If you’re first setting up a freshwater or marine aquarium, chances are you’re thinking most about the animal life you’re eager to keep there -- whether fish or some form of invertebrate life. Watching fish swimming around, interacting with each other and with other life forms, is one of the biggest attractions of having an aquarium, and indeed much of how we set up an aquarium depends on the kinds of fish and other animal life we want to raise. However, some thought should also go into layout matters -- creating the environment for your fish and other animal life. This involves everything from your substrate material to rocks, display ornaments, and plant life. And indeed your choice of plant life will play a large role in determining your filtration, lighting, heating and other hardware matters.

Aquarium layout Tool Tweezer & trimming scissors

US $15.00

19d 8h 56m

ADA Aquarium Style layout Tool - Curve type Tweezer

US $5.00

13d 6h 16m

Planted Aquarium layout Tool - Sand Fattener ADA style

US $9.99

13d 5h 18m

Planted Aquarium layout Tool Tweezer trimming scissors

US $15.00

9d 17h 10m

Planted Aquarium layout Tool - Curve type Tweezer

US $5.00

13d 5h 56m

ADA NATURE AQUARIUM Layout & Maintenance Tool Layout Goods Riccia Line 50m roll

US $18.95

15d 7h 35m

ADA NATURE AQUARIUM Layout & Maintenance Tool Layout Goods Wood Tight 10m roll

US $18.95

15d 7h 31m

LIONEL TRAINS 16742 GIL FINN'S ANIMATED AQUARIUM CAR IN ORIG BOX FUN ON LAYOUT

US $38.95

13d 17h 14m

Planted Aquarium layout Tool - Sand Flattener ADA style

US $9.99

2d 9h 49m

1	Powered by phpBay Pro

For freshwater tanks, gravel is the most popular substrate material. Sand is another possibility, though sand compacts tightly, and it may be difficult for your plants to spread their root systems. If you like the look of sand, you might consider a dual-layer substrate, with sand on the top (about two inches in thickness) and a bottom layer that is rich in nutrients and looser in structure, allowing your plants’ root systems to grown. Vermiculate, which is a mixture of aluminum, iron, and magnesium, is an ideal choice. You can also mix the vermiculate layer with another compound such as laterite, which is a porous, weathered clay; laterite has high concentrations of iron oxide, and holds nutrients that plants require.

For saltwater systems, particularly reef tanks, crushed coral might make a good substrate choice. Crushed coral will continue to release calcium carbonate into your tank, which will promote new growth in your coral. Crushed coral will also help your tank water maintain a high pH level, needed by marine fish. Aragonite is another possibility; this compound is filled with beneficial bacteria and other organisms, and is rich in calcium carbonate as well.

As for planting your aquarium, your choices are endless. The layout of aquatic gardens has become an art form, and international competitions are held for the most innovative designs. You are only limited by your imagination, but there are a few pointers to keep in mind.

Most tank layouts are designed with a foreground, middle ground, and background in mind; if you are planting several kinds of plants, the tallest plants should generally be in the background and the shortest in the foreground. As your plants grow, some trimming may be necessary to keep the overall design in balance -- just like you have to prune bushes in front of your house. Stem plants tend to grow quickly and make better background plants; ferns, on the other hand, are slow growers, taking a long time to become dense.

The middle ground ties the background and foreground together; here, you would be most likely to place rocks and driftwood as well as selected plants. Stem plants are generally not appropriate here; keep those in the back. Various rosette plants can be suitable for your middle ground; ferns and other plants that like to attach themselves to rocks and driftwood can also work in this area. Look for slow growers. You can maintain ferns and rosette plants by trimming back large leaves and cutting off runners, if they’re growing toward areas where you don’t want the plant to spread. One easy fern to plant is the java fern; you can wedge its roots into a crack in some driftwood, and it will gradually begin to proliferate.

Low-lying plants in the foreground will need the most frequent trimming; if you want more of a low-maintenance tank, you can leave the foreground clear of plants and layer your substrate with a light-colored, natural-looking cosmetic sand.

Marine reef tanks present entirely different kinds of challenges, because the focal point of your tank will be rock formations and coral rather than green plants, although you can add plenty of green plants as well to add beauty and interest to your tank layout. As you first lay in your substrate material -- whether sand or crushed coral -- you will also need to lay in “live rock”: simple rock (primarily calcium carbonate) that contains many forms of micro- and macroscopic marine life. Your coral will be anchored to live rock, which also serves as a biological filter for your marine tank. The live rock pieces can lie directly on top of your substrate, or better, directly on the bottom surface of the tank, so that it becomes partially buried by the substrate. This way, any burrowing creatures won’t be able to dislodge the rock and anything growing on it.

Don’t overdo it with live rock, and don’t stack the rock pieces on top of each other; one general rule of thumb is to place around 1.35 to 1.5 pounds of live rock for each gallon of water in your aquarium.

You will most likely build your reef toward the center of your tank, allowing for sufficient water flow around the reef as well as through any canyons or tunnels you build in. You will need to consider the fish and mobile invertebrates, as well as immobile invertebrates, that you intend to place in your tank. Many marine fish are aggressive; even if you’ve already decided on a suitable mix of fish that can get generally get along, some of these fish may need caves or hiding places, so be sure to build in plenty of nooks and crannies. And invertebrates that tend to settle down in one place, such as sea anemones, need adequate current passing by but not direct current, which may be too strong. So if you plan to purchase sea anemones, be sure to build in adequate space for them.

There are many considerations in laying out your aquarium design, but with careful forethought and planning, you can build a beautiful aquarium environment that will give you pleasure for years.