Cardboard strips are placed along the
predetermined boundary lines and
secured with suitably sized stones.
lines of the cosmetic sand and soil. Placing
suitably sized stones on both sides of a
cardboard strip will secure the strip in place.
Nutritive stone-based substrate materials and
substrate additives should be placed first
in the area where the soil-based substrate
materials will be used (the area where aquatic
plants will be planted). The cosmetic sand
and soil should be added next. They should
be placed in a balanced manner on each side
of the cardboard strips (as shown), and care
should be taken not to shift the strips.
When the cardboard strips become stable
All of the cardboard strips should be
pulled out at once after smoothing the
substrate surface. If the boundary line
looks somewhat messy, it should be tidied
at this point. Soil-retaining stones are
placed along the boundary lines. Use
stones of various sizes and make sure
there are no gaps between them.
after the substrate materials have been laid on both sides of the strip, the stones that are used to support the strips should be removed. They can get in the way of planting aquatic plants if left in place. When building the substrate using cosmetic sand and the soil-based substrate, it is important to make the forefront of the cosmetic sand as thin as possible and build up the layer of soil in the back so that aquatic plants can be planted there easily. However, the substrate material will topple over and the boundary will be obscured
if there is a height difference between the
two materials at the boundary line. The
key here is to slope the substrate upward
from front to back in a manner such that
the heights of the two substrate materials
at the boundary will be even when viewed
from the side. If the slope is too gradual,
the cosmetic sand layer may be too thick or
the soil layer may be too thin. After making
sure that there is no problem with the slope,
finish building the substrate. Afterward,
stones should be placed on the boundary
line as soil retainers.
Maintenance
By building the substrate with cosmetic
sand and nutritive stone- and soil-based substrate materials as described
above, aquatic plants will grow well in
the midground and background, and
the foreground can be maintained over
DATA
Aquarium: Cube Garden W90 x D45 x H45 cm
Lighting: Solar I (NAG-150W-Green) x 1 units, turned on
for 10 hours per day
Filter: Super Jet Filter ES-1200 (Bio Cube, anthracite)
Substrate: Aqua Soil Amazonia, Bright Sand, Power Sand
Special M, Bacter 100, Clear Super, Tourmaline BC, Penac W/
for Aquarium, Penac P
CO2: Pollen Glass Beetle 30, 3 bubbles per second via CO2
Beetle Counter (using Tower)
Aeration: For 14 hours after the light is turned off using
Lily Pipe P- 4
Additives: Brighty K, Green Brighty STEP2
Water Change: 1/3 once a week
Water Quality: Temperature 26ºC (79ºF), pH 6. 8, TH 10
mg/l
Aquatic Plants: Glossostigma elatinoides, Riccia fluitans,
Eleocharis acicularis, Eleocharis vivipara, Echinodorus tenellus
Fish/Invertebrates: Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi,
Crossocheilus siamensis, Otocinclus sp., Caridina japonica
[Note: The hardware itemized above represents the
author’s specific choices; equivalent results may be
obtained with other equipment and accessories—Eds.]
long periods with cosmetic sand exposed
in the absence of aquatic plants. Since
the appearance of fish and shrimp feces
accumulating on cosmetic sand is unsightly,
they should be removed with a hose during
water changes. In the case of white cosmetic
sand, the surface should also be stirred
up periodically to maintain its pristine
appearance. Keeping the cosmetic sand
as thin as possible strengthens the spatial
effect and perspective of the layout. D
Aquatic plants are grown in the area prepared with nutritive substrate materials. The contrast
with the cosmetic sand strengthens the spatial effect and the sense of depth in the layout.
