hey guys, i officialy have a Jewel Only tank for my breeding jewels,
and i want to make it as natural as possible, so
does anybody know what the west african rivers look like?
substrate?wood?plants?

thanks

DD

sorry know idea but i would also like to know as i want to start a breeding tank of african cichlids............

~jack~

Nothing "special" about the way west african rivers look...they just look like rivers under the surface...It really depends on the geography of the region as to what rocks are gonna be present...I'd imagine that there is not a consistant theme to African rivers, just as there is no real "theme" to American rivers...

...so wood, smaller gravel or sand and rocks would all be appropriate! Live plants too...Perhaps using smoother, more wheatherd, rocks and woods will lend more to the "river" look

Thanks alot :)
i just wanted it to look as real as possible,
so im sticking with the sand, ill add some java fern and some sword plant maybe, get a long peice of wood going along the width of the tank, and i have rounded,smooth rocks from a swimming pool(dont worry i de-chlorinate them and put them in boiling water before going in the tank) and ill make piles of them and put plants through the middle

DD

Sounds like a plan!

sure is! but might cost me a bit!
and unfortunatly it will only take place in a month or so when the new fry are big enough

DD

It really shouldn't cost that much to aquascape a tank...The ornamental crap they sell at the LFS is way overpriced and usually dosn't look very naturual any way...

Ok...go to your local builder supply store and buy "playsand"...you know, the stuff that they put in kids sand boxes...In the US it goes for like $2 usd....Rinse the living hell out of it...this may take a while...

for the rocks, you have lots of options...sandstone and granite are often safe, and can usually be bought for cents a pound at landscape supply companies...make sure you have no redish rust or obvious metals in the rocks...Bleach, boil and then rinse the living shit out of the rocks...then give them a good dip in something like prime or amquel at about 10% solution...give'm one more good rinse too...

The same process can be used on drift wood that you find...one note, the younger the wood is the more tanins will be present...tanins are acidic and tend to stain the water, so you will want to find the most bleached out peices you can....

For a background, you can get a sheet of plexiglass or lexan cut to the diminsions of the back of your tank, then add either small flat rocks or sand/gravel (whatever floats your boat)by siliconing them to the lexan...give it a few days to dry...

For natural looking terrain, I like to take terra cotta pots of all different shapes and sizes (usually about .25 to .75each) and cut and break them and silicone them to each other to form caves and crevices...cover with silicone/sand/gravel/fake plants, let dry...DIY caves...

Here's some pics that show off some different aquascaping techniques I talked about above...

Oh yeah, and pool filter sand is great substrate too...

Example of terra cotta pots siliconed with gravel...



Holey rock, terracotta pot sculpture, shells from craft store, limestone fossils I found...java fern...and some of those "assorted bulbs" you find at lfs...keep in mind pH is 9.4....

The large sculpture on the right used to be an ugly ass "castle" in bright neon colors....Photorah added lots of lil broken pots and we siliconed/sand/graveled the outsied of it...shells are ones I have found, and some sold in bulk for hermit crabs...rock is from bermuda and is fossil coral...



Background is pool filter sand siliconed to a sheet of plexiglass, also provides protection for the glass from the rockpile...

wow! thanks for the Aquascaping tips and awesome tank!
i should've mentioned;
i have pool filter sand in there already
rocks are cheap cause theyre in my backyard :P
i have terracotta pots
but driftwood here(a good long peice) goes for nearly $40
Thanks again

DD

Thanks for the compliments...I made a pinned thread out of the above...I hope people will contribute their stuff...ya know, make me edit it into a nice little archive????

I see no reason to pay for expensive ass bogwood....Go to your nearest body of water and find some bleached out, old wood...just be sure to steralize the hell out of it before adding....