# I love my tank without the gravel :)



## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

So I live in a college dorm with one bathroom for 30-ish people. I hated messing with the gravel, it was so hard to get all the poo and food out of it! So I was like, "You know what? Forget this gravel!" And dumped it all in the trash! :-D

Now it looks a lot nicer and it's a lot easier to clean! The little chunks of a torn up marimo ball give enough ground coverage to keep it from looking barren, but is a lot lower maintenance!


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## AngelicScars (May 5, 2009)

Looks good!


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Thanks, that gravel was such a pain in the butt! Could never get it clean and it always spilled out of the tank when I tried to rinse it


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

When I kept bare bottom tanks I would tape black construction paper to the underside...it would help with glare and give it dept....your tank looks nice.....


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## AngelicScars (May 5, 2009)

TaylorW said:


> Thanks, that gravel was such a pain in the butt! Could never get it clean and it always spilled out of the tank when I tried to rinse it


I got rid of my gravel pretty quickly because it was such a pain. I moved to river rocks. They are large enough that I wouldn't lose them down the sink but small enough where I wouldn't have to worry about a fishy getting stuck under one.


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

I love the black construction paper Oldfishlady!  That would look lovely.... Just so sick of the tiny gravels! 

Hmm, river rocks... If I see any I like, I might try that!


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

Now that I have a gravel vacumn the gravel doesn't bother me but I hated it when I had the boys in 1 gallon tanks.


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Lol, I wanted a vacuum, but I really don't have room for any extra fish stuff in my dorm  I have a 3rd of my desk, part of a drawer, and a bag on the floor full of fish stuff for one fish XD 

And I don't have my own bathroom... so siphoning would be a pain :/

So I just take the tank to the bathroom and sit it on a shelf, then scoop the water out with a plastic cup. You should see the looks people give me when I'm cleaning out the tank!  Especially when they see the marimo chunks, they're always like "What the heck is that??"


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

TaylorW said:


> Lol, I wanted a vacuum, but I really don't have room for any extra fish stuff in my dorm  I have a 3rd of my desk, part of a drawer, and a bag on the floor full of fish stuff for one fish XD
> 
> And I don't have my own bathroom... so siphoning would be a pain :/
> 
> So I just take the tank to the bathroom and sit it on a shelf, then scoop the water out with a plastic cup. You should see the looks people give me when I'm cleaning out the tank!  Especially when they see the marimo chunks, they're always like "What the heck is that??"


I would kill myself if I had to share a bathroom with that many people. What size tank is that?


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

2.5 gallon... Big enough for Victor, small enough for me to be able to carry down the hall when it's full of water!


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## crowntail lover (Apr 25, 2009)

I love the tank! I only use gravel in my larger tanks.. I use glass stones and river type rocks for my smaller tanks. So gravel isnt much of a pain for me.


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## zelilaa (Jul 31, 2010)

Lol- I use gravel... LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!
jk jk 
But cha. It doesn't bother me. At all. c:


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

I think next time I get a hold of some black paper I will try that under my tank, and maybe add a few stones or something... I might try to find something to attach the big java fern to, it doesn't like to just sit there! 

I would really like to get a removable carpet growing, is that asking too much? XD


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Yeah, your tank looks good! I've been thinking of getting rid of the fine gravel I have in my 10 gallon if I start it up again and going bare-bottom. it looks nice and it's sooo much easier to maintain.


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Thanks Jupiter! 

I can't wait to get some black paper to put under it to see what it looks like!


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## fredythefish (Nov 29, 2010)

that looks nice! i might do that to my 2.5 g tank. and are those just plain rocks from a river?


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

It's actually a plastic archway that looks natural! I love it


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## LikeDiscoSuperfly (Oct 18, 2010)

It does actually look nice! I would have been worried. I hate my gravel too, but I have a 5 gallon and an aparmtnet, so I can use a vacuum.. I definetly would have HATED carting around the tank and trying to clean the gravel by hand! I cant believe you did for so long!


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Yeah, it was a real pain! I am not going to to do that again!


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

You could also put foil, cut-out shapes, a picture of gravel, etc. under your'e tank.


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## Juneii (Nov 29, 2010)

I found this pretty black gravel at my LFS, the pebbles vary from being matte black to shiny. Pain in the butt to clean because I use a siphon to suck out most of the water during water changes and the gravel is so small that it gets sucked up along with the water. But it's so pretty!


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## TRISHIESfishie (Nov 17, 2010)

I had gravel, beautiful blue and black. It looked so freaking awesome under the L.E.D lights (especially the plue and purple). So my tank look awesome for a week. The time for first water change and a few stupid pieces had wedge themselves between the sides of the thank and the "filter" tray at the bottom. 3 little blue and black rocks almost cracked my tank (it's an acryllic cylinder shaped tank). So now no gravel. I use marbles/vase jewel stones/and tumbled rocks from a rock tumbler and I love it (So does King!)


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## Jayy (Dec 23, 2009)

Your tank is the one of the best barebottom tanks I've seen. I like your arch.


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Thank you Jayy! Still need to get a hold of something to attach to the bottom! And thanks, the arch is Victor's favorite, he sleeps under there sometimes


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

TaylorW said:


> I think next time I get a hold of some black paper I will try that under my tank, and maybe add a few stones or something... I might try to find something to attach the big java fern to, it doesn't like to just sit there!
> 
> I would really like to get a removable carpet growing, is that asking too much? XD


Actually no it's not. =] If you get some craft mesh and some java moss or some similar moss then it'll spread across the mesh and you'll have a removable carpet. =]

I have no idea if someone's already posted this though! XD If they have I'm sorry! XD


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## TheSecondOne (Nov 18, 2010)

Cleaning gravel is a pain, I agree. That's why I never used them.


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## celine18 (Sep 25, 2010)

that poor moss ball!!! it was massacered!!!!!! :shock:

yea, i gave up on gravel in sams 1.5 gal bowl....sooo annoying to dump it out, rinse, put back in. wow, i can't imagine sharing a bathroom with 30 people, luckily my college i'm going to has suite style dorms (except for the super creepy, ghost-infested 4th floor...but if i get put up there it's not gonna go over well, hehe)

....i'm really not looking forward to dealing with sand in my 10 gal, i'm sooooo jealous of your tank!!! >.<


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

BTW how is that hang on heater? They sell em for $7 at my local fish store and submersibles are always needing a use in my bigger tanks.


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

celine18 said:


> that poor moss ball!!! it was massacered!!!!!! :shock:


When I bought it it was half brown and it never recovered    I tried to nurse the poor thing back to health, I really did! Then I tried to roll it into smaller moss balls, and they started to get brown on the inside, so I had to pick them apart to keep it alive


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

MrVampire181 said:


> BTW how is that hang on heater? They sell em for $7 at my local fish store and submersibles are always needing a use in my bigger tanks.


The heater works pretty well, but as a warning, it is NOT water proof! When I fill my tank up to where it touches the blue plastic, water leaks inside of the glass tube and gets in the electronics :shock: But besides that, it does a decent job of keeping my water warm, even though sometimes it's a tad finicky. You have to let it acclimate for 20 minutes before plugging it in after a water change.

I'd say it's worth it for the price, my water has never gotten below 76 or above 86 when I've let it acclimate properly , even with all the crazy temperature swings in my dorm and our crazy weather. In the 70's on day and in the 40's the next! :/

It usually keeps the water decently stable, within 2-3 degrees.


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## Rain Drop (Jul 4, 2009)

It looks really nice!
and not all bare bottomed tanks look lovely like that c:
ha, I have the same arch in Strawberry's tank =P


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Thank you!  Aw, does your betta enjoy his arch too?


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## peaches3221 (Jun 1, 2010)

wallywestisthebest333 said:


> If you get some craft mesh and some java moss or some similar moss then it'll spread across the mesh and you'll have a removable carpet. =]


or they also sell fake carpets, but live plants are great if you don't mind the work!

awesome tank btw


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Thanks Peaches! I would really like to try to grow a carpet out of my mutilated marimo ball, but if I kill what's left I'll be annoyed >_< I need it to keep my water clean! Err.. cleaner 

I have a bunch of fake plants, but my betta only really liked one of the fake ones, and that one looked like a java fern 

I've never seen a fake carpet in the store!


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## Rain Drop (Jul 4, 2009)

lol no!!
He ignores it =P
He does like to swim circles around his other tree decoration though x3


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Ah well, at least it looks nice!


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## fleetfish (Jun 29, 2010)

I also keep mine bare, it's just so much more convienient. I also like simplicity, so it works both ways.


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## celine18 (Sep 25, 2010)

TaylorW said:


> Thanks Peaches! I would really like to try to grow a carpet out of my mutilated marimo ball, but if I kill what's left I'll be annoyed >_<


ummmmm...i do believe i've read marimo only grow 5mm a year, so you might be outta luck there haha. i think you should look into moss, it's not as mean as marimo, and you can even pull it apart!!! lol and i don't think you'll kill that off ;-)


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

What's left of my marimo is slowly kicking the bucket... I'm going to have to replace it  I heard that if you use fertilizer and extra light and such that you could make marimo grow faster, but since it's dying/shredding apart now, I'm just going to have to toss it 

I will ask my pet store with all the plants if they have any java moss, hopefully it will do much better!!

Oh, and I just finished cleaning the tank, and it was so much lighter to carry and a breeze to clean!


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## DazzleKitty (Nov 9, 2010)

Wow, it looks really great! It's actually making ME tempted to go without the gravel.

I adore gravel because it comes in all kinds of fun colors, but it's my most HATED part of changing the tanks water or cleaning the tank. It collects so much disgusting things and it's a chore to clean. It'd be a lost easier to vacuum up things in your tank without the gravel. Yet it's hard for me NOT to have gravel because it looks so pretty. But yours looks surprisingly good for not having gravel. The marimo plants give it character.


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

So the Marimo finally kicked the bucket, so I redecorated!! :-D

Ditch the gravel Dazzlekitty, makes the tank soooo much lower maintenance!


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

And here's my video, take a tour of my dorm tank!  Bubbles from a fresh water change 

View My Video


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## FishyFriend1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I am rather disappointed with gravel too. Today while i was siphoning i notices many blue colored pieces of gravel in the bucket.i never see any gravel go up the siphon hose but i do see alot of whit gravel pieces in my tank. so my dad took a large piece of gravel and broke it apart with pliers. ITS WHITE ROCK INSIDE!!!! They just painted mine blue!!!! note: i have only had this gravel for 1 1/2 months and it is regular sized aquarium gravel...


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Ugh, I know what you mean! I started adding some colored gravel to my tank. It was made for fish, but the color started FADING and rubbing off! That can't be healthy for my fish, and it made me mad that it was so cheaply painted!


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## FishyFriend1 (Oct 29, 2010)

exactly theres a ton of paint flakes in my tank.


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

That's terrible! I hope the paint doesn't hurt your fish!


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## FishyFriend1 (Oct 29, 2010)

it better not...... or else i am going after you petsmart!!!!


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Hahahaha! XD I would be ticked too!!


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## Rain Drop (Jul 4, 2009)

I don't have gravel in any of my tanks now, just glass gems. I used to have black coloured gravel, but it leaked colour so I threw it all out =/
But with Strawberry's tank, TaylorW, you actually inspired me to go bare-bottomed with his (well, nearly). Now it's just his arch, tree, and some river rocks, and GOSH! It's sooo much easier to clean!!! It's all pretty and zen looking too c:


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## FishyFriend1 (Oct 29, 2010)

i have glass too


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

I thought I'd add here that plants don't really help keep your tank clean unless they are fast growers.

Mosses and algae(Marimo are algae) grow really slowly and don't really do anything for your tank except look pretty and make great resting and hiding place for your aquatic life. =]

*A great list of plants that WILL help keep your water clean are:*

1) ANY floating plant (other than carnivorous floating plants)
examples: frogbit, red root floater, duckweed(comes in greater and lesser), water spangles, and water lettuce.
2) Wysteria
3) Water Sprite
4) Mexican Oak leaf
5) Hornwort
6) Anacharis

These plants grow really quickly as in you prune them once a week. because they grow quickly they suck up a lot of nutrients (to them, toxins to our fish)/ a TON of bad stuff out of the water. You still need to change the water often but not as often as you would without them. =]

A great place to buy any of these plants is this site right here.

I'd ask your parents for some plants for Christmas! =] or ask them to order them for you if you pay for them with real cash. =]

The reason this store is really great is because she (the lady that runs the site) gives you a nice bunch of plants and she'll often throw in extras for free. =] You could shop around though if you feel like it. =]

You could also find these in a locally owned fish shop (like not a chain store) or they might order them for you. =]

I think all of them are beautiful personally. =]

ALSO these plants are typically classified as floaters and they get all of their nutrients from the water around them so they don't really need any enriched substrate to survive. So you can just throw them in there or tie them to a rock and let them sit in your tank that way. 

This way you wouldn't need gravel and you could move them around as you please =]

If you get a legit floating plant though (anything from #1) be advised that they multiply RAPIDLY and will most likely shade your entire tank in a few days to a week or so if you fertilize. =]

ALSO if you get any of these plants you'll need a daylight (not soft white or white, a _daylight_) bulb that's a low wattage. =] You should shine it on the tank for only a few hours a day. =]

That's my dollar's worth! =]

Good luck with your tank! =] Oh! And I also saw a great idea that you might like if you keep your tank bare bottomed! =] You could put patterned paper on the bottom of it one day when you do your 100% change! =]

Then it'd look all fancy! =]

but yeah I'm shutting up now! XD I[ve got a project to work on! XD 

Night! =]


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

I like the rock bridge. I dont want to be the party pooper, but dont you think it looks a little plain?? i mean its your decision to do what you like with the tank. Again i dont mean to be rude.


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Rain Drop said:


> I don't have gravel in any of my tanks now, just glass gems. I used to have black coloured gravel, but it leaked colour so I threw it all out =/
> But with Strawberry's tank, TaylorW, you actually inspired me to go bare-bottomed with his (well, nearly). Now it's just his arch, tree, and some river rocks, and GOSH! It's sooo much easier to clean!!! It's all pretty and zen looking too c:


Awesome! Doesn't that arch look so great as a tank centerpiece? It's pretty much my favorite decoration


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Ahhh! Wallywest, I am so working on the plants!! I plant to drop by my local petstore to pick up some more! I really wanted a lot of the plants you suggested, but convincing mom and dad to order them offline is a hassle... I will try to coax them into the Christmas idea though!  

And I REALLY want some patterned paper, I need to pick some up!


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

bettalover2033 said:


> I like the rock bridge. I dont want to be the party pooper, but dont you think it looks a little plain?? i mean its your decision to do what you like with the tank. Again i dont mean to be rude.


Not rude at all! I admit it is a bit plain, but it is still a work in progress.... I think more live plants and some paper would help A LOT but I won't be able to pick any up until after finals   

I used to have a TON of fake plants crowded in there, but it was a hassle to clean and I felt like Victor needed some more swimming space! But don't worry, I plan on adding more to the tank during Christmas break


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## jmtriro01 (Jun 22, 2010)

you dont need to put anything on the underside of the tank. the fish sees differently from the inside than what we see from the outside of the tank. he actually sees through the glass, and not against it.


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

I know I don't need to put anything on the bottom, but I do think it would look better... I think it would be awesome if I could put some felt on the bottom, it would look like carpet! XD


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## Sweeda88 (Dec 6, 2010)

TaylorW said:


> I love the black construction paper Oldfishlady!  That would look lovely.... Just so sick of the tiny gravels!
> 
> Hmm, river rocks... If I see any I like, I might try that!


They sell packs of "River Rocks" in the fish section at walmart. I think they're like $2.17 a bag. I think there is about 10 of them per bag. not sure. They are really pretty, though!


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## jmtriro01 (Jun 22, 2010)

TaylorW said:


> I know I don't need to put anything on the bottom, but I do think it would look better... I think it would be awesome if I could put some felt on the bottom, it would look like carpet! XD


 
ok. i thought you're worried about the reflection. well, that's not a bad idea. i think it will also look good.


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Nope, not worried about reflection!  Never had an issue with Victor attacking the glass, even when he's been able to see the reflection.


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## Rain Drop (Jul 4, 2009)

Yes! So simple, yet it works c:


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## dragonfair (Sep 21, 2010)

Taylor, I was inspired by your gravel free tank. I can't stand cleaning gravel - grr. So, when I moved Bravo from a 10 gal tank to a 3 gal critter keeper I just scattered a small sprinkling of gravel on the bottom for interest and used just enough in a plant base to weigh it down. I'm much happier with it and Bravo seems MUCH happier in the smaller space. He's actually exploring the gravel pieces. I'm going to get rid of most of the gravel in the other tanks and see how it goes.


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## jmtriro01 (Jun 22, 2010)

all of my tanks doesnt have gravel as well. i have 12 tanks and i cant do the cleaning very well if i have gravel.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

thats true


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## KandiiPanda (Oct 1, 2010)

I was inspired by yours, as well n_n Gravel really is a hassle, so now I just use it to weigh stuff down, and I have a scattering of those plastic(?) decorative betta stones. I love the clean look


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

Yay! Glad I inspired everyone else to take the low maintenance, gravel free approach!


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