Aquascaping, Is this Wrong?

[eho72]

I am in the middle of tearing down my tank and reaquascaping. Disregard the left side with the huge home made frag rack. That's just a holding area for my SPS corals while half of the rocks are cooking in the garage.

So while I was shopping at Petco, my 2 kids who are under 5 years old wanted the Spongebob and Patrick figurines. Well, I thought it wouldn't hurt since the entire left side is still empty. I put these in to amuse them. Now, my wife wants to know if I can get the rest of the collection and turn the left side into Bikini Bottom. That would mean adding the Krusty Krab, Patrick's house, Sandy, Mr. Krab, Squidward, and Plankton. Uh, not sure about Plankton. He may be too small to see. That's not right to do that to a reef tank right? Here's what I got started.

<img src="http://img.mypicturetown.com/cache/nTh4buEm5y1jL0sW8T.53eozHwKFTVspeWsZz.M32Sw38IfdLNERCFQIPaKnbBgf/item.JPG?rot=1" width="1024"height="680" >

<img src="http://img.mypicturetown.com/cache/dr2AsNlSwBUF6VGEa7sdqQl7r9ZhysAYhu9y17xR%25mEdkpsWBjWqFyqlqfhfo_7D/item.JPG?rot=1" width="1024"height="680" >

[Sugar Magnolia]

:lol: Cute! The problem is, that they will eventually be covered in coraline unless you take them out and clean them periodically. Not sure about the degredation of the paint/sealer on the ceramic, caused by the saltwater though.

[eho72]

Geez, I didn't think about the coraline part. That would be a pain. Other problem I see is where am I going to mount all of those corals.

[somethingphishy]

all I can say is u must really love ur kids and wife

[ToddG.]

What ever makes you the kids and wife happy its not going to hurt anything LOl That reminds me Who lives in a pineapple under the sea no one thanks to B.P. :lol:

[gweston]

My son keeps asking me the same.... he wants various nicknacks in the tank besides the rock. I have yet to give a yes or no answer.. I am still in the maybe stage.

But yeah, coralline will be an issue longer term unless it is cleaned now and then.

[TRENT_G]

all I can say is u must really love ur kids and wife

^^^^^ LOL

If the kids and wife are set keeping the Sponge Bob theme them get a small FW tank (much cheaper) for them. Just an idea.

[UnoZeus]

Man, I lurk here 24/7 but I hardly ever post. This was definitely worth commenting on haha. This has to be the most awesome aquascape I have seen in ages. Keep the kids happy!

[mcoomer]

Your wife has presented you with a golden opportunity, and I mean Christoper Walkin gold plated diapers golden (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFKt0j-UoXE&NR=1). You need to get her to see that the only way that the kids will really be happy with their little version of Bikini Bottom is to set it up in a separate tank. She'll have to agree to let you spend exorbitant amounts of money on this because...wait for it...it was her idea. Sieze the bull by the horns here.

Seriously though, coralline algae is gonna eat that stuff alive. Put it in the tank and let the kids have some fun with it for now. Depending on how young they are they'll probably forget about it pretty soon. If it becomes a chore you can pull it, clean it, and arrange it on the stand or alongside the tank or something.

Mike

[dwa_jeff]

Thats awesome, but i agree the coraline will cover that stuff quickly and will be a PITA to keep clean. The LFS i work at has a Spongebob aquarium kit that includes the tank, bikini bottom background, and some deco. We sell a lot of them because the kids see the figurines and want to put them in daddy's tank. so they end up getting their own...

But I'm all for making the kids and wife happy. You know the old saying.. If momma aint happy, nobody is.

[bamf25]

I am not letting my kids see this thread. It would give them ideas.

[jlylec]

I hadn't even thought about this but I think it's an awesome concept. The coralline aspect sucks, but even if it's just for a little while I think it would look awesome if you could create an entire tank replica of Bikini Bottom. With a cartoonish backdrop and everything. If for no other reason but for a some cool pics and your kids' admiration. I mean...nothing's permanent and you only live once. My daughter loves Spongebob (not sure why...she's only 4 and I barely understand half of it!)...I may find a couple of these to put in mine for her. You could rather easily set up a satellite tank within the same system with a nano cube or RedSea Max or something and turn that into a Bikini Bottom. That was a good suggestion I think.

[Bamm Bamm]

I wouldn't do it myself.. but I think it would be kinda cool to have a little bikini bottom down there

[Ritten]

It's cute. It would be pretty cool if a goby or something made it's home in that pineapple.

[KafudaFish]

Can you talk with a French accent?

And no it is cool that you are willing.

Sometimes people need to lighten up for the hobby.

Now can you get one of those treasure chests that bubble?

[scadsobees]

Yeah, its wrong! But cute! Good to keep them involved, then they can be proud of their little piece of reef heaven....

I was actually thinking that the coralline would be a blessing....the additions would slowly disappear, then you can plant a coral on it and the kids won't even notice that they're gone:bounce1:.

[Matt Dean]

I would NEVER let my wife touch my aquascaping!:furious: It's better if she just sits on the couch and TELLS me where to put everything. :lol2:

Happy wife.......happy life!

Nothing wrong with having fun, but make sure the saltwater is not going to corrode the figurines and release anything toxic in the tank.

As for the coralline, if the kids want it, then get them to clean it!:thumbsup:

[dakineacct]

If you have room, you could put them in your sump. I have thought about it, as my kids have asked.

[soramsu]

Haha. I'm working in setting up my first tank and I've had at least 10 of my friends suggest this...

[djkms]

Thanks, now I have to go buy a pineapple :P

[kevin28]

A+ to mcoomer's post its worth a shot

[alcko]

Great idea! Keep the fam happy!

[davocean]

I would just glue a couple frags to it, maybe an encrusting monti.
I saw someone do that w/ a skull a long time ago.

[ChrisAnator03]

the coolest coral i have ever seen

[seapug]

I think this is hilarious.

Luckily my kids haven't ever requested something like that and it's nothing I'd ever do on my own accord, but if my tank was big enough I'd have no problem doing something like that if the kids got a kick out of it.

[Ocean Mang]

Looks cool, but I would be really concerned about the saltwater causing chemicals to leach into the tank. I once had it happen in a saltwater tank I set up for my daughter with the pink gravel.

[stevie-o]

mmm this is cool, but I think the best way to do it is get a 10g FW
1.put some sand on the bottom
2. add patrick, squidward, and spongebobs house in that order from left to right
3.fashion some roads out of black, or grey gravel
4. add figurines
5. take blue construction paper, and draw those flower things they have in the background with some crayons. Tape this to back of aquarium
6.add some fish
Anddd you got a sweet looking spongebob tank!!!!!!!!!!!
I did this setup as a display for a pet store i worked at.
Also if anyone could chime in if FW decorations are harmful to SW aquariums i would really like to know :)

[eho72]

That is a really good idea. Too bad I can't make this work in a 10g saltwater tank instead.

mmm this is cool, but I think the best way to do it is get a 10g FW
1.put some sand on the bottom
2. add patrick, squidward, and spongebobs house in that order from left to right
3.fashion some roads out of black, or grey gravel
4. add figurines
5. take blue construction paper, and draw those flower things they have in the background with some crayons. Tape this to back of aquarium
6.add some fish
Anddd you got a sweet looking spongebob tank!!!!!!!!!!!
I did this setup as a display for a pet store i worked at.
Also if anyone could chime in if FW decorations are harmful to SW aquariums i would really like to know :)

[AC2020x]

I won't lie that is one of the coolest things I've seen. I'm not sure if I'd be into the whole bikini bottom thing as much as I love spongebob... I'd probably keep it simple... and It looks really awesome now. I'm not tempted to get a spongebob house and put it in my 29g.

[stevie-o]

That is a really good idea. Too bad I can't make this work in a 10g saltwater tank instead. If i could I would of done it. my lil bro is thinking about doing this to his 10g cichlid tank, and yeah i know 10g cichlid tank, but there's only 2 in there, and i'm pressuring him to buy a 29g

I do actually like the look of it in your tank. Its just so funny (in a good way) When I eventually get my 75 i'm totally throwing in some funny ornaments if there reef safe