flowing river scene

[red devil]

One of the more popular aquascapes in China is a flowing river scene. This is accomplished by partially burying a piece of glass in the substrate, leaving the middle exposed - your river - and then putting a sandstone somewhere near one end of the "river". The bubbles from the sandstone give the appearance of water flowing. I believe the glass has to be placed at a bit of an angle to give the bubbles a clear flow of direction.

I have only seen this in the fish/pet stores, never known anyone to keep one for a long time.

My question: does this kind of decoration have any affect on the substrate? Will it affect raising plants or any other aspect of the environment?

I was thinking of putting the whole thing in a shallow tray, which would be completely buried, not seen, to minimize any effect it would have on the soil.

[samsmom]

Sounds really awesome, would love to see pics if someone tries this. If I understand correctly the airstone would be at the top of the glass piece and the bubbles would flow under the glass towards the front? Or would the airstone be placed at the bottom of the glass river and the the air bubbles running towards the back of the tank??? Where would they release from? Maybe if from the back, a rock wall could be set up to make the appearance of a waterfall?? Any ideas?

[red devil]

The airstone can be wherever you want it...the key is to have the glass not be perfectly flat, so that you train the air bubbles to "flow" in the direction you want. The idea of flowing to the back to create a waterfall scene is really awesome. That actually takes care of one of the problems I was having - what to do with the bubbles when they reach the end of the river and still have it look natural.

[samsmom]

thankx