Maf 2500
Member
Hi everybody, pleased to finally join. I have been using the forum as a reference source and learning resource for quite a while now, and appreciate all the fine information and beautiful aquariums displayed here.
I have always been interested in fish and aquatic environments and have built several ponds over the years with an emphasis on the planting, not just for fish. I probably first became aware of "nature aquariums", in the modern context of planted tanks, about 3 or 4 years ago and saw something that appealed to me much more than the previously typical sparsely (or non-) planted fish tanks with the emphasis firmly on fish! I visited the giant Amano planted aquarium in Lisbon for inspiration in 2018 and was blown away by the environment created there.
I was originally going to set up a tank in 2018 but delayed due to various reasons although I purchased much of the equipment, (filter, heater, substrate, hardscape etc) which I am finally going to put into use this year. I have a 90 x 50 x 50 cm optiwhite aquarium on order and cannot wait to get started once it arrives (probably in March). The plan is for low-medium difficulty plants, shrimp, small South American fish, wood for hardscape and inert sand/gravel over Tropica substrate. The only question still to be resolved is whether to keep it low tech or add medium levels of CO2 and go for a kind of hybrid tech approach. My aim is for a long term stable aquarium with an equal emphasis on fauna and flora. Not interested in growing something that will have to be torn down in 6 months or a year, or dosing EI and high CO2 for super fast growth.
Thanks to everyone here for sharing their knowledge, I hope to be able to contribute in future and may even create a journal or gallery post once I get building.
I have always been interested in fish and aquatic environments and have built several ponds over the years with an emphasis on the planting, not just for fish. I probably first became aware of "nature aquariums", in the modern context of planted tanks, about 3 or 4 years ago and saw something that appealed to me much more than the previously typical sparsely (or non-) planted fish tanks with the emphasis firmly on fish! I visited the giant Amano planted aquarium in Lisbon for inspiration in 2018 and was blown away by the environment created there.
I was originally going to set up a tank in 2018 but delayed due to various reasons although I purchased much of the equipment, (filter, heater, substrate, hardscape etc) which I am finally going to put into use this year. I have a 90 x 50 x 50 cm optiwhite aquarium on order and cannot wait to get started once it arrives (probably in March). The plan is for low-medium difficulty plants, shrimp, small South American fish, wood for hardscape and inert sand/gravel over Tropica substrate. The only question still to be resolved is whether to keep it low tech or add medium levels of CO2 and go for a kind of hybrid tech approach. My aim is for a long term stable aquarium with an equal emphasis on fauna and flora. Not interested in growing something that will have to be torn down in 6 months or a year, or dosing EI and high CO2 for super fast growth.
Thanks to everyone here for sharing their knowledge, I hope to be able to contribute in future and may even create a journal or gallery post once I get building.
