Ben's Tropical Tank

[Toolenaar]

Ahh yhea I skipped bits of the thread (was mostly interested in the picture progress), atm only have budget for the 180, but I agree on the background it looks awesome, might put down the extra buck for it.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

Man that tank looks so good now whats your stocklist at now? hehe

 

[Joshwainwright]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! I am thinking about taking some decent pictures and entering it for the Tank of the Month competition. What do you think?

I think it's easily a potential winner for TOTM, go for it!

 

[guppi]

Can you come and decorate mine.?

 

[L4byr1nth]

Entered TOTM! Yay!

Stocking is as follows;

10 Neon Tetra
7 Jumbo Cardinal Tetra (couldn't afford 10 )
2 Peacock Gobies
1 Red-Tailed Black Shark
1 Pearl Gourami
1 Tri-Band Sumo Loach
1 Bristlenose Plec.
4 Fancy Guppies
1 Marbled Gold Angelfish

Thanks to everyone for the lovely supportive comments throughout the thread. I got there in the end!

Ben.

 

[Joshwainwright]

This is rather strange but I've just been day dreaming, staring at the March TOTM nominees (yes, there's 2 at the moment) and came to the conclusion I don't actually like this tank any more.

It doesn't seem to have any sort of focal point or any contrasts between things. The background is great, it just seems to be too loud and in your face. If you try to imagine the tank without the magnificent background, it just seems a bit dull...

I hope that doesn't sound harsh

 

[L4byr1nth]

I know what you mean - I think it's the lack of height of my wood that's the problem.

I looked everywhere for a large piece of Mopani that would serve as a focal point, but so far haven't found one.

Oh well... I kinda knew that my tank wasn't really in the TOTM league, but maybe I'll try re-scaping it when I find the bit of wood that I'm searching for?

Ben.

EDIT:: My ideal large piece would be a sort of mushroom cloud/umbrella shape - with a large central trunk, and then lots of smaller branches drooping downwards from the top.

Not too demanding, am I?

 

[iluvfsh]

Hi, I loved reading about your tank set up. You posted what your fish are....I'm wondering the name of your plants. Especially the ones in the front of the tank?

 

[Joshwainwright]

That may take a while to find!

It will be great once you do find this legendary piece wood and get it in though! I think you're right, it's missing height.

 

[Rynofasho]

If you like the tank, leave it. I'm never going to win TOTM, but I like my layout, so that's enough for me I just enjoy learning more about the fish and plants and trying to make an optimal environment for everyone in my tank, and so long as the fish and plants enjoy it, I most certainly enjoy it as well.

 

[Joshwainwright]

If you like the tank, leave it. I'm never going to win TOTM, but I like my layout, so that's enough for me I just enjoy learning more about the fish and plants and trying to make an optimal environment for everyone in my tank, and so long as the fish and plants enjoy it, I most certainly enjoy it as well.

I suppose one persons taste is another persons nightmare.

 

[Rynofasho]

Sounds rather harsh haha. You liked it before you started poking around the TOTM's I do agree, especially with the pair of rocks directly in the center, your eyes kind of wander back and forth in the tank. I think another thing is that those swords have very big and broad leaves and they seem to dominate the space a bit. Smaller plants and narrower leaves give the illusion of a bigger tank. So if anything, I would either just remove the rocks from the center and try to build around the bogwood and plants on the left or perhaps find a way to make the rocks less eye catching, perhaps by lying them flat or swapping them out for some slate and attaching moss to give a bit of open space in the center.

All in all though, I still think it is a great looking tank.

 

[L4byr1nth]

I know what you guys mean, and I have been looking for the wood I described, but no joy yet.

If winning TOTM was my prime objective for this tank, I wouldn't have rested until I'd perfected it... You all probably know what I'm like by now!

However, this is my only community tropical tank, and what I really wanted to do with it was make it as nice a home for all my fish as I could by trying to replicate a 'slice of nature' in my home. I think I've achieved that.

It just so happens that what I've created, in my opinion, looks nice... And I'm quite proud of myself for doing it!

So no, it's not a work of art by any stretch of the imagination... But the fish, hopefully, appreciate it more than they would a plastic cannon and fake skulls, etc.

Does that make sense? I only entered TOTM because I was pretty impressed with the look I got in the end, it's not really a diehard effort to win (though that would be nice as well!).

Ben.

 

[Joshwainwright]

I fully understand what you mean when you say you hope your fish are grateful of you not having to sit staring at a skull that emits bubbles every few seconds.

It is a nice set up and I'm glad you're proud of it, it just needs some small tweaks to become perfect. I'm sure I love it once you find your wood!

 

[L4byr1nth]

We all know they're not grateful... Otherwise they wouldn't constantly uproot and then eat my plants (I'm looking at you here, RTB Shark, Sumo Loach, and Pearl Gourami!).



Ben.