LoveArowanas Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Hi all All the stuff at my two local stores arent *quite* the sort of colour I am looking for. What are we able to use? I found some Yahtzee River stones which I think would look pretty awesome but Im not sure how easy they would be to keep clean as they are quite clunky (about the size of the old 50c peice). Currrently have those common "gold" stones and while they are pretty they make the tank look like a tank by not blending well with my rocks/plants. I want a really realistic setting. If you follow that Saw some shells at the local beach that would look ok too. Can you use these? What I mean is...would they be ok to use after washing in boiling water? What are the general parameters of do's and donts with stones/shells? Any examples/suppliers/ideas would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Welcome to the forums (before I start can I please explain that my fullstop on my keypad refuses to work ) There are many different types of substrate you can use ranging from sand of varying colours to rocks, some you can put fertilisers under and some you can't Stone and Water world in Ellerslie have heaps of different types or if you have a read through various posts in this site you will see and find out what others use Shells can be used however they do tend to raise the pH level of your tank While most cichlids love high pH some of the other fish will not thrive in it My best suggestion to you is to read through here, ask lots of questions to which you will get varying replies and answers, decide what you think would be right for you and give it a go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveArowanas Posted January 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Stone and Water world in Ellerslie have heaps of different types Thanks for that! They have some great looking large rocks that I will be soon checking out www.stoneworld.co.nz (for others info) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raewyna Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Most of my tanks are bare bottomed with plants in pots, but the 'display' tank has substrate - clean garden soil with schist pebbles on top. I bought the schist on Trade Me so don't know where it came from, but imagine that probably originated from South Island rivers. The caveat for shells is as above, that they do increase pH. And as said above, some fish are happy with that but many South American ones are not - eg tetras and SA cichlids like water to be slightly acid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hey, you might want to list your location in your profile so local people can provide better specific advice to you. You can do that by going to the 'user control panel' at the top right of the window. Now, about substrates, many different types of substrate are ok to use but as the others say some types can affect pH (acidity/alkalinity) of the water so it is good to research what you want and the type of fish you are keeping. Tetras generally are ok with a wider pH range that is on the acidic side so take care with shells which can raise the pH too much for the fish to thrive. When stocking your tank with more inhabitants, this is something to consider. You will find a general trend in substrates, dark colours tend to show off the fish's colour as well as help the green colour on any plants to show up. Fine substrates, like sand, are good for plants to spread out good roots. Also, fine smooth substrates are good for bottom feeding fishes that enjoy sifting through the gravel. In some set ups light quartz type sand is used since this is what the fish would have in their natural habitat. You can go online to a number of good sites to get inspiration for how you want your tank to look. There are limitless options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveArowanas Posted January 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Hey ...thanks. Updated Any good sites you can point me towards for this aquarium porn you speak of? At the moment Im constructing a theme around a destroyed WW2 German aircraft, hence my desire to keep it realistic rather than have a pink castle or naff stones or whatever in the corner ruining the tanks whole war-is-cool steez Kinda juvenile I know..... but then again I am a boy :oops: Keen for other ideas for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... w-showcase I like to use 640x480 image size and browse by the index of entries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 N1CK or SamH are always about with lots of links...I am sure it won't be long before they arrive with some good suggestions. To start with you can try visiting the following blog for some good basics on aquascaping: http://www.aquatic-eden.com/ Also, try looking at the following sites that have some interesting planted substrates for colour ideas, etc: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myTanks/ http://www.flickr.com/groups/greataquascapes/pool/ Have fun! This is the best part, designing the tank setup! :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 My tanks are all gravel out of the nearest river - can't look more natural than that!! All the rocks are gathered at the same time so it blends in well. The larger size gravel is a little annoying as you can't plunge the gravel vac in so easily, but the large spaces between the stones means gunge gets sucked through fairly easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveArowanas Posted January 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Those links are fantastic! Thanks. I had been google searching for that sort of thing but without much luck,mostly on account of the fact I was completely oblivious to the existence of the word "aquascape". Spent out 3 hours last night poring over tank_porn and I thoroughly enjoyed it.... except I now have severe tank-inadequacy issues :oops: (baboomkish olol) ....anyway I guess I'll just have to spruce mine right up ....and then get another tank for the lounge! .....one would loook good in my bedroom too ...both bedrooms sigh. what have I done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Welcome to the expensive and addictive world of fishkeeping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Oh my, you do have it bad dear boy.... 8) :lol: :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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