Dimensions 183 × 61 × 61 cm

Volume 680L

Background black

Lighting Three 175 Watt Metal Halide bulbs. 6500

Filtration Eheim 2028

Plants Nymphaea lotus "Green", Cryptocoryne wendtii "red", Bacopa monnieri, Hygrophila stricta, Echinodorus sp. Rubin, Vallisneria sp., Rotala macrandra, Microsorum pteropus "Windelov", Java Moss, Sagittaria subulata, Alternanthera reineckii "Rosaefolia", Rotala indica, Micranthemum micranthemoides, Cabomba aquatica, Hygrophila corymbosa, Crypotocoryne pontederifolia, Anubias nana, Hygrophila difformis, Crinum thaianum, Aponogeton ulvaceus, Sagittaria sp. "Shoe lace", Nymphaea lotus "red".

Animals Congo Tetra (Phenacogrammus interruptus), Keyhole Cichlid (Cleitracara maronii), Bolivian Ram (Mikrogeophaus altisponosa), Celebes Rainbow (Telmatherina ladigesi), Cardinal Tetra, Florida Flag fish (Jordanella floridae), SAE, Rasbora dorsocellata.

Materials Substrate: 1 inch mix of Fluorite, laterite and AZOO Time Release fertilizer on the bottom with 3 inches of clean gravel above.
Driftwood: large piece covered with Microsorum pteropus "Windelov" and Java moss used to create a "street".

Additional Information Fertilization: 150 ml Tropica MasterGrow per week - dosed 3 times. 2 teaspoon K2SO4 per week. Half teaspoon KNO3 per week. 1/8 teaspoon K2HPO4 once or twice a week dosed on days when traces are not dosed. 60% water changes weekly. CO2 (at 25-30 mg/liter) injected with pH controller and diffused through Eheim filter.

Maintenance: The plants cease to pearl without weekly water changes or phosphate additions. Interestingly, spot algae on front pane is actually reduced when phosphate dosing is doubled. The tank is 8 months old and requires at least 2 hours of weekly pruning. Due to the high growth rates of the plants, the fertilization regime took more than 6 months to pin down - there was always some limiting nutrient that had to be chased down.

The tank was inspired by Arend van den Nieuwenhuizen's "Das Wunder im Wohnzimmer", a book about Dutch style tanks in the 1960s and 70s. However, I prefer a looser, less rigid interpretation of the Leiden style. Given the amount of nutrients fed into the tank, retaining any sense of style or look is impossible for more than a couple of days.