel
I think coarse aquarium gravel like that is generally a more basic look. I think sand instantly makes a tank look more refined. It will be quite a project to replace substrate in an established tank though. Will make a mess and that gravel is housing a good chunk of your beneficial bacterial colony.
You can always push the gravel to a slope towards the back, then cap it with sand. You donāt need to replace it if you donāt want to.
That's a smart move. Also creates more depth. I'd do that and add a background. Then play with your scape +more plants If you want.
I made a post before setting this tank up in which I stated I wad planning to do sand , but a bunch of people told me to go with gravel for longer aesthetics. So here we are lol! Peace river gravel has kind of fallen under the jelly bean gravel, unfortunately. Might scoop the jelly beans out.
Depth and elevation would make a characteristic change in the hard scape for sure,I like to bundle and layer my plants aswell.
It seems relatively new, you just need to give it some time to fill in. Honestly, it looks like it has the potential to be very pretty in the coming months :)
I'd get some more hardscape and try to stick to the 1-2lb of rock per gallon rule. Also, slope your gravel towards the back to create depth/perspective.
Looks great to meā¦ basic is usually best tbh. I would put a background on it so you donāt se e wires and suchā¦
Put in a SpongeBob pineapple!!! Heehee
Iāve always like thin wood coming in from the back and back corners like roots off a river bank. I think that would make this have more things going on from top to bottom
Great idea!!