Decorating Your Fish Tank: Do's and Don'ts

Where to Begin?

You have your perfect tank, complete with all the bells and whistles of filtration. You have your water quality test kit ready. You have a list of fish you would like in your collection. So, how are you going to decorate your aquarium? Believe it or not, but this is where a lot of people have problems. Sometimes they get so excited about all the cute decorations at the pet store that they over crowd the bottom of the tank. This is no good. Not only will this make doing tank maintenance harder, just think of trying to gravel wash that, it looks tacky. With that in mind how do you pick out decorations for your tank? This is the time to be creative, as the sky is truly the limit.

Work From the Bottom Up

The first thing you want to consider is what kind of substrate you want to use. There are many different options. Do you want a sandy bottom? What about small gravel, or large? You can even use small stones. Do you want to use glass pebbles? Do you want the tank to be colorful or more natural?

The most important thing to consider when choosing a substrate is your fish. Sometimes the type of fish you want will dictate what kinds of substrate you have to use. If you want fish like eels and knifefish you need to have a sandy bottom. Eels will spend most of their time on the bottom and if you have a rocky substrate they will rub their bodies raw. That is not good for them. If you are considering a freshwater ray then you need to have a large bottom with sand. They will burry themselves in the sand, this would be nearly impossible for them to do safely in a tank with gravel as the substrate. Sand will also give your tank more of a saltwater feel, which many people desire.However, sand does have some downsides. If you plan on doing gravel washes, which you should strongly consider, sand can make them more annoying. Since the sand is smaller and lighter than gravel it tends to travel higher up the tube. It even tends to end up in whatever you are using to collect your waste water. This means that you will need to replace the sand more often than you will have to replace gravel.

Gravel and stones are popular choices for freshwater tanks. They create a natural look for the tank and they are easy to clean. They are a better alternative to the colored glass pebbles. Which, however pretty, are not always the best choice for a large fish tank. It is not that the glass pebbles are bad for your fish, they simply just do not provide as much surface area for good bacteria to colonize. And keep in mind that you need good bacteria to keep the nitrogen levels in your tank in check. Glass pebbles over time will break down, this is natural and gravel will go it as well.

 However, the glass pebbles will have sharper edges whereas the gravel will just become finer. Glass pebbles are pretty, but they are mainly just for show. It would not be harmful to have a few of them scattered throughout the bottom of the tank, as they will add some color if that is what you desire. Just be sure to change them out once they begin to show signs of wearing down.

As with anything you put into the tank you need to make sure it is properly rinsed before it goes into your tank. This means that you need to rinse whatever substrate you choose with clean water. Sometimes you need to rinse it a few times to get all of the dust and debris out.

Plants: Live or Fake?

Plants are a very popular decoration in many aquariums. Some people like them because they add color to the tank. Some add them because plants are found in many freshwater environments and can give the tank a more natural feel. If you go to the pet store you will see a wide array of choices when it comes to aquarium plants.

The vast majority of home aquariums use plastic plants in place of live ones. Why? The plastic plants are often more colorful than real plants, coming in colors that aquatic plants are not found in in nature. They are also easier to maintain since they cannot die. And, like real plants, they offer the fish a place to hide.

However real plants can offer systems things that fake plants cannot: they can help improve the water quality of your tank. How is this? Plants need to use nitrogen and in an aquarium they are able to use the waste products from the fish. This keeps the levels low in the tank, which is a great bonus. Plants also use CO2 (carbon dioxide) for their respiration and give off O2 (oxygen) as a waste product. This is great for home tanks, carbon dioxide build up can be toxic and stable oxygen levels not only help with the respiration of your fish they can help to maintain a stable pH.

Fake plants do have one more added advantage over live plants. Fake plants don't die. They also don't drop leaves. When live plants die or drop leaves they decompose which can cause nitrogen levels in the tank to spike. This spike can cause stress in the fish, and if it is high enough could potentially lead to death.

Adding Decorations

The sky is truly the limit when it comes to adding decorations to fish tanks. You can even get a miniature replica of Bikini Bottom or Stonehenge if that is what you are in to. Pet store shelves are lined with fake rocks, corals, sunken ships, as well as many many other oddities. These items have been specifically designed to be in fish tanks. This means that the materials used to makes these items will not deteriorate when submerged in water for long periods of time.

There are a few things to keep in mind when picking out decorations for your tank. You need to know exactly how big the bottom of your tanks is. You also need to keep in mind anything else you might already have, or are going to get for your tank. Are you adding plants? How many? The last thing you need to keep in mind is exactly what you want your tank to look like. Many people often go overboard when it comes to picking out decorations for their tank. It can be really easy to do, and lets face it, its really fun to pick out things for your tank. Just keep in mind how much space you have to work with in your tank. Do you really have room for that sunken ship, fake corals, and the giant treasure chest? Sometimes simpler is better. Once large piece and a couple of smaller pieces are all you need, especially if you are adding plants to your tank.

You might be tempted to add real corals and driftwood to your tank. This can be dangerous. You do not want to add any diseases or parasites to your tank. Also disturbing coral reefs is illegal in many places, not to mention extremely frowned upon in the community of aquarists and divers. Since I do not support this practice I will not discuss this matter further. But, I will say this: live coral loses its color once it dies, wouldn't you rather have fake coral that has realistic color instead of a white mass in your tank?

Sometimes people are tempted to add things to their tank that have not been designed to go in fish tanks. You would be surprised what some people want in their tank. Anything that is made of concrete or copper, that has sharp edges, or plastics that have been painted should not be put in your fish tank. Why? These items will cause problems. Copper is toxic to fish and concrete is going to leach chemicals into your tank. Sharp edges can harm your fish and should always be avoided. Paint can flake off or leach into your tank, both can be toxic to your fish. If you ever put something in your tank and notice that it seems to be flaking or the paint is disappearing remove it immediately.

When in doubt do not add it to your tank. It is better to be safe than sorry. After all do you really want to endanger your fish just because you want to add costume jewelry to your tank? Always keep in mind that no matter what you add to your tank you want to rinse it thoroughly before it goes into your tank.

Cleaning Your Decorations

No matter what you use for decorations, except for live plants, you are going to need to clean it at some point. You are going to need some basic tools to clean your tank and decorations. Scrub brushes with bristles, soft pad scrub pads, and a gravel wash kit are a few of the items that I would recommend. Be sure to get items that go with your tank, keep in mind that acrylic scratches mush easier than glass so never use a rough brush or pad on an acrylic tank.

The first thing you want to do is scrub off any algae or gunk from your decorations and the walls of the tank. The hard bristled brush is good for scrubbing the decorations and the soft pads, especially with the long handles, are good for the walls. Once you have scrubbed the algae it is time for the water change. Cleaning the substrate is easy, and you remove your water at the same time. Two birds with one stone, what is better than that? A gravel wash tube is typically an acrylic tube with a flexible hose that goes into a bucket. The acrylic tube and hose uses suction to pull gravel into the tube and the dirty water, detritus, and poop which then travels through the hose and into the bucket.

How often you should clean your gravel depends on several factors. How many fish do you have? Do you often over feed your fish? Do you have live plants that lose leaves? Even if your tank has excellent water quality you should consider doing small gravel washes weekly to remove the excess food, poop, and detritus.

Cleaning the decorations in your tank keeps them bright and the tank healthier. It is also very satisfying to see all the gunk that you remove from the gravel of your tank.

Backgrounds

Many hobbyists opt to have a back ground on their tank. There are many different options for backgrounds. They come in different colors and patterns. Really there are no wrong choices so you can do whatever your heart desires. If you want a plain blue background, go for it. If you want a sunken ship in your background, have at it. If you want a picture of the castle at Disneyland, knock yourself out. If you don't want a background you don't need to have one. Some people just don't like the look of the wall behind the back being visible from the front of the tank. It is really a matter of personal choice.

Things That Don't Belong in Fish Tanks

• Ceramics (if you cannot eat on it don't put it into your tank, they leach chemicals/ heavy metals)
• Wood (unless it was purchased at a pet store and has been pretreated)
• Rocks (some rocks have minerals that you do not want in your tank)
• Shells and Corals (in freshwater systems they will add calcium that the system does not need)
• Some Glass (glass is safe unless it has sharp edges or has been painted)
• Plastics (general rule of thumb is if it smells like plastic it doesn't go in a fish tank)