Translated from Simplified Chinese by AI.Read the original
I’ve actually wanted to set up a planted tank for a long time, but space and school always kept me from actually doing it. Recently the gaokao ended and summer vacation started, plus we moved to a new place, so I can finally get started on setting up the tank..
2022/8/29 Update
- Switched to glass inlet/outlet pipes
- Keeping 30 white cloud mountain minnows
- The weeping moss turned yellow, so I replaced it with large triangle moss
- Bought some mini Anubias and tucked it under the rocks
- Added a cooling fan; the cooling effect is actually pretty good (it’s been so hot in Sichuan these past few days..)
Today is day 7 of the setup, so here’s a current photo first:
The tall pearlweed was just planted..
Dimensions and Layout
Many people on the forums recommend that beginners start with a 60 tank, but I really don’t have anywhere to put one, so I had to get a smaller tank. Combined with what I’d learned before—that “cube tanks are better at creating a sense of depth”—I ultimately went with a 35 cube tank, which fits perfectly on the cabinet next to the sofa.
As for the layout, to make full use of the cube tank’s “sense of depth,” I arranged it into this Gate of Revival arch-like landscape ((
In fact, a perfectly square cube tank isn’t very convenient for aquascaping either, because from the height you have to subtract the thickness of the aquasoil (5 cm) and the clearance reserved at the top (5 cm), so there isn’t much vertical space left for the scape.. If I could choose again, I’d go with a 35x35x45 rectangular tank.
Filtration System
There are many kinds of filtration systems to choose from:
Top filter/drip filter/plastic crate filter? Way too ugly for a tank placed in the living room. Not considering it.
Sump filtration? This is usually more common in off-the-shelf cabinet aquariums, right? Also ruled out immediately.
Back/side filter? The filtration part is inside the tank, taking up space.
Hang-on-back filter/wall-mounted filter? Takes up space, and the filter media chamber is very limited in size, so filtration performance isn’t great either.
All right, then basically the only option left is a canister filter! But ready-made canisters are really too expensive..
So I put together a filtration system using a Sunsun HW-603B non-powered canister and a 500L/min brushless water pump. The water path is roughly like this: inlet — lower part of the canister — upper part of the canister — water pump — outlet
(Actually, I bought the version of the canister with a built-in pump, but the flow rate was fairly small, and the original water path design—inlet at the top and outlet at the bottom—was very prone to air locks, so I removed the original pump and used it as a non-powered canister.)
Inside the canister I only put one layer of sponge; the rest is all biological filter media for cultivating bacteria.
For a small tank like mine, this filtration system works really well. By the second day after first filling it with water, it already had a bit of that so-called “air tank” look.
Aquarium Light
Just go straight for the legendary Netlea light!!??
No. For a low-cost planted tank like mine, that’s unrealistic. With the mindset of “as long as the wattage is enough, it’s probably fine if the light source is a bit worse,” I bought a no-name 21 W full-spectrum light.
When buying one, pay attention: many viral planted-tank lights on Taobao only have around 10 W of power in the 35 cm model, far below the ideal wattage given by the rule of thumb (water volume * 0.6)..
A more cost-effective option is to buy an aluminum PCB and LED beads and DIY it yourself, but finding a suitable housing and getting it installed is a bit of a hassle..
Heat dissipation also needs attention. My 21 W light gets extremely hot after not long at the highest setting, around 70°C.
At night when the planted-tank light is off, the scape is completely impossible to see, so I bought a small spotlight and hung it next to the tank. The shimmering ripples look pretty good:
Ah, this photo is so blurry
Aquascaping
Trying out the layout
For the aquascape I used spider wood and volcanic rock. When buying, definitely pay attention to weight. For example, 500 g of spider wood can pile up all over the floor, but 3 kg of rock is only a few pieces. Okay, I really have no sense of how much rocks weigh..
When gluing hardscape pieces together, a medium is essential; otherwise they won’t stick firmly at all. It’s best to buy some wood dust or filter wool—tissue can work as a substitute, but it’s not very convenient.
502 glue smells exactly the same as aquascaping hardscape glue; I wonder if it can be used as a substitute..
When buying hardscape materials, note that adding the word “aquarium” to the product name makes lots of ordinary things much more expensive..
As for treating the spider wood, I first soaked it for two days, then put it in a steam oven to steam. It doesn’t tint the water much, but it still grows a slimy biofilm.
Also, if you’re making an arch-shaped scape, don’t do what I did and make the middle into an arch too! The front and back pieces of wood just need a bit of curvature and to be connected; the middle should be open, otherwise planting the plants will be really painful!
For moss, I recommend tying it on before the driftwood goes into the tank. I don’t recommend using plant glue; plant glue can only stick the bottom layer of moss, the upper layer easily falls off, and after it dries it’s white and looks ugly. I put mine into the tank first and laid the aquasoil before adding the moss—it was hard to work with after it was in the tank, so I glued it with plant glue.. Now I’m just hoping the moss grows fast enough to cover the plant glue soon..
Cycling the Water and Adding Shrimp
Cycling the water is also very important. To speed it up, I used nitrifying bacteria capsules. The effect was pretty good—after just one day the water was clear (of course, the high pump flow rate was also part of the reason)
On the third day after setting up the tank, I added 40 cherry shrimp. Over the next few days a few died every day, and by today there are probably fewer than 20 left.. It’s strange—test strips show nitrate and nitrite are both 0, the water hardness is suitable too, it’s just that the pH is slightly low. I don’t know if it’s a pH problem.
Plants!
Yes, I cycled the water first and then added the plants..
However, after going through all these steps, the plants actually didn’t feel that important anymore.
For now I’ve only planted a little Japanese pearlweed, and I’ll slowly add more later depending on how things go.
But there’s a bit of a problem with the thickness of my aquasoil. The thickness on both sides is normal, but in the middle, to create a valley, I had to reduce the thickness, which makes planting plants in the middle a bit difficult. I’m planning to add a suitable amount of aquasoil later to fix it.
The initial tank setup work is basically done! I’ll slowly fix the remaining issues later.