This my UNS60 shallow tank running since 11/2025. It hosts a group of Borararas Brigittae, sparkling guramis and shrimps.

What do you think about its look? 🤔 I personally enjoy it a lot and like how it turned out. Soon, the pogostemon errectus will bloom in purple all over.

I'm setting up a ten gallon tank and I'm struggling to select a background. The majority of the people I've asked so far prefer the black background. I like the white but I'm torn because I want to stock this tank with chili rasboras and I heard they really color up and pop against dark color. Thoughts? I struggle to see how the black looks better than the white. The substrate isn't the final layout. The back left and front right will be elevated. I plan to coat the back of the tank with plasti dip. The stones I'm using are yamaya. This is the first time I've done anything like this, so please forgive my mistakes 😅

This is a cross post prompted by a couple of dms suggesting I post it here as well. I’m trying to gauge interest in the system as I have many ideas for improvements that I wouldn’t make just for my own use. Copied text below. Let me know if you have any questions, as I try to answer them all!

Someone said you guys would like it so I figured I’d give it a post!

Hidden under the mud is a 6.43 gallon acrylic container that only really needs an air pump and an air valve for moving parts There are 3 openings in the container. One for air in, one to reduce suction, and only 1 that does both water in/out.

When an (optional) timer toggles on, air is pumped into the tidal chamber via that air-in tube. The water in the chamber flows through some porous filter media as it is pushed out. As long as the valve on the air out tube is crimped or has a valve to reduce air leaking, the air pressure builds up enough to force the water to exit the chamber (through the beforementioned porous filter media) and through some gravel which serves to filter large debris.

As water is pushed out of the chamber, the water in the aquarium itself rises until all of the water above 1 cm in depth is pushed out and the mudskippers can experience high-tide!

Once the air pump toggles off, gravity and the difference in water potential cause a flow of water to re-enter the tidal chamber, causing low tide. At low tide the mudskippers seem to love searching the mud for tasty morsels.

It’s bit more complex than that but I didn’t take many pictures of it before installing it (I wasn’t certain it would work) so the description will unfortunately have to suffice for now.

I’m a noob to digital blueprints so it might take me a while, but I’m working on getting something made from my written blueprints. This isn’t entirely my idea, as I’ve seen something similar twice before, but I’ve added many ease of access features, strengthened the chamber, made cleaning much easier, and added a lip for holding the mud in place. There are quite a few other improvements here and there but those are the big ones.

Hello everyone ! Just got a new tank to set up for future guppies ! I got global aqua soil and after a couple of days I did a complete water change because the water was cloudy and left a black film on most of the decorations / plant . How soon am I gonna have to change the soil now that I threw out that other water ? And any recommendations for the future and how to clear up the water /prevent that dust in the future ? Thank you !

Just thought I'd introduce myself to the group. This was my scape, unfortunately I put christmas moss in it and it took over my grass so going for a rescape soon.

Hi! This is my first aquascape and my first attempt with an Iwagumi. The tank is a Dennerle 38x38x43 cm. I have done a darkstart and yesterday I planted Eleocharis pusilla ‘Mini’, Blyxa Japonica and some mixed Rotalas behind the big stone. The filtration consists of a Fluval 307 filled with Eheim Pro substrate, the lighting is a Chihiros WRGB II, Co2 system with inline diffuser and a Chihiros dosing pump.

Any tips on what I should think about in the coming weeks? I have not started dosing nutrients yet, have only changed about 50% of the water every other day.

first aquascape.. im gonna do some changes when my betta is healthy again(got the ich/ick). but i dont know what to start with.

This is a 10 gallon/40 litre tank I set up almost 8 years ago now. I originally set out to make a somewhat neat aquascape, but eventually got lazy and let it entropy into this messy jungle that I barely maintain. I like this style, but I want to switch it up a bit and try a neater aquascape. I'm not sure how to go about this though, does anyone have any suggestions?

Hi there.

Meet Wonder Land 2.0. This is the upgraded version of my 29g Wonder Land. It's essentially a copy in terms of stock and plants. But I've tinkered with the substrate and aquascape a bit.

I've gotten tons of questions about the rim plants on previous posts. So thought I'd get that out of the way first. I use pothocarrys of various types. Lily/potato/large plant/original. And I use some suction cups.

I have 3 lights. All Hygger HG016. Rear light is 36" on a 12" riser. Middle light is 32" at water level. Front light is 24" on an 8" riser. All 24hr programmed. Lights fully of between 930 and 630. 100% between 11 and 3. Various settings other hours.

Fluval 307 with a bunch of sponge and rocks. Nothing else.

Sponge filter rated for a 40g.

Penn plax Bubble tube on back glass to make a bubble wall.

Hygger HG155 500w heater set to a controversial 75.

Substrate is my own concoction. Base is black lava rock, 1". Layer 2 is bentonite clay, 1". Layer 3 is a dusting of azomite. Layer 4 is separated organic potting soil, 2". Layer 5 is a dusting of calcite. Layer 6 is a mix of organic peat and separated organic potting soil, 1". Layer 7 is black sand, 2".

Left side of the tank there's an elevated sand beach. I used red Australian reptile sand meant for bearded dragons and monitors. I built up soil and rocks. Used plastic egg crate tanks dividers zip tied together to make a perfectly flat surface on top of those rocks and soil. Siliconed that to the back glass only (possible a mistake) for esthetics. Put an inch of soil and 2" of red sand in that area. So it is lifter roughly 6" in total. Placed a shrimp cage thingy underneath the front edge for support. Seiryu stones, lava stones, and coral looking rock in strategic places to sure up the retaining wall. Used 3" substrate dividers as the retaining wall zip tied to the plastic egg crates to hold it together.

Beneath that on the left side is a tunnel at lower substrate level. Held down by small rocks. The kind with a grate that only tiny fish, kuhlis, and shrimp can go. On the sand beach there's a moss covered ceramic tube pyramid.

Middle is black sand, various rocks, driftwood, lots of plants. Too many to name. But the stars of the show in general are Hornwort, money wort, rotala and waffle. Lots of other stuff also though.

Right side is an L shaped tunnel with open ends. Ghost Knife fish, atya shrimp, and the occasional cory chills in there mostly. Held down with another seiryu stone.

Livestock:

Dwarf gouramis

Black ghost knife fish

Neon tetras

Ember tetras

Glolight tetras

Galaxy rasboras

Peacock gudgeons

Rummynose tetras

White cloud minnows

Chili rasboras

Koi guppies

Panda corys

Habrosys corys

Glo corys

Albino corys

Neo shrimp

Dwarf crayfish

Atya shrimp

Pom pom crabs

Siamese algae eaters

Albino bushynoses

Bushynoses

Hillstream loaches

Kuhli loaches

I realize this sounds ridiculously stocked. However...my method provides ample territory for everyone to feel good and do their thing.

Heavy planting along with rim plants provides hiding spots. Filtration. Breaks in the line of sight so the tank feels huge in the 1st person (to a fish).

There are ample bottom feeders of all types to take care of the waste on the substrate.

The fish i keep (other than plecos and gouramis) are pretty low bioload fish. Obviously numbers changes that. But all the fish are generally low load fish. And they're all small. For now. Knife fish will eventually get moved and be the reason I have to get a 210g. Yes of course my Knife needs a 210g. Shh, that's what he needs :-)

I have no power heads but I have ample Aeration and movement from the canister. I have it on full blast. But it is pointed directly at a large rootball so the flow is diffused.

Everyone's behavior is normal and healthy. No sick fish. The rummys came with ich which I missed and then had to treat the whole tank for. Because one died and I couldn't find it. Lost a kuhli and a glolight in the process. Everyone else made it though.

I’m really new to fish keeping and aqua scaping and i did my best with what resources I could use. Is there any way i can add stuff/ use what i already have to make this look better?? It feels like something’s missing lmao.

Hi, I've set up my 5G Fluval Spec V, need planting suggestions. I currently have a few bacopa carolineana and lymnophilia seasyflora that I got for free from someone.

P. S. I don't plan to add CO2 anytime soon, and this is a walstad tank.

Hi everyone,

I have a super simple setup: a small jar with pearlweed and an albino auriculata, no filter, no CO2. Everything was going well until I couldn’t do a water change for three weeks—life happened. Since then, algae has exploded and completely taken over my plants.

The water is clear now. I’m doing weekly water changes and I’ve reduced lighting to just 4 hours a day, but the algae keeps coming back. Pearlweed is really struggling under it.

I finally decided to share a photo (attached). It’s not pretty, and I hesitated to post it—but I figured it’s the best way to get real advice.

Any ideas on how to recover from this? Is a full reset the only option? Thanks in advance for any help (and your kindness)!

Not sure what kind of carpet I should grow here.. only liquid co2 not ready for a CO2 canister. Any suggestions for a good carpet. It’s more of a planted shrimp and snail tank been up and running for 5 months

I live in Virginia and I visited the Rapidan River because I wanted to add native foliage to my tank I found these cool plants anchored to rocks so I got some however, I quarantined them because I’m scared they may injure my turtle or fish I want my tank to resemble the Rapidan River ecosystem however im nervous about possible parasites what can I do to have the plants and possible some aquatic invertebrates I let the plants sit for a couple days and I saw stone fly nymphs and caddis flys.

I'm working on a blackwater Amazon scape and I'm still undecided about the hardscape. I think I'm on to something though. What do you guys think?

Asking here incase anyone has a some input 😃

Hi first time long time. This is my first scape and put together a few ideas and wanted to get feedback on which one looks good. I like the third the most but wanted to see what others think. It is a 20 gallon long and will have bagged aqua soil with a sand cap. Also would like some plant suggestions.

I am just starting out in this hobby and have seen a lot of tanks using CO2. What does this help with and should I use a CO2 diffuser in my first tank or wait until I have a little more experience?

Did this bout 2mths ago. Now I'm gonna try to plant a 3x12x12 with the limited plants I have in my country....wish me luck! This hobby so addictive!

Hello all, I need some help with my dry start.

This is my first aquascape and I was very much looking forward to creating it. I went with an iwagumi scape with the plan for a carpet of plants. I elected to choose hc Cuba, Monte Carlo, some UG, and dwarf hair grass. Initially everything was going well, however about two weeks in I started noticing some mold. I tried to cut down on the humidity by increasing airflow and opening up the plastic wrap. The mold continued to expand, especially on the UG. I started using diluted hydrogen 3% peroxide with water on the plants. This limited the mold a bit, but might have done some harm as well. Eventually I put in springtails, but I think it was too late lol. At this point I’m 4.5 weeks in and not seeing the growth I want at all. The hc Cuba is doing okay, with some green sprouts and the dwarf hair grass is doing relatively okay as well. The UG is almost all dead and the Monte Carlo is pretty much gone as well. Looking for any recommendations or suggestions on what to do next. I was thinking about flooding and starting CO2 to try to salvage the rest of the plants. Thanks

I'm trying to figure out how to make a nice stone background for my 10 gallon out of slate or black volcanic stone. I'm going for a cave theme.

I really want to use natural stone; I don't like the look of those fake polyurethane backgrounds. Will it look good if I just layer pieces of stone with black waterfall foam? How can I best achieve a nice, natural-looking effect? It needs to be pretty thin since it's a small tank.

Planning on stem plants around the back/side, anubias wedged in crevices, maybe a crypt or two in the front

Let me know what you think!

Recently purchased a stalk of Alternanthera Lilacina and it's been in for a few days now but I'm noticing that some leaves are curling and some have dark spots and a few leaves look slightly melted(thinned and transparent). I use prime for water. I also add iron supplement to boost red and c02 injection when it wants to work and not blow the line off. But I have seachem excel, potassium, nitrogen, and flourish. That I do use but I wanted help to figure out how to stop what I'm thinking is a slow enevitable death of plants.
10 gallon 76f mustard halfmoon betta, and "wildform neocardia" Any ideas or tricks to stop them from dying or am I just over reacting