MY FAVOURITE WAY to Start a Planted Tank - Step by Step Aquascape Tutorial

[@MJAquascaping]

Everything I've used for this scape (Affiliate links) 45P Aquarium EU: bit.ly/3S3y9ht US: bit.ly/3CthyxM Twinstar Light EU: bit.ly/3SiCjTH US: bit.ly/42s2WKD LED background EU: bit.ly/46izkzE US: bit.ly/3u5rhcB APT Root tabs bit.ly/3tAQM5k USE CODE MJAQUA FOR 15% OFF Aquasoil EU: bit.ly/3qhHDt4 US: bit.ly/3Rea86F Spiderwood EU: bit.ly/3QbjC1g US: bit.ly/3X0gWHc Titan stone EU: www.wio.eco/product-page/titan-stone Use code WIOMJAQUA and get a free gift with your order! (first add the gift to your basket) US: bit.ly/3UlB6Oj (similar) Super glue Liquid EU: bit.ly/3rC0rY3 US: amzn.to/408UAqi Super glue Gel EU: amzn.to/46B3L52 US: amzn.to/3J2owwM LIQUID FERT bit.ly/3tIVFsv USE CODE MJAQUA FOR 15% OFF 🚨Watch this next!🚨 Inspiration playlist! kzbin.info/aero/PLrlvf56gZy-ipL3105SdfKsUBrMUSttoh CO2 buying guide! kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnq5o6Vnrrhmqbc How to SETUP your CO2! kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4Sri2d8Z7V8aNE Simple fertilizer dosing! kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5Cuc4KLgpaFjq8 👉🏻Cool Aquascaping T-shirts: mosscotton.com/ Code: mjaqua10 👉🏻15% off 2hraquarist.com with code: MJAQUA 👉🏻Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my KZbin channel: KZbin.com/mjaquascaping #plantedtank #aquascape #mjaquascaping

[@PS-io8hz]

question: how much liquid fertilizer you dose a weak???

[@aarondavies8486]

Mj have you seen the all in one outlet and inlet called the hermit it skims and inlets from the bottom its only 20 pounds on aliexpress it looks amazing but there is no videos on it any where

[@MJAquascaping]

@@aarondavies8486 can you send me a link here or to my email: [e-mail]

[@aarondavies8486]

@MJAquascaping sent you a email mate with the link and pictures for around 25 euros it's don't look bad love how it's a all in one would love to see your opinion on it thought

[@jonathankennedy2735]

Heyy MJ! Question - What type of filters do you use for your nano tanks? What did you use for this one?? Love your Videos!

[@JR127]

i think 2024 is the year you get a studio and take the hobby to the next step! 😊

[@Stwinky]

No kidding! His quality already impresses, both the cinematography and content

[@Nakamamas]

Looks awesome. I prefer no light screen

[@N4H_Fun]

Agreed

[@justinwilliams7068]

I followed your dark start method on my tank, and so far it doing great!this channel has been so beneficial and inspiring for someone who just started aquascaping.

[@Lyskasano_MH]

Hey mate ! What kind of water did u use ? Osmosis or tap water for the dark start ? Ty for ur answer!

[@MandyJane123700]

I did not know there was bucephalandra moss! There are so many plants I don't know about. Anyway, I think the background light is pretty cool, and the scape looks great.

[@JiyuuNK]

To my knowledge it's called: Plagiochilaceae sp. "Cameroon Moss"

[@JiyuuNK]

Love cryptocoryne nurii. The color...the pattern... 😍

[@F1atman]

You are truly the best man! As a new aquascaper I just love this content. I have my tank fully setup atm. An Iwagumi, and I havent filled it with water yet or planted. Just waiting for a while to be sure I’m happy with the hardscape. Then I will do just this, dark start and let it cycle. Thank you again MJ! Love your content man.

[@danielmaclaren3065]

So glad you did a new dark start. I’m doing my first dark start. Been more than 1 week since I started. Glad you taught me to be patient when setting up a successful tank. Is there a discord or subreddit for your channel would love to share my results with the rest of the community

[@MJAquascaping]

Nah I don’t have a discord or anything like that. I might make one in the future if enough people are interested

[@dylangabrielbehjuacis6092]

can you do another review of the tank and how you select plants

[@abyss7839]

Mj i have a great idea for your next tank, get a really good looking bit of driftwood and turn it into a bonsai with the weeping moss for the leafy area

[@darrenderousse4804]

Beautiful scape mate! I prefer no light screen! Sets a better mood!

[@sergeiz.5815]

Atmospheric rivers in California Bay area perfect watching KZbin on rainy days 😊

[@kbye5323]

Good job! Would submerging the spider wood or even boiling it before setting up help?

[@priyankardas2668]

Beautiful build once again... you are the expert of planted nano tanks hands down... I quite like the mixed carpet. Tank looks cool with or without the lightscreen

[@matthewsmith6169]

Great little set up mate, and I think off with the back light

[@rsl2988]

Hi, Super Video, und ein sehr schönes Aquarium.👍 Mit der Twinstar und der Hintergrundbeleuchtung sieht es richtig Super aus.👍😎 Die Landschft und die Gestalltung ist KLASSE so wie die Pflanzenwahl. 👍👍👍😎😎😎

[@juod5133]

Hi ,MJ :) Your videos and scapes are beautiful! Your channel is very inspiring, including those who just started aquascaping. I made my first hardscape 2 weeks ago with 5 years old helping me :D

[@williammcdowell6257]

Really good content Mark and well put together, love the admission that you forget to record at one point. Though too many stones for me - a matter of personal taste. Dry start (patience) wish I had done that, old media for the substrate, about as good a tip as they come in my experience, though I wouldn't have put in all those nutrition tabs - suspect that might have partially caused the hair algae - though of course, good CO2 levels are as you say important. I am not keen on root tabs - often too much Nitrate (haven't used the ones you showed), find that tabs are only helpful in a mature tank when the plants are exhausting the supply of nutrients in the substrate and, with a heavy fish load even then it is rarely in my experience a problem. Better without the light screen I feel. You have built up a great audience, very impressive.

[@4loveoffish]

Do you think you can make a Hillstream loach breeding tank ? They need fast moving water and smooth rocks and some algae from high light .

[@Alex-rn6zm]

Really like it! I prefer without the lightscreen, the background plants come into their own this way 👌🏻 also their colours are juicier and stand out much better. Do you use APT 3? I wanna use it in my 11 month old 45P but I don’t know if there is to much potassium and iron in it, so I’m afraid of entering an algae breakout, what do you think?

[@AthaxDesigns]

Glad to finally see you cycle your tank, atleast waiting 4 weeks before fish with soil as an source of ammonia should cycle it! I can recommend testing with a liquid testing kit as well, before adding fish. :D

[@Poeticfloetic]

I think he knows what he is doing 😂

[@jordanteos]

Hi MJ, I love your scapes. Have you thought about doing a tour and showing all your scapes collectively? I think many people would enjoy it.

[@suvinuoska]

I really like the setup as is, love the mixture of delicate leaves on the right/mid-ground and the fish selection. I assume the orange neocaridina shrimp and the two otocinclus are the only clean up crew here? With the background light on, I think the tank would look better with bushier background planting, but I prefer a strong contrast, so my inclination would be to add more red than anything 🤔 You do you, though 😄

[@nancywaterhouse3135]

Awesome video particularly because it fits so perfectly with answering questions about how I will go about my planned new scape using the 'dark start' for the first time. I prefer the no light background... that way seems more atmospheric and more depth :)

[@ricardotolosa2671]

Hi MJ, pretty cool aquascape, it shows that you don´t have to go too fancy to get a nice one. Definetely I prefer without the light background. It shows beteer collour contrasts. My two cents.

[@Harmonichavenphb]

Congratulations here from Brazil. Everything very well? You know what would be amazing? see you riding a Dutchman (45p) and explaining each step of the process and everything that went right and wrong in a few months. Explaining everything chosen lighting, substrate and plants and external filter and the weekly progress of the aquarium. what do you think? Do you accept the challenge?

[@dennisherrmann7263]

Hi, thank you for this tutorial. Besides the mentioned lifestock, i‘ve seen some Otocinclus. How many live in this tank? Kind regards Dennis

[@oppenmateo]

You made me want to start with the hobby. Ty man, you are the best

[@Krish_Dugga09]

It's looks awesome ❤

[@blubba666]

CO2 hanging checker? I am using it all the time..... That's is why can't get rid of BBA 😮 I just installed new (proper inside) checker and it's showing blue colour. How did you find out that this co2 checker showing false results? Did you compare all of them? If not... maybe it's good topic for your new video? Thx again for tips and tricks! Cheers!

[@tokk3]

Hey MJ, what kind of table/rack/stand are you using for this tank? (Or what do you recommend?) As one of your southern neighbours, I got similar resources as you I guess? Any reasonable shops?

[@valbertbadano4763]

Hello Mj, great job 👍,question: where specifically do you get the "Mix of Aquasol and lava rock", I'm a beginner, so is that what you would call a "substrate"?

[@Keyra2807]

Beautiful as always MJ, in my Opinion with LS off it looks better 😊

[@NicoKnol]

Ik ben een grote fan van lightscreens. Heb ze overal. Maar in dit geval zou ik er een Ada filter tussen zetten en de intensiteit terugbrengen tot misschien wel 10%. De scape is te open voor speelse plekjes waar het licht doorheen kan schijnen. Leuke tube weer.👍

[@szanyi69]

Such a nice work. :) However I would have some questions: What percentage is the lamp operating at? How about the nutrition? When did you start using N/P/K and micros and what is the ration of them? What kind of CO2 system are u using for this setup?

[@haitch04]

Nice video, Love what you do. I prefer without backlight

[@simianlife5949]

Beautiful as always. I think it looks cooler without the background light as it's perhaps a bit too white. Maybe if it had a another hue to it it would look cool but the white seems to wash things out a bit much for my taste.

[@docyusuf258]

What is you water change and fertilizer schedule for new tanks ?

[@jauharibinzanidi2195]

What filter do you use for the 45p aquarium?

[@leenmulder8718]

Hi there MJ! I just started my aquarium about 2 weeks ago, so I have to wait like 1 or 2 weeks before I can start planting, can't wait! I was wondering, do you use some start up bacteria with a complete new set up also, and at what dose? Cheers!✌🏻

[@justfishiness]

Thanks for the calming adventure!

[@its_mar_yon]

I prefer the light off, are you able to change color or brightness? Do you have a video on some of the other tips like, how you fill it up and drain? Some of those mechanics that’s not specific to setting up an aquascape?

[@geertm4493]

Ik vind de linker stemplantjes mooier uitkomen zonder het achterlicht aan. De ruby tetras zijn cute. Weer een heel mooi bakje uiteraard. Benieuwd naar je volgende creatie.

[@CheeseOnEverything]

Is there a way to maybe boil spider wood so it doesnt grow mold?

[@sandpai5398]

the the lump/ tumour on the betta is most likely caused by tthe irid layer hyperpigmentation usually found in dragons, kois etc .beneign for the most part not much can be done. similar to the scaling getting to the eyes

[@frankvermeulen4621]

For me, "dark start" is the only way to go. It gets the biological/chemical processes started and the only algae appearing after that are easily taken care of by a couple of Otocinclus. That said, today I spotted a bit of Staghorn algae on one partical branch of wood (high up, right under the light; tank is a couple of months old). Investigation is on its way. As for the background: although I can appreciate the effect of a light colour, I always go for black myself. It just makes the fish stand out more.

[@andreagalda28]

I like it with no light background best ❤️

[@Chinco_NL]

Uit is mooier. Prachtig project weer!

[@alisinahussaini2669]

Hi 👋 MJ nice scape after long time you uploaded, just wana ask you that in this tank I noticed some smal things moving around at 12:40 to 12:59 it is Planaria or something else?

[@HasaN-0686]

Also, what brand are the external filter suction and pressure pipes?

[@zorantolmacev4219]

Got a question about aquasoil. After how long do they start losing nutrients? Mine is exactly a year old and am thinking to boost it with root tabs. Any thoughts on that? Am using Dennerle Scapers Soil.

[@MJAquascaping]

Yeah I would say about a year 👍 definitely a good idea to start adding root tabs

[@robwilliams287]

I preferred the light screen off, I wonder what it would look like if you could change the color to a green or blue?

[@sergeiz.5815]

You can water plants outside with old water good for plants 😊

[@theviolentone]

im wondering the light screen can increasing temperature water? 🤔

[@dhxmg]

I've never been a fan of the light screen background personally. So needless to say I prefer with the light off. Tank looks great though.

[@FEarth037]

Hey , how often u recommend water changes for newly planted tank, I am currently doing 50% water changes every alternate days

[@Kykayakbasser]

What size CO2 system (cylinder size) do you prefer on nano tanks? How long between cylinder refills?

[@frankambrose7593]

Beautiful scape MJ. But prefer without the background light

[@jeremywade4987]

I’m still new to aquascaping and fight algae all the time. Eventually it dominates my tanks. Im curious how many Otto’s you put in a tank like this? I’ve upped my c02 but I think I may need more of a clean up crew.

[@Anonymous-gh3wc]

What do you think is the best light for a 60cm tank?

[@ruialbrecht1828]

relly like your nano aquascaping👍

[@lehrchen]

Love it, absolut amazing ❤️

[@iemand3034]

Hi Maybe you can help me. I’ve got a small aquarium 32x32x32. Its Super Fish qubiq 30 and i think the light is not very strong. Its for my 10 yo daughter and she wants to keep there one beta. It will be a low tech aquarium. I bought a bag with Dennerle Scaper’s soil. I wanted to buy a sagittaria subulata and plant hoping to get a carpet. What i’ve seen on youtube its easy to trim. I thought that i can trim it in the front and keep longer in the back. I also have a few stones and a wood. I would love to have a christmas moss on it. And now my question. Do you think that those plants will grow well with that light and without co2 ? Or maybe you would plant some other plants? Thanks for any advice and greetings from Den Helder P.S. I love what you make. Im a big fan 😊

[@danmad3098]

Hello , one off topic question. What camera and lens do you use for filming? Thank you

[@nathanpowell5367]

what about the issue with using aqua soil and leaching ammonia? is the 2/3 week dark start enough time for the aqua soil to go thru its phase so i can plant or?

[@justin94431]

Yes

[@unknown-et2vs]

Can you do your next one [scape] with pearlweed as carpet?

[@MJAquascaping]

Sounds like a nightmare to maintain 🤪

[@marioQ4]

Can you help on how to remove that mold from plants?

[@LaurentiuPricop]

Nice! I prefer no light background, seems more natural.

[@FifaMobileUnlimited]

Hi MJ , I am from India , i just started a planted tank and bought a 13 watt full spectrum light( non dimmable) , but I can't understand whether, I should tape ta light 50% at the initial stage ?? ,

[@huntergreene3453]

How many fish do you have in this tank? Also I think the light screen would be better if it had color instead of just white.

[@nikolaykostishen6402]

Nice work as usual. Thanks.

[@IndoorEcosystem]

I always have the worst success with invitro products. It doesn't matter what brand or method I use. I find pots and even just stem cuttings from other hobbiests work 10x better. Though I've never tried a dark start. So that might actually be the secret.

[@Lukas-sz4mo]

Wasnt the problem that drop checker and CO2 diffusor are on the same side?

[@fabianhaack5880]

On 0:40 what shelf is that.

[@haoo31]

What size wood is this on the buce plant website?

[@robberends8365]

Out of curiosity, can't you just boil the spiderwood to kill the mold in it?

[@GavinShort-j1x]

Hi MJ love your videos jest a bit of a silly? are you using RO water 😊

[@MJAquascaping]

Yes I am!

[@ShantelBezeditz]

you make great videos, i copied your techniques with 45 cm cube. its dark cycling right now, thank you

[@yosefelijah1653]

what is that black foam called at the beginning?

[@dylangabrielbehjuacis6092]

what lily pipes do you use

[@mariarusnak9975]

Beautiful 🎉❤

[@csfilms2572]

nice scape again and good light :) maybe video about chihiros B series ? :p

[@rhondafitzpatrick1646]

I liked it without the light screen. at first I thought it looked really nice, but then as you continued to plant the tank I noticed that it was really bright, then when you did both clips, I definitely was more drawn to the one without the light screen. that is just my opinion.

[@nvmbii]

MJ style 😎🤙🏼

[@dayankkumarasinghe]

Shall we try a 60P Brazilian? ;)

[@zer0_0xxx]

Great job, I prefer the aquarium without the light screen.

[@kylegawron5358]

what types of fish can go in a 20 gallon tank?

[@rickyabdullah4758]

Great tutorial 👍🏻

[@phazercoretech6841]

Where is the video of you scaping that 90b??? I can't find it!!!

[@MJAquascaping]

I have two! The latest one kzbin.info/www/bejne/eaOVqmRjlqZ2qKc Older one kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIjQqq1sbL2eipY

[@CF-dc8wt]

Misschien kun je eens een film maken over het licht in het aquarium. Waar je op moet letten en hoeveel watt het moet zijn

[@gregwilson5910]

Beautiful tank, better with light screen off.

[@StuScapes]

Lovely scape, prefer it without the light screen though.

[@lifewithnikka7440]

It seems to me like the backscreen washes the plants out a bit at least on camera. I will assume its because of the lack of shadows. Without it, there's more contrast between light and shadow, and the colors and textures pop out to the eye much better. I think the back screen works much better on scapes with really heavy use of hardscape that still allow for shadows to add interest, or for an Iwagumi meant to depict openness and vastness. It seems to really wash out and take away from your style of Nature aquarium. Lovely set up! I've been subscribed since you were at 15k. You changed my view of aqua scaping from just something I could admire to something I can actually do. 😊

[@mcnorcan]

I like it without the light screen much better. It seems to have more depth.

[@endoroboto]

If there is a way to dim the backlight, I'd like to see that, but no backlight otherwise!

[@samkoz2045]

I have 60cm x 35 deep x 40 tall Should i get a chihiros wrgb 2 60cm light Or Wrgb 2 pro 45cm What you think?

[@justin94431]

Go for wrgb 60 cm since 45 pro cant complete with your 60p, lighting will be heavy on middle not equally distributed

[@Summer_1-o9]

6:11 just boil our driftwood with water for 10 min easy

[@lechienlhbtx]

Nice tank. Love it :D

[@vasudevNirvana]

1st comment...Love from India 💚

[@Habits1986]

I have used lileaopsis brasiliensis several times already and I never get it to grow with such a lush green color. It always grows in dark green, sometimes, I even get red leaves... Strange...