# How to make "mounds" in substrate?



## psalm18.2

How do you all make those mounds in the substrate? The ones that look like little mountains and hills?


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## Loop

I've never done it, but I have seen people fill pantyhose with regular gravel to make mounds. Then put their substrate on top of them.


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## Armonious

Some people also use an old substrate that has broken down into a more mud-like form. It can be shaped into a much more stable form than fresh AS or a similar granular substrate and hold the shape much better. From what I've read, people also sometimes place another type of stone underneath, which is then covered by substrate.

Loop, that pantyhose idea sound ingenious to me! I am planning on doing a sort of mountainscape layout when I rescape, and that sounds like what I may go with, considering the fact that I probably have 20lbs of gravel from old tanks in 5gal buckets in my basement back home.


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## chad320

Lumping old gravel works good. Just cap it with AS or something were the plant can get root nutrients close to the surface.


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## RickRS

The biggest issue on creating hills is how to stabilize so they don't flatten out over time. What works for that?


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## Loop

Armonious said:


> Loop, that pantyhose idea sound ingenious to me! I am planning on doing a sort of mountainscape layout when I rescape, and that sounds like what I may go with, considering the fact that I probably have 20lbs of gravel from old tanks in 5gal buckets in my basement back home.


Glad you find it helpful, but I can't take credit for the idea.. Like I said, I haven't tried it, just seen others, but it seems like it would work well. Should keep it tall without flattening out, and that way you don't have to have your substrate too thick where it starts getting big gas pockets in it.


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## DiscusLoverJeff

You could get some pieces of slate and build a pit of sorts and fill it in around the slate with substrate. 

I am working on a river-bed effect with some narrow pieces of slate about 4 to 6 inches off the back wall and will stagger the slate to look like edges of the river. I will get some 2 to 3 inch river rocks to place on top the rest of the tank bottom will be pool sand with some nice ground cover. I am just not sure what size tank to use yet, possibly a 90 gallon and put in some of my discus and a couple different schooling fish.


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## ktownhero

You can use rocks as retaining walls and/or bury them under the substrate where you want a mound. They will help the mound retain its shape over time. You can do the same with driftwood, which actually looks really cool when it's partially buried.


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## gordonrichards

The best way to make mounds is:

Using egg crate. Check your home depot/lowes hard ware stores.

Cut it to size. Layer it out. Affix the pieces together.
Silicone works, you can also use those clear zipties.

Get some mesh screen, and lay it down over your egg crate. Put a small cap of gravel on top of the entire thing. Instant hills/Mountains that won't fall apart on you.

Layer with your favored substrates. Add rocks to the front of your hills to make them appear larger.

I just saved you from having to add tons of gravel.

I'll be scaping a tank this way in May. Will have build photos etc on the board.

-Gordon


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## Loop

I was looking for some of that egg crate in Lowes or HD one day, and couldn't find it anywhere. I read it was near the lighting section, but didn't see it. Is it suppose to be by the shop lights?


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## ubr0ke

Just ask for light diffuser...its not called egg crate
its not always kept in the lighting section..


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## kuni

Use bags of lava rock. It holds a slope better than gravel and it's very cheap at Lowe's/Home Depot.


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## bsk

I like using the dry start method to make my mounds. Create the shape you like and spray it down with water with HC its really easy just place it on top of the substrate and pat down. Once the HC fills in the roots will keep the substrate in place.


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## palufreak

ubr0ke said:


> Just ask for light diffuser...its not called egg crate
> its not always kept in the lighting section..


I found mine in the suspended ceiling section!!


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## Daniil

There is a great article in TFH magazine March 2011 the way Amano makes mounds in the aquarium. 
If you have access to the TFH digital check this link:
http://www.tfhdigital.com/tfh/201103?pg=1&search_term=March 2011&search_term=March 2011#pg57


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## kamikazi

I think the best suggestion so far is the light diffuser (egg crate).

Another option if you don't mind something more permanent would be using Great Stuff Spray foam as a base, you can coat it with Drylok to seal it, or "paint" silicone on it to seal it. Only downside is you'd have to silicone it to the bottom of the tank to keep it from floating.


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## requiem

I have been going round and round over this problem for a while. I am planning a new 40g with MTS (essentially dirt) and want hills on each side, with a tree stump.

I have tried 3-4 stores for eggcrate, no luck. I have a bag of small stones but I'm leary of the dirt seeping between them and becoming anaerobic. I do have some 'great stuff' but nothing to seal it. I have no car currently so going far to buy rocks isn't practical =p

panty hose isn't a bad idea! Wouldn't it decompose after a while though?

This hobby creates weird fixations sometimes :eek5:


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## psalm18.2

I know this sounds dumb, but how does substrate stay on top of the panty hose w/out falling off.


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## Robert H

There is another way... through illusion. You can create the illusion of a hill, sloping from very short to quite tall by grouping stem plants tightly together and trimming them at varying height to look like a hill. Its a lot of work to keep it in the same general shape as the plants grow, but you do not have to worry about trying to slope the substrate.

If you want a hilly carpet foreground, you can use rock, wood, or flexible mesh at angles and have the carpet plants completely cover them so it looks like hills. HC under the right conditions will cover just about anything. 










You can accomplish a lot with how you prune plants


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## shrimpnmoss

That's some nice trimming there Robert.


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## kamikazi

requiem said:


> I have been going round and round over this problem for a while. I am planning a new 40g with MTS (essentially dirt) and want hills on each side, with a tree stump.
> 
> I have tried 3-4 stores for eggcrate, no luck. I have a bag of small stones but I'm leary of the dirt seeping between them and becoming anaerobic. I do have some 'great stuff' but nothing to seal it. I have no car currently so going far to buy rocks isn't practical =p
> 
> panty hose isn't a bad idea! Wouldn't it decompose after a while though?
> 
> This hobby creates weird fixations sometimes :eek5:


I found eggcrate at Lowes hardware. It was in the dropped ceiling section. It's used as light diffuser.


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## speedie408

gordonrichards said:


> The best way to make mounds is:
> 
> Using egg crate. Check your home depot/lowes hard ware stores.
> 
> Cut it to size. Layer it out. Affix the pieces together.
> Silicone works, you can also use those clear zipties.
> 
> Get some mesh screen, and lay it down over your egg crate. Put a small cap of gravel on top of the entire thing. Instant hills/Mountains that won't fall apart on you.
> 
> Layer with your favored substrates. Add rocks to the front of your hills to make them appear larger.
> 
> I just saved you from having to add tons of gravel.
> 
> I'll be scaping a tank this way in May. Will have build photos etc on the board.
> 
> -Gordon


I'm stealing this idea for my next scape. It's May Gordon... where's your new tank build journal at? :hihi:



kamikazi said:


> I found eggcrate at Lowes hardware. It was in the dropped ceiling section. It's used as light diffuser.


Good to know.


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