The NEW Amazon RIVERBANK! Big Shallow 3.0 - Full Step By Step Aquascape Tutorial

[@MJAquascaping]

Everything I used to create this Aquascape (affiliate links) Tank US: bit.ly/3RtuJ7h EU: bit.ly/3eGwboA Light US: bit.ly/3x5Ui6h EU: bit.ly/3BoygxY Filter US: bit.ly/3ELUnk6 (MJAMSTERDAM for 10% off) EU: bit.ly/3qkURoT Clear filter pipes US: bit.ly/3RsFJkT EU: bit.ly/3AL5oyv Equipment I like to use (affiliate links) Tank US: bit.ly/3EbkdxH EU: bit.ly/3S3y9ht Light US: bit.ly/3S2WxjC EU: bit.ly/3z6R16F Filter US: bit.ly/3yxFttR EU: bit.ly/3eoYxUn Clear Filter Pipes US: bit.ly/3RsFJkT EU: bit.ly/3AL5oyv Substrate US: bit.ly/3bux8yR EU: bit.ly/3qhHDt4 Wood (similar) US: bit.ly/3VmDUJ0 EU: bit.ly/3MwgKfm Rocks (similar) US: bit.ly/3yAO7Yk EU: bit.ly/3Tn0tLX Dwarf Hairgrass (Eleocharis parvula) US: bit.ly/3VsJIR5 Umbrella Hair Grass (Eleocharis Vivipara) US: bit.ly/3MpO9br Riccardia moss US: bit.ly/3SR3Zy9 Juncus repens US: bit.ly/3yyJjmo Crypt parva US: bit.ly/3Cs0APn Crypt lutea US: bit.ly/3yBGDo7 Crypt walkeri US: bit.ly/3rSxBzu 🚨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 👉🏻Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my KZbin channel: KZbin.com/mjaquascaping 👉🏻 Use Code ''MJAMSTERDAM'' for 10% off Fzone products #plantedtank #aquascape #mjaquascaping

[@Leib33]

Love the shoutout to MD. You and he are amongst my favorite aquascapers!

[@matthewsmith6374]

Love the simple yet great look, sometimes looks more natural than too many different plants.

[@nganu6512]

First video of the year 2023 and big shallow is looking awesome

[@erikfeddes7799]

That penetration of the roots fron the plants in the bags is for real. I am doing it the MD way and it is perfect!

[@tombarb2864]

I like this design the best. I like it because it is not as dark. It’s more like a river flowing right to left naturally. The fish have room and places to hide. When the plants mature it will be even nicer. I wish you love, health, happiness, and the best scaping for 2023.

[@n.c.3137]

Really like the aquascape. It shows off the fish more with it being lighter and more open yet has enough cover to make the fish feel safe. Well done 👏 for yet another great scape. 👍. Can't wait to see it grow in even more. Your videos are really Calming and always have great content. Thanks.

[@rizwankhann95]

Ggggggggggggggggggggggg gggggg😅😅g😅gggggg

[@frankweinhard9561]

EIN FROHES NEUES JAHR WÜNSCH ICH DIR UND DEINER FAMILIE .MJ. MACH WEITER SO IM DIESEM JAHR 2023 DEINE VIDEOS SIND IMMER SEHR INTERESANT :GRUSS FRANK AUS BOTTROP NRW.

[@Sinserg]

I really like the more minimalistic look, the fish look great on such layouts, well done.

[@maxvanderstricht1159]

Wow! I am eagerly awaiting the day I finish my studies and find a place to settle and start a tank. I really want a high fidelity replica of a riverbed/bank and this is pretty much exactly how I have been imagining it. This is a huge inspiration.

[@zyir7962]

this looks waay better than old one because this is more light to look at its not complicated its simple and clean it has less things to focus at when you look at it and there is not tons of plants coming out of nowhere. more space for fish to swim more light and no dark spots where fish hide and make you wonder where they are this is just beautifull amazing scape i love it

[@dancer14280]

Beautiful scape! So much open space makes the tank look a lot bigger, and I bet once those plants get their grow on it'll be stunning, really wild and natural! Gorgeous bud, great job!!

[@omgshad0w]

You know that last set up was really nice and thought you couldn't top it but this one is so simple yet you can tell how amazing it will be in a few weeks. I think this one will look more natural the huge stones really catch your eyes. well done!

[@IMaqua]

Just used heteranthera zosterifolia recently in my build and I love it. It has so much volume and grows like crazy even without CO2. Also the stones look amazing and they remind me of elder boulders (I think thats their official WIO name). New Year started with a new build; thats a great start.

[@stefan00123]

Hi mark! The best wishes for 2023! Thanks for all those beautiful video's last year🙏

[@waterlover]

The new layout is so much nicer love the new layout. Can definitely say I’m now glad you tore the old one down and decided to make something better of the situation.

[@cherylmartin9994]

Wow!! Love it! Didn't realize you had a kitty😻Happy New Year!

[@garrettmoriguchi9253]

The hard scape layout is brilliant. I'm normally not a fan of round rocks but they fit this layout perfectly. And I do like the emersed fern. I'm hoping it takes off and fills up most of the emersed wood.

[@jackoghost]

this look so good and far more natural, the simplicity is something aqua-scaping has forgotten past years plus the fish swim space is much larger now so thats always good

[@077hercules]

Het is wel de bedoeling dat al is het een klein stukje van de terratape in het water hangt. Deze tape zuigt dan constant water aan en houd het mos vochtig. Als je die terratape gewoon nat maakt en dan over het droog hout hangt , dan droogt het al snel uit of je moest het dagelijks gaan besproeien maar dat is extra veel werk.

[@MJAquascaping]

Yes heb ik gedaan!

[@elpencil2920]

Awesome scape MJ, this really is one of the best setups I've seen in quite a bit, because it feels realistic/natural, like you have a part of a river or stream in your living room. I'm going to explore this method of letting the hardscape be the centerpoint instead of trying to cram as many plants as possible into the tank

[@deShadua]

Been waiting on the new Big Shallow as well. Happy New Year.

[@bloun003]

A very beautiful tank I could easily fall asleep to watching the tetra swim back and forth. Well done.

[@rafzar3093]

The tank looks great! Skylight Hyperspot led lighting is amazing.

[@madhatterjones4781]

Lover the bug shallow v3 it's beautiful so simple and elegant. Best one yet. So much more swim room for your fishies

[@MaxPower-uq4sz]

very smart to keep the filter running during the days of redesigning the tank. I once did not and the result was very bad smelling brown stuff you do not want to have in your tank. Very nice design. BR

[@The_G.I.P.G]

Heey neighbor just wanna let you know I really like the new big shallow 3.0 👍🤙👊😎 Looking forward to the growth in a few weeks

[@philcarlino6942]

Happy New Year, MJ. Last night I was thinking about this tank, and I was excited to see the next iteration of the big shallow. I was hoping you'd continue with the more natural river vibe, and you surpassed my expectations. This really turned out great, I love the minimal planting, and the hardscape is stunning. This is one that will get better and better with age. Keep up the good work, take care.

[@Fr3ddyFazbear87]

It's funny that people are saying nice video even though it's been out for 6 minutes, but anyway, I'm sure it's good.

[@haar637]

Well, this dude doesn't put goldfish in a fish bowl so i can't see why anyone would dislike

[@thenamesfrog85]

Hahaha honestly

[@HaizeyWings]

When you've seen enough MJ Aquascaping videos, you know before watching it that it'll be good lol

[@gamingaccount3202]

the previous setting was way better in my opinion.

[@NNTorious]

@@gamingaccount3202 I agree, but this is more functional

[@markusjentesart]

Loving the lines and direction of this new scape! A nice welcome departure from the heaviness of Big Shallow 2.0. Great job as always.

[@tomelliottguitartutor1325]

Brilliant to see the big shallow up and running again, Happy New Year Mark and looking forward to 2023

[@underthecherrytree22]

Looks awesome uncle MJ😉, The fern will undoubtedly grow in nicely. This is definitely something different, but I think it suits the big shallow well. Keep up the good work and best wishes to everyone.

[@noodlechild666]

I prefer this to the previous scape. Looks like the fish do as well. I think the flow was far too much for them last time, but now its at the back they seem to be spending more time in the foreground, and making use of all of it, rather than just one end. Fingers crossed for fewer issues with this one.

[@Kaityscichlids]

Beautiful! I love shallow tanks. Some marble queen pothos would look beautiful running up that log. I think the light green would look really nice with the colours in the tank

[@MJAquascaping]

That’s a great idea!

[@thierryfelix7796]

Thank you for this creation. Inspiring... simplicity is always beautifull.

[@jeromehorn7333]

very nice set up. I love the arch the driftwood makes!

[@Julia_Evgenievna]

Гарний та просторий акваріум вийшов💚

[@jimmykool7777]

Great aquascape . simple and elegant. I liked it .. just a small thought... Adding some badam leaves or dried leaves will add more perspective

[@jordanforever2345]

New year new improvement 3.0!!! Love it! Learn a hack from you. You rock!

[@OregonOutdoorsChris]

That looks awesome! At first I was worried that you were going to cover up all the beautiful hardscape with plants, but I think you struck a nice balance!

[@mandyminshull2351]

Love the hard scape. I’ll keep watching til the end to get the final look, but already loving it

[@bloatus7611]

Plant roots really are fascinating. I repotted a peace lily earlier last week and I had lava rock in the soil. The roots managed to penetrate the rocks and find their way through with no problem. I've also had mesh bags finer than the ones you're using have the same thing happen. It's wild.

[@ThePlantedTankTV]

Another epic video!

[@jenpink4298]

Happy new year and thank you for a beautiful new video! I really like the Hardscape and I can’t wait to see it as the plants growing a little bit more. And that was a nice shout out to MD 😊 I have seen so many of his videos where he has put the aqua soil in bags and they have never gone wrong. Wishing the very best for you and those you love in this new year🎉🎉🎉

[@richardcunliffe]

Looking forward to seeing it grow out. Good on you for trying something different, I can definitely see your vision working out. Thanks for sharing and happy new year!

[@joshposhgosh11]

Sometimes, simpler is better. Well done 👌🏼

[@intheframemedia]

tank looks great , well done. look forward to seeing it grow in. i like the extra swim space and more open look, bet the fish will love sitting under the wood. if you have some of that tape going down into the water the capilary action will draw water up to the moss.

[@GerardMedano]

Can't wait to see it develope! Looks really nice and it's great to see you get out of your comfort zone. Well done.

[@xXIronSwanXx]

Wow, you really did an amazing job making those little pieces a part of the main branch

[@LushSaltyAquariums]

Stunning. I, too, question the fern. It seems bit too grandma's house to me :)

[@MJAquascaping]

Yeah 😂

[@chrisrenee7438]

Same! But you said it perfectly 😂

[@SubiKinubi]

As an Australian, I appreciated the she’ll be right attitude 😂 👍

[@morneschaap2944]

Really love this layout! Very nicely done. 😊

[@GoodkatNW]

For the taped areas, you can use a medium diameter cotton string (or similar) and leave one end in the water, one end underneath the tape. The string will wick water up to the tape, and as the moss/ferns consume, it will continue wicking upwards. You can change the amount of water by the size of the tape, allowing the plants to consume only what they need. The string will eventually decompose, but it takes a long time.

[@matz4k]

From my knowledge the mat under the aquarium is often the reason it bends. It releases the energy over time and bends the wood beneath. It sounds weird but something to test in the future, with a weak board and a filled aquarium with and without a mat. Try it out if you want, maybe I am wrong.

[@Dumbud]

If its the case it would be very bad as ifyou dont use the mat you have a 90%~ chance of cracking the bottom pannel. The littlest imbalance causses stress point on the panel and can crack waterless with substrate. Maybe bad luck to but the 2 times i tried that what hapenned with my fluval flex 9g and an aqueon 7g cube

[@matz4k]

@@Dumbud I have seen setup with small stripes placed where there was a direct support beneath.

[@Dumbud]

@@matz4k oh interesting! I wonder how well it works

[@matz4k]

@@Dumbud Talked to my mechanics prof, the essential thing is not to have a big elastic mat. You could solve the problem with the cracking bottom by using a smaller, inelastic material which could fill the little voids between glass and shelf, glass is insanely flat. A couple sheets of paper could already do the job, but don't get me started on whether paper is elastic or inelastic. That being said, a very thin elastic mat should also do the trick, in theory :D

[@Dumbud]

@@matz4k best solution is keep the mat and stay away from cheap softwood fournitures specifically melamine. And having just strips of mat creates more weak points on th bottom with the weith of things in the aquarium so no cheap wood good mat and and the patience to not want to move the aquarium every 30 days and everything should be fine

[@olivereisenbarth5476]

I liked the big shallow.

[@Populiervogel]

Top video weer, de beste wensen nog en een succesvol 2023!

[@wahyuramadhandvm6440]

Much better than previous layout! Love it ❤

[@DairyCat]

Very minimalistic style. Definitely agree some moss on the wood was a good add, especially when they grow in more. Maybe a few pieces of Buce too?

[@dennisklam7912]

Nice Tank size 👍👍Great Aquarium

[@Urodoc2011]

Looks nice...for a minute I was thinking its MD fish tank channel

[@philcpd6051]

What a great way to start the new year! Thank you for all the inspiration 👌

[@NicoKnol]

Ha Mooi werkje weer. Mag ik je een kleine tip megeven. Ik schuif de soil eerder naar achteren om de beestjes te tijd te geven naar voren te gaan. En ik gebruik een veel groter net, 4 keer zo groot. Pak je er meer in 1 keer. Vissen scheiden iets chemisch als gevolg van de schrik reactie, waardoor er meer paniek ontstaat. Hoe eerder eruit hoe beter.

[@IndoorEcosystem]

Lovely start to the new year! 👏

[@jonbraid2520]

Breathtaking

[@1Kent]

You can see the fish a lot better in this scape. I like dark mysterious and heavily planted myself, you could try wrapping the fern in sphagnum Moss for a more natural l👀k.

[@bryanhaller6012]

LOOKS GOOD MY MAN! I always enjoy your videos. It's about time you get a bigger tank! ;)

[@soxfan000]

Very nice aquascape!

[@geraldoyo1]

Happy New Year!

[@mikemedusa]

you've made me a fan of amazon river scapes, lovely hardscape 👍

[@KenLe1998]

Since you makeover your tanks ofter, I recommend to get a canister vacuum cleaner than can work with dry/wet dirts. You will get the tank clean in couple minutes really easily. Really nice layout, love it man! 👌

[@MJAquascaping]

Yeah I definitely need one of those!

[@michaelstruyf8641]

Very natural looking scape. I only miss some floating plants and leaf litter

[@SlickNick3]

I’d imagine some of the beneficial bacteria will die off from the filter even running in that bucket because it’s not handling the large bio load you had in the aquarium but it’ll still have plenty of beneficial bacteria to get the tank cycled again quickly! I just set up a new tank popped out some media from a canister and it’s cycled. Still not adding any fish yet waiting for the plants to convert first! I enjoy the more open layout you made this time probably almost doubled your water volume!!! Happy New Year

[@Miss.L.14]

was waiting for this build, happy new year MJ ❤️❤️❤️

[@kadinaator]

Beautiful result! I love these types of aquascapes, definitely something I plan to do in the future. Also, that's a lovely sand but it is rather expensive. I'm using very similar but locally sourced sand that costs less than 4 euros for 25 kilos and comes in four different sizes.

[@PratikHome]

Looks simple, yet beautiful. I always thought your last design had too many elements and the star of the show, the fishes, took a backseat. This one looks elegant. The only thing that I feel didn't work is the color of the sand. I wish they were more reddish so that the transition from the pebble to the sand would appear more seamless. Anyway , great work and thank you for sharing your passion with us.

[@davidpaylor5666]

Nice. Very naturalistic.

[@valibrad]

A piece of Heaven.

[@Max-go4sx]

looks good simple better than the one before.

[@jasoncarty2175]

Very cool mark,I'm no aquascaper,but I think the only thing I would have done is put some mini vallis in that left hand corner.but anyway I love it mate,sometimes simplicity is best mate.👌👍

[@legionaquatics]

I like it!

[@lakeshiamills1454]

I like it! I have a pair of apistogramma Hongsloi that I think would really pop in an aquascape like this. Might have to try something similar. I like the simplicity of using just one or two types of plants and want to do more scapes that are on the minimalist side

[@Evil_Genius_888]

That’s an interesting minimalist scape. It might almost work on the tank I just setup, but haven’t planted yet. 🤔

[@melsATL]

Te falta alguna planta flotante, y quedaría muy natural! Muy bonito! 😍

[@huntermclaren322]

Looks excellent!

[@dragon6irl]

Love all the open space in this scape. Maybe consider a terrestrial moss for on top of the driftwood if that one dies out?

[@fishingnerd36]

I've been waiting for the big shallow

[@rickyabdullah4758]

Nice big shallow tank 👍🏻

[@1marcelo]

Beautiful aquascape. I would only replace the fern, maybe maidenhair fern would look better.

[@MJAquascaping]

I do like that one as well!

[@1marcelo]

@@MJAquascaping The part of the Amazon that I know is full of maidenhair fern

[@norskperson9463]

Love this, has to be one of my favourites!

[@disposabletragedy]

Hey MJ! Maybe to soon, but i hope you would consider a hillstream setup in this tank (or a new tank haha) with some sewelia etc in it. When done well it can look really nice and is imo one of those setups that no one really thinks about, but very interesting to watch!

[@disposabletragedy]

Also a African cichlid tank would be much appreciated! Would probably be just a hardscape because they tend to destroy plants, but maybe nice for a change

[@vivekvs1992]

Hillstream loaches might be an awesome addition to river style scapes... Although you do have otos, so it may feel redundant... I have one, then 4 otos and 2 borneos in a 60p...somewhat overkill.. But they look happy...

[@mowillusmowillanus5385]

You can try wrapping the fern roots in sphagnum moss

[@OlegPalyvoda]

great layout. maybe it makes sense to add some accessories that would make waves, like in a river?

[@ShahriarFarkhan]

Happy New Year! This is a beautiful setup. I look forward to seeing how it turns out :)

[@dariuszjarosz752]

Super👍Happy New Year. Pozdrowienia z 🇵🇱

[@angry_morbo]

Really, this is my dream aquarium! 👏

[@JpWip]

As always, fantastic video! May I suggest a topic or ask for few words on aquascape conventions you would recommend to go? Maybe in Europe 2023? :)

[@pieterboersma5518]

Mooie rustige lay-out 👍

[@Pit-19]

It looks really good!

[@guran4o]

Very nice one!