How simple or weird would you like to get? The decor of a freshwater aquarium can come from many sources and often be strange. This can define your individual taste, history, cultural background and even one’s vision of a world. A major benefit of getting an aquarium is to decorate it over and over aqain until you are satisfied with your results. Your freshwater aquariums decor is the foundation of what makes our fish tanks a special place- or not!
Your pocket does not have to suffer from the possible expensive materials that you can get for your freshwater aquarium. You can find inexpensive items that will be just fine and a little creativity will go a long way. While there are lots of organic and inorganic fish tank decorations available online and at nearby shops, you can maximize your budget, by picking up some items present around you, or combine them with materials being sold in stores. Decorating an aquarium is a satisfying hobby and there is no shortage of things you can use to decorate as well as continue to redecorate, until you are happy with what you have created. It is a true do-It-yourself hobby.
The challenge for designing is to always come up with something new, something catchy or something unique. An aquarium hobbiest can always treat the designing part of the aquarium, as a rare chance to showcase their talents. Of course, the functional purpose of the design should be to both create a visual fantasy land of your liking, and a enviornment that is safe and productive for your fish.
Inorganic decor are fake or manufactured plants and rocks which are created to appear as real as possible. These are composed of plastic, silk, and clay. Organic decor on the other hand can be fossilised versions of the living objects like real rocks, driftwood, gravel, sand from rivers or beaches, and coral. Organic decor can also be living when you use them in your tank.
Some aquarists prefer manufactured decors because they do not wither, they ideally do not affect tank chemistry and that one can experiment more with varied colors. For others however, nothing beats the real thing. Choices in terms of colors and shapes are limited if one chooses to go for organic decor. Plus occasionally your fish might eat the live plants and you will need to replace them, which can be costly.
Of course, you can use a combination of live plants and manufactured plants or just go simple with only one or the other.
Here are a few ideas for your freshwater aquarium.
First, know your fish. For the fish, decorations can be a safe haven in the aquarium. If you want to create an atmosphere that is closest to real life with your decorations, study and learn about your fishs character, likes and dislikes. For example, a surgeonfish needs more swimming space while dottybacks are more used to having plenty of hiding places and african cichlids love rocks that contain limestone. Some species are more comfortable with plants than with rocks and vice-versa.
Second, define your theme. One can freely choose to be youthful, classic, absurd or playful with fantasy. You can make use of replicas of war ruins, sunken galleons, battle ships, treasure chests, underwater divers, mermaids, skulls, skeletons or mummies. There are also toys, doll and tv characters available for your aquarium and don’t forget the pirate paraphernalia and Navy decor.
Driftwood in its provincial shape and appearance can be your tank’s centrepiece. Make sure though that your wood is treated of unwanted elements. Wood usually affects water acidity which will affect your fish so make certain to check that the wood is cleared of any pests or diseases before use. Wood will provide a refuge, a spawning site, and nourishment for many of your aquariums fish. Swamp woods are best for the aquarium as they will not easily rot, but to be sure always ask someone you know, where you have seen a piece of wood in their fish tank. You can fing out how it is doing in their tank and if they had had any problems with it in the past along with any issues with their fish regarding it.
Live plants and live rocks are very beneficial to the fish and provide a realistic appeal, though adding live items does come with additional lighting and supplement requirements. Also in some live rocks, an aquarium silicon sealant has been discovered so that one can safely shape rocks according to their likes.
Third, befor you do anything else create a background for your aquarium. An aquarium is like a theater stage where its background can establish a tone of a stage drama. Popular colors such as black, dark green, deep blue and slate blue have different impacts. Pleasant pictures of nature, mangroves and reefs are some of the many tank backgrounds available. Some aquarists find it easier in terms of maintenance for the back of their tank to be covered with pictured tape which give a more full and plentiful look to the aquarium.
For many fish-keeping hobbyists, the most exciting part of the hobby is the part of planning out your design and working on it until you get the feel and look according to your desire. Aquascaping can complement and reflect an owners personal artistic sense or business atmosphere. A common problem in designing is to overcrowd the fish tank. It is good idea to first make a hand drawing, and draw in what you might want in the aquariun. You may also want get advice ideas from friends and family members.
With the popularity and advancement of the hobby, stores offer hundreds of items to choose from, both fake and real. It helps to be exposed to all of these to make sure you will not miss any item that may suit your plan and budget. A lot of designs are available in books and online, and also in magazines. You do not have to copy something really nice but you can get great ideas from them.
Do not be afraid to design your own. ‘Do it yourself’ is a fad that is fun and practical. In the end, decor for your freshwater aquarium should be fun , entertaining and visually stunning and you will find is well worth the effort .