Time for a tank redesign

[SkarloeysMom]

Its been 6 months with my 20g long set up and I think I'm going to start a complete redesign on it today. I never finished my change to sand project that I started a few months ago and now that I'm planning to get some Rams I'm going to add a lot more sand than I was originally planning. I also found a new chunk of Mopani wood that I haven't used yet. The substrate will be a sand and gravel combination of some sort. That's the sketchy plan right now. I'll post some pics along the way. Gotta go get busy!:thumb:

[Fishalicious]

Looking forward to it thumbs2: Hurry up... LOL

[SkarloeysMom]

I got some work done on the 20g today but not all. I forgot to factor in that it is pretty cold to be working outside and washing sand and gravel. Oh and when you wash sand in ice cold water it holds that cold and can bring your tank temp down in no time!! (Note to self, when washing sand in the winter, do a final warm water rinse in declorinated water to warm the sand up before adding to tank.) My heater is still trying to catch up after all that.

I also ran out of sand so I only got half the tank done. That's OK because it was such a mess that I want to wait a week before trying to do the other half. I need to give the fish a rest.

Here's what it looked like before:
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and right after:
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and after adding the stuff back and smoothing it out a bit
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and here's the new piece of Mopani wood I will be adding to replace the one on the left.
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It is sitting in one of those dishwashing buckets so you can see its pretty big. I really haven't moved anything around yet. I think I'll wait until I'm done changing to sand first.

[Incredulous_Ed]

Looking good so far! I would make the background black, to show off the rams colors more.

[Tolley]

Looking great so far!!!!

[Tolley]

Lol ninja post!

[SkarloeysMom]

Thanks Guys!! I'll have to think about the black background. My son and I watercolored the background that is on it now and I'm kind of attached to it. I suppose I could try black and see though.

i wish I could have gotten more done but I really wasn't feeling like working today.

[Incredulous_Ed]

are you going to add any foreground plants?

Also, just a suggestion, so you can try it and see how it looks. I think rocks look best when there is only one type of rock in the tank. It gives it a more natural feeling. Thats just me though.

[SkarloeysMom]

are you going to add any foreground plants?

Also, just a suggestion, so you can try it and see how it looks. I think rocks look best when there is only one type of rock in the tank. It gives it a more natural feeling. Thats just me though.

I will be adding and moving around all the plants. I'll have to take all of them out and try some new arrangements. Once I see the tank with all sand I'm sure I'll get a better idea where to add plants.

I agree about the rocks. I want to go rock hunting and find some natural rocks that match. One of those rocks is smooth granite and I'm hoping I can go out to a place that has a lot of natural grantite and find some nice rocks. If not I'm going to try some creek beds.

[Incredulous_Ed]

if you need any ideas on a tank set up, read the book Aquarium designs Inspired by Nature by Peter Hiscock. It has 10 or so biotype setups that are truly amazing.

[SkarloeysMom]

if you need any ideas on a tank set up, read the book Aquarium designs Inspired by Nature by Peter Hiscock. It has 10 or so biotype setups that are truly amazing.

I will probably need some inspiration. I'll see if I can find that book. Thanks Ed!!

[Incredulous_Ed]

here it is: p://[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

You may be able to get it from you rlocal library.

Also, this book is very very similar to that one: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[squirt_12]

awesome tank:thumb: i can't wait to see the finished product.

[Futureboy]

seems like everyone is redoing there tank for the new year

[SkarloeysMom]

here it is: p://[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

You may be able to get it from you rlocal library.

Also, this book is very very similar to that one: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I checked our library and they don't have any of his books available right now. I might check Half Price books today. Maybe they'll have a copy.

[SkarloeysMom]

awesome tank:thumb: i can't wait to see the finished product.

Thanks squirt! It may be a while though. I'm still working on a plan. I hope to at least have the sand done by next week though.

[Incredulous_Ed]

One more place you can see alot of pics of nice looking tanks. Go to [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] and click on Your Tanks, then select South American from the drop down menu. Then they show pics of all these nice looking tanks, suitable for rams. Sorry if I'm giving to many suggestions.

Edit: sorry, i have one more suggestions. If you can find one of those driftwood 3d backgrounds, they are awesome looking in a SA tank.

[SkarloeysMom]

Ed, I don't mind the suggestions at ALL! That's what I'm looking for actually. Cichlids are a new thing for me totally and so I'm doing a lot of reading and research and tank changes before I actually get the fish Rams.

Oh, BTW, I took my 4 Zebra Danios to my friends house today. They seemed just fine in their tank. I think they'll be happy with all their new Platy buddies.

[SkarloeysMom]

One more place you can see alot of pics of nice looking tanks. Go to [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] .

Hey, thanks for the link!! I bookmarked that bad boy! Lots of good ideas there!!! Very inspirational!

[SkarloeysMom]

Well, I found a book by Peter Hiscock at Half Price Books for only $4. Its called Creating a Natural Aquarium. I've already found some great info and pictures for inspiration. Thanks again for the recommendation Ed! I also picked up a book on Cichlids.

Went to Lowe's and they didn't have pool filter sand! Crikey! I'll have to try some other places. I did get a bag of what they called "Egg rock" which pretty much describes it, its about egg sized and mostly smooth. I'm not sure what kind a rock it is since the bag was so dirty I could barely make out what was in it. I'll wash some up and see what it is. I hope its the color I'm after.

My monpani wood is frozen in the soaking bucket out back. I'm sure it will be ok though. When it warms up again I'm going to take a hike down a local creek and see if I can find any wood that I might be able to use.

Meanwhile, I have a sick fish. (see Fish Diseases) Sigh....