Ok.
Project One! Convince my mother to let me have a tank.....in progress.
Project Two!
Background
Items needed:
Load silicon gun and look at 3"x6" tiles. These are for placement at the bottom of the tank. Use marker and newspaper if needed so you can see tile patterns beneath glass. Four 3"x6" will run across the bottom.
Glow in the Dark Background Accents:
Aquarium Decorations
Plants
Stocking!
Now, pick it apart if it needs it. Don't let me fall asleep in my bubble
Project One! Convince my mother to let me have a tank.....in progress.
Project Two!
Background
Items needed:
- One 24"x16"x12" Glass Aquarium
- One 12"x24" Ceramic Tile
- Four 3"x6" Ceramic Tile
- One or Two Canisters of Aquarium Safe Black Silicone
- Healthy Dose of Beginners Luck!
- Glow in the Dark Sand - Safe for Kids (And assumably safe for Kids)
- if not found, Glow in the Dark Paint/Modge Podge and Epoxy Sealant
- Coarse Sand Paper
- Newspaper to cover Workspace
- Time!
Load silicon gun and look at 3"x6" tiles. These are for placement at the bottom of the tank. Use marker and newspaper if needed so you can see tile patterns beneath glass. Four 3"x6" will run across the bottom.
- Start with first tile. Run 3/8" bead of silicone along 6" of the bottom edge where the bottom of the tile will rest on tank floor. Use Template beneath tank to fill in one 3"x6" box with silicon quickly. Rest edge of tile above 'bottom line' and slide it in using the motion to squeeze that first bead against the bottom of the tank. Press down and clean up excess before it gets tacky.
- Next tile. Run similar 3/8" bead along the next 6" of the bottom edge as well as against the 3" side of the first tile. Fill in box like before. Work quickly. Slide the second tile down and against the original tile in order to squeeze beads against bottom and between tiles. Clean up silicone before it gets too messy.
- When all four bottom tiles are in place and level (which is something important to insure as you install them!) look at your 24"x12" piece of tile. You are going to need to work quickly. Run a bead against the top your first four tiles, about a quarter of an inch away from their edge. Fill in big box. You may or may not want to start a new canister of silicon. Hold the tile carefully and copy what you did before. The bottom edge can drop half an inch away from the top of the small tiles before sliding towards them and being settled against the back. Press down to secure. Clean up the seam before it gets tacky. I want a nice clean black seam. Run the tip of the silicon gun up the sides of the tiles in the corners so the look is complete.
- After fifteen minutes to half an hour, your silicon will have set enough that you can cover the tile with paper and put weight on it. Give it 3-4 Days to cure. A week if you are too busy to continue.
Glow in the Dark Background Accents:
- Get your silicone out and your Glow in the Dark Sand. Have your shapes cut out of bristol board or cardboard. Tape them in place. I'd like to have an adorable glowing crescent moon on my dark tile. I think it'd look awesome at night. Quickly fill the shape with silicon (thin but without bubbles) and use a pallet knife or plastic spoon to quicky smooth it out. Do little sections at a time so you don't screw up! Add the sand to the silicon by dropping a hill of it, and then pressing it in. We want the sand thick and dense to create a good visual effect. Once the shapes have been filled, let it cure for 3-4 days at the least. Peek at it in the evening to see if glows!
Aquarium Decorations
- Driftwood "Y Shape" - Nice letter Y shape with one arm vertical for best effect. Phillipine Java Fern Base.
- Rainbow rock with three holes. Has awesome colours in it, from corally pinks and oranges right over to jade greens. Aim for something that will sit stable and has enough height to compete with driftwood.
- [Owned] Fist sized river rock (split in halves ) for two single rock zones. One will be left plain, the other used as Java Moss base.
- Shells! Two piles of shells will be inhabited by Multis if I get my way! Plants and decorations will be used as breaks on sight line. Turbos, Nerites, Muffins and Escargot are my targetted shell types! Green Turbos have awesome colours, Muffins may be easier to carry. Debating on whether I WANT a shell my fish can move around....
- Substrate! A base level of regular ol Fluorite. After seeing bags of it in person it isn't as beigey brown as it looks online. Has a bit of black in it too. Will use this as my base so rooted plants have a strong source of iron and traces. Top layer will be a mix of Fluorite Gravel in Regular and Black Fluorite Sand. Shell piles will be created with no substrate beneath. Hopefully this will minimize the digging out the Multis will do.
- Black/Espresso Ceramic/Slate for my Background. Need I say more? Its sexy beautiful and much more interesting than Black Vinyl stickerage.
Plants
- Hornwort for the back corner. It will help suck out algae mojo that will lower water clarity. Major trimming forseen, but it isn't as 'fat' as Cambomba.(Where I think my Rena XP2 Intake will go.)
- Vallesneria for the 50% of the back to the right. (Behind the Rainbow rock on their lonesome :3 yay for background plants)
- Wendtii Red in front of the Shell pile (which sits in front of the Hornwort). Will add a splash of colour but will remain midground in height. Yay! Maybe I'll tie it to a river rock and use that as a weight.
- Java Moss will be on the river rock half to the left. Will add some softness to the sharp lines of the Crypts and Ferns. Will harbour yummy infusoria for fry and offer a hiding place too.
- Java Fern will be on my Driftwood. In the Cradle of the 'Y' shape or higher up for drama. Fishing line whoo! I chose the Phillipine variety for its sexy Hammered finish.
- Dwarf Hairgrass will be a soft accent around the frontal shell pile. Might take awhile to grow carpet like, but it'll add some scale (probably making the shells look huge).
- Finally! A lovely Crypt Lucens in the right side behind the frontal shell pile for colour and to mirror the Java Fern in texture. Hopefully a taller dude will profilerate (here's finger's crossed) and I'll get my hands on a red/brown variety for some colour interest.
Stocking!
Options
- 6 Neolamprologus Multifasciatus cichlids hopefully settling into two breeding groups for each pile or a nice multi territory harem. Harlequin Rasbora or Mosquito Fish for dithers.
- A pair of brevis or Leleupe.
- If water testing proves yuck (even though hardness is correct I want to be 100%) and I can't modify to improve - Dario Dario's will slide in and the shells will slide out. Fiesty little predators I want for my second tank but might not wait for. Shame the 1 inch wonders can't coexist with Multis
They are night and Day and probably would look adorable.
Now, pick it apart if it needs it. Don't let me fall asleep in my bubble
