Building your own Planted Aquarium - A Guide

Aquariums are wondrous inventions - a self-sustaining world inside another world, a slice of nature just existing and sustained by you, the creator!

Anyway, you probably can tell that I love aquariums, and during the pandemic, it was one of the hobbies that I picked up - so this is how I built this aquarium:

Things you need:

💡 An idea -

Start off with an idea of what you want to build - is it a nature style aquarium? Iwagumi (Japanese style emphasizing the use of rocks to create “flow” in the design)? A fantasy tank with pirate ships and colourful rocks? It’s your tank, so design something that you want! I like to go to pinterest to find reference images of what’s possible and creative ways to achieve it. For this tank, I wanted a forest look - with tree trunks that stick out of the water, so I used rocks and driftwood to create the effect of roots and tree trunks.

🪴A substrate

Because I wanted to have a lush planted tank, I chose to use more plants that needed a soil layer to grow in. As such, I have a thick layer of aquasoil covered by sand to plant in.

You can forgo the aquasoil if you choose to grow epiphytic plants in the tank, which do not need to be planted in the substratee - like mosses, ferns and anubias!

🌱 Plants and Live animals

Different tank sizes can support different numbers of fish, and the biggest misconception is that fishes don’t need a lot of space, especially goldfish. Think of this as their entire world, not just their living space. You know how it feels to be locked down in your room with nowhere to go - don’t let your fish live their entire lives in that condition! Get the biggest tank you can afford.

My rule of thumb is - the more plants you can have, the better. Plants help to absorb nitrates that are produced from fish waste, so they actually help to keep the tank clean! I prefer self-sustaining systems, and I haven’t done water changes in years. However, plants do need to be kept alive and so they need adequate light to grow, or you’d be in for dying plants that actually make the water quality much much worse!

Instead of just fish, think about getting snails too. Yes, they can be pests, but there are species of snails you can buy that can help clean up algae in the tank, without reproducing like crazy! You can also consider certain types of shrimp as well to play the role of the cleaner in the tank, and they often come in lovely colours as well!

🐟A filter

You NEED to have a filter - this is non-negotiable! A filter is key to providing good water quality, aeration of the tank, and provide water movement to prevent mosquito breeding. A rule of thumb - the filter needs to be able to move 3x the volume of the fish tank, per hour. You’ll see the details on the box.

🕙 Time

An aquarium may be an art piece, but it needs constant investment like ALL pets. It’s not an easy hobby but it’s rewarding once you get it right. And trust me, it’s addictive. At my peak, I had 8 fishtanks, and that’s not even that many. Take the time to do the research - I barely covered everything you need to know before you start an aquarium, so be prepared. And a warning - pet shops in Singapore tend to not know provide good information about fishkeeping. So do your own research as well, or go to more reputable aquariums!

✨ Check out - That Aquarium, Nanyang Trading Aquarium, C328 Aquarium for good quality fish and plants!

Just remember - it’s a hobby, and it takes time and practice to get right - it’s about the journey and not the destination! You WILL lose fish and you WILL lose plants. It’s just part of the hobby. So just learn from your mistakes and try again! Have fun!

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