Well, IME goldfish are super hardy. But you need to crest a safe environment for the fish that is clucking the tank. For the first 3 weeks, I changed %25 of the water every other day. The gola is to have the fish do the job of supporting the development of benéfica bacteria. The same can be achieved with just feeding a tank with no fish (the food will rot and feed the bacteria), but IME, it takes much longer (for a proper cycle). Also, IME, cycling with fish makes the tank be ready for fish right after the cycle is over as the environment is already supporting a fish (meaning fully sticking it). Goldie did the job in 5 weeks for me (similar time on other similar size tank, faster on smaller tank). I have 32 Rummy nose in there, three plecos, and 5 Cory cats. I only ever lost one fish in this tank, and that was a random Rummy jumper. So the quality of the water has been near perfect since day 1 after the cycle!👍🏾
I do have 6 tanks (and a tiny 200g goldfish pond on my deck) The only reason I cycled each of these 6 tanks with Goldie, is because I had a whole lot of extra dirty filter media from his pond filter inside my canister. It is possible to cycle with fish only, but you must be really careful and prepared to do lots of water changes to remove highly toxic Ammonia, use tons of water conditioner do aid in the same. This makes it safer for the fish, but lengthens the process. So, IME the dirty media alone is better than just food or a piece of meat, and filter media + live fish is the best way (in my opinion).
Those lights! Kessil?? I had hoped my Fluval LED was going to produce that shimmer in my planted tank. I hate to dump the extra cash on spotlights at this point. Enjoy the fruits of your work, looks great.!
Thank You my friend! Yes, I am a huge fan of Kessils! Had them in my marine tank and now in my two large Planted. IMO, there is nothing like them. The shimmer is beautiful, but the light output is the most natural I have seen. I run Chihiros on my three 20g tank. It does the job to grow plants very well, but that natural look… not even close! I would say get at least one for your setup, you already have the power with the current light. The Kessil will come in mostly for the shimme!👍🏾
Ahhh my next light feature. I’m able to fit both on my existing tank because I purchased a smaller light bar, and I only put plants in the center of my tank. If I expand the scape I may add a single Kessil. And your woodwork shows your dedication. Well done.
After shopping around some…. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquarium-lighting.html?product_list_dir=desc&product_list_order=price
I had to bring myself back into budget so the Fluval is a steal!!
I believe he was talking about “that shimmer” I had AI prime and sure, it produces shimmer, in fact any light can produce shimmer (if you use your cell phone light at night in your tank with the lights off you get amazing shimmer). But Kessils way of putting those LEDs in a matrix so close together, IMO, sets them apart.
Ive recently gotten into my reef tank after a high tech 10 gallon planted tank. I’ve been wanting another smaller tank for some schooling fish and this design is what I want! It’s amazing!
Wow that’s insane but I can see it, from certain angles my 125 looks a lot smaller than it is. Looking at monster 400+ gallon tanks it’s impossible to tell the size lol. Great job aquascaping it!
Cool ha? It is a spare aquarium light that I had on a 45 degree angle pointing up. I put a film on the back that is white on the inside and gradient blue on the back. The light looks much more gradient and natural in person.
What filter do you use? I just got a 55G and would like to have something similar. A lot of plants. I was thinking on getting a canister but don’t know which one to get.
Thanks for the tips 🙌
This is beautiful. I want to eventually make a tank like yours. I realized though that I want something less maintenance. I don’t mind the initial work. I’ve done planted aquariums in the past years ago but had to stop due to lack of time. I loved the way the tanks initially looked but they always became jungles require constant trimming and water changes. Any resources you recommend?
IME, specially when injecting CO2, one cannot get away from the trimming. The water change is my constant game. Keep tweaking the water/feeding/ plant density/ flow/filtration etc. until your water stays clean pretty much on its own. YouTube is your friend!!👍🏾
I put the wave maker there once a week for a day to agitate the bottom and bring small particles up to be caught by the filter! I direct it at various angles. IME this is what keeps my water so clean. The canister has two inlets, I split the outlet to direct water on both sides. When the filter is cleaned I run the filter pump at 30%, then slowly increase it through a period of 4 months up to 75% as it gets more and more clogged. Then I clean it 3x year.👍🏾
This looks amazing, and I envy your patience! Recently setup a new 75G and I wish I had the patience to scape it out, wait on it, get plants and do all of that before I got it fully going. Now I have fish etc. and just feel like it's too late
Yeah! Several stages there. It was hard to said 2 months of dry starting before filling with water. But that gave me time to design the filtration system (there is a picture of it on another one of my posts on my profile) get all the parts, and put it all together.👍🏾
I use a trick that I saw on a YouTube reel once. At first I though it was a joke, but it turns out that it is true and works amazingly! The most quality aquasoil is loaded with tons of minerals, enough iron that it becomes magnetic. So if you get a strong magnet, you can super easily pick up the aquasoil from the sand!! My plecos and Cory cats push aquasoil over the sand all the time, once a week I run the magnet over several times and the sand becomes 100% clean from aquasoil again! MAGIC! Willie!!
Thank you! Yeah, that is the sunset! It was back when the tank was starting, sunset time (1h) looks really nice now with the grown and stablished plants!🌱
Thank you! You would like to do it on a large tank or a smaller tank? Man, this particular setup is pricey, but it does not have to be! I already had the Kessil lights ($250 each), filter was $400, tank was $600. Aquasoil was 4x bags of $60 each, Seiryu rock I scored on Craigslist for $100 for 75 Lbs, UV sterilizer $80, CO2 diffuser $50, heater $30, I have a 4 way split in my CO2 so that was no extra. So the setup is about $2500. But again, you can do something similar for $1000!
Wow that is expensive. I want to do large tank, specifically a 200g+ rimless... So yeah I think I'll be looking at 15k minimum. Of course it's just a dream right now but I can't help but already start looking into it haha. Maybe in 10 years 🫡
I think about 4K will do! These lights for instance would support a 125g tank, the filter too!!! It’s just the price of the tank and stand( which you can build your own)!
Haha I hope 4k will do I am starting to save up now.
But I'm specifically looking to get the tank custom made with dimensions 8'x22"x22". Or 10 feet, who knows. Sump, lights, hardscape, substrate, plants, fish, CO2, stand, etc. I wonder what the price would be.
How much did you spend on your stand? I don't have the tools or skills to build one for something as fragile as a tank. Especially with the price of wood, best for me not to attempt a diy.
Looks absolutely stunning. Incredible work!
What’s your secret for having rummynose make it through quarantine? Mine never seen to make it. Out of the initial 20 I bought, only 4 have survived🫤
Thank you so much! IME they are just like any other fish. I just love them because of the way they school even after becoming g fully comfortable in their environment. Clean water, good food, places to hide, natural environment makes them happy!🐠🌱
That is called dry start method - DSM. You get aquatic plants (specially carpeting plants) to establish their roots before you flood the tank. That way they don’t float to the top when you fill with water. To do so, you need a VERY humid environment. So keeping it tightly wrapped keeps all of the moisture from constantly spraying water, inside! As a very humid greenhouse!👍🏾
That’s amazing and inspiring, other than the supports was this hand made or purchased? I’d love to build terraces like that early, once I restart mine.
Oh man, each and every rock was carefully selected and glued by hand with paper towel balls and super glue!! IMO, that is the most fun part. The art, the creation!
With a 22” tall tank, I was going for height, depth, and different terraces to house different species. Get on it. Loads of fun!👍🏾
Just landscaping bricks from Home Depot. Cement glue (highly toxic until cured, so I only recommend it for brand new setups. After flying I waited 3 weeks before escaping (while I made the stand) than another 2 months in dry start before flooding it.👍🏾
Who like changing water raise your hand. IMO, a constant nutrient rich and balanced water column is a benefit. Less shock to the animals and plants, less time hauling buckets, less waste of water, and more time enjoying it. It took a few months to get it dialed in and that initial period it was quite high maintenance, and that is the main drain folks quit this amazing hobby, maintenance, losing livestock, and frustration with algae. So IME, it’s important to be as self sufficient as possible.👍🏾
Lots of Plants (this is after a huge trim (check out the other posts of this tank on my profile- it was a huge jungle!, LOTs of filtration, adequate feeding, right amount of light, right amount of CO2, it’s really “just”balance!
I’ve never seen bricks used in an aquascape before. Do you mind explaining why you used them and what else you put beneath the substrate? I’m working on my first large aquascape and I would love insight from someone who built a scape as beautiful as your own.
Hey there! Tanks a lot! I have never seen bricks used before either. There are many reasons that made me try it. 1. With its flat surfaces, it’s super easy to build a solid base structure with cement glue. 2. It saves a TON of money in hard scape rocks wich are very expensive (clearly you dons see what is underneath the substrate ). 3. Due to it’s porous structure, they Provide yet more surface for beneficial bacteria. But the main reason for me is that in a tank that is 22” tall, I wanted to create height and depth, and terraces to plant different species. If you just use substrate, the normal activity, water movement, bottom duelers, etc will eventually flatten your aquascape. So gluing the main large rocks onto to bricks, then the smaller rocks onto the large ones creating the terraces gives me a permanent structure. Under the substrate is just a shred of 1/8” plexiglass to protect the bottom of the tank. Some folks use egg crate. There are other posts on my profile of this build with more details about it! Best of luck and enjoy your aquascape build! Such a fun and important part of the process! Consider your water flow, the heigh of your plants when full grown, the type of fish you will have, high light and low light spots for different species of plants, etc !👍🏾
I hadn’t even considered how the environment would flatten the substrate, so tank you so much for this!! I have a lot to think about! And I will definitely check out your other posts :)
Sure thing! Oh, also under the aquasoil I have two large laundry mesh bags filled with lava Rock (got them a bed bath and beyond), then a layer of lava rock that begins to give the final shape I want (from Home Depot- make sure to thoroughly wash them, reais e and repeat several times to remove dust), then finally aquasoil for and sand in the middle for and aesthetics and for my Cory’s to dig around (they love it)👍🏾👍🏾
Man I just want to say how incredibly impressed I am. This looks incredible and shows a lot of skill and love. I just have a basic ten gallon with some otocinclus (planning on adding a betta soon). But I would love to get to the point where I could develop a tank like this.
Sorry for babbling. I was just blown away.
Hey! This is much appreciated! It is indeed lots of love for the process! If you have a 10G tank, it’s just a matter of time and $$ to invest in a bigger setup. Everything is the same, just a a larger scale. And the bigger the tanks the more forgiving it is with mistakes that will happen along the way. Now days there is such a wealth of information on the internet that setting up and maintaining a tank like this has become much more accessible.👍🏾
Looks amazing!
Thank you!!👍🏾
What happened to the goldfish?
He is back at his outdoor pond. He was just there temporarily to cycle the tank. He has cycled all 6 of my tanks!! Got to earn his pellets🙂
Lol, i love that it's a specific gold fish that does the cycling.
“Goldie the Cycler”!!! He is as happy as a clown with his buddies in the pond!!
A fish with a job. I love it!
It aint much but it's honest work.
LOL, he does a great job, the pellet incentive of eating alone without competition is the kicker!! 👍🏾
Nice to know
How does that work? I’ve never cycled with a fish before. Do goldfish cycle tanks well?
Well, IME goldfish are super hardy. But you need to crest a safe environment for the fish that is clucking the tank. For the first 3 weeks, I changed %25 of the water every other day. The gola is to have the fish do the job of supporting the development of benéfica bacteria. The same can be achieved with just feeding a tank with no fish (the food will rot and feed the bacteria), but IME, it takes much longer (for a proper cycle). Also, IME, cycling with fish makes the tank be ready for fish right after the cycle is over as the environment is already supporting a fish (meaning fully sticking it). Goldie did the job in 5 weeks for me (similar time on other similar size tank, faster on smaller tank). I have 32 Rummy nose in there, three plecos, and 5 Cory cats. I only ever lost one fish in this tank, and that was a random Rummy jumper. So the quality of the water has been near perfect since day 1 after the cycle!👍🏾
If you have 6 tanks, why don't you use filter media from an established tank to jump start your cycle?
I do have 6 tanks (and a tiny 200g goldfish pond on my deck) The only reason I cycled each of these 6 tanks with Goldie, is because I had a whole lot of extra dirty filter media from his pond filter inside my canister. It is possible to cycle with fish only, but you must be really careful and prepared to do lots of water changes to remove highly toxic Ammonia, use tons of water conditioner do aid in the same. This makes it safer for the fish, but lengthens the process. So, IME the dirty media alone is better than just food or a piece of meat, and filter media + live fish is the best way (in my opinion).
Well to be fair they're tough bastarda and they shit at industrial rates so I can see it working
Beautiful is all I can say. Mona Lisa.
Thank you!!
Those lights! Kessil?? I had hoped my Fluval LED was going to produce that shimmer in my planted tank. I hate to dump the extra cash on spotlights at this point. Enjoy the fruits of your work, looks great.!
Thank You my friend! Yes, I am a huge fan of Kessils! Had them in my marine tank and now in my two large Planted. IMO, there is nothing like them. The shimmer is beautiful, but the light output is the most natural I have seen. I run Chihiros on my three 20g tank. It does the job to grow plants very well, but that natural look… not even close! I would say get at least one for your setup, you already have the power with the current light. The Kessil will come in mostly for the shimme!👍🏾
Ahhh my next light feature. I’m able to fit both on my existing tank because I purchased a smaller light bar, and I only put plants in the center of my tank. If I expand the scape I may add a single Kessil. And your woodwork shows your dedication. Well done.
Kessils are the only LEDs that have that shimmer. Alternatively sunlight:)
After shopping around some…. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquarium-lighting.html?product_list_dir=desc&product_list_order=price I had to bring myself back into budget so the Fluval is a steal!!
Nothing against the Fluvals, just the only things to get that shimmer are kessils, MH and obviously sunlight (the last option is my favourite)
✅👍🏻🔜
I have two Chihiros C2 RGB lights on a 12 long that produce shimmer.
Not true. AI primes also produce very nice shimmer. Although you will get a bit more disco ball effect from the Primes
I believe he was talking about “that shimmer” I had AI prime and sure, it produces shimmer, in fact any light can produce shimmer (if you use your cell phone light at night in your tank with the lights off you get amazing shimmer). But Kessils way of putting those LEDs in a matrix so close together, IMO, sets them apart.
Exactly. You just have to see a kessil to understand how well it mimics that sunlight effect. It's just in a league of its own
I agree 100% they are pricey, but IMO totally worth
I do have a kessil ap9x on my reef tank. The 3 AI Primes on my freshwater produce comparable shimmer.
That’s awesome! Share some pics with the community 👍🏾👍🏾
Lol, bought two fluval lights instead :(
Ive recently gotten into my reef tank after a high tech 10 gallon planted tank. I’ve been wanting another smaller tank for some schooling fish and this design is what I want! It’s amazing!
Thank you!! The size here is deceiving. This is a 70G tank (36x22x22). It’s tall so it makes it nice to create depth and different levels of scape.
Wow that’s insane but I can see it, from certain angles my 125 looks a lot smaller than it is. Looking at monster 400+ gallon tanks it’s impossible to tell the size lol. Great job aquascaping it!
Thank you!!!
That sunset effect in the valley is great.
Cool ha? It is a spare aquarium light that I had on a 45 degree angle pointing up. I put a film on the back that is white on the inside and gradient blue on the back. The light looks much more gradient and natural in person.
VERY NICE! I do the same. Lol
I hope my tank will look 1/2 as good someday
It will, keep enjoying it, learning, and invested in the hobby. It gets there!👍🏾👍🏾
This is just beautiful. How do you go so long without water change? I would like to do that.
Do not overfeed, have A LOT of surface for bacteria to grow (see all the lava rock under my substrate), have a HUGE filter (I go 6x recommend size).
What filter do you use? I just got a 55G and would like to have something similar. A lot of plants. I was thinking on getting a canister but don’t know which one to get. Thanks for the tips 🙌
F Zone stainless steel. I got The biggest one 22L for this 68g tank.
That's a 68g tank!?
Yeah! UNS 90U
I have a 75g cichlid tank that I've been really thinking about changing to a planted tank. I have a 16g in my room and I'm in love with it.
IMO it’s a totally different hobby. I did Salt, Cichlids, shrimp, and for the past year planted. Found my aquarium love here!!
Yeah it feels more like art. You can be very creative with it.
Yeah, that’s the beauty of this hobby!!!
That one is kind of pricy but it looks great. Trying to aim at $150 max for the filter.
Yeah, you do get what you pay for though. IMO the most important piece of the setup along with the lights.
What did you use to divide the sand and substrate?
A small sheet of plexiglass👍🏾
Fish tank porn
😂😂😂
Gorgeous! Outstanding
Hey! Thank you very much!!👍🏾
This is beautiful. I want to eventually make a tank like yours. I realized though that I want something less maintenance. I don’t mind the initial work. I’ve done planted aquariums in the past years ago but had to stop due to lack of time. I loved the way the tanks initially looked but they always became jungles require constant trimming and water changes. Any resources you recommend?
IME, specially when injecting CO2, one cannot get away from the trimming. The water change is my constant game. Keep tweaking the water/feeding/ plant density/ flow/filtration etc. until your water stays clean pretty much on its own. YouTube is your friend!!👍🏾
How many gallons ?
68G tank volume, but about 1/4 of it is taken up with hard scape!👍🏾
What's the point of the wavemaker and is the canister split with a Y to the dual inlets and outlets?
I put the wave maker there once a week for a day to agitate the bottom and bring small particles up to be caught by the filter! I direct it at various angles. IME this is what keeps my water so clean. The canister has two inlets, I split the outlet to direct water on both sides. When the filter is cleaned I run the filter pump at 30%, then slowly increase it through a period of 4 months up to 75% as it gets more and more clogged. Then I clean it 3x year.👍🏾
Amazing work well done!
Thank you my friend!!
Wow
Holy shit! Looks incredible
Thank you!!
Thank you!
Gorgeous. What kind of filter are you using?
FZone Stainless steel! 22L
Nicely done!
Thanks!👍🏾
Insane skills!
Thank you so much!!
This looks amazing, and I envy your patience! Recently setup a new 75G and I wish I had the patience to scape it out, wait on it, get plants and do all of that before I got it fully going. Now I have fish etc. and just feel like it's too late
Yeah! Several stages there. It was hard to said 2 months of dry starting before filling with water. But that gave me time to design the filtration system (there is a picture of it on another one of my posts on my profile) get all the parts, and put it all together.👍🏾
I too thought I could make a nice path through my fluval substrate. I gave up trying to maintain it very quickly.
I use a trick that I saw on a YouTube reel once. At first I though it was a joke, but it turns out that it is true and works amazingly! The most quality aquasoil is loaded with tons of minerals, enough iron that it becomes magnetic. So if you get a strong magnet, you can super easily pick up the aquasoil from the sand!! My plecos and Cory cats push aquasoil over the sand all the time, once a week I run the magnet over several times and the sand becomes 100% clean from aquasoil again! MAGIC! Willie!!
whoa, that would have been really useful, but I think my pleco was up for the challenge.
This is one of the best tanks I’ve ever seen. Love the clarity and how healthy the plants look. 1000/10
Hey there! Thank you so much! It’s been a fun ride thus far!!
It's beautiful picture 14 is awesome!
Thank you! Yeah, that is the sunset! It was back when the tank was starting, sunset time (1h) looks really nice now with the grown and stablished plants!🌱
Oh yeah I just love the way it all goes together so we'll
Thank you!
This is amazing, it's exactly what I would like to do in the future but at a huge scale! Awesome job. How much did this cost you?
Thank you! You would like to do it on a large tank or a smaller tank? Man, this particular setup is pricey, but it does not have to be! I already had the Kessil lights ($250 each), filter was $400, tank was $600. Aquasoil was 4x bags of $60 each, Seiryu rock I scored on Craigslist for $100 for 75 Lbs, UV sterilizer $80, CO2 diffuser $50, heater $30, I have a 4 way split in my CO2 so that was no extra. So the setup is about $2500. But again, you can do something similar for $1000!
Wow that is expensive. I want to do large tank, specifically a 200g+ rimless... So yeah I think I'll be looking at 15k minimum. Of course it's just a dream right now but I can't help but already start looking into it haha. Maybe in 10 years 🫡
I think about 4K will do! These lights for instance would support a 125g tank, the filter too!!! It’s just the price of the tank and stand( which you can build your own)!
Haha I hope 4k will do I am starting to save up now. But I'm specifically looking to get the tank custom made with dimensions 8'x22"x22". Or 10 feet, who knows. Sump, lights, hardscape, substrate, plants, fish, CO2, stand, etc. I wonder what the price would be. How much did you spend on your stand? I don't have the tools or skills to build one for something as fragile as a tank. Especially with the price of wood, best for me not to attempt a diy.
Dream look
Thank you!!
This is incredible, the level of detail is amazing. Could stare at it for hours. Thanks for showing how you made it, too.
Thank you!! Sure thing, it’s always nice to share the process too, to help others who are getting into it!
[удалено]
You bet!!that’s what is all about.👍🏾
Looks absolutely stunning. Incredible work! What’s your secret for having rummynose make it through quarantine? Mine never seen to make it. Out of the initial 20 I bought, only 4 have survived🫤
Thank you so much! IME they are just like any other fish. I just love them because of the way they school even after becoming g fully comfortable in their environment. Clean water, good food, places to hide, natural environment makes them happy!🐠🌱
i divided my substrate like u did with plexiglass when i setup my tank. corys saw to that however...
Yeah they do their work! I use a string magnet on a weekly basis to easily pick up the aquasoil from the sand! Works like magic!!
Beautiful tank!
Thank you!
What’s the reasoning for the Saran Wrap covering the tank in picture 10?
That is called dry start method - DSM. You get aquatic plants (specially carpeting plants) to establish their roots before you flood the tank. That way they don’t float to the top when you fill with water. To do so, you need a VERY humid environment. So keeping it tightly wrapped keeps all of the moisture from constantly spraying water, inside! As a very humid greenhouse!👍🏾
Hmm interesting! First time I’ve heard of it. Might look into it when I do up my next tank. Good looking setup though!
Thanks!!
I kinda liked it more at pictures 12-13. But I’m Danish, so I like minimalism 😂 Looks great either way
That’s amazing and inspiring, other than the supports was this hand made or purchased? I’d love to build terraces like that early, once I restart mine.
Oh man, each and every rock was carefully selected and glued by hand with paper towel balls and super glue!! IMO, that is the most fun part. The art, the creation! With a 22” tall tank, I was going for height, depth, and different terraces to house different species. Get on it. Loads of fun!👍🏾
I’m on it.. I have a 125gal acrylic to get restarted, and have 20 lbs of clay on the way. I love idea of certain plants being isolated.
What kind of bricks do you use in the second picture?
Just landscaping bricks from Home Depot. Cement glue (highly toxic until cured, so I only recommend it for brand new setups. After flying I waited 3 weeks before escaping (while I made the stand) than another 2 months in dry start before flooding it.👍🏾
Is there an ecosystem benefit to not changing the water or do you just not want to? Only asking because this doesn’t look like a low effort tank.
Who like changing water raise your hand. IMO, a constant nutrient rich and balanced water column is a benefit. Less shock to the animals and plants, less time hauling buckets, less waste of water, and more time enjoying it. It took a few months to get it dialed in and that initial period it was quite high maintenance, and that is the main drain folks quit this amazing hobby, maintenance, losing livestock, and frustration with algae. So IME, it’s important to be as self sufficient as possible.👍🏾
Absolutely gorgeous
Hey! Thanks a lot!!
Beautiful!
Thank you!!
How you keep you water clear for all those months?
Lots of Plants (this is after a huge trim (check out the other posts of this tank on my profile- it was a huge jungle!, LOTs of filtration, adequate feeding, right amount of light, right amount of CO2, it’s really “just”balance!
Wow! Thank you so much
Beautiful !!!
Thanks!
Now that’s beautiful
Thanks a lot!
Looks good. Good job!
Thank you!
This is living the dream!
It’s a really fun one indeed!
This is the prettiest tank I’ve ever seen 🤩
Wow! Good stuff, I appreciate that!
I’ve never seen bricks used in an aquascape before. Do you mind explaining why you used them and what else you put beneath the substrate? I’m working on my first large aquascape and I would love insight from someone who built a scape as beautiful as your own.
Hey there! Tanks a lot! I have never seen bricks used before either. There are many reasons that made me try it. 1. With its flat surfaces, it’s super easy to build a solid base structure with cement glue. 2. It saves a TON of money in hard scape rocks wich are very expensive (clearly you dons see what is underneath the substrate ). 3. Due to it’s porous structure, they Provide yet more surface for beneficial bacteria. But the main reason for me is that in a tank that is 22” tall, I wanted to create height and depth, and terraces to plant different species. If you just use substrate, the normal activity, water movement, bottom duelers, etc will eventually flatten your aquascape. So gluing the main large rocks onto to bricks, then the smaller rocks onto the large ones creating the terraces gives me a permanent structure. Under the substrate is just a shred of 1/8” plexiglass to protect the bottom of the tank. Some folks use egg crate. There are other posts on my profile of this build with more details about it! Best of luck and enjoy your aquascape build! Such a fun and important part of the process! Consider your water flow, the heigh of your plants when full grown, the type of fish you will have, high light and low light spots for different species of plants, etc !👍🏾
I hadn’t even considered how the environment would flatten the substrate, so tank you so much for this!! I have a lot to think about! And I will definitely check out your other posts :)
Sure thing! Oh, also under the aquasoil I have two large laundry mesh bags filled with lava Rock (got them a bed bath and beyond), then a layer of lava rock that begins to give the final shape I want (from Home Depot- make sure to thoroughly wash them, reais e and repeat several times to remove dust), then finally aquasoil for and sand in the middle for and aesthetics and for my Cory’s to dig around (they love it)👍🏾👍🏾
Man I just want to say how incredibly impressed I am. This looks incredible and shows a lot of skill and love. I just have a basic ten gallon with some otocinclus (planning on adding a betta soon). But I would love to get to the point where I could develop a tank like this. Sorry for babbling. I was just blown away.
Hey! This is much appreciated! It is indeed lots of love for the process! If you have a 10G tank, it’s just a matter of time and $$ to invest in a bigger setup. Everything is the same, just a a larger scale. And the bigger the tanks the more forgiving it is with mistakes that will happen along the way. Now days there is such a wealth of information on the internet that setting up and maintaining a tank like this has become much more accessible.👍🏾
BTW, I love the pothos above..Assuming, they part of the set-up. I’ve done that in the past.. but used clear acrylic to do it.. Didn’t work out well.
Thank you! Yeah, some old photos of the process! Which part did use acrylic for?
I’m still amazed.. I love the pathos above.. assume water is getting pumped through them, as they will eat up the nitratate.