Try These 7 Aquarium Decoration Ideas

Aquariums are beautiful, but decorating fish aquariums might be difficult. There are many choices available when you're designing an aquarium. What do you think would be the best decoration ideas? Try making a DIY aquarium decoration before going through expensive items. If you missed it, here is our full article about how to build aquariums with different designs and materials.  

Materials used

Considering different types of materials used for your aquarium decoration is essential because you can not just put anything in the tank without knowing whether they are harmful or not. There are different types of materials that you should avoid using and there are also many materials that are safe to use. For example, using ceramics mugs or cups can provide fun hiding places for some timid fish and make them feel secure. Plastics are also safe for use to garnish your fish tank. But do not use one-use plastic like water bottles containing toxic chemicals that can harm the fish.

However, there are also plenty of materials that you should avoid using, including metal which is an object that can corrode and release toxic oxides into the water and can poison your fish. Wood, especially untreated ones, could also contain chemicals. For some driftwood, you need to boil them for hours to remove the algae, spores, and other bacteria before putting into your fish tank. If your fish are freshwater, beach sand should not be used because it can be toxic and kill your fish. The shells or corals can make your aquarium look eye-catching, but they contain calcium and other minerals that could alter the pH of the water in your aquarium.

Decoration Based on Themes

Building an attractive aquarium for yourself might be challenging; therefore, many people tend to keep it simple with only a few decorations. The first step is to decide on the theme of your aquarium. There are different types of aquarium themes that you can choose based on your preference. For example, you can design it into a more ocean theme, cave, city, or forest. When creating different decoration themes, make sure it's something original and unique that can be eye-catching. For example, it can be some ancient era where you can include miniature sculptures or carvings to make it more realistic.

Different themes required different materials, gravel, sand, or other ornaments. However, ensure those objects can dissolve on a microscopic scale, and they would not lead to any problems with the filter and your fish.

Adding Background

Sometimes, the fish tanks' decorations are not eye-catching and attractive enough; therefore, adding background would add more effects. You can stick something colorful to the back of the tank, whether it's a picture of the aquarium scene, the ocean theme, or any bright things you like. You can either buy it at the pet store or make it by yourself with all the patterns or colors you want.

For your background, you can also paint the tank with any pictures you want to match with your favorite themes on the glass.

Make Use of Plants

Whether a fake or a real plant, you can decorate your aquarium with aquarium-friendly plants and make it look more natural. Some plants can be bedded into the substrate layer and remain under the water all the time or some plants might float. However, when choosing the plants, make sure they do not grow out of the size of the tank.

If you are using natural plants, you may need to take care of them so that they will not die because it might also ruin the whole tank. Therefore, you must clean it out when it spoils because it might harm the fish in the aquarium. Having the actual plants in your fish tank will also improve the water quality. Furthermore, when plants perform photosynthesis, they absorb carbon dioxide but release oxygen that could help your fish breathe and maintain pH levels in the water. But you also need to look out whether your fish eats that plant or not because if the fish eats the plants in the tank, you may consider changing the plants so that it will not harm your fish.

Besides real plants, fake plants also make your tank more colorful, and they can stay permanently without dying. Fish love to hide in the enclosed area, so the fake plants can also help them to play around and hide. Unlike real plants, the artificial plants do not die or drop leaves that could decompose and add build-up nitrogen levels that might not be good for your fish which could lead to their death.  

A Natural Aesthetic

When you walk through the pet shops looking for decoration materials for your homemade aquarium.Also, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. However, many people would love to see a natural-looking aquarium that resembles the habitat of the fish. You can add some rocks, stones, or woods that you can find around your place or buy them at the pet store. But when using those materials as decor, you need to clean them properly to remove all the dirt and boil them to kill any harmful bacteria or microscopic creatures. It would help if you did more research on the materials you would like to put in your aquarium to make it look more natural.

Using Sands, Stones, and Pebbles

Adding stones, pebbles, and sand would be another decoration for your aquarium to make a more natural look. However, it would work only for freshwater tanks. As for sand, it would be a tool for your fish pet to rub their body, but it might be harmful to some fish except eels, ray fish, or knife fish. Sand also gives your tank a saltwater feel. However, since sand is smaller and higher, it can float into the tube or end up in the tool you use to collect wastewater, so you need to replace it often.

As for stones or gravel, they can erode over time and make their finder. Fish also love to rub themselves or hide between those stones. However, the pebbles will add beautiful color to your aquarium. But glass pebbles will break over time, and it could create sharp edges, which are very harmful to your fish. Consider changing them once in a while when they are wearing down.

Making Your Own

Being innovative and creative is something you should consider. Sometimes, you might not like the ideas recommended by your friends or on the internet, so why not create something that matches your preferences. You can add on lighting and ensure your pet gets the light most of the time. As mentioned before, you can draw or paint your fish bold or fish tank to decorate it and make it more attractive. Furthermore, you need also to consider the size of your homemade aquarium. If you have a small space, you might build a small aquarium so that it would not take up much of your area. Or, if you have a bigger space, you want a giant aquarium, and you can also furnish it. Try to add more ornaments based on the theme or style you want to build. For example, you can have a mixture of forestry or city themes if you have a giant aquarium. You can either have a rectangular tank or just a rounded bold.  Design a strong and durable fish tank by yourself

Lastly, ensure that all materials used are clean and would not have any chemical or toxic things that could harm your fish.  Boil those materials to kill all the harmful bacteria.