Aquascape

I have been trying to figure out how to make a background that I would like for quite some time. I finally came up with this. I used fluorescent light egg crating, aquarium safe silicone, and a bag of garden river rock from Home Depot. I had to cut the egg crate into 3 pieces to make it fit into the tank because of the glass support across the top middle of the tank. Probably just as well because the egg crating breaks fairly easily and with the weight of one solid piece I am sure I would have broken it before I got it in the tank. - [Details]

This structure (figure one) went into a built-in 65g planted African cichlid tank with very hard & alkaline water conditions. This fish-plant-water combination was going to be hard on plants, so I went with a system of double pots for each plant. Lower pots are surrounded by dolomite, upper pots (planted) use fluorite. A similar egg-crate grill was used to protect the root systems, and a foam liner kept the red fluorite from mixing with the white dolomite. - [Details]

"I had difficulty trying to find the right kind of cave structure for my 175 gallon African cichlid tank. I wanted some caves for them to hide in without adding any appreciable weight to the tank, and I had a length/width limitation due to the tank being box framed at the top (it only has three 17"Lx13"w openings at the top). This meant whatever I got would have to fit through those lid holes and still be large enough to accommodate a home for Africans. I didn't relish the idea of building a structure out of rocks or slate inside the tank because of the weight and space issues, so I decided to go with fired clay strawberry pots! - [Details]

I recently set up a new 125 gallon Malawi Mbuna tank for my family room. I wanted the aquascape to include a lot of rocks, but I also wanted it to look natural. I tried slate, river rock and even commercially sold holey rock. None of these looked natural, so I started researching on the internet for other types of rocks and came across Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation [garf.org]. They had several articles detailing how to make live rock out of cement and aragonite called Aragacrete™. Aragacrete™ has been used for quite some time by reef keepers with great success. Following their example, I decided to try my hand at a little rock making. - [Details]

I have been formulating a home built aquarium, using the techniques I have learned on my own, as well as techniques describing other home built aquariums. It should turn out to be a fantastic project! - [Details]

Cichlid-forum.com - The supplies you'll need are styrofoam, knives, a blow dryer or heat gun, Quikrete Mason Mix Cement, Quikrete Concrete Acrylic Fortifier, cheap 2" paint brush, 100% silicone caulking, and Concrete paint (optional). - [Details]

This project is cheap and easy to make. In case you were wondering, I've used hot glue guns to make aquarium decorations for years. I've never seen any effect on the fish. It doesn't adhere well to polished surfaces - or PVC hence the silicone to hold things better. I have used it to glue gravel to the base of plastic plants with good sucess. - [Details]

Here's a little Do-it-Yourself project. It's basically a background with a network of caves built-in, and covered w/ lava rock, so it blends in w/ the tank. - [Details]

Peter Z's Fishline - [Details]

Found the perfect piece of driftwood? Now what? Here are various methods of prepping that piece of wood before you put it in your tank. - [Details]

The diagram below shows how for the first couple of years the equipment was arranged to provide the appropriate conditions within the system. - [Details]

The easiest/quickest way to divide a tank is to hit Walmart or a craft store and buy some craft plastic canvas and report (as in school report) binders. Cut the plastic canvas to fit the tank, silicone the report binders to the sides (although I do have some tanks where they're not permanently attatched...I don't recommend doing that until you're positive they won't shift and let the fish through), and then stick the canvas into the report binder clips. You can use a regular old hang-on-back filter, corner filter, or sponge filter for this type of divided tank, anything will work since the water can flow freely through the canvas. - [Details]