Hello ^^

[Jason]

Hi Everyone,

i'm a very new aquarist. It first started with my fascination of the nice aquarium in my office, that was setup and maintained by my colleagues. Then I decided to setup my first tank (1 ft) with the intention of amusing my 3 yr old daughter. As I studied more and more on the various subjects such as lighting, maintaining water parameters, plants, aquascaping etc, I was drawn into it. The excitement was phenomenon

Here I am now, planning to set up my 2nd tank (after managing to persuade my wife ^^v and eventually got her approval). I've now a custom tank of 3 ft x 1 ft x 1.5 ft to be placed on a sturdy book shelf. Planning to go with a semi iwagumi style tank. My problem is depth, still studying how to create the virtual depth required to make the tank look great.

if any of you who are more experience aquarist has any great tips, would appreciate if you can share

[bennyc]

Helloo, and welcome to AQ. I will remind you to monitor the bookshelf, sturdy or not, A 3 ft fish tank is no joke, if you want to have rocks in it, then i will suggest not to. Becareful when doing water change, as water seeps down the glass will eventually take its toll on the bookshelf.

there are various ways to create depth,
1) create a slope, a low front and gradually increasing to the back of the tank.
2) use of small plants also gives a depth and space illusion
3) use of black background

Hope it helps!

[felix_fx2]

welcome,

look for similar colored rocks that are slightly triangle in shape. wet them abit will aid choosing color.

the bookshelf materials normally not good for holding weight over extended period. especially when in near moist conditions.

have you done the weight test with just water to the shelf? with rocks and substrate the load would be significantly more.

if the bookshelf is knock down furniture, i would not recommend it as you have children at home...if all adults you try if anything happen just get scolding and laught at. with a child the story changes totally.

p.s, im not out to say no to taking old furniture to refurbish for aquaria use. but don't know if the furniture can hold the load or have been improved to handle load of a full tank (neglecting the fact of any water damage) if something happens down the road less seen, you need to understand the consequences.

[Jason]

Thanks for the advice