# Ways to build a hill



## benealing (Jan 9, 2015)

Hi everyone. I have a 75g up and running and I have gotten some recommendations on building a hill on one side.

1) What are some techniques that you all have used to build hills? I have read about light defusers.

2) Where to place the hill? In a corner? Front to back? Side to side? In the middle?


Once I decide on the hill, is it as simple as uproot the plants in the areas, build the hill, and replant? I have blasting sand as my substrate and the depth right now is about 4-5 inches.

Thanks, 
Ben

Here is the thread to the tank with pictures:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=867721


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## Zoomy (Sep 13, 2014)

Following...as I'm planning to do this on a corner of my 50.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

For me, hills (any substrate) subside over time, so I usually build a retaining wall out of rock and expanding foam filler. I use whatever stone suits the layout- color, size, texture and the black foam sold for ponds.


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## PierreG (Nov 29, 2014)

For my bottom (130g with 11" of substrate in the back), I used clay balls in small net bag. Clay balls are neutral, not heavy and allows good water circulation....

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/yourtanks.php?do=view&id=24793&n=PierreG


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## benealing (Jan 9, 2015)

Diana,

Do you have any pictures?

Do you build your retaining wall and then cover it with the substrate so it looks like a hill, or is it a completely separate structure?


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## Zoomy (Sep 13, 2014)

I love the pond foam idea (just used that stuff this week to fill in crevices with a 3D background where it met in a corner), but that would be pretty permanent. The clay balls in a bag idea sounds intriguing, too. Pierre, where do you find these? For the bag do you use something like a large media bag?


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## Zoomy (Sep 13, 2014)

OK, I think I found the clay balls you were talking about, Pierre...little pebbles/beads used in hydroponics. Looks like they're for growing orchids, specifically.

The cheapest bag of these I could find was about $9 on Amazon...plus a few more bucks for mesh media bag. What if a person bought a pre-filled bag of ceramic rings? Would this accomplish the same end, for <$10?


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## nayr (Jan 18, 2014)

You should be able to find some Hydroton @ your local Garden Center for much better prices.. iirc $20 got me like a 40lb bag
I am also running it in my canister filters as a cheap bio-media.


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## Zoomy (Sep 13, 2014)

I grabbed the $9 bag on Amazon, since I shouldn't need much. I may have to try that as bio media, sometime. I also found black mesh bags on Amazon (pack of 10...5.5x8", IIRC) -- sweet, since my substrate will be black. Any little edges or corners that might peek through the substrate wouldn't be noticeable. I figure I can fill 2-4 bags with the clay beads and sort of stack them like bricks in the corner...perhaps even silicone them together for extra stability. Then dump my 1" of soil on that and 2" coal slag. I also have 3 pieces of purple slate that I plan to build "steps" out of, leading up the hill.


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

You can find some abs plastic and cut some leaves that can go all the way down to the bottom of the glass to the top of the substrate and just layer them all around and this will help with Keeping the substrate from sliding down over time 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

No pics. 

I build the wall as a feature in the tank. I try to be pretty subtle with the pond foam, keeping it toward the back of the wall, and making the rocks look like they are not so much of a man made wall, but a natural feature of the landscape. I do several layouts outside the tank so I know where I am going before I bring out the goo.


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## PierreG (Nov 29, 2014)

Zoomy said:


> The clay balls in a bag idea sounds intriguing, too. Pierre, where do you find these? For the bag do you use something like a large media bag?


Ikea ! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50288546/ or in hydroponic store for large qty. 

nylon bag....Why the clay pellets in a bag? ........they float! ........the substrate weight is enough.......


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## SwampGremlin (Dec 5, 2014)

I built one hill on each side of my 75 gallon tank I used this stuff called microb lift capalm ecological laboratories makes it it's super cheap and is made for ponds it's like Flourite but contains no minerals but the cec is great so it Will absorb nutrients over time. With my tank I built up my hills using that it's dirt cheap and I capped it with 5 inches of ada Aqua soil here is the results

Bump: Depth of hill. The rocks you can see from the front view buried in the middle of each hill are absolutely enormous, philosophy is rocks are cheaper than substrate and it's a filler I have litteraly 200 pounds of rock in this tank sitting on Home Depot egg crate.

Good Luck on your journey.


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## bbfishin (May 1, 2015)

SwampGremlin said:


> I built one hill on each side of my 75 gallon tank I used this stuff called microb lift capalm ecological laboratories makes it it's super cheap and is made for ponds it's like Flourite but contains no minerals but the cec is great so it Will absorb nutrients over time. With my tank I built up my hills using that it's dirt cheap and I capped it with 5 inches of ada Aqua soil here is the results
> 
> Bump: Depth of hill. The rocks you can see from the front view buried in the middle of each hill are absolutely enormous, philosophy is rocks are cheaper than substrate and it's a filler I have litteraly 200 pounds of rock in this tank sitting on Home Depot egg crate.
> 
> Good Luck on your journey.


Those are 2 beautiful hills... nice job on those. I looked at Ecological Labratories website but cannot find anything there you spoke of. Do you have a link to it? I am just starting my 46G bow front and am considering making a hill in one of the corners.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Mine slopes from front to back and right to left. I used some rocks in the corner and filled it in with sand. I'm sure the sand will wash away eventually. 










It is probably 2-4" in the front and 8" under the swords. Those are 6" terracotta pots if I recall correctly. They are partially buried in the substrate and there is more rocks and substrate on top.


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