How to Make Aquarium Decor

If you decide to have fish as pets you will need an aquarium and some things to decorate it. The decorations should be more about what the fish needs and what will make the fish happy then what looks good. There are a lot of decorations for your new aquarium at the pet store, but they can get quite expensive. You can, in fact, make some decorations from home. Read on to learn how to make aquarium decor.

Things You'll Need

  • Pot
  • Boiling water
  • Nature items
  • Plants
  • Rocks
  • Ornaments
  • Computer
  • Printer
  • Background setting
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Instructions

    • 1

      Gather some items from nature. Big rocks and driftwood from the beach are excellent items to add to a fish tank. These items need to be thoroughly cleaned before introduced to your fish. Boil them in hot water and give them a good scrub. This will kill any bacteria that was on your nature items. When you place them in the fish tank, do it in a way that gives fish a place to hide. You can stack some rocks together and on top of each other or you can lay the driftwood on a rock so that a fish could swim under it.

    • 2

      Find a background picture you like online or create one and print it out. Background pictures can be bought at your local pet store, but there is no reason you can not create your own. There are plenty of beautiful underwater photographs online that you can use as a background. If your printer doesn't print to the length of your aquarium you can take the picture to Staples or Office Depot and have them do it for you. The background picture goes outside of the tank in the back. You can tape it in place or use some Elmer's glue that dries clear.

    • 3

      Cover the bottom of your tank with rock pellets or a bunch of tiny rock bits. If you can crush up some rocks in to small pieces you could use that as the bottom layer of your aquarium. If you can't do that you can always buy the rock pellets at the pet store. Once you have your bottom layer you can add some of your kids marbles. These make great decoration, but are not good for a bottom layer alone. They don't allow the good bacteria to grow in the fish tank so just add several to the top of your rock layer.

    • 4

      Get some plants. Every fish tank needs plants whether real or fake. The best kind of plant are the ones that are real. You are most likely going to have to buy these unless you know where to find some. If you have some fake plants in your home you are welcome to use those. Make sure you wash them and give them a good scrub before you introduce them in to your fish tank.

    • 5

      Add some ornaments If you have a son then most likely you will have ornaments around your home that you can use. Ornaments are the plastic decorations such as little pirates, treasure chests, a pirate ship (or any plastic ship), a cave, or even a little plastic house with open windows and doors the fish can swim through. Make sure you wash all ornaments you plan on using in hot water. If you can boil the ornament than do so. This will remove any germs or bacteria that are on the toys before you add them to the tank.

    • 6

      Place all of your object together and create an underwater scene that is both pleasing to the eyes and safe and beneficial for the fish. Take your time and move things around until you get them just where you want them. Then add your water to the tank and allow it to reach room temperature before adding your fish. Then add your fish and see how they like their new tank.