BriannesFishFam Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 Hi all! I wasn't sure where to post these questions, sorry about that. I want to start aquascaping my fish tanks, I feel like I'd enjoy them more. I don't want to spend a fortune on more substrate, rocks, or plants so does anybody know a place cheap for those? I am only scared about the fact that if a fish dies I won't see it and it will pollute the tank. Does anyone know how to aquascape? What kind of plants do you grow and what looks the best. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 aquascaping is nothing more than landscaping a tank. add in rocks, plants, wood to suit your tastes. when it looks good to you, its done. plants can come from friends, local fish store, or aquarium co-op figure on 5-10 bucks a plants. rocks, go for a walk, they can be found just about anywhere. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriannesFishFam Posted July 11, 2021 Author Share Posted July 11, 2021 On 7/11/2021 at 11:25 AM, lefty o said: aquascaping is nothing more than landscaping a tank. add in rocks, plants, wood to suit your tastes. when it looks good to you, its done. plants can come from friends, local fish store, or aquarium co-op figure on 5-10 bucks a plants. rocks, go for a walk, they can be found just about anywhere. How do I disinfect the rocks from outside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 hot water. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 On 7/11/2021 at 8:27 AM, BriannesFishFam said: How do I disinfect the rocks from outside? Here is a nice article on how to safely use rocks in your aquarium: https://www.thesprucepets.com/using-outdoor-gravel-or-rocks-in-an-aquarium-1381305 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GameCzar Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 Kind of off topic, but you know your brain has changed to aquascaper mode if you're waiting for the Mrs. outside of a store and the whole time you'r eyeballing a nearby ditch because there's some really cool rocks and plants! 2 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer V Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 I personally found this article about beginning to aquascape and beginner plants very helpful. As for plants, I'd add susswassertang to the Aquarium Co-Op list. It's nice looking and all you do is plop it in the tank and it'll do just fine. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/beginner-planted-aquarium?_pos=2&_psq=beginner&_ss=e&_v=1.0 Also, try to find a local aquarium group on Facebook. A lot of times you can get plants etc for free. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 @lefty o and @eatyourpeas pretty much have it covered. At the entry level, aquascaping is pretty easy. I would add that landscapers often have quarried stones you can choose from. Pea gravel from big box stores is cheap. You should check around, as their gravel comes from different sources, and will look different when wet. If you are trying to duplicate nature, than look for rocks that look like they belong together, having similar shapes size and coloration. Sometimes less is more! A single centerpiece stone or three can look fantastic with complimentary plantings. Two should be avoided unless you are careful to avoid the 7-10 split 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 Lowe’s had dragon stone, petrified wood, and some other aquascapping products on their website a bunch of FishTube people commented and it sold out quickly they may restock so keep an eye out. I like black lava rock as an aquascaping rock lots of character. I live in an area with manzanita so I take it and age it in my back yard. I usually boil a kettle or 3 of water and pour over the wood and rocks scrub and repeat. Obsidian is all over the place here and I live it - inert glass with loads of cooor and character. Pool filter sand and black diamond blasting sand can give you some of the look you’re seeing in some of the aquascapers tanks. The dry start method can help if you’re doing an iwagumi tank. There are several YouTubes on dry start. I find that green aqua is great for inspiration but they’re trying to sell their products. George Farmer is great for inspiration and his podcasts are fantastic for the nuts and bolts of aquascaping. Aquapros does a lot of scapes and he often uses simpler material. The Small Scape is great she’s doing low tech and nano tanks. I would say that low-tech can often approximate maybe 50-75% of a high tech setup but it’s very rare for you to get hightech results without CO2, Estimated Index ferts, and high intensity wrgb lighting. The Barr Report website has a lot of tools to help you. The best low tech method imho to help with getting great results is a dirted tank such as a Walstad. The amount of nutrients for stems and rooted plants is just so high they really thrive. I’ve seen some exquisite Dutch style scapes using dirted tank principles and they’re gorgeous. Have fun this is a hell of a rabbit hole you’re falling through. It’s enjoyable and infuriating and magical but it’s a journey! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 On 7/11/2021 at 11:07 AM, GameCzar said: Kind of off topic, but you know your brain has changed to aquascaper mode if you're waiting for the Mrs. outside of a store and the whole time you'r eyeballing a nearby ditch because there's some really cool rocks and plants! Did you get some? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GameCzar Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 On 7/11/2021 at 1:28 PM, Odd Duck said: Did you get some? Not yet, but I'll be back 😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 @GameCzar my spouse has finally acclimated to the need for ziploc bags in the car, and to always be on the lookout for safe places to pull over near waterways, lol! Self-collected plants are the best. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingFishKeeper Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 (edited) Hi, for substrate I LOVE my planted dirted tank. You can get a good sized bag for under $20 at a hardware store, then cap it with something like pool filter sand, or in my case Fluval Stratum, however the latter can be rather expensive. I agree that to aquascape just arrange stuff that looks good to you in a configuration that looks interesting. In my opinion mostly just do what looks good to you, and don't worry what other people think about it, there are tons of different ways to aquascape! Cory also made a livestream about aquascaping if you want to research a bit more, and for some pointers Irene also made a really good video about starting a planted aquarium cheaply that I like As for what type of plants just whatever looks best, and has colours and textures you like. If you're looking for a particular plant to try I love Pogostemon stellatus, it grows fast and looks good, Anubias nana petite is also a favourite for me because of it's size and hardiness. I've heard a lot of good stuff about crypts as well, particularly for low light setups. Good luck! Edited July 16, 2021 by FlyingFishKeeper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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