I'm planning to go all out on the new 30 gallon tank I've recently won on eBay (it's arriving today!) - but I'm a very indecisive person! I already know that I want a large mangrove root ornament. I'll be buying that from the place where I have bought both my fish, the mangrove root ornaments they have are very dark (and kinda pricey ).

For the background I'm either going to have plain black or at least something that is mostly black.

I also think a stone Buddha head would look really nice (imagine that covered with algae ) but where I'd get one from I don't know....



As for the floor.... I thought of going bare bottom but I'm taking a liking to large pebbles and river rocks. I've had very little luck in finding BIG river rocks, but whilst I was mooching around online I discovered that Homebase has a great selection of cobbles in their garden section. But now I have to choose which ones!!

Here are the ones I like the most:

Cornish Cobbles



Japanese Pebbles (Green)


Japanese Pebbles (Peach)





Japanese Pebbles (Plain)



I think all of these would compliment a black background and dark mangrove roots very well, but I have to choose!! They are the same price, so that won't hold sway over my pick, but still.... at the moment I think Cornish Cobbles and Green Pebbles are winning.....

What do you guys think? Any decor suggestions of your own?

I would worry a bit about those colored pebbles - they might leech some color out and into the water. Other than that, the stones look great! And I do love the Buddha. Did you have a look around at your local fish stores - maybe they carry it, or can order one for you.

Oh I already decided that I'm going to get the natural Cornish Cobbles

And I found the same Buddha head at the B&Q store for something like £9.98 which isn't bad at all!

But I spent about £30 at the Co-op on toiletries because I basically ran out of everything from shampoo to cotton-buds so.... I think I should concentrate on filters and air pumps before I get any decorations The large mangrove roots I want are £20, the pebbles are nearly £8 and the Buddha is nearly £10.... roughly £38 all together. And I'll need to get a Fluval 4 filter at the very least which is also around £30. Hmm. And I don't know how much the air pump I have now was. Probably a tenner. That's gonna be nearly £80! Perhaps I should do an eBay job on the filter and airpump.

Another payday should do it I think hehe.

Pay day doesn't come around nearly fast enough where our fish are concerned, does it?

LOL

I like the Buddha head! I agree, that will look very cool with some algae on it.

Good choice on the stones. I would have picked either the Cornish Cobbles or the plain Japanese pebbles.

Can't wait to see the finished project!!! Theme tanks are really classy when done right.

What kind/s of lucky fish will be living in this tank?

Thanks Petperson! I can't tell you how glad I was to get rid of the horrid tacky stuff that came from the previous owner. He had a ceramic skull, some weird castle thing and loads of dark grey/blackish gravel that looked like the stuff they make roads out of. It was enogh to fill a 2 imperial gallon bucket! Got rid of that for good!! What a mess though, I had to dry hoover it, leave a bleach solution in overnight and spent the whole of today scrubbing and rinsing!! Urgh. Well worth it though, I have filled it with dechlorinated water (couldn't wait for a filter haha) and WOW. I can see why some people go for completely bare tanks.

And as for who is going to live in it, well I definitely want another oranda, but my current mission is to relieve my friend of her large black moor. I rescued one of her fish in the past (died of Ich the poor sod) but couldn't take the moor because I didn't have room. Now with this 30 gal I can have more fish. However I got a funny feeling the black moor is bad with other fish. My friend said she had to keep them separate because the moor chased the other. She may have been misinterpreting spawning behaviour.

I wanna budda head !!!!! that looks awesome !!

Pretty kool isn't it



But despite all my manic rinsing today, I can still smell chlorine/bleach/whatever in the tank. I can't afford to put anymore conditioner in there at the moment.... I spent all day rinsing! What should I do? I suppose I should change the water, but I must have put at least £4 worth of AquaSafe in there, I don't want to flush it down the loo!

once I get the smell of bleach in my nose I can't get it out ..wait a day ..let the bleach smell air out ,then tomorrow with a fresh nose see if you can still smell it

Okey poke, well I'll take the lid off tomorrow and keep the window and door open to let air through the room. Hopefully I have rinsed it all out!

You got that right!! I always seem to be plotting something for every paycheck.

B~ I am so excited for you! That tank is going to be gorgeous when it's done! Have patience, it will all come together soon.

On a side note, those cornish pebbles are so pretty! I hope you are able to get them. And yeah, that buddha head will look really cool with algae on it...kinda like a little afro. Or ALfro.