55 Gallon has been planted any hard scape suggestions?

[Sunny Doan]

Here's the 55 gallon tank, fluval 3.0 and plants from aquarium co op and lfs. Only thing now is hardscape, driftwood or stone, or both. Which do you all think would look good? Any lower budget options? I'm only 15 and don't have the highest budget

[Frost]

With stones I fear you'll have to pay a lot per pound in order to get something that will really make an impact on something as tall as a 55

So I think I would recommend wood for big pieces, probably spider wood because a single piece can branch out pretty far through a tank

I'm a fan of mopani wood because it almost always sinks immediately but that will leach a lot of tannins into the water and some people don't want their water to look like a strong tea, and big pieces worthy of a 55 will be expensive

No matter what piece of wood you'd pick you can use smaller stones around it if you'd like that in your tank, I'd recommend smooth river stones or seiryu stones, or really anything that isn't a tan/brown because you have plenty of that already with that sand, and wood would be brown too

I know you didn't ask about this but the cheapest upgrade I can recommend is a black background. You could get an aquarium-specific background or tape up some big pieces of construction paper or even a garbage bag. A background makes a huge difference.

I'll link a picture of my tanks, my 55 has a bunch of mopani wood in it and the 29 has a couple pieces of spider wood surrounded by seiryu stone, hopefully they can help you make a decision!

[Daniel]

I use rocks gathered from the creek behind my house in all my aquariums. The selection is really good and the price is right.

[bm3aquatic]

I agree with Frost,  Mopani wood is excellent. I have it in two tanks. I soaked the first one for about 6 weeks to remove the tannins.

The second was a huge piece that I didn't and leeched for quite a while but goes away with time and water changes. If you like tannins some fish prefer it.

Another alternative for backgrounds if you want one is window cling just wet the tank and apply. There are videos on YouTube if you are interested in that. 

I really like Dragon stone. I also collect rocks locally.

Edited July 17, 2020 by bm3aquatic

[Frost]

8 minutes ago, Daniel said:

I use rocks gathered from the creek behind my house in all my aquariums. The selection is really good and the price is right.

I'll have to try this whenever I attempt the North American native tank I've been dreaming about

Hard to beat the low low price of free.99

[Frost]

8 minutes ago, bm3aquatic said:

The second was a huge piece that I didn't and leeched for quite a while but goes away with time and water changes.

I think it took my 55 gallon about 6 months to leech out pretty much all of the tannins, the bad thing is that I like them so I had to start buying almond leaves 🙃

[bm3aquatic]

I started out with the tannins but I didn't want the upkeep.😁🤣

[Brandy]

I also use free rocks--I am living in the land of basalt, and that is pretty safe stuff. 

I am a crazy/lucky person though, and found a beautiful maple driftwood root ball at the beach. It took forever to scrub, but since I am confident of what kind of wood it is, and willing to wait to stock with fish until everything sinks and settles, my hardscape was free.

It is a risk of course. I could be wrong about the species of wood. I could bring in some horrible bacteria, and I wouldn't add it in an established tank. But there you go. I am sure some people would argue that I am insane, and they are likely right. Please don't use me as a role model. 🤪

On the other hand, wood and rock from stores was outside once too. There are lots of discussions of how to safely select and prepare it available online.

 

[Sunny Doan]

17 hours ago, Frost said:

With stones I fear you'll have to pay a lot per pound in order to get something that will really make an impact on something as tall as a 55

So I think I would recommend wood for big pieces, probably spider wood because a single piece can branch out pretty far through a tank

I'm a fan of mopani wood because it almost always sinks immediately but that will leach a lot of tannins into the water and some people don't want their water to look like a strong tea, and big pieces worthy of a 55 will be expensive

No matter what piece of wood you'd pick you can use smaller stones around it if you'd like that in your tank, I'd recommend smooth river stones or seiryu stones, or really anything that isn't a tan/brown because you have plenty of that already with that sand, and wood would be brown too

I know you didn't ask about this but the cheapest upgrade I can recommend is a black background. You could get an aquarium-specific background or tape up some big pieces of construction paper or even a garbage bag. A background makes a huge difference.

I'll link a picture of my tanks, my 55 has a bunch of mopani wood in it and the 29 has a couple pieces of spider wood surrounded by seiryu stone, hopefully they can help you make a decision!

Thanks for the reply, I am working on a black background as of now, either painting it or getting some sort of window tint. I'm lucky enough to have an aquascaping store nearby so I'll have to pass by today and check out their selection. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

[Sunny Doan]

17 hours ago, bm3aquatic said:

I agree with Frost,  Mopani wood is excellent. I have it in two tanks. I soaked the first one for about 6 weeks to remove the tannins.

The second was a huge piece that I didn't and leeched for quite a while but goes away with time and water changes. If you like tannins some fish prefer it.

Another alternative for backgrounds if you want one is window cling just wet the tank and apply. There are videos on YouTube if you are interested in that. 

I really like Dragon stone. I also collect rocks locally.

I don't seem to mind tannins I have a piece of wood in my 10 gallon didn't really release tannins but the shrimp love to hang out on it.

[Frost]

58 minutes ago, Sunny Doan said:

I am working on a black background as of now, either painting it or getting some sort of window tint.

All of mine are painted, it works but it's easier to do when the tank is empty, if you're willing to do it now then go for it!

[H.K.Luterman]

I use cheap rocks you can buy at Landscaping places. For instance, in my 40 breeder, I made that cave for my catfish out of stacked pieces of slate and flagstone (bought big pieces and broke them up with a sledgehammer... was kind of fun!). That rock pile on the right side, as well as the scattered round rocks are "river stones" from Home Depot, which are sold in a big bag.

Here's some rock work in my 75. Again, just stacked up flag stone and slate.

 

[Daniel]

Is that duckweed floating on top?

On 7/17/2020 at 4:26 PM, Sunny Doan said:

Here's the 55 gallon tank, fluval 3.0 and plants from aquarium co op and lfs. Only thing now is hardscape, driftwood or stone, or both. Which do you all think would look good? Any lower budget options? I'm only 15 and don't have the highest budget

 

[Sunny Doan]

1 hour ago, Daniel said:

Is that duckweed floating on top?

 

Yes it's duckweed I keep my 10 gallon full of it to keep it virtually maintenance free and also it feeds the goldfish and the geese I have in the backyard