An AWESOME planted aquarium from set up to 6 months down the road

[@sqruimp]

So many underrated accounts in the fish niche here on youtube. Great video man! So happy I found you!

[@freshflowaquatics]

I appreciate that, thanks for dropping a comment! Hope you find some other fun videos on the channel 😊

[@sleepytASMR]

Awww the poor whiptail catfish with no eyes, but they do seem super happy and unbothered. Probably relieved they're not getting beaten up anymore.

[@freshflowaquatics]

I know, felt really bad for them. Fortunately they are doing well now, back to their frisky selves.

[@PamReed-vr2pl]

I love the combination of fish and that they all seem to get along!

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thank you!

[@snailandalgae]

Oh that’s a stunning whiptail! Love it.

[@freshflowaquatics]

Such a cool looking fish!

[@gracebromfield9070]

Wow that wood has so much detail and chatacter!!! I'm so jealous that you can find such awesome pieces where you are. If I could bear the cold I'd move to Colorado(but I can't 😂😂😂) Great scape!!!

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thank you!! It's not that cold where I live, not like when I lived in the mountains. 🥶 I'm not super knowledgable on collecting other types of wood outside my region, but I think there's tons of other types you might be able to find in your area? I'll be doing a video soon going over how to collect wood. Hopefully it's helpful. Thanks for dropping a comment!

[@mountainhobbit1971]

interesting using Ponderosa Pine roots...I wonder how well they will handle being submersed compared to other non-pine tree species. I live in SW New Mexico and always wonder about using Pinyon/Cedar or Mesquite wood and roots. I do have an endless supply of sand, lava rock, river rock and red ant hill gravel which sure is nice.

[@LordChumbley]

My thoughts as well. I always heard hardwoods only.

[@freshflowaquatics]

I started using ponderosa and a few other types of soft woods about 5 years ago. The one thing that is likely to happen is that it will disintegrate faster than aquarium store wood... Not saying that it'll melt in the tank, you can still get many many good years out of a big piece like this. SW New Mexico's climate would be terrific for collecting wood. I'll have to check out ant hill gravel, that sounds cool! I'm going to make an effort to get a video out on how I collect wood from nature, since I've had quite a few questions about it.

[@mountainhobbit1971]

@@freshflowaquatics yeah what you say makes sense. Yeah, the ant hill 'gravel' is really nice. They already have it sorted to a 'perfect' size and the mounds are everywhere. It looks pretty natural too

[@freshflowaquatics]

@@mountainhobbit1971 I'm gonna keep my eyes peeled. Good luck collecting some wood!

[@markfranklin8831]

Super nice tank and fish. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thanks Mark, I appreciate that! Happy new year, hope the fish are doing well!

[@philipeagles]

😮 well done 👍👍👍

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thank you!! 🐟🍀

[@AnNo_001]

Nice tank!

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thank you!

[@Datsyc]

Definitely feeling inspired after watching this!

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thanks, glad to hear that!

[@BruticusBR]

One of the most stunning tanks I’ve ever seen. Just subscribed

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thanks so much @BruticusBR - appreciate the sub! Hopefully you find some other entertaining videos 😊

[@darylcavanagh3977]

Lovely set-up 👍 Love the large tree stump too

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thank you very much! I love that stump too, maybe the coolest piece I've ever found.

[@jonb705]

Nice build 👌

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thank you!

[@LordChumbley]

Cool video and great setup

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thanks @LordChumbley !! Did you go collect any wood?

[@LordChumbley]

@ I am lucky to live in an area with a lot of hard woods like oak, maple, and hickory. I only have a couple small tanks, 10 f 20 gallons, and have used smaller branches I’ve collected and cleaned in them with no apparent harm to fish.

[@freshflowaquatics]

@@LordChumbley Never used oak in a fish tank, but I do love oak trees. Sounds like you got a lot of good stuff to pick through.

[@leebroadbent1340]

Good evening from the UK.. Stunning tank 👌🏼 Just bought myself a group of 6 Concolour Cory’s today although over here they’re called Slate Cory’s.. I’d never seen them either until today, awesome little catfish..

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thanks very much! Hopefully you enjoy yours. They are one of the most outgoing cories that I have ever kept.

[@leebroadbent1340]

@@freshflowaquatics same here, to say they’ve only been in a little over a day they are all over the tank.. they’ve teamed up with my Sterbai’s at the minute..

[@freshflowaquatics]

@@leebroadbent1340 Such fun and pretty fish. Glad you were able to find some!

[@seannunes2041]

Happy New Year. Beautiful scape. I always worry about that type of stone, causing the TDS to constantly rise.

[@freshflowaquatics]

Happy new year, and thank you! Yeah, that's a fair concern since these stones do increase the GH and KH in the tank. Since we have really soft tap water, frequent water changes help to reset mineral levels. It's also nice to add minerals to my tank since we don't have any naturally but if you were on well water or something it would probably be overboard.

[@bonethroat7794]

awsome again!

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thank you @bonethroat7794 !!

[@aquaddiction]

The window tint/blackout film will always need to be taped based on my experience😂 works amazing besides that though! nice to see a vid where someone is giving catfish ample space🤩, been seeing too many "catfish tanks" that really shouldn't even have a small group of corys longterm😅

[@aquaddiction]

also, we have the exact same mentality about the sand lol. the caribsea is unbelievably fine and soft, it so perfect for the sand sifters! though i doubt they'd mind my usual pool filter sand, i like to think they appreciate the softer sand

[@freshflowaquatics]

Lol, it looked so good when I put it on. It wasn't till a week down the road that all these air bubbles starting showing up. I'm glad I'm not the only one!! 🤣 Definitely agreed on the catfish space. I feel like cories in particular often don't get the space they deserve. Unlike other some other types of cats, they really enjoy cruising around the tank.

[@freshflowaquatics]

Yeah, I've seen them in gravel tanks doing just fine but there's something fun about watching them sift sand through their gills. I remember watching some tube on Heiko Bleher who was so insistent on cories needing sand in their habitats. Unfortunately I couldn't find the video to share, it was a great watch.

[@aquaddiction]

@@freshflowaquatics they're always so happy to derpily shove their faces in any available sand. i love them sm

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

Why use silicone instead of the cotton/superglue method? Great video

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thank you! Silicone is way stronger and is easier to lather on the whole backside where the wood and rocks meet. It's much more durable in the long run.

[@tomtaylor1947]

Just found your channel - great video - thanks. BTW - you mentioned that you found the wood while hiking - did you do anything to prep the wood before putting it in the tank?

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thanks @tomtaylor1947 !! I do normally soak and scrub wood before putting it in a tank. This chunk of wood was too big to fit in my soaking container. Even better would be if you could boil it for an hour or so. I'll put out a video specifically on this topic over the next couple weeks. How to collect and prep wood.

[@tomtaylor1947]

@@freshflowaquatics Perfect - thanks.

[@PamReed-vr2pl]

@@freshflowaquatics That would be great!

[@bonethroat7794]

would put your face in the thumbnail to drive more views!

[@freshflowaquatics]

Appreciate the tip! I wasn't sure if my face would scare people off 🤣

[@bonethroat7794]

@ all these aquascape channels have such similar thumbnails, it will be nice to know which are yours since i skip most but i want to be sure not to miss these. really like the vids your putting out

[@freshflowaquatics]

@@bonethroat7794 That totally makes sense. I've never been one to enjoy taking pictures of myself, which is why I tend to do less face time in my videos but you do bring up a great point. I will include my face on the next few thumbnails and see what happens. Thanks!

[@NatasChild666]

Looks nice, the wood is too much imo

[@freshflowaquatics]

Thanks! That's fair, not everyone's able to handle that much wood. 🤣 In all seriousness I get what you're saying. I like to try different scapes out for better or for worse. I was already considering, in the last few months of this tank's life removing the big chunk of wood and letting the stem plants grow like crazy.