thatfancygoldfish 366 Posted June 14, 2012 Hope I'm asking this in the right section!!! After ruining one of my hollow ornaments trying to make it solid I don't really know how to set up my aquarium to look good! I have a bare-bottom tank (still cycling fishless at the moment) and am trying to come up with a solution that looks pleasing without planting anything real in there! Are there any ideas that you guys can suggest for a minimalist tank setup? What kind of decor did you use? Were they petstore bought? Were they DYI or bought from places other than a pet place? Any suggestions would help! I'm just not sure how to go about decorating it without making it look tacky 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Purpledays 18 Posted June 14, 2012 I could use some decorating advice myself. Seems like anything I put in the tank gets covered in brown algae and the fish knock it over or move it around, including rocks! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thatfancygoldfish 366 Posted June 14, 2012 ohh nooo!! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel 5,668 Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) I liked to use large river stones, they aren't too expensive or you can find them locally. They make for very versatile décor if you silicon a stack of them together with a hot glue gun. Alternatively, you could attach Anubias to some - they're a fairly hardy plant even if you aren't too keen on keep live flora. Just remember to vinegar test them, if the vinegar fizzes the rock isn't aquaria safe. Edited June 14, 2012 by dan in aus 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr.B 2,535 Posted June 14, 2012 I agree wiht Dan. I have this look in my tank and I like it a lot. The anubias are hardy, and the goldfish don't bug them. The hot glue is a good idea, i've been using aquarium silicone, but glue has got to be cheaper. I also really like oriental themes as well. Good luck. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShawneeRiver 2,720 Posted June 14, 2012 Look at lots of pictures and use the ideas you like. Some members here use wrapping paper for backgrounds, and that can be very fun. Sakura has an artificial plant mounted on the side of the tank, and that looks very modern and zen. And some members have a lot of driftwood with so much easy java fern and anubias that the tanks look very lush despite the bare bottom. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel 5,668 Posted June 14, 2012 Ooh, I completely forgot about aquarium silicone. I've been out of the hobby for so long it had left my mind. Hot glue is super cheap, just make sure to use non-toxic glue, although I doubt you'll find toxic hot glue tubes anyway. You can also use super glue, once it is completely dry it's rendered aquarium safe. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cathface 161 Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) when I kept my goldies, I kept it barebottom and mostly minimal - used two hanging silk vivarium plants to cover up airlines and external filter intakes, and a small bunch of silk aquarium plants in a small glass set to one side to cover up the external filter output and the internal filter. scattered large-ish river stones and used black sticky-back plastic like the type you might put on a kitchen countertop (in the US I think they call it contact paper?) as the background and voila! ... basically my suggestion is silk plants, biggish river stones and a nice background haha. bearing in mind I found it quite difficult to properly clean the silk plants of algae, though it only took a quick wipe or two in a bucket of tank water for the river stones. oh, and air stones/bubble wands look nice and help oxygenate the water too. just found a picture of my setup: Edited June 14, 2012 by cathface 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thatfancygoldfish 366 Posted June 15, 2012 I liked to use large river stones, they aren't too expensive or you can find them locally. They make for very versatile décor if you silicon a stack of them together with a hot glue gun. Alternatively, you could attach Anubias to some - they're a fairly hardy plant even if you aren't too keen on keep live flora. Just remember to vinegar test them, if the vinegar fizzes the rock isn't aquaria safe. That's a great idea! I'll snatch up some river rocks for my tank! I agree wiht Dan. I have this look in my tank and I like it a lot. The anubias are hardy, and the goldfish don't bug them. The hot glue is a good idea, i've been using aquarium silicone, but glue has got to be cheaper. I also really like oriental themes as well. Good luck. I like oriental themes too! I'm sure I have some hot glue sticks, I'll just go ahead and read the package to make sure they're non toxic! Look at lots of pictures and use the ideas you like. Some members here use wrapping paper for backgrounds, and that can be very fun. Sakura has an artificial plant mounted on the side of the tank, and that looks very modern and zen. And some members have a lot of driftwood with so much easy java fern and anubias that the tanks look very lush despite the bare bottom. A plant mountedon the side? That sounds interesting! I'm really going to have to look around for some good ideas! I just want to make sure my future goldie will have swimming space! The tank isn't very wide off the wall (12 inches) but it's long(24 inches) and deep! (18 inches) so it's been a challenge to decorate and leave adequate space! Ooh, I completely forgot about aquarium silicone. I've been out of the hobby for so long it had left my mind. Hot glue is super cheap, just make sure to use non-toxic glue, although I doubt you'll find toxic hot glue tubes anyway. You can also use super glue, once it is completely dry it's rendered aquarium safe. Will make sure it's safe! So far i've only put some river rocks from a local aquarium store in the tank. My old decorations were hollow and when I tried to seal them it failed! when I kept my goldies, I kept it barebottom and mostly minimal - used two hanging silk vivarium plants to cover up airlines and external filter intakes, and a small bunch of silk aquarium plants in a small glass set to one side to cover up the external filter output and the internal filter. scattered large-ish river stones and used black sticky-back plastic like the type you might put on a kitchen countertop (in the US I think they call it contact paper?) as the background and voila! ... basically my suggestion is silk plants, biggish river stones and a nice background haha. bearing in mind I found it quite difficult to properly clean the silk plants of algae, though it only took a quick wipe or two in a bucket of tank water for the river stones. oh, and air stones/bubble wands look nice and help oxygenate the water too. just found a picture of my setup: That looks very nice!!! I like the idea of minimalism! Thanks guys for all the great ideas! I really appreciate it!!!!!! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
