mitchturton Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 I will be setting up an 8ft tanganyika tank soon and I was going for the biotype/display look I love the natural look does anyone have any ideas on what background substrate and rocks use I like the 3d backgrounds share your tanks and ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcumpstay Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 Aquadecor backgrounds - check them out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtraderlau Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 Gee whiz Mitch, where to start? I'm thinking of turning my monster tank into a tang tank as well, and so some of my ideas to share with you are: I'm thinking of having some leptos in there, so I've been grabbing every large big of calcrete that I can find around the place and I plan to fix one to a base and have it vertical near one end of the tank. The leptos will love swimming back and forward from it, and they'll hang against it to sleep. As for substrate, I reckon sand is always good in a tang tank, ideal then too for what ever shell-dweller you want to house in the tank as well, and if you want featherfins, they'll like it too. If going with featherfins, a large flat rock (tabular sandstone or something like that) at one end of the tank will be good as they'll like to elevate the sand a bit and building their nest on it. Andrew - Fishtraderlau in Blackwater... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchturton Posted December 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 Thanks for the input I'll look at them now Love your ideas fishtraderlau I already have the fish going into it and they are frontosa leulupi and calvus, soon to be some firefin comps so I was thinking a really rocky setup with a few shells and a nice 3d background Don't know what coulor scheme to go for but I like the full black rocks with white substrate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asshh Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 Living the dream Mitch! That sounds like a pretty good mix, just make sure to provide lots of little crevices for the leulupi to hide that the fronnies cant get to. Heaps of rocks! sand is the best substrate for all tangs, I've got 2 bags from bunnings you can have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchturton Posted December 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 What colour schemes do you recommend Yeh the Leulupi hold there own at the moment I will make some hidey holes for them in the future Yeah I have aragonite in the tank at the moment I love sand I'm thinking of going bunings sand its cheep to buy and looks good Thanks for the offer it would be cheaper to buy from here then to get it posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asshh Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 haha whoops, sorry i didn't realise you were in mackay. Thats were i got mine from anyway. the leulupi will stand out nicely against some dark rocks and the fronties will blend. just keep it simple, with heaps of rocks. the fronties will want to hide a lot as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchturton Posted December 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 I want to find a 3d background where I can get the same rocks to blend with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchturton Posted December 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 I will also have a corner sump overflow that the 3d background will have to wrap around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heintz.G Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 Here's a couple of sites that might interest you and AoA is a sponsor Age of Aquariums - Ornaments / Backgrounds Aquariums R Us Accessories and Substrates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchturton Posted December 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 Are you better of making your own 3d background? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 Hey Mitch With a dark background and substrate the fish will all look darker, nice for fronnies but even leleupi will darken up and loose that awesome brightness. You sort of need to look around and see what is available in a back ground and rocks, because they do need to match more or less, if they are obviously different it can ruin the effect. most of the locally produced backgrounds are round and lack and discernable rock formation shapes, the aquadecor backgrounds Jacob suggested are amazing looking, but so it the price I gather., I just painted my tank back blue, and went crazy with rocks, BIG rocks lol sandstone can be cut with a masonry bit to fit, but is messy. If you want lighter coloured sand I just buy play pit sand, / Stradbroke island white / crystal sand, from a landscape place, mine was $6 for 30kg bags, they are all very similar white stuff, needs a good wash. same effect but with a buffering effect you can use calcium carbonate sand, lots more expensive however.. As for rocks, unless you are going to run Uv clarifiers, no lights, etc you will get algae growing all over them, so the colour of the rocks, to me is less important as they will all look the same after a while, which I like because that is natural. To me the shape of the rocks, and how they are setup up has the biggest effect. also if play with the light position, further forward will illuminate the background more at the back will create more shadowed effects esp. if the background has large shelf like protrusions. If you want shells ausrtalian seashells in perth is awesome to buy from. old pics of my 8 footer current pics before I added fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mone Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 current pics before I added fish I love how kids have come along since you started lol. Also I think your rock placement is a little off, I do like the tank though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 current pics before I added fishI love how kids have come along since you started lol Also I think your rock placement is a little off, I do like the tank though. kids yes... probably 6-7 years between those pics.. I agree I don't like the rocks in the last pic, and only have a few fish in it currently as it just gets too hot for most tangs...depressing as it was once amazing to look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtraderlau Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Ah Mick, if it's not a perfect masterpiece, you never like it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mone Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Here is my latest remodel, for Tangs I like a natural rockscape on sand. You can play a bit with the colour or type of stone and sand, over the years I have had fine white beach sand, to black gravel to river sand which is currently in the tank. For Stone, I have had sand stone, granite and now lava rock. I am thinking of going back to a granite and maybe a blue type this time. The tank is 6x2x2. Edits are for trying to rotate the images sorry. Edited January 3, 2015 by Mone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
