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New tank!

3K views 30 replies 7 participants last post by  Black_Tee_Shirt 
#1 ·
So... The Mrs and I went to the store today to get some heat lamp bulbs for her bearded dragon and to look at some nano tanks.

Ended up with the bulbs and a new 36g bow!!! Stoked to plant this thing!!!

What kind of scapes look good in this type of tank???

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#2 ·
The kind that are okay with falling down. That stand doesn't look structurally sound enough to support the tank when filled. Additionally, It doesn't hold all the tank's edges, which can lead to stress on the tank...which might lead to 36 gallons of water/substrate/whatever spilling on the floor...
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the insight... it has the matching base for it. It's sitting on a side table just to be sure that's where we wanted the tank since it's easier to move around than the bulky base. Rest assured it will be more than secure.

Since we've established it won't collapse under its own weight... Any suggestions of aquascaping this tank?
 
#4 ·
I share your excitement, but you're saying "I just bought a new car, where can I drive it?"
Well where do you want to go?

Just to scratch the surface....Will it be high tech or low tech? Are you new to a planted tank or a seasoned vet? Did you get a light? What kind? What substrate will you use? Rocks, driftwood, both or none?
 
#5 ·
I think I need to change my approach to the question... I'm not new, nor would I consider myself a guru at planted tanks, but somewhere in the middle. I primarily do low tech medium lighting, however have experience with high tech. I do not have a predisposition for this tank as far as setup.

What I'm looking for is some ideas about what types of aquascapes lend themselves more to this type of tank. Kind of how some look good in a cube/column, but not in a long... I will work out the materials based upon the appearance that looks right.

I hope that clarifies it a bit.
 
#8 ·
Then you'd be happy to know that Bing exists. Or ask the people at Google via email. Or create your own search engine. Or use reddit. Or ask somebody who knows a lot about computer science about why a super popular search engine disappeared. Or email Alphabet. Y'know...just the regular things.

Hmm...I don't really know anything about bowfront tanks, but I'm really imagining a dense stand of something tall and grassy (like vallisneria) in the back left corner, with something tall like a seiryuu stone opposing the plants approx 1/3 of the tank length away from the left side. And all surrounded by tall-ish carpet plants, something hedgy like P. helferi or S. repens, or even grassy-thick, like chain swords. So...basically a nature tank.
 
#10 ·
I've always had a soft spot for bow front tanks. I can't really comment on what plants to use, but I've always liked tall hardscapes in the back with a gradual slope towards the centre/front. Maybe something like a canyon/valley in the centre that opens up into a field or bed of sand in bowed front of the tank? I hope I'm explaining myself properly, lol.

Instead of a scape that uses the length of the tank to build a focus, I'd lean more towards a scape that utilizes the bit of extra depth you get with a bow front.

Maybe something like this? (Search for '46 gallon lava rock scape' in the thread)
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...-3ft-high-tech-low-tech-nano-experiments.html
 
#12 ·
I really like the idea of tall and grassy, with a sloping scape from off center/rear to front. I went to the LFS and was disappointed with the rock selection, but found a beauty of a piece of driftwood. I think I found a scape to use as my inspiration ( https://goo.gl/images/Ci72DP ). As far as river rocks, I pretty much have anything I could ever want between 1-7 inches in size to use in conjunction with the driftwood. My work is surrounded by rock lined creeks.

Now... substrate, lighting, filtration, etc... Any suggestions?

I think as far as livestock, I'm going with an angelfish single species setup.
 

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#13 ·
For a twist, turn the bowfront tank around and view it from the flat side! This would work better with an inwall bow but could also work on the stand.
 
#18 ·
The reverse bow front orientation was just a suggestion from another user.

As that user mentioned, it would work best in an in-wall setup, because that way you'd get the additional depth in the back (the bowed area), and you'd have a nice flat viewing surface that would be flush with the wall.

I'm not sure what the view from behind the bowed glass would be like.. I imagine it would give you a slightly distorted, wider view of what you would see on the other side of the tank as opposed to flat glass, but I'm not sure. I came across these two images on google and I'm not sure which one would apply in the reverse bow front situation (In the first image, imagine the lens is sagitally (top to bottom) cut in half. In the second image, the view on the left applies to the reverse bow front).


 
#23 ·
So... After a lot of messing around with this yesterday, we came to the agreement that we didn't like the way the tank fit in the living room. Particularly because it feels kind of crammed into the corner.

It actually worked out good because now I can return the stand, and I get an awesome tank in my man cave/game room! Here's the setup thus far. I used fluorite/black gravel for the substrate, mopani, and lava rocks.

Any suggestions for a background that will go well with the current look?

I tried white, and black, and wasn't too fond of either.
 

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#24 ·
That placement looks pretty good. Although you usually don't want wood on one side and rock on the other. You want one or the other too support the focal area not take away from it. Actually it looks like if you add a few more pieces of rock in front of the wood it would come together. In your case the wood is obviously the focal area.

If your into the aesthetics of the hobby, which I assume you are. Then your should use a black background if your have black equipment showing. Otherwise it will distract from anything you create and the only time it's going to look really good is when you remove the equipment to take a picture.
 
#25 ·
Cool. I was also concerned about the rock, so I did the setup without and then with to see. To my eyes, it looked kind of bland without. I'm hoping the rock will grow moss well, so it'll be more of a living piece to contrast with the driftwood. I agree that some additional in front of the wood will help to solidify the look.

In regards to the black background, will the shape and feel of the current scape become lost with a black background? I had a semi-gloss black piece of wood behind it yesterday, and it looked like it went missing! That being said, this is only with the spotlights, and a single t8 fluorescent on it. The final product will have a finnex planted + 24/7, so I assume lighting will change the appearance of substrate?
 
#26 ·
It should be fine, especially with decent light. I had a 72G Bowfront with a black background and used dark wood and everything showed up. You don't have really many choices between white/black. White you would see all the equipment, you can't go without a background. The paneling would not be a good look IMO.

Other option would be to get something to hang on the wall behind the tank. Like a canvas or something and see how that looks. Something that would look nice on the wall and act as a background. This way you not committed.
 
#30 ·
I agree with houseofcards in that from that picture most rocks there would become covered with more heavy planting. Though the angle the picture was taken from may be exaggerating that. Also, I find it almost always looks nicer if the substrate level is at least relatively consistent across the entirety of the front glass. It's more difficult in a bowfront tank, but I believe the added slope front-to-back should also go a long way increasing the perceived depth of the tank.
 
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