Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures that I can find, but I’d like to share an idea or two. Back in the 70s I started my first saltwater tank in a brand new all-glass (An innovation at the time! My other 30-gallon freshwater tank still had a stainless steel frame and hood.) 30-gallon aquarium. I placed it caddy corner in my living room and behind it I placed a shadow box. The box was constructed from a 4’ x 8’ piece of wood panelling that I rescued from the sidewalk on trash day in The Bronx, NY.
I cut a roughly semicircular top and bottom and then bent the sides to the shape of the top and bottom. I glued and fastened the bottom and side together so that the opening in the front was rectangular and fitted against the back of the aquarium and filled most of the space behind it in the corner of the room. I painted the interior of the box with a flat black spray paint. I attached a small ledge at the front of the bottom piece so that I could put a shallow layer of aquarium gravel to cover the bottom panel. On top of this I placed some shells, corals, and a dried sea fan (Today, I’d use plastic replicas.)
The layer of gravel lined up with the back of the gravel in the tank and made the 12-inch tank appear to be almost 3-feet deep. The black walls and lid of the box added to the illusion of depth.
I am not a lover of seeing hoses, tubes, powerheads, and such in my tanks. I try my best to hide them with plants, rocks, and natural looking decorations, even letting algae cover some of the equipment to make it fade into the background.
