Do less & enjoy more

How to Design Beautiful Planted Tanks With Minimal Effort

Personal note for friends and family:

Aquascaping has, without a doubt, changed my life for the better — and because of that, I've made it my personal goal to build the most thorough guide possible.

I hope this helps you on your journey! 🙂

Everything is designed to be simple, repeatable, and easy to stick to — so you can spend less time dealing with issues and more time actually enjoying your tank.

Get started →
A pristine iwagumi-style planted aquarium with layered stone hardscape and a lush green carpet.

Setup

ðŸ’Ą

Light Setup & Schedule

No single item makes a bigger difference to the appearance of your aquascape than your light. Just dial it in correctly from the beginning and forget about it.
ðŸŦ§

CO2 Setup & Schedule

CO2 is the single best prevention method for algae — and the easiest way to make sure your tank stays as low maintenance as possible. Set it up correctly from the start and you'll spend less time fighting problems.
⚙ïļ

Canister Filter Setup

Learn exactly how to pick the right canister filter. There's a calculator to figure out exactly what size filter you need and exactly what to put in each basket.
🔧

What to Buy

I've put together a shopping list of every single item you need to start your first planted tank. These are all items that I use across all of my tanks.

Routine

Start Here
ðŸŠĢ

My 15-Minute Tank Maintenance System

My 3-step system for keeping my home gallery of 5+ tanks in great condition.

 Pre-Maintenance
🚰

RODI Setup & Water Prep

How I prep over 50 gallons of remineralized RODI water every week — the easiest, simplest, most efficient setup I've found.
💧

Water Change Schedule

Every phase your new tank goes through — and exactly what to do at each one. The simplest water schedule that actually keeps tanks healthy and thriving, from week one through fully stable.

 Live Food
ðŸĶ

Live Baby Brine Shrimp Setup

Few things garner compliments as much as healthy, vibrant, active fish. Live food isn't just one of the experiences to have with your tank - it's the most consistent way to the best color, breeding, and behavior.

Where to Get the Best Deals (on Lights, Rocks, Wood, Fish, and Plants)

How to save 50–75%+ on your projects

At the end of the day, the more affordably you can source your hardscape, livestock, and plants, the more money you can put toward the things that make your aquarium look better — and the more tanks you can build.

For example, the more plants you can order from the very beginning, the more biologically stable your tank will be from day one.

See where I get the best deals →
A pair of Celestial Pearl Danios with vivid orange and black patterned fins swimming through aquarium grass.

Advanced

Once you've got the fundamentals down, these are the advanced topics worth learning correctly.

ðŸŒŋ How to Prevent & Treat AlgaeThe simplest, repeatable system to prevent & get rid of algae ðŸŠī The Only 4 Plants I RecommendThe best plants to start with (that are actually worth mastering) ðŸ“ą My Zero-Effort Automation SetupHow I automated everything — lights, CO2, skimmers, and filters. 🐠 What Livestock to BuyMy personal favorites, sorted by color, schooling, and cleaning ability 📋 Lessons From Years of Trial & ErrorSmall optimizations that save you hundreds of hours and a lot of money. 🏗ïļ Recommended First Tank Setup

Resources & Videos

If aquascaping is something you're serious about, the content you consume matters more than you'd think.

Access to quality information makes your experience in this hobby significantly better — and significantly less frustrating.

I've spent hundreds of hours researching and watching to narrow it down to the most helpful, practical, and easy-to-understand YouTube channels, videos, and content out there.

"What you surround yourself with eventually becomes your standard."
Plant Knowledge Design & Inspiration Contest Winners
See recommended content →

Announcements

Free plants & equipment for sale

Free Plants

  • Begonia 'Spotlight Dark'
  • Begonia 'Cherry Bomb'
  • Begonia 'Pinstripe'
  • Begonia 'Cherry Sparkler'

(great for paludariums)

I currently have cuttings of each available, at no cost. Let me know if you need any!

Equipment For Sale

  • [Light] Week Aqua A430 Pro & Light Arms, Black (x2)
  • [Rimless Tank] UNS 60U (x1)
  • [Rimless Tank] UNS 60U — set up for a paludarium (x1)
  • [Stand] Black UNS 60U Tank Stand
  • [Hardscape] Have 3 incredible driftwood pieces (for a 40–80 gallon tank)
  • [Rimless Tank] UNS 45U (x2)
  • [Rimless Tank] UNS 90B (x1)

Happy to give you a good deal (usually 50%+ off retail)

Coming Soon

  • Recommended first tank setup & realistic cost breakdown
  • Purigen and HOB canister filter during tank setup
  • Removing tannins from wood
  • How often to feed fish and fertilize
  • Skill progression over your first year
  • How to acclimate fish and shrimp
  • How to catch livestock
  • Philosophy of aquascape design
  • Why You Should Aquascape
  • Why I Created This Guide (Preface, Prologue, Introduction) / How Aquascaping Changed My Life
  • [Feature] Fill out questionnaire for shopping list
  • [Feature] Checkboxes on the shopping list with a running cost total
  • What plants to buy first
  • Smart plug setup
  • Recommended fish and livestock
  • Best Stores and Why I Support Them (HTX & Online)