Yo what's going on SerpaSquad! Tanner here and I'm back with another aquascape. Apparently this is a build
that many of you wanted to see. I'd like to say I'm doing it just
for you, but someone else has been demanding a pea puffer aquarium for
awhile now... that would be my wife. Every time we're at the local fish store, she
immediately goes right to the pea puffer tank. I've been avoiding it for awhile,
but the time has finally come. Let's make it happen. I think this will be the perfect setup
for the top tank on the 40 gallon rack. Since it's on the very top, it will
be somewhat challenging to scape. I have a workaround though. I decided to make a sandbox
to scape in before the tank. A scape dojo if you will. Anyway, I cut out a piece
of plywood and a few boards. I nailed them together. I also filled in the cracks
with hot glue to keep sand out. This box is the same footprint as
the 40 breeder I'll be scaping. I'll fill it with play sand. Yo, it looks like some of you still haven't
liked the video or subsribed to the channel. It only take a moment, it's completely free, and it's the best way to help me
continue making content like this. Now we can finally start scaping. For hardscape, I've selected Gray Elephant
Skin Stone, which has great texture. I also have a combination of Mopani
Wood and Weathered Driftwood. Once they've been the tank for awhile, they'll
be almost indistinguishable from each other. As usual, I started by placing
the largest items first. I'll use these as my key elements, which
dictate where everything else goes. I didn't like where the first layout was
going, so I scrapped it and started over. This time I place all of the stones first. For lack of better works, what I'm
making is simply three piles of stones. They're spaced out in a way that
creates two paths in the middle. I'll use the driftwood to
connect the piles together. This will also add more height to the scape. Here's what I ended up with. It should work really for how
I intend to plant the setup. That's easier said than done though. I have to transfer all of this into the tank. Before that, I have a few things to address. I covered the back of the tank
with a piece of Black Foam Board. I also put down a piece of egg crate to
evenly distribute the weight of the stones. Next, is the substrate. I have a mix of old substrates from previous
tanks, which are detailed on screen. I'll amend it with Flourite
Red that I thoroughly rinsed. I added a generous layer
of the new mix to the tank. You'll notice that I left the front open for sand. I'm using Red Flint Sand, which
has a larger grain and great color. I added it to the front and capped off
the planting substrate for a clean look. I also sloped it up toward
the back to create more depth. Now I can transfer the scape. When I do stuff like this, I try my
best to mimic the original design, but I accept that it's never
going to be exactly the same. That said, I made a few intentional
alterations to improve the look. Seeing it in the tank gives a
different perspective as well. Overall, I think it turned out quite well. Since it's composed of smaller elements, I decided to add expanding foam to hold
some of the precarious pieces in place. I covered it with sand while it was wet. This does a decent job of hiding it, but
I'll likely need to use plants as well. To finish this portion of the build, I
added more sand to the back of the scape. I also sprinkled small stones
throughout to add more texture. Here's the final layout. I like how it turned out and I
can't wait to get it planted. Till then, we'll fill it up with water. I've got quite the selection of plants
and rather than ramble them all off, I'll just put the names on screen
and down in the description. I'm using primarily stem plants, but
I have crypts and epiphytes as well. I want to create a densely planted jungle tank and hopefully these plants will
help me achieve that look. Just like the hardscape, I
started with the largest plants. I find this is easier since
they fill in more of the space. Also, you may be wondering how I'm getting
the plants to stay without them floating away. This was something I struggled
with in the past, so I get it. Having a deep substrate with rocky bits certainly
helps, but the tweezer technique is key. What I do is lightly grab the stem with
the bent part of the tweezers like so. I insert this segment only
down into the substrate. Once it's at the appropriate depth, I stop
squeezing and slowly remove the tweezers. It takes practice to get it right, but once
you have the technique down it's very easy. I added all of the plants that go
directly into the substrate first. Then, I let the tank sit overnight
so the water could clear up a bit. I went back and added the remaining plants. I'll use them as accents
and to help hide the foam. After that, I gave the tank a 100% water change to remove any remaining
debris from the initial setup. Here it is now. It has to grow in a
lot, but I can imagine it already. Once that happens I'll have to cut back
some of the plants for more compact growth. I also want to add more
anubias nana petite long-term. Anyway, before I add anything else,
I put in some Fritz Turbo Start. This will allow me to stock the tank immediately. The first inhabitants in this
setup are a few Amano Shrimp. I like to add these to all of
my planted tanks and they're big enough that the puffers shouldn't bother them. Of course we also have the all-stars
of this tank, 12 Dwarf Pea Puffers. I didn't want to overdo it and I think this is
going to be a number for this tank long-term. Overall, I'm pleased with
how this turned out and I'm excited to bring something new to the animal room. Even though I didn't want to keep them initially, the puffers quickly grew on me
and I'm glad to finally have them. Like any tank, this one is really going to have
to establish and fill in before it looks its best. I may have to add CO2 as well, but
we'll see how it goes like this for now. I'll be sure to film that if I do. Otherwise, I just have to stay on top of the
new tank water changes and general maintenance. As for other equipment, I'm running the tank with an AquaClear 50 hang on back
filter with a sponge intake. I also have a Tetra HT55 Heater. At this time I don't actually have
the final light for this setup. I'm waiting on an Amazon shipment, but I went
with a Current USA Satellite Plus LED Light. The light you're see on the tank now
is not nearly as bright as that one. On to a few unrelated items. First is something new from myself. As I discussed in a previous video, I
started up a second channel under my name. You can expect to see long-form
relaxing videos of my tanks, art and paintings, vlogs, and other
miscellaneous DIY projects to name a few. There's a ton of content I want to make, but some
things just aren't appropriate for this channel. If those sound interesting and you want more
content, I'll leave links for that channel. See you there! Also, two weeks ago I did a pre-release merch
giveaway for reaching 750,000 subscribers. I really appreciate how many
of you participated in that. However, there can only be 10 winners. Again I chose these all through a randomizer. Congratulations to Duduzzz Hi-Tech Media,
Caleb Pinnow, Alex Freeman, Joevanne Leri, Akku Dwivedi, moepskie, jordan vandenbosch,
Va Moe, Asa Archer, and AJ Kelly, you won! All you have to do is send me an
email at serpadesign@gmail.com and we can iron out the details
to get you your prize asap. Hope to hear from you soon. As always I really hope you all enjoyed
the video and learned something new. Again, let me know what you think
of the tank down in the comments. Until next time SerpaSquad, take care and peace!
