Final product as of December 2018
Night view - Moon glow
Option 1 Layout - Picked
Option 2 Layout
Positioning the 60 gallon tall tank due south facing of the home per Feng Shui aquarium tank arrangement.
Washing the driftwood with boiling water to decontaminate and force tannins out of the wood. Repeated daily for 1 month straight.
Waterlogging the driftwood for 1 month straight (recommended length per research)
Attaching Christmas Moss to the tip of the driftwood with fishing line to illuminate the essence of an aged tree.
Collected rocks. These rocks have been tested with a drop of vinegar to test for the presence of carbonate (CO3-) or bicarbonate (HCO3-) anions. These rocks have also been soaked in boiling water for about an hour to kill all presence of bacteria to be fish-safe for the aquarium.
Landscaping the tank using styrofoam board before adding soil and gluing it down using a hot glue gun (aquarium safe per research). Styrofoam boards not only help to reduce the weight of large rocks that will be added for hardscapes but also help to create slopes when the soil is added. Background wallpaper is also attached to the back of the tank using Marina Clearview liquid background adhesive solution to enhance the illumination of the view from any angle.
Soil (plain without fertilizers) added and scaped to create slopes.
Side view effect of a sloped scape.
Substrates added on top of the soil (also helps to keep the soil debris down when adding water). Large rocks and driftwood added to complete the hardscape.
Water is added. Water appears to be cloudy. This is a normal case because the water will pick up the leftover soil. The water must be filtered for a week straight to get a clear view effect.
Fishes are added after the tank has cycled for a month. From here, new plants are added on a weekly basis.
As of May 2019 - Switched to a white background with added backlighting.
A variety of high-quality food that I feed the fish 6 times a week every morning to help bring out the more vibrant colors of the fish. The fish are fasted only once a week to cut down wastes and for the fish to stay healthy.
After various researches and comparisons, the Fluval 3.0 LED light is the best planted tank light that is affordable. Bluetooth controlled through your smartphone with a built-in timer. Offers Sunrise/ sunset, midday, and night lighting effect. Offers 4,500 lumens, 59 Watt.
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