A first aquascape on a small budget: a sensible order of work
I often see beginners buy plants and fish before they know the order of the work. Liputan6 has just published a simple aquascape guide that I think is neat, and its core point is the order: substrate first, hardscape second, plants third, and only then water and equipment.
The equipment doesn’t have to be excessive. You need a glass tank of 20 to 40 cm, Malang sand or silica, a base fertilizer, stones such as andesite or lava rock, driftwood soaked until it no longer floats, a small filter, an LED light, and long tweezers. Spread the base fertilizer first, then add sand about 3 to 5 cm deep. The largest stone, the focal point, should go about a third of the way across the tank, not in the middle.
The beginner plant list makes sense: java moss, anubias nana, vallisneria, cryptocoryne, bucephalandra, rotala rotundifolia, and dwarf hairgrass. One detail I remember: with anubias and vallisneria, don’t bury the rhizome in sand, because it can rot and the plant can die within a few weeks. Keep the arrangement short at the front and tall at the back.
After filling the tank slowly, run the filter for 24 hours before moving on, and keep the light on for about 8 to 10 hours a day. According to the article, the layout looks tidy within 2 to 4 weeks, you change 20 to 30 percent of the water each week, and CO2 is not required at the start. You can also set it up without fish first so the plants stabilize.
The best part, for me, is the list of upgrades to add later, such as DIY CO2, a fuller-spectrum light, and then small fish like neon tetras. If the water turns green, the cause is usually too much light or leftover fertilizer. Patience at the start really does give better results.
Source: Liputan6.com
The equipment doesn’t have to be excessive. You need a glass tank of 20 to 40 cm, Malang sand or silica, a base fertilizer, stones such as andesite or lava rock, driftwood soaked until it no longer floats, a small filter, an LED light, and long tweezers. Spread the base fertilizer first, then add sand about 3 to 5 cm deep. The largest stone, the focal point, should go about a third of the way across the tank, not in the middle.
The beginner plant list makes sense: java moss, anubias nana, vallisneria, cryptocoryne, bucephalandra, rotala rotundifolia, and dwarf hairgrass. One detail I remember: with anubias and vallisneria, don’t bury the rhizome in sand, because it can rot and the plant can die within a few weeks. Keep the arrangement short at the front and tall at the back.
After filling the tank slowly, run the filter for 24 hours before moving on, and keep the light on for about 8 to 10 hours a day. According to the article, the layout looks tidy within 2 to 4 weeks, you change 20 to 30 percent of the water each week, and CO2 is not required at the start. You can also set it up without fish first so the plants stabilize.
The best part, for me, is the list of upgrades to add later, such as DIY CO2, a fuller-spectrum light, and then small fish like neon tetras. If the water turns green, the cause is usually too much light or leftover fertilizer. Patience at the start really does give better results.
Source: Liputan6.com
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