# Finally planted!



## jeepguy (Jul 24, 2013)

Looks good. Two suggestions. A piece of cheap black or color of choice poster board makes and easy background to hide wires and the filter housing. Two, that seems like a very large filter for a betta tank. Bettas prefer slow moving water so just make sure there is not a strong current. His big fins take a lot of energy to keep him going so a strong current can be exhausting.


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## Greg0u812 (Dec 29, 2013)

jeepguy said:


> Looks good. Two suggestions. A piece of cheap black or color of choice poster board makes and easy background to hide wires and the filter housing. Two, that seems like a very large filter for a betta tank. Bettas prefer slow moving water so just make sure there is not a strong current. His big fins take a lot of energy to keep him going so a strong current can be exhausting.


+1 on the background!
I have a 30 gallon bowfront in my living room. It had no background. Seeing the paneling behind the tank was really annoying. After a week of looking at it, I became irritated enough to tear the tank back down, tape everything off and spray a few light coats of black Krylon on it (took 4 or 5 coats to get a good solid background).

Completely different looking tank now! 

The poster board would be quick, cheap and easy though.

Not sure how I'm going to handle the 125 now. It has one of those cling type backgrounds that almost looks like an underwater forest.
It blends pretty well with the tank, but I would rather paint it.
NOT breaking that beast down!
A pint of Krylon, a real skinny roller and a lot of patience is in my near future I suppose,


Congrats on the plants. It looks like a nice setup.


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## redant (May 6, 2014)

A hob filter could prove too much for a betta. You can use a simple sponge filter with an air stone.


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## Aqua Jon (May 28, 2013)

nicely done Romnen. Looks great. I love that texture to the rock. Kinda jelly to be honest

What / why did you throw that white grid on the bottom?


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Looking good!~

I agree with others about a background, can be as simple as a black piece of poster board. And yeah that's probably too much current for a betta.


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## Greg0u812 (Dec 29, 2013)

Aqua Jon said:


> nicely done Romnen. Looks great. I love that texture to the rock. Kinda jelly to be honest
> 
> What / why did you throw that white grid on the bottom?


I put the same light grid on the bottom of my 125 so I could tie down 4 large pieces of driftwood.
I would assume he did it for the same reason.


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## Aqua Jon (May 28, 2013)

i see, does this actually work in place of soaking?


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## CAPSLOK (Dec 8, 2013)

Nice layout on the rocks. I think it looks nice overall, and will look even better when it fills in. 

I have heard of the egg crate grid used more for spreading out the weight of rocks and avoid a particularly pointy edge of rock causing too much pressure on just one point. Usually it's in SW tanks. Using it to tie down driftwood is a good idea.


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## Greg0u812 (Dec 29, 2013)

Aqua Jon said:


> i see, does this actually work in place of soaking?


Boiling and soaking would be best. The light grid will give more of an instant satisfaction (although it could also release tannins to discolor water for a while).

In my case, two of my pieces were way to big to boil with any equipment I had available.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Lots of types of plants don't take well to being planted in clumps like those in the center and on the right end. More of them will live if you break up those bunches into individual pieces or not more than three in a bundle. Not sure if those kind fit that category though. The small bundles in the front.
With a rock that large I think I would use the grid also to protect the bottom glass.


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