SniperY
12-12-2007, 08:56 PM
For many fish tank hobbyists, aquascaping can be one of the most enjoyable parts about setting up a fish tank. Decorating your aquarium can be quite fun, but coming up with a good aquascape is not just about making the tank look nice. You really should take into account the tank's future inhabitants when figuring out what you need to do. This is where you get to exercise both sides of your brain to try and come up with something that is not only nice to look at but something that is functional as well.
Research Fish and Animals First
Ideally, you should research and decide on the fish and any other animals you want to keep before you even buy a tank. Many freshwater hobbyists (http://www.fishlore.com/Beginners.htm) think the common pleco (http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Pleco.htm) is a cool fish to have and indeed it is. But, the common pleco really has no place in a tank smaller than 55 gallons as adults.
Many saltwater hobbyists (http://www.fishlore.com/SaltwaterBeginners.htm) are really taken by many of the tangs (surgeonfish) (http://www.fishlore.com/profiles-tangsurgeons.htm). Without research, they have no clue that tangs really need a large tank for adequate swimming space. Dottybacks (http://www.fishlore.com/profiles-dottybacks.htm) are another popular species and one that needs hiding spaces to feel secure. Creating hiding places for your dottyback is an important consideration in your aquarium aquascaping plans.
For the future reef tank keepers out there, some corals (http://www.fishlore.com/aquariumcorals-borneman.htm) need intense aquarium lighting whereas others prefer less lighting. Figuring out which corals you would like to keep may dictate the arrangement of the saltwater live rock (http://www.fishlore.com/live_rock.htm) in your tank. For instance, if you want to keep some light loving corals you may need to build up the rockwork so that you could place these corals with the intense lighting requirements higher in the tank.
Hopefully you can start to see the importance of figuring out what you want to keep before you buy your first piece of fish tank equipment.
Keep Aquarium Maintenance In Mind
You've got your tank setup and it looks fantastic! Everyone compliments you on how nice it looks and you're feeling really good. However, a week or two goes by and it's time for some routine fish tank maintenance (http://www.fishlore.com/Maintenance.htm) tasks. Namely, scraping the tank glass to get rid of some unsightly algae that is starting to grow on the front viewing panel of the tank. But wait, aah man, I've put the rock too close to the front glass and I can't get the scraper in between the rock and the glass. Doh!
Another favorite task of many aquarists is gravel vacuuming. Yeah! Don't you just love vacuuming the gravel? Just kidding. However, what must be done, must be done. It's time for another - doh! I've grouped too many of these plants together and it's going to be darn near impossible to effectively clean the gravel in that part of the tank. Looks like the beginnings of a small nitrate factory in the making, which may be a big headache down the road. The point here is that you want to aquascape effectively. Arrange the fish tank so that future tank maintenance tasks remain as easy and efficient as possible.
Research Fish and Animals First
Ideally, you should research and decide on the fish and any other animals you want to keep before you even buy a tank. Many freshwater hobbyists (http://www.fishlore.com/Beginners.htm) think the common pleco (http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Pleco.htm) is a cool fish to have and indeed it is. But, the common pleco really has no place in a tank smaller than 55 gallons as adults.
Many saltwater hobbyists (http://www.fishlore.com/SaltwaterBeginners.htm) are really taken by many of the tangs (surgeonfish) (http://www.fishlore.com/profiles-tangsurgeons.htm). Without research, they have no clue that tangs really need a large tank for adequate swimming space. Dottybacks (http://www.fishlore.com/profiles-dottybacks.htm) are another popular species and one that needs hiding spaces to feel secure. Creating hiding places for your dottyback is an important consideration in your aquarium aquascaping plans.
For the future reef tank keepers out there, some corals (http://www.fishlore.com/aquariumcorals-borneman.htm) need intense aquarium lighting whereas others prefer less lighting. Figuring out which corals you would like to keep may dictate the arrangement of the saltwater live rock (http://www.fishlore.com/live_rock.htm) in your tank. For instance, if you want to keep some light loving corals you may need to build up the rockwork so that you could place these corals with the intense lighting requirements higher in the tank.
Hopefully you can start to see the importance of figuring out what you want to keep before you buy your first piece of fish tank equipment.
Keep Aquarium Maintenance In Mind
You've got your tank setup and it looks fantastic! Everyone compliments you on how nice it looks and you're feeling really good. However, a week or two goes by and it's time for some routine fish tank maintenance (http://www.fishlore.com/Maintenance.htm) tasks. Namely, scraping the tank glass to get rid of some unsightly algae that is starting to grow on the front viewing panel of the tank. But wait, aah man, I've put the rock too close to the front glass and I can't get the scraper in between the rock and the glass. Doh!
Another favorite task of many aquarists is gravel vacuuming. Yeah! Don't you just love vacuuming the gravel? Just kidding. However, what must be done, must be done. It's time for another - doh! I've grouped too many of these plants together and it's going to be darn near impossible to effectively clean the gravel in that part of the tank. Looks like the beginnings of a small nitrate factory in the making, which may be a big headache down the road. The point here is that you want to aquascape effectively. Arrange the fish tank so that future tank maintenance tasks remain as easy and efficient as possible.