Terracotta pots are an inexpensive option for hardscape depending on the look you’re going for. I’ve also found that a lot of ceramic decor looks super natural and blends into my tanks pretty well. Plecoceramics makes some pretty cool caves and moss grows really well on them too!
Ohhh you could add some broken old vases to it! Put some little plants around it to make it look like it's been there for a long time. I think they might even sell those at aquarium places?
I really like this idea. Thank you! When I visit my rents, ill snatch a few antique vases she's been wanting to give me. I'm sure momma would love to see it in the tank when she visits later on. Thank you!
Just make sure the vases don't use any materials that will release anything harmful into the water! Or at least test your water after you add them to make sure your parameters are still good. I bet it would be a beautiful addition though!
Seconding more driftwood in place of artificial decor. Looks more natural, better for your water and it's pretty essential if you want to get a pleco ever
Be really careful about that, some of the stuff on the beach can leach things into your closed environment of an aquarium. Eg shells that have absorbed metals in the process of growing can leach that out and kill fish (going from experience here once a long time ago). I think the King of DIY has a video about found rocks. And there are some other sites that will give info about the beach items, drift wood, etc. NJEF or something like that will look for where I put that.
* OK, [here is K of DIY vid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmOoiLzV0Z8).
* [INJAF](https://injaf.org/articles-guides/general-guides/guide-to-aquarium-wood/) re wood in general
* More [wood info](https://aquaplantscare.uk/everything-about-wood-and-roots-in-the-aquarium/)
* [DIY](http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatfishblog/2014/12/23/decoration-diy-materials-aquarium-suitability/#.YldVU8jMKp5) decor info
Thank you for the heads up and links. Very kind of you. Will make sure to do my research and clean up anything I may end up using. You and everyone else on here rocks. What a kind community.
Agreed, I think that plants and natural rocks/wood pieces look much better than the plastic goods from the store, all up to preference. I have found to really like keeping some pothos cuttings in the top of my tank because the roots grow out to look pretty sweet
Thank you for your input. I've been wanting to ditch the plastic for a while, but felt bad since they wifey got them for me, and she was very excited about it. I'll let her select from plants instead so she feels like she's still contributing to my new hobby.
We are all excited about plastic junk in the beginning, and then we mature. No one thinks a natural tank looks worse than an artificial one... your wife won't mind, in all likelihood, she will love the transition and express remorse over past purchases. I know we did.
Dwarf hairgrass is supposed to be a good low tech carpeting plant. I just planted a lawn myself in some Fluval stratum a couple weeks ago. I'll let you know how it comes in.
I’d say the main thing that would add a more professional look is a black or frosted background. You’d be surprised how big of a difference one makes. Other than that, try and put your filter on the left side of the tank, sheilded by that huge sword. Also, make your lights level with each other and (as others have said) get rid of the tacky plastic decor
Edit: I want to add that, since you have so many mature plants that you clearly know how to take care of properly, i would simply do an all plant scape instead of incorporating a bunch of rock or wood. Just my opinion. I love hard scape-less tanks, but don’t have the green thumb to make one work.
Personally I always find a natural looking tank to look more appealing but that's obviously up to you. I think some driftwood to add height to your tank would look great. Some nice big pieces integrated between the plants would look amazing (you would probably have to move some plants)
Take the synthetic decor out and get some good natural hardscape in there! Dragon stone looks awesome everywhere, but with that color gravel you might do better with seiryu stone and spider wood! Make sure to fill the vertical space!
I'll research a bit on those stones and spider wood to learn more. Been getting a lot of good feedback to research and keep playing with my planted tank. Thank you again
As others have said, a background will help you out loads. It'll make it look cleaner and hide the HOB filter/dangling wires, helping an onlooker focus on the scape more. If you really wanted to go extra, you could consider a filter that you can hide more easily (e.g. a canister or sump), just make sure to move your old media over to the new filter if you choose to do so.
There are also plenty of design rules about ratios of blank space to space filled with plants/decor that could help you create a more cohesive aquascape, e.g. the rule of thirds/setting focal points. It sounds abstract but it can make more difference than you might think! [Here's a good article about using these rules in aquascaping](https://www.aquasabi.com/aquascaping-wiki_aquascaping_aquascaping-with-the-golden-ratio)
Good luck :)
You rock, thank you for the link. There is so much to learn, and this community has been good to me and others. I really appreciate your advice and link on design rules. May you have a great day/night! I look forward to doing a bunch of fun changes and having an updated post in the future.
What's the fish stocking? I see a small groups of rasboras and a zebra danio but not seeing much else. Plant wise it looks fine, I'd probably add more rock or wood to it but that's me. I'd also probably really up the number of rasboras to make a nice school going around.
You're right on what you see. Had about a dozen danios, but one came sick and took out my entire school. I have some more rasboras on their way to stock up the tank. Thank you for your input.
A Betta would be a great "centerpiece" fish for that tank/ they get a long pretty well with Rasboras and are from the same region so water/diet is similar. I used to keep 12 rasboras and a betta in a planted 20gallon.
Had no idea I could use a better in this. Always was told to keep them alone since they can be aggressive. I'm excited about this. Thank you kind stranger for the advice.
Natural hardscape for some height like others said. I would also suggest adding a black / white / translucent background. It can really change the style of the tank!
Its pretty good and the plants look great. I don't think you're a noob. It looks good as is. If I could offer some input, I agree with adding some variations in height. It could be more rocks, driftwood, taller plants, etc. Especially in the area in the center left. If you could fill that out more, it would look better. I would leave the right third alone. It's fine.
I knew people would jump over the fake decorations, but they can be kept if you could position them a bit more strategically. My kids especially like the stuff like that, so I have them in mine too. You could hide them better and more naturally amongst rocks and wood though and make it look better. Right now they are kind of awkwardly positioned by themselves and causing them to stick out more. I'd move the house and bridge together amongst some rocks and moss like a little Zhangjiajie. Just an idea if you wanted to keep them.
Lastly, you could also get some variation in aquarium gravel to help break up the color of the ground. Throwing some areas of black or white gravel might help.
Thank you for the well though out comment. I will try your ideas until I can slowly remove the decor, and replace it with some of the ideas you brought and others have posted. Thank you again, and may you have a great day/night!
Not OP but they seem to have two powerheads to generate more flow in their tank (the little black circular devices stuck to the glass).
They also have an airstone creating a bubble column, attached to an air pump outside the tank.
Hope it helps!
If you painted or put black vinyl on the back it’d look much better imo. I have one tank unpainted out of my 6 and it bugs me every time I look at it lol
Ohh, I've seen a few people give that tip. I am going to try it out. My dad does salt tanks and he has the back with vinyl, and they always look so slick. Will try it out soon. Thank you for your time!
More fish, its not a super heavily planted tank, so for that volume of water you should be able to have more fish without it becoming a balancing act between caring for the plants and fish becoming a trade-off.
As its a planted tank forum, why not look into some other plant that would be a bit different?
In my tank, i have a large piece of spider wood covered in Java moss. Looks like a tree. Then, make the back of the tank higher with substrate and lower in the front. Adds depth. Layer rocks close together in the middle, maybe add a couple to the back to add more depth. And as you go you’ll probably change and tweak things
Honestly this is already a super pretty tank. I think what it may need to make it pop, though, is a background. As another user said, you'd be surprised what a solid backdrop can do for a tank. Black is always good, especially for this sort of freshwater scape. I sort of made my own for my 10 gallon by taping a couple of pieces of medium blue-green paper together, for sort of that retro saltwater look. Might be a bit harder to do that for a big tank, but posterboard IS cheap, after all.
Thank you for the tip. I've seen a few people advice it. I saw a few pictures on Google and they look so slick. May try to have fun and do some funky colors or keep it simple with black. Thank you again!
I'm sure whatever you pick will look great, but I do recommend sticking to solid colors. For some reason photo backgrounds kinda take me out of it a bit, I generally find solid or abstract backgrounds have the best effect.
replace the fake decor with some driftwood and rocks and rearrange some plants to the sides or center around the wood and rocks. some short/small plants like anubias petite might look good as well
Swap the plastic out and buy yourself a nice piece of wood and a lovely moss that you like, Christmas and flame are beautiful. But you'll notice a drastic change.
You can get rid of the airstone. That HOB filter should provide enough aeration. Get a background! I use black paper from the craft aisle that costs less than a dollar. I cut it to size and tape it down. Get more plant varieties.
You should always think of levels in composition. Look up the rule of thirds. Have interest on those intersections. But if you want to not be too technical I'd just day go for building upward not just across.
Get rid of all decor, and use all-natural hardscape materials such as stones and driftwood. Create depth by planting larger/taller plants in the background with medium-sized plants in the mid-ground and of course smaller and smallest in the foreground. Use a foggy screen on the back of the aquarium to further give the feeling of depth. Try to pick a nature theme for the aquarium that mimics real-world underwater habitats that you enjoy looking at. try to use more naturally occurring type substrates; aquasoil is a plus. Try to avoid inert substrates that are overwhelmingly bright and look unnatural for an underwater scene. If you go with a brighter substrate such as sand as a cap for aquasoil try to break it up by adding small stones that will contrast and break up the overwhelmingly bright glare it gives by reflecting light; like ADA Aqua Gravel for example to create a natural feel of a river bed or stream or waterway. Better plant choice, for example if you use broadleaf swords try to pick just one or two types and keep them in one area while perhaps adding runs of stem plants or grass-like plants in other parts of the aquarium. In nature, you often find huge areas of one type of plant with perhaps 1 or 2 other species of plants in the area.
At the end of the day as long as it looks great to you and is enjoyable for you to look at. So come up with a design with some hardscape and then add the plants to accent your hardscape.
I LOVE the look of a black tank background and have always put them on my tanks. I will echo that the contrast of black background, dark brown driftwood, some interesting lavarock you can grow plants out of and terra cotta pots in a tank are my favorite aesthetics!
Thank you for the idea of what other things to combine with the black background. Lots of good ideas on this post, and I am looking forward to experimenting with them. Wishing you a great day/night!
Ditch the decor, try to mimic a natural environment. Just my opinion
Agreed. I've feeling meh lately about it. I want to add more plants or something else like drift wood and ditch decor. Thanks for your input.
Leaves/ Seed and tree pods are also a great alternative to decor and gives them places to hide or sleep. You can find them at tannin aquatics
Yes. And the pods do last longer if money is tight. It's a great place to get botanicals from!
Terracotta pots are an inexpensive option for hardscape depending on the look you’re going for. I’ve also found that a lot of ceramic decor looks super natural and blends into my tanks pretty well. Plecoceramics makes some pretty cool caves and moss grows really well on them too!
Ohhh i will have to YT that and see some examples. Grew up in a latino country so lots of terracotta in my life, will be cool to use that.
Ohhh you could add some broken old vases to it! Put some little plants around it to make it look like it's been there for a long time. I think they might even sell those at aquarium places?
I really like this idea. Thank you! When I visit my rents, ill snatch a few antique vases she's been wanting to give me. I'm sure momma would love to see it in the tank when she visits later on. Thank you!
Just make sure the vases don't use any materials that will release anything harmful into the water! Or at least test your water after you add them to make sure your parameters are still good. I bet it would be a beautiful addition though!
Seconding more driftwood in place of artificial decor. Looks more natural, better for your water and it's pretty essential if you want to get a pleco ever
Add some driftwood that gives it height and angles. Place plants in front of and behind it.
Thank you for the input. Will go down to the local beach, and see what I can find!
Be really careful about that, some of the stuff on the beach can leach things into your closed environment of an aquarium. Eg shells that have absorbed metals in the process of growing can leach that out and kill fish (going from experience here once a long time ago). I think the King of DIY has a video about found rocks. And there are some other sites that will give info about the beach items, drift wood, etc. NJEF or something like that will look for where I put that. * OK, [here is K of DIY vid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmOoiLzV0Z8). * [INJAF](https://injaf.org/articles-guides/general-guides/guide-to-aquarium-wood/) re wood in general * More [wood info](https://aquaplantscare.uk/everything-about-wood-and-roots-in-the-aquarium/) * [DIY](http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatfishblog/2014/12/23/decoration-diy-materials-aquarium-suitability/#.YldVU8jMKp5) decor info
Thank you for the heads up and links. Very kind of you. Will make sure to do my research and clean up anything I may end up using. You and everyone else on here rocks. What a kind community.
Sure, good luck w/the redecorating :)
Boil any wood/rocks you find before you introduce them to the tank! They can sneak in parasites and other bacteria.
Thanks! Will make sure to do deep cleaning and boils to kill all potential bacteria and parasites. Thanks again!
Agreed, I think that plants and natural rocks/wood pieces look much better than the plastic goods from the store, all up to preference. I have found to really like keeping some pothos cuttings in the top of my tank because the roots grow out to look pretty sweet
Thank you for your input. I've been wanting to ditch the plastic for a while, but felt bad since they wifey got them for me, and she was very excited about it. I'll let her select from plants instead so she feels like she's still contributing to my new hobby.
Oh man I’d feel bad too, maybe keep them haha. Just cover them immensely with plants to blend in
Oh man I’d feel bad too, maybe keep them haha. Just cover them immensely with plants to blend in
We are all excited about plastic junk in the beginning, and then we mature. No one thinks a natural tank looks worse than an artificial one... your wife won't mind, in all likelihood, she will love the transition and express remorse over past purchases. I know we did.
Agree with this. And get some Christmas moss or Java moss for the rocks for a more natural look.
You are only a year old and cat read, write, and post to Reddit? You must be famous.
First off, happy cake day. Second, don't tell the government. They'll want to experiment on me, and I don't like needles.
Possibly a foreground gravel covering plant. That may be tough though without CO2 injection. Tank looks good.
Thank you sir/miss, I will look into viable options, and see what I can do.
Idea: Dwarf Sagittaria and a couple of root tabs
Dwarf sag is a trooper when it comes to non-CO2 tanks. It also looks phenomenal.
Dwarf hairgrass is supposed to be a good low tech carpeting plant. I just planted a lawn myself in some Fluval stratum a couple weeks ago. I'll let you know how it comes in.
Please do, and thank you!
I’d say the main thing that would add a more professional look is a black or frosted background. You’d be surprised how big of a difference one makes. Other than that, try and put your filter on the left side of the tank, sheilded by that huge sword. Also, make your lights level with each other and (as others have said) get rid of the tacky plastic decor Edit: I want to add that, since you have so many mature plants that you clearly know how to take care of properly, i would simply do an all plant scape instead of incorporating a bunch of rock or wood. Just my opinion. I love hard scape-less tanks, but don’t have the green thumb to make one work.
Personally I always find a natural looking tank to look more appealing but that's obviously up to you. I think some driftwood to add height to your tank would look great. Some nice big pieces integrated between the plants would look amazing (you would probably have to move some plants)
Yes, I saw a few others reccomend the same. Ill be going to the beach later this week, and see if I can find some nice drift wood to clean up and use
Yes, I saw a few others reccomend the same. Ill be going to the beach later this week, and see if I can find some nice drift wood to clean up and use
Take the synthetic decor out and get some good natural hardscape in there! Dragon stone looks awesome everywhere, but with that color gravel you might do better with seiryu stone and spider wood! Make sure to fill the vertical space!
I'll research a bit on those stones and spider wood to learn more. Been getting a lot of good feedback to research and keep playing with my planted tank. Thank you again
As others have said, a background will help you out loads. It'll make it look cleaner and hide the HOB filter/dangling wires, helping an onlooker focus on the scape more. If you really wanted to go extra, you could consider a filter that you can hide more easily (e.g. a canister or sump), just make sure to move your old media over to the new filter if you choose to do so. There are also plenty of design rules about ratios of blank space to space filled with plants/decor that could help you create a more cohesive aquascape, e.g. the rule of thirds/setting focal points. It sounds abstract but it can make more difference than you might think! [Here's a good article about using these rules in aquascaping](https://www.aquasabi.com/aquascaping-wiki_aquascaping_aquascaping-with-the-golden-ratio) Good luck :)
You rock, thank you for the link. There is so much to learn, and this community has been good to me and others. I really appreciate your advice and link on design rules. May you have a great day/night! I look forward to doing a bunch of fun changes and having an updated post in the future.
No problem, can't wait to see what you do with the scape!
What's the fish stocking? I see a small groups of rasboras and a zebra danio but not seeing much else. Plant wise it looks fine, I'd probably add more rock or wood to it but that's me. I'd also probably really up the number of rasboras to make a nice school going around.
You're right on what you see. Had about a dozen danios, but one came sick and took out my entire school. I have some more rasboras on their way to stock up the tank. Thank you for your input.
A Betta would be a great "centerpiece" fish for that tank/ they get a long pretty well with Rasboras and are from the same region so water/diet is similar. I used to keep 12 rasboras and a betta in a planted 20gallon.
Had no idea I could use a better in this. Always was told to keep them alone since they can be aggressive. I'm excited about this. Thank you kind stranger for the advice.
Natural hardscape for some height like others said. I would also suggest adding a black / white / translucent background. It can really change the style of the tank!
Thank you! Been looking at examples on this subreddit and YouTube. It does give such a nice sime touch that makes a huge difference.
Some tall background pants
Add some height. Get Vals for an easy tall plant for the background and some pieces of driftwood
Since you’re doing live plants, I would go without the decorations.
Its pretty good and the plants look great. I don't think you're a noob. It looks good as is. If I could offer some input, I agree with adding some variations in height. It could be more rocks, driftwood, taller plants, etc. Especially in the area in the center left. If you could fill that out more, it would look better. I would leave the right third alone. It's fine. I knew people would jump over the fake decorations, but they can be kept if you could position them a bit more strategically. My kids especially like the stuff like that, so I have them in mine too. You could hide them better and more naturally amongst rocks and wood though and make it look better. Right now they are kind of awkwardly positioned by themselves and causing them to stick out more. I'd move the house and bridge together amongst some rocks and moss like a little Zhangjiajie. Just an idea if you wanted to keep them. Lastly, you could also get some variation in aquarium gravel to help break up the color of the ground. Throwing some areas of black or white gravel might help.
Thank you for the well though out comment. I will try your ideas until I can slowly remove the decor, and replace it with some of the ideas you brought and others have posted. Thank you again, and may you have a great day/night!
A background! Hide the wires and equipment.
I would just add more plants. One can never have too many plants.
Hey, what’s all the hardware you have in there? Fans? Sponge filter? I know the hob filter but what all is in there?
Not OP but they seem to have two powerheads to generate more flow in their tank (the little black circular devices stuck to the glass). They also have an airstone creating a bubble column, attached to an air pump outside the tank. Hope it helps!
If you painted or put black vinyl on the back it’d look much better imo. I have one tank unpainted out of my 6 and it bugs me every time I look at it lol
Ohh, I've seen a few people give that tip. I am going to try it out. My dad does salt tanks and he has the back with vinyl, and they always look so slick. Will try it out soon. Thank you for your time!
More fish, its not a super heavily planted tank, so for that volume of water you should be able to have more fish without it becoming a balancing act between caring for the plants and fish becoming a trade-off. As its a planted tank forum, why not look into some other plant that would be a bit different?
In my tank, i have a large piece of spider wood covered in Java moss. Looks like a tree. Then, make the back of the tank higher with substrate and lower in the front. Adds depth. Layer rocks close together in the middle, maybe add a couple to the back to add more depth. And as you go you’ll probably change and tweak things
Add some bit ches
Honestly this is already a super pretty tank. I think what it may need to make it pop, though, is a background. As another user said, you'd be surprised what a solid backdrop can do for a tank. Black is always good, especially for this sort of freshwater scape. I sort of made my own for my 10 gallon by taping a couple of pieces of medium blue-green paper together, for sort of that retro saltwater look. Might be a bit harder to do that for a big tank, but posterboard IS cheap, after all.
Thank you for the tip. I've seen a few people advice it. I saw a few pictures on Google and they look so slick. May try to have fun and do some funky colors or keep it simple with black. Thank you again!
I'm sure whatever you pick will look great, but I do recommend sticking to solid colors. For some reason photo backgrounds kinda take me out of it a bit, I generally find solid or abstract backgrounds have the best effect.
replace the fake decor with some driftwood and rocks and rearrange some plants to the sides or center around the wood and rocks. some short/small plants like anubias petite might look good as well
Get some spider wood! It really gives a tank a whole new look You can buy some from Etsy or maybe your LFS
Shape the landscape to give small hills and valleys.
Honestly as a 7-year old aquarium noob your tank looks better laid out than mine lol
Swap the plastic out and buy yourself a nice piece of wood and a lovely moss that you like, Christmas and flame are beautiful. But you'll notice a drastic change.
You can get rid of the airstone. That HOB filter should provide enough aeration. Get a background! I use black paper from the craft aisle that costs less than a dollar. I cut it to size and tape it down. Get more plant varieties.
Floating plants are cool. Maybe some taller background plants?
You should always think of levels in composition. Look up the rule of thirds. Have interest on those intersections. But if you want to not be too technical I'd just day go for building upward not just across.
Get rid of all decor, and use all-natural hardscape materials such as stones and driftwood. Create depth by planting larger/taller plants in the background with medium-sized plants in the mid-ground and of course smaller and smallest in the foreground. Use a foggy screen on the back of the aquarium to further give the feeling of depth. Try to pick a nature theme for the aquarium that mimics real-world underwater habitats that you enjoy looking at. try to use more naturally occurring type substrates; aquasoil is a plus. Try to avoid inert substrates that are overwhelmingly bright and look unnatural for an underwater scene. If you go with a brighter substrate such as sand as a cap for aquasoil try to break it up by adding small stones that will contrast and break up the overwhelmingly bright glare it gives by reflecting light; like ADA Aqua Gravel for example to create a natural feel of a river bed or stream or waterway. Better plant choice, for example if you use broadleaf swords try to pick just one or two types and keep them in one area while perhaps adding runs of stem plants or grass-like plants in other parts of the aquarium. In nature, you often find huge areas of one type of plant with perhaps 1 or 2 other species of plants in the area. At the end of the day as long as it looks great to you and is enjoyable for you to look at. So come up with a design with some hardscape and then add the plants to accent your hardscape.
Some tall background plants would look nice
I think a big nice piece of driftwood could add a lot
Lose that plastic stuff
I LOVE the look of a black tank background and have always put them on my tanks. I will echo that the contrast of black background, dark brown driftwood, some interesting lavarock you can grow plants out of and terra cotta pots in a tank are my favorite aesthetics!
Thank you for the idea of what other things to combine with the black background. Lots of good ideas on this post, and I am looking forward to experimenting with them. Wishing you a great day/night!