Dimensions 120 × 60 × 53 cm

Title Forest Bend

Volume 381L

Background Window film

Lighting ATI Dimmable 48'' SunPower T5 High-Output Aquarium Fixture - 8x54W Bulbs
Noon burst for 4 hours a day, total photoperiod 10 hours

Filtration 1x Eheim 2217
1x Fzone 15L Astra-Stream Stainless Steel Filter
Media: ADA Bio Rio and Eheim Substrat Pro, Eheim Ehfimech

Plants Bacopa colorata
Bolbitis sp.
Cryptocoryne affinis 'Metallic Red'
Cryptocoryne bullosa 'Sarawak'
Cryptocoryne nurii var. 'Raubensis'
Eleocharis acicularis 'mini'
Fontinalis antipyretica
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Ludwigia senegalensis
Microsorum pteropus 'narrow leaf'
Pilotrichaceae sp. 'pilo moss'
Plagiochilaceae sp. 'Cameroon'
Rotala macrandra 'mini butterfly'
Rotala macrandra 'narrow leaf'
Rotala mexicana 'Aragauia'
Rotala sp. 'mini pearl type 4'
Rotala wallichii

Animals Caridina serrata x500 (probably more)
Trigonostigma somphongsi x40

Materials Combination of ADA Amazonia version 1 and UNS Controsoil black, with a lava rock rubble base
Malaysian driftwood
Black lava rock

Additional Information Fertilizers (traces and potassium) are added in small amounts multiple times a day via a GHL Doser. Aeration by airstone is provided overnight. CO2 is injected at 5 BPS (counted through an ADA Beetle Counter) and diffused through an ADA Pollen Glass Beetle.

The layout was inspired by my experiences in southern Texas, which contains many interesting environs with juxtaposed forests and prairies. As the tank and its planting evolved, it took on an autumnal forest feeling.

The aquarium itself has been operating since 2016 and houses a large self-sustaining population of tangerine tiger shrimp (Caridina serrata).