Setting up your First
Tank
This is all down to personal taste. Some people like their treasure
chests, pirate ships, deep sea divers, etc. Fish just see these
ornaments as shelter and do not care what it looks like to use. Just
make sure the ornaments are made from food grade plastics.
You can also use stones as décor. Just make sure it does not contain any
heavy metals.
Coconut shells, terracotta flowerpots, PVC pipes, artificial plants are
all fine.
Item that will alter your water chemistry but are commonly used are
bogwood (lowers pH and hardness), tufa rock and coral sand (raises pH
and water hardness). All these are fine to use once you know what they
are doing to your water chemistry and your fish can tolerate the
changes.
You will have to provide plants with adequate lightning. Most ready made
system come with enough lighting to grow at least some plants. A good
way to determine which light and nutrient requirements the plants you
want to keep is to have a look at
Tropica Web Site
and take your pick on plant selection based on the recommendations made
on that site.
There is no point in introducing live plants to your set up if the fish
you are planning to keep will actually eat them. So make sure your
choice of fish neither will eat your plants nor dig them up as many of
the bigger cichlids will.