You Plant Gurus and Goddesses Have Made Me Envious

[Nolapete]

I see all of your little (and big) awesomely gorgeous aquacaped tanks and it makes me envious to no end. So, I got to thinking that there's something I can do about it.

I plan to start with my row of 7 10 gallon tanks that have the short side facing the front. Like so:

|_||_||_||_||_||_||_| (Pretend you see 7 10 gallon tanks)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Over the top of tanks 3, 4, 5 will be 4 48" 40 watt daylight lights
They will also be over half of 2 and 6
1 and 7 will only get indirect light

Since they are all filtered by air-driven sponge filters, I won't be able to do CO2.

The plan is to plant the front 2/3 of each tank in such a way that the sponge filter and heater in the back of the tank are hidden from sight.

I want each tank to be part of one complete aquascape. I'm going to velcro a black cloth frame to hide everything but the glass on each tank. When you look at it from the front, it will look like a picture sliced into 7 pieces.

What do you guys think?

[Mgamer20o0]

why 10 gallons lol i so hate small tanks lol never any room lol

[DAVIDFBT]

Sounds like a great idea! Have you thought about what kind of plants/fish you'll put in the tanks? When will you get started?

[Bethany1979]

That sounds really awesome!

[Nolapete]

why 10 gallons lol i so hate small tanks lol never any room lol

It's part of the fish room beautification project. I already have them. You could send me the $350 I need to replace them with a 125 though and I'll just do one big tank.

I have some unused Eco-complete, so I will likely start by adding that to the tanks this weekend and mount the lights.

[247Plants]

Go low light slow growing plants or you will spend all your time trimming. Great way to make some loot on the side though!

[Nolapete]

Here's what the mess looks like right now. I'm obviously going to have to replace a couple of the tanks with other 10s I have. One in particular has a really crappy reseal job.

[justahannah]

OOooooh. I think it'll look really cool. I'd put a gorgeous betta in each one, maybe some pygmy cories and/or ember tetras as tank mates... Keep us updated!

[DrNo]

Sweet idea and setup; keep us updated with photos.

[Mgamer20o0]

your the who finds all those crazy deals down there..... 10 gallon is really small a lot of plants will out grow them. how about 2 40 gallons that will fit or a 60 and 20 gallon.....

[Nolapete]

I really want to put 6' tanks on each level of the racks, but I don't have $2200 to spend on tanks.

If the plants outgrow the 10 gallons, I'll just pull them and put them in my 40 :D

Yep, I'm the one who finds all the crazy deals.

I'm thinking about plumbing the 10 gallon tanks together and adding a sump for them. They are such a pain in the rear to keep filled.

[Mgamer20o0]

plus they dont have much hight..... how about 20 gallon tanks.... at least there you get the more hight..... should be able to fit 5 on there.... maybe 4.... trust me the extra room is worth it. the options for plants for a 10 gal vs 20 gallon are off the charts heck i anubias plants i get in 2 would fill that 10 gallon lol..... just get smart and buy some wholesale plants from me for your 40 and call it a day.... that or use the 10 gallon tanks to grow different kinds of moss.... they look nice easy to grow and sells well.

[Nolapete]

Oh, I see now. Your concern is actually a sales pitch! ZOMG!

It's more of making the 10 gallon tanks aesthetically pleasing. I already have the tanks, so it's just working with what I have.

I have been thinking about getting rid of all my tanks under 40 gallons though. I could move the 90s off the racks and put the 75s on them.

I really like the two z beam racks I have. I need to figure out the best use of the space on them. I can probably sell all the mismatched tanks and buy ones to fit.

[Lupin]

Those tanks make nice snail setups.:drool:

[chonhzilla]

huh?...thats different...keep us posted.

[mellowvision]

I'd do 1 species of plant per tank. something tall like vals in the middle

[Mgamer20o0]

lol maybe tall sags lol i have vals over 3 feet long lol way to much for a 10 gallon..... what works best is 6 40 gallons.

[Nolapete]

If I could pick the tanks I wanted for my two racks, I'd go with a 72" 125 gallon on the middle rack with 2 36" 50 gallons on the top and bottom. That's about $700 a rack to do. Guess I need to start saving my pennies.

[jpappy789]

the vals would just need some extra trimming, that's all :)

[Hairechest]

I am envious of your setup. Mine is practically in a closet and I raise most of my babies in quart jars.