Need some help making my 120Gallon look good.
I just got 2 HUGE clowns and with all of the decor its not working out. I already have it a river tank, ALOT of current going around the tank. The Big clowns need space to swim, and my other fish still need places to rest sooo....
What do you reccommend I do? Really looking for some Ideas that will make the tank look good and make the loachs feel at home. trying to keep them all, just dont want my rocks falling from the big guys to the little guys also.
stock list
2 huge clowns
40 or so diffrent loachs, all 4" or under, accept my blue botia-6.5"
rainbows
flagtail
fire eel
ghost knife
Any ideas will help, I will post a pic of what it looks like now.
Thanks-
Zach
HELP PLEASE, Need a tank layout for my loaches!
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Loaches4Life
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You have a LOT of fish that thrive in caves, arches of driftwood and similar things.
Here is a simple way to lay out a tank that will look balanced:
Stand back.
Divide the tank into 5 sections with vertical lines.
Lets call them
Left, Left-middle, Center, Right-middle and Right.
Set up the largest/tallest/bulkiest thing (driftwood or rock) in the left-middle. This one would be more or less a vertical element. Lets say it is a large piece of Driftwood or stump.
Set up the second largest thing in the right middle. This one should be noticeably shorter, perhaps lying down, or at an angle that creates a more or less horizontal element. Lets say this is a Rock. It might be closer to the front of the tank, or angled so it comes forward from the right rear toward the center of the tank.
Add pieces of the same material to each major piece, around the base, leaning against it, supporting it. Add driftwood to the Driftwood item, rock to the Rock item. All rocks should be the same material. Do not mix granites and slates and lava and river rocks...
As you are laying out these medium sized and smaller pieces stack them, overlap them, create caves and hollows. Let them spread out toward the sides of the tank, and toward each other. Be sure to nestle the lower pieces well into the substrate and make sure they are stable. You can do a dry run and then glue the pieces together with special epoxy sold for aquarium use. (silicone does not work too well on rocks, or driftwood)
Also, find a third nice item, smaller than the secondary item, but still good sized. If it is a rock, put it on the Left. (the side where we put the Driftwood) If it is driftwood, put it on the right (Where we put the Rock). Add a few smaller pieces of the same material around the base.
In placing the wood and rocks think about how a real river will tumble the wood and rocks over the years. They will not be angled into the water flow, but will be leaning away from the water. If all the water is pumped from the right, the driftwood will aim toward the left.
Plant among all these things, especially stem plants toward the back of the tank, and the sides. Lower plants in the front. In a tank with a lot of water movement (a river tank) the plants will be low, tucked into hollows in the rocks and driftwood. Skip the stem plants, they are not river tank plants. You want short plants, not so tall that the flow of the river will tear them apart. Look into Anubias, Wendelov Java Fern and similar compact plants.
For more background on this "divided into 5ths" layout research the Golden Mean.
Here is a simple way to lay out a tank that will look balanced:
Stand back.
Divide the tank into 5 sections with vertical lines.
Lets call them
Left, Left-middle, Center, Right-middle and Right.
Set up the largest/tallest/bulkiest thing (driftwood or rock) in the left-middle. This one would be more or less a vertical element. Lets say it is a large piece of Driftwood or stump.
Set up the second largest thing in the right middle. This one should be noticeably shorter, perhaps lying down, or at an angle that creates a more or less horizontal element. Lets say this is a Rock. It might be closer to the front of the tank, or angled so it comes forward from the right rear toward the center of the tank.
Add pieces of the same material to each major piece, around the base, leaning against it, supporting it. Add driftwood to the Driftwood item, rock to the Rock item. All rocks should be the same material. Do not mix granites and slates and lava and river rocks...
As you are laying out these medium sized and smaller pieces stack them, overlap them, create caves and hollows. Let them spread out toward the sides of the tank, and toward each other. Be sure to nestle the lower pieces well into the substrate and make sure they are stable. You can do a dry run and then glue the pieces together with special epoxy sold for aquarium use. (silicone does not work too well on rocks, or driftwood)
Also, find a third nice item, smaller than the secondary item, but still good sized. If it is a rock, put it on the Left. (the side where we put the Driftwood) If it is driftwood, put it on the right (Where we put the Rock). Add a few smaller pieces of the same material around the base.
In placing the wood and rocks think about how a real river will tumble the wood and rocks over the years. They will not be angled into the water flow, but will be leaning away from the water. If all the water is pumped from the right, the driftwood will aim toward the left.
Plant among all these things, especially stem plants toward the back of the tank, and the sides. Lower plants in the front. In a tank with a lot of water movement (a river tank) the plants will be low, tucked into hollows in the rocks and driftwood. Skip the stem plants, they are not river tank plants. You want short plants, not so tall that the flow of the river will tear them apart. Look into Anubias, Wendelov Java Fern and similar compact plants.
For more background on this "divided into 5ths" layout research the Golden Mean.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.
Happy fish keeping!
Happy fish keeping!
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Loaches4Life
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:26 pm
WOW! I think your to smart for your own good! great advice. I drew up a blue print of what your post was saying and im not sure if there would be enough room for the monster loaches. I will have to play around with it for a bit but i like the idea of keeping the middle and sides free of rocks. Maybe put all of the rocks on the left and left middle and keeping the right middle with a small rock pile would work best? Thoughts?
Yes, asymmetrical is best.
Personally I do not like a layout to be too lopsided, too heavily weighted way over to one side, but that sort of layout will work. Some of it depends on the room where the tank will be. A tank in a corner looks fine with more rocks or driftwood toward the walls, and a lighter layout closer to the center of the room.
A tank along a flat wall somehow does not look so good when there is such an uneven pile of rocks far over to one side.
I am not saying it has to be symmetrical, quite the contrary. 2 piles of rock, somewhat interwoven, but different sized piles looks good. Just not so different that one is a mountain the other a molehill.
Personally I do not like a layout to be too lopsided, too heavily weighted way over to one side, but that sort of layout will work. Some of it depends on the room where the tank will be. A tank in a corner looks fine with more rocks or driftwood toward the walls, and a lighter layout closer to the center of the room.
A tank along a flat wall somehow does not look so good when there is such an uneven pile of rocks far over to one side.
I am not saying it has to be symmetrical, quite the contrary. 2 piles of rock, somewhat interwoven, but different sized piles looks good. Just not so different that one is a mountain the other a molehill.
Last edited by Diana on Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.
Happy fish keeping!
Happy fish keeping!
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Loaches4Life
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:26 pm
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