Illusion Of A Bigger Tank

[JasonPlus]

I've got a 10 gallon tank that I'm going to be setting up shortly after New Years and I'm probably going to go with live plants. Since its small and I don't really have any place to put a bigger tank, how could I create the illusion of it actually being bigger than it is?

I was thinking about getting a fair sized piece of driftwood and putting in plants that stay small. I was thinking about getting cardinal tetras, but there must be some fish that stay smaller than that.

Any ideas are very much appreciated.

 

[bshockstubb]

place a mirror behind it.
i have one glued to the back(on the outside) and it works great.

 

[JasonPlus]

place a mirror behind it.
i have one glued to the back(on the outside) and it works great.

There is a huge mirror right behind where I was going to put the tank actually, but I won't be able to get it close enough to relect it properly. I'll look into buying one thats the same size as the tank. Thanks.

 

[sylvia]

Use light colored sand for a substrate to make it look brighter and, therefore, larger. Simialrly, a light colored background, strong lighting and brightly colored decor make the tank seem more spacious. Also, section the tank using small rocks and/or pieces of driftwood and include some thin, tall-growing plants in the far background, middle-height plants further forward and a few, sparse, shorter plants nearer to the front to give a layered look and it also helps to have a carpet of some kind of plant and a susbtrate that isn't even all the way across. The idea is to give as much a sense of perspective as possible.

Then get very small fish so you can fit quite a few of them in. Large schools of tiny, mid-dwelling species have a specialy good effect, making the tank appear a lot more spacious than it is. For examples of suitable fish, look here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...97&#entry979097

edit: I forgot to mention that having a few taller/larger objects int eh tank - such as a specialy tall piece of driftwood - also can add to the sense of perspective and, therefore, size but you have to be careful not to take the whole tank up with it or it'll have the opposite effect. Oh - and the reason I said light colored SAND ar the start is because, if you use gravel, the size of each piece gives your brain something to compare the size of the tank to and the result is a tank that appears smaller.

 

[Katchan]

In a 10 gallon you could contemplate a single dwarf cichlid or similar(assuming your diligent with your water changes) just to add a slight variation on the tetra look but not overload the tank

eg 1 dwarf and 6-8 tetras should be fine with weekly water changes

Andrew

 

[Teelie]

Sylvia said it best I think. Smaller pieces of decoration and light colored substrate will create the illusion of the tank being bigger.