Tank plans/ideas

Black brings out the colour of the plants and the fish while white tends to wash them out a bit. If you google aquascape aquariums you can compare and you will see what I mean. Having said that I also find that a dark substrate with a black background makes the tank quite gloomy but once the substrate is covered with plants this issue goes away

 

Yes, I'm aware of the black making colors pop, which I think is why I went black substrate initially.
It's also why I was thinking black or probably rather dark blue for background.

But when I look at my three tanks that are currently set up I'm trying to work out what it is that appeals to me so much in the non-planted tanks.
I love the planted tank, don't get me wrong, but there's something very appealing to me about the openness of the non-planted ones.

I definitely want plants in the big tank, and quite a few, but I want to be able to see the fish easily as they swim around.

I almost want to go as far as to say my QT tank is currently my favorite to watch.
It's really a thrown together tank with no substrate at all, a few limnophila trimmings stuck in tiny Terra Cota pots, and quite a few more floating freely because they either came out of the pots or I just chucked them in loose. And then a few stems of really big Java fern.
But I really enjoy watching the fish in that tank. The light is very dappled because the sponge filter disturbs the water quote a lot, and the water movement, together with plant mass on the surface of the water (there's a fair bit of salvinia there as well as the floating limnophila), makes for really interesting lighting.
And I can watch the fish whether the light is on or off, it never gets too dark.

The planted tank has black substrate and tons of plants, and although it looks really nice with the light on, firstly the fish don't swim freely (I've started wondering if I have too many plants, they all gather in the one open spot for most of the day), and secondly I can't watch them at all when the light is off

The big tank has black substrate and very very few plants. It has 2 medium chunks of mopani wood, and 3 plastic plants (my goldfish ate any attempt at adding more plants), no backing, and actually a small window behind half of it (the window looks into the braai room so is not direct sunlight, but does get more light than the half against the wall).
I love the openness of the tank. Won't say I particularly like the decor, but loved watching the fish swim around freely and easy to see.

I'm hesitant with the white background because, as you say, it does wash out the colors of the fish somewhat, so I might try find a happy medium with colour. Maybe the light blue but I'm not sure I'm keen on that. Grey also seems a bit cold for me.

I plan to have some more mopani in the tank, and tall plants at the back: vallis (not sure of type but leaning towards it being jungle Val. I bought it from stodels a few months ago. Unlabeled, but it grows soooo long), limnophila, these massive Java ferns that I don't know what type they are.
Then ludwigia (I think it's repens?) kind of in front of that. As well as the ozelot green I have that's grown huge, and the sword plant (not sure what type it is).
I want to leave the front completely open, or at most have very low growing grasses.

So the tall plants and wood will cover the back of the tank to some degree. Probably not entirely though.
But so I want enough light to see what's happening in the tank when the light is switched off, but enough dark to appreciate the colors of the fish.

 

Actually, looking through @Whoknows thread again (this time more than just the first page), I might try a shade of blue. Not sure of it'll be the sky blue he uses or a bit lighter/darker (possibly a little darker, but it might very well be lighter). But I think with a bunch of plants and some wood it might actually look quite nice.
Don't think I'll go as dark as I initially thought though, but blue has many shades so I just need to find the right one for me.

I need to find time to read through that whole thread, not just look at pictures. There seems to be a lot of fish and plants that I have or am considering in that thread.

 

I'd suggest you look into setting up an Iwagumi style aquarium if openness is what you're after....it gives you the 'open planted aquarium'. Here's some examples:

 

Hello, maybe an idea to set the tank up fully without a background to start.
As I have seen tanks that look so open and good without one. And then decide on a background if that look does not work.
Will also give you a better idea of the colour you need as you will then know how much shadow etc is created with your layout

 

Lol, should have read your reply before posting. Awesome pics

 

This would be the best for sure, but I can't get behind my tank once it's full. It's right up against the wall and I can't move the table when the tank is full.


(ignore the funny bow on top. Tank was my birthday present, bow was meant as a joke, I rather like it for sentimental reasons so just kept it on)

 

I'm more of a river tank / biotope type person. I want to feel like I've stuck my head into a river and can see what might naturally occur, but without the restrictions of doing it properly and researching exact areas and what one would find there if that makes sense. Iwagumi is far to exact and neat for me. Doesn't look natural. I like the natural look.

Basically I haven't yet found a style that describes what I like, but I know it in my head

 

So, something like this - lots of plants but still lots of open space. I don't like the rocks or whatever they've got going on at the base of the plants though.

(https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bu...nners-guide-setting-aquarium-live-plants/amp/)

Or this, although here the tall plants are almost coming too far forward on the right.

(https://www.aqueon.com/information/care-sheets/aquatic-plant-basics)

This is also really nice, especially if the plants on the right grow in a bit

(it's a pinterest image that appears to have originated on YouTube so I can't really reference it properly)
I actually think I like this last one the most.

 

Ok cool. I'm thinking that a Nature style aquarium with majority of midground & foreground plants mixed with hard scape too might be what you're after. Basically, don't choose plants that are super fast growers and tall.

 

Thanks. It was in November
I'm just only getting to actually use it for what I wanted it for now because it had the goldfish in until now.

 

I think I'm definitely leaning most towards the third option, with a bit more growing out. There will be some tall/fast growing plants, but they will be placed a the back to allow a lot of free swim space in the front.

I think maybe a way to follow @Radesh 's advice is to use big pieces of cardboard at the back instead of an actual proper backing. I've seen people that laminate normal project board and tape/prestick it on. That I could probably manage without moving the tank.
Once the building work officially starts on the house I will have to move the tank so will have to largely empty it to do so, so if I've found a perfect colour by then I could always replace the cardboard with vinyl or paint.
Cardboard would allow me to try a few options without too much difficulty.

 

Was in Paarden Eiland today and stopped by Maizey's - rolls of frosted vinyl were around R150.
Loads of other colours too (per pic).

You can also buy 2mm ABS sheet plastic, which I use for my backgrounds on a couple tanks, but these days you need to buy a full sheet (I think R450 odd, but it's pretty big).
They cut to any size you specify on site. Useful for already set up tanks.

 

Thanks so much for this info, very helpful!