Fish tank decoration setup advice....

[CaNsA]

I have a Juwel Rio 180 tank with a few freshwater fish in there.

https://i45.tinypic.com/rrp5xx.jpg

I need to get some decent substrate in there, a few ornaments and some plants.

I've removed all the black sand that I put in there last year, got bored of it.

Any tips, hints etc etc.
Pics of your setup would help aswell.

Cheers

[MinhDinh]

If you clean every week then slate and sand is pretty nice. The fish in here are Malawi fish. I have always liked this type of set up TBH. S. Not my set up.

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x286/chr15_8_fish/P1010222.jpg
____________________
Hit the G spot.

[scobie140]

All depends how you want it to look and how much you want to maintain it.
Low maintanince would be gravel and plastic plants,
Most of my tanks are semi natural looking. Pain sand, few bits of bog wood, couple of types of easy low maintanice plants wich only need ferts once a week and no CO2 and basic T8 lighting, some moss few pebbles and a terricotta plant pot broken in half and on its side for a wee cave, My L333's tanks bare bottom with lots of moss and caves but thats not for show just to make it easy to maintain. The trick with keeping sand clean is good water flow it stops the crap lying about and looking messy.
Or you could do a bio-tope, Decide which fish you like and set the tank up the same way it would be in the wild for them some of them can be really smart but often hard to source the correct plants etc.
Go down the planted route and geek up on ferts, CO2 and lighting, they look awsome but require alot of work, money, time and understanding.
Personally i would love black sand and a black backround on the tank as with a good light it can really bring out the colours on the fish much better than any other set up.

Think about what fish you want and make the tank suit their needs, hiding spaces, shelter and shaded area for shy fish, swimming space for active fish etc. remember its only a 180L tank so take than ito consideration when planning fish as its too small for common plecs, clown loaches etc.

[CaNsA]

Cheers for the info peeps.

Fish. 1 loach, 2 orandas, 1 pleco.

Maintenance. LOL whats that. I will prolly do a 1/4 water change every few months and the external filter every 6 months-ish.
Substrate. Gonna grab some gravel, how deep? I want a few hardy plants.

[RPM]

Hi

I'd get a fine grade of gravel (approx 2" depth and add a few root tabs near the plant roots, to ensure the the plants actually get a chance to grow

Although with the Oranda's and a Plec, I'm not sure that the plants won't get battered in submission.....quickly.

I don't know what temperature your tank sits at, does it have a heater in it?

If it's unheated, then something like Java fern might survive. If you use Elodea or Hygrophylia, then you'll probably have to treat it as disposable.

All the best
Mike

[CaNsA]

https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a194/cansaxbm/fish/20120722_163741.jpg

https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a194/cansaxbm/fish/20120722_163755.jpg

[scobie140]

Looks good mate
Ditch the heater, for loaches get some weather loaches, don't bother with a common plec as the tank is really too small for one get a nice apple snail or two they will take care of any algae you get. i wouldn't put much more fish in there though as oranda's are shitting machine's! same with pleco's btw

[Boxing]

[CaNsA]

There's nothing tropical about my tank.....

Heater is to keep the temp stable @ 23c

[Joncrete Cungle]

https://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee102/SpavinStardust/Picture084.jpg

https://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee102/SpavinStardust/Picture066-1.jpg

[UnknownStuntm...]

Fish on the inside.

People on the outside.

HTH.

[Joncrete Cungle]

I would be tempted to remove any bits of slate with sharp edges to avoid ripped / cut fins. It will also probably hide quite a bit of uneaten food and fish waste.

[CaNsA]