# pics of my tank any advice



## kryptononly (Nov 12, 2012)

hi im new here and figured id post pics of my tanks and see what you guys think.

this is how it use to look when i first got it and i upgraded from the little 40 gallon on the side to the nice 150 gallon i think its 150


and this is my current setup i do have dead spots where junk just accumulates at one on each side of the tank so i know i need more water movement



also my amazon sword just wont grow i have sand mixed with the black fertilizer not sure of the name at the moment but i have about 40 pounds of sand and about 40 lbs of the fertilizer stuff


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## du3ce (Sep 11, 2012)

could use some more rock work? what are those 3 things in the first pic? looks like mini aliens


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## hampton (Oct 18, 2011)

I would go with a dark background and more rock built up in the tank looks empty with so much empty space


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## kryptononly (Nov 12, 2012)

lol aliens everyone called them that they were 3 decorative picies of fake wood or something and i want more rock and some more plants but my amazon wont grow and im searching for cheap rocks vs buying from the lfs maybe ill go to the river and get some more rock


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## kryptononly (Nov 12, 2012)

whats the best way to add an background ? should i just use the poster stuff from the lfs or it there something else i could do wit would look far better?


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

You can paint it or what I did was use posterboard from office max blue or black or even green if you wanted. It's your tank but I would hit the river and find some nice rocks in various sizes and ditch the broken flower pot's. Build it up across the btm or you can do it higher on one side tapering towards the middle, or high in the middle tapering out on each side. Sky is the limit!!


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## hampton (Oct 18, 2011)

Just get some paint and use a roller to paint the back , I use semi gloss latex paint. I would try your local landscape place I get my rocks from there and they usually give me the smaller ones because people don't use them.


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## kryptononly (Nov 12, 2012)

ok will do ill go to the landscape supplier near me and see what they have maybe ill get lava or any other suggestions? i want to look natural but yet colorful and exotic. i just added the clay pots to create more hiding spots to let the fish all claim there own home. and i have been reading about painting the back ground now i just gotta choose a color i may go with black or a dark red ill figure it out and post pics of my progress.

i got my tank from cl for 140 bucks with 2 hob filters the 3 aliens the stand and canopy so i wanna make it into something great.


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## hampton (Oct 18, 2011)

Good luck with it , I'm sure you will find some rock you like from the landscape place


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## colorblizzle (Oct 29, 2012)

I agree paint the back. A 3dbCkground would look the best IMO but ud have to rehome your fish for at least a month so thats probably out. Also the black fertilizer is called flourite if you bought it at a pet store. Never use peatmoss for various reasons but the oeat itself will liwer your PH which you obviously dont want with such beautiful africans. And lastly try to find a landscaping conpany as stated by others i got 120lbs of slate for less than $30. Sold it and now have 90lbs of green terrapin and white marble/limestone for less than $20. both rocks add great color btw.


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## kryptononly (Nov 12, 2012)

still working on my tank set up waiting for extra funds but im going to get red and black lava rocks and maybe a few holly texas rocks if i can get lucky and im going to use a black sheet or such with a Chinese designs or something now i just gotta find what i want and save the cash up for it


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## kryptononly (Nov 12, 2012)

just give a update on the new tank build thanks for the advice and its still a work in progress 


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## ratbones86 (Jun 29, 2012)

tank needs a background but other than that it looks good. id paint the back black it will help bring out the colors of the fish


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## TfnG (Dec 29, 2012)

i just boght rock from a local landscape company for 18 cents per pound. you could go and get quite a bit of rock for $20!

petco sells the black background sheets for $2 per foot or paint it. i have a friend with a vinyl company and just had him cut me off black vinyl. any of those will work for a black background. i really liked it just for the fact it hides all the wires and equipment.


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## k7gixxerguy (Jan 12, 2012)

I like a less structured look to rockwork. i had all slate in my inital setup and it sortof looked like bedrock now that I look back on it. Its your tank though, do what looks good to you. Swords tend to need root tabs from what I have read as well.


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## Jayj83 (Dec 6, 2012)

Needs black background, white sand and rocks all need to be the same color.


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## falcooo (Dec 2, 2012)

I agree you need a black background. I just use black posterboard from walgreens, super cheap and you cant even tell its paper once its on. The black does a great job of hiding your equipment, cords, etc.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

You could also have some black felt, cut to fit, for your background. Getting behind a big tank to paint sounds like pain. You'll need to do several coats.


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## kryptononly (Nov 12, 2012)

Thanks I love my tank unstructed look reminds me of a more natural enviorment also I haven't posted on here in a while still haven't got a bacground I'm going to go with a piece of fabric when I find a design I like. Also my fish have had babies not sure who or what they are but here are a few pics I know one is an. Acie I had like 6 babies but not sure where the others are and the others I'm not sure on the yellow purplish one I'm stomped and the other babies are ? The ones with the close stripes?


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