a balanced looking tank, or unbalanced???

[Magnum Man]

I find when I set up a tank ( most are 36 inches to 48 inches long ) that the tank is symmetrical, or at least have the same flow and look across the tank... yet it's funny, that in my South American tetra tank, the fish all are in one side of the tank, same filters, same flow on both sides of the tank, nearly identical cover, and while fish will go to the left side of the tank, they don't stay there... anyway, when I set up my 72 inch -250 gallon, I'm going to put a large stump on one end, and transition to a clearer area in the tank, for free swimming fish, and may do a Sting Ray or two, but it will be long enough, that I think I can get away with the look of transition, and thus have fish that like 2 different areas...

have you guys successfully pulled off the look of transition in smaller tanks, or does it take a much bigger tank to pull it off??? I've tried doing that with smaller tanks, but it requires too much maintenance or??? but my smaller tanks always end up looking the same for the whole tank, substrate evens out over time, plants take over the open areas, and I end up with no transition over time...

 

[GaryE]

If I want substrates not to flatten, I have to work on them as I would to trim plants. I want an open area in one of my 75s, for my sand sifting Chromidotilapia kingsleyae. They swam around my feet in a plantless, sand bottomed Gabonese river, so I know what they like (minus my feet). To keep it open and still have a fringe of plants, I constantly pull up and throw away Vallisneria, and transplant young Crypts. Plants head for open spaces where nothing gets in the way of their light.
Fish will gather in the part of the tank where food travels on the currents we create with our filters, and filter outflow can be played with. I never get it 100% right, and fish tend to avoid wherever the intake is. If the flow hits a wall, they are there.
As well, for a lot of species, the quietest sections are energy savers. A lot of fish need to race against currents, but they also need places to take a break.