Dimensions 60 × 60 × 60 cm

Title SE Asian island planted biotope

Volume 189L

Background Black plain

Lighting 1 dennerle trocal mercury vapour HQL 125w bulb suspended unit

Filtration in tank fluidised bed filtration system fed by internal powerhead

Plants cryptocoryne willisii,
Cryptocoryne Beckettii,
cryptocoryne parva (tropica),
echinodorus tenellus,
microsorium pteropus,
microsorium wedelov (tropica),
nymphea rubra,
nymphea lotus var,
vesicularia dubyana,
riccia fluitans,
valisineria spiralis,
valisineria Gigantea,
aponogeton undulatus.

Animals barbus tetrazona x 18
barbus titteya x 4
acanthophthalmus kuhlii x 3
Glossolepis incisus x 2

Materials Fossilised wood (Mid ground)
Driftwood extending up from mid to background
Aqua clay laterite substrate topped with alpha-grog and layered with fine slate sand
dark pebbles as accent mid to foreground

Additional Information bio-plast co2 vapour system operated on timer with solenoid valve on 30 min delay linked to lighting cycle of 10 hrs per day.
Micronutrients added every 3 days using self developed aquatic liquid fertilizer.
Under-substrate heating tubing used to heat substrate (Heat picked up from heater through tube coiled around an off feed from filter return forces water through the tube and around the heater down to tubing placed under the substrate and back out into tank to create substrate temperature variation which promotes plant growth.The alpha grog secondary substrate remains loose and allows the micro current movement created by the heating tube to provide the nutrient exchange to plant roots at optimum efficiency.

Plant inclusion note :-(I know e.tenellus is not an Asian native, I originally planted cryp parva as foreground plant but grew too large in height and had to be removed as it crowded the tank front and unbalanced the desired effect.)

This layout is now 18 months old and is easy to maintain.
Algae is left to grow on back of aquaria.