Thinking About Trying My Hand With A 10 Gallon

[calisphere]

I have an empty 10 gallon tank that I thought I would use as a tester for making a naturalistic looking tank, with fake rocks and such. I figured that using an easy-to-replace tank would be a best bet even though it might be a little more difficult to make caves and such in a small space. My plan is to do the rock background with either built-in or removable caves. I think that if I can get a decent result, perhaps I could try with some of my bigger tanks as well.

One problem I have is, if I'm successful, what the heck do I put in it? Why go through the trouble of (hopefully) making a good looking tank and not putting anything in it? What would fit into a 10 gallon comfortably? I assume that what I put into it will dictate how I design the fake rock, correct? For example, if I throw a leo in there, I'm not going to add moss and tropical plants.

I thought about throwing my mourning geckos in it, but I think a smaller terrestrial would do better as I don't plan on standing it on its side to make it tall. My mournings love to climb. What would you put in there for a terrestrial? I guess I need to know the species before I design.

 

[CrestedRick]

Decide on a genus first and then go from there, that's your best bet. That being said, if you build for a somewhat available animal it'll make it easier rather than building this awesome tank and then having a hell of a time finding something to put in there. That's just my opinion and what I would do.

 

[calisphere]

I was thinking about maybe putting my house gecko in it, but with the rock wall and such, wouldn't it end up being closer to a 5 gallon at the end?

I do also have spare 20 gallons. Perhaps that would be better?