The Magic of the Planted Tank

Wow!!! These are some really amazing looking setups! I do believe that you just inspired me to break out my 150 gal from the 'ol garage. Aquabotany def is an art of sorts. I have a little 5 gal setup on my dresser that took me a while to adequately balance out the ecosystem (ie. substrate, fish, live plants, Ph+/-). It is so self sufficient that I haven't needed to feed my fish, change the water (albeit ad some due to evaporation), or clean for... eh, going on about 16 months! And that's a minuscule setup to what is shown here. I cannot even fathom how much time, money, and planning went into some of these beautiful display pieces!!! It is awe inspiring tidbits like this that feed the imagination. Great pics all!!!

Peace, Love, and Bacon Grease...

Wow, these are really beautiful. They remind me a lot of bonsai.

reply to post by Qumulys


River Mud for soil and Wine making for your CO2 are two solutions that will save you some money in setting up and running your planted aquarium. River silt then a layer of sand/gravel and you've got better soil than you can buy at the pet store, and home made wine to sip on while you watch your fish meander about. I had a large mouth bass named Mook for about four years, he got about four pounds on him before he died on us because of a power outage, but what an awesome fish, smart as a dog and alot of personality...

So Beautiful like a small world.

Totally awesome!

My next goal is to build one big enough I can live in. Wait a minute...

reply to post by twitchy


You certainly can try many different types of substrates! My main tank consists of normal gravel, but under it I use a layer of laterite (a iron rich clay/soil) which I drive an hour to dig up from a nearby mountain! Onto that I put a layer of zeolite, then a layer of peat moss. I'd love to collect river mud, but due to being in a wheelchair it is too hard for me to access. I tried once to collect river rocks from there, but ended up with my wheels sunk in mud and stuck for hours

With CO2, I started out using coke bottles which you add water, sugar, and then a packet of yeast. Then I had a hose glued into the lid, and bubbled it through a diffuser into the tank. It did work, but it was tricky to keep at a constant rate. But its certainly a great budget way to start!

Wine would end up in me more than for the tank!



To all the others who commented, thankyou! And yes, a 5 or 10 gallon tank is fine to start with! There's some wonderful smaller sized tanks. Search for 'nano planted tank' on google for some ideas. Mosses, Glossostigma, HC, are great for nano tanks. Good luck to all thinking of giving it a go, just read plenty first, there is a lot to take in if you want to have success

Another fishy tank thread reminded me to give this old thread a few new planted tank pics to inspire some of you green thumbs something to do inside when it's snowy outside.
Here's some of the latest tanks that did well in the 2014 AGA Show

Really entrancing, enjoyed the pictures, great thread, many thanks, made my morning!

a reply to: pikestaff

You are most very welcome I'll try and add some more pics from the latest AGA planted tank contest. They have really taken Bonzai and Fish Keeping to a whole new level and knowing how much work goes into a successful tank, I have the utmost respect at how natural and flowing they can be made to look. Glad you enjoyed it as much as I do

Sad little update...

Takashi Amano, the man at the start of this thread has passed away a few days ago. He basically brought this hobby to life and showed what could be created. His work inspired me and many others, he even has a species of shrimp named after him now. His love of photography and nature merged into an exciting hobby and eventually very wealthy business.


I guess all that can be said is;

May he sleep with the fishes.

RIP Mr Amano! Died so young at 61. Since this thread has been mostly pics, I'll pop in a couple of videos from Mr Amano's personal display showroom.


And the man himself explaining an amazing installation at the Sumida Aquarium. (skip to about 1min30)


The quality he manages is so artificial in its creation indoors yet it becomes so natural, peaceful and balanced when it is fully finished that you instantly start to relax.

I'm going to miss his creations, but he has inspired a new generation.