Natural Jungle Aquascape w/ Emergent Plants (Riparium Build)

yo what's going on serpa squad tanner here right now i'm in the animal room my happy place a few weeks back though is a completely different story my apprentice and i took a flight out to chicago illinois to install a proper aquascape at occula not just any escape though we're going with my signature move and taking it above the rim here's how it all went down [Music] we'll start at the event itself near the fishtube booth here we got the hookup with the 75 gallon rimless aquarium as with most tanks we'll start with the foundation and add the substrate i went with the tan colored sand and fine gravel for a natural look i put in a bag of sand to start [Music] to make the escape happen we needed the perfect hardscape materials while in the chicago area there's no better spot for it than an sr alkyristic [Music] they have great display tanks for inspiration and reasonable prices i buy a lot of my materials from them so it was a no-brainer to make a visit we went around and selected elements that fit my vision we also took it to the escape dojo to make a mock layout this will make the install much easier at the venue we wound up with a selection of tan elephant skin stone a few pieces of pine spider wood and this glorious piece of weather driftwood this is the most important piece it's large enough to go above the rim and it can be used as a planter for terrestrial plants since this is the largest piece we'll use it as the key element once it was in we worked the stones around the base of the piece placement and orientation was really important i wanted everything to look really seamless as though it's an eroded riverbank or something of that nature to break up the monotony of the giant piece we have the pine spider wood i fit them into crevices so that they stay put without any adhesives i kept with the same direction of the large piece to maintain the river vibe i thought it would be cool to include underwater lights like i did in the 350. so we got an aquascape light kit and installed them accordingly we also included a whale 500 canister filter now we can finally add the plants as i said earlier we need to take this above the rim doing so has become more prevalent these days but i'd love to see it even more this seemed like a great opportunity to give setups like this more exposure i chose a selection of plants that will thrive in this type of environment i removed the substrate from their roots i was able to get rid of the bulk by hand while the remaining bits were dressed with water to create a planting pocket of source i'll use filter fiber i stuffed it into the back of the tank between the glass and the wood it fits tight and creates a raised area for the plants i placed the large background plants first i situated them in a way where the roots are suspended in the water while the rest of the plant will be above the water line [Music] we fit other smaller plants into cracks and crevices along the top of the hardscape [Music] that completed everything above the rim we filled it up with water and let it warm up i also sprinkled in some gravel to finalize the hardscape that means we can finally add the livestock which was a really cool experience for me thanks to our friend brian from tank it easy we were able to go to apet which is a fish wholesale facility [Music] it was awesome to see what happens before our aquatic friends make it to the fish store needless to say i felt like a kid in a candy store i even got to catch my own fish which was a lot of fun i went with fish i haven't kept before that could easily be added to the animal room after the show more on that in a future video anyway we got a large school of long fin serpa tetras a few leopard frog plecos and a decent skull of black tail hemiotis we let the fish float in their bags to acclimate to the temperature as they did we dose the tank with fritz turbo start so it's safe for livestock right out of the gate after 10 minutes we poured the fish into a net and set them free they'll live here for four days and will be transported to my house after the event anyway i went on to add an array of aquatic plants for additional texture i planted them all close to the hardscape to soften the edges [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] i always have a lot of fun making tanks but this one was especially cool being able to design a setup that was viewed by the public was a totally new experience for me sure i've done builds for other creators and friends but nothing like this everyone who made it taco shella was able to enjoy the tank in person and i'm very grateful i had the opportunity to do so my hope was to make something unique that represents a different side of the hobby plants are growing out of the top the feel of the tank is dark and dramatic and it was a nice way to showcase the fish in my opinion it's just a more natural approach to making a tank that i'd love to see more of i hope that those of you who got to see in person really enjoyed it what do you think of the result i'm personally really pleased with how it turned out after all was said and done we had to dismantle the tank and send the fish on their way i had them sent to location nearby and i'll have them in my possession by the time you see this i really hope you all enjoyed the video and learned something new maybe this inspired you to finally take your tank above the rim let me know in the comments if it did also it was great to see so many of you in person until next time surface squad take care and peace so you

Channel: SerpaDesign

Views: 290,070

Keywords: riparium, aquarium, fish tank, aquascape, aquashella, paludarium, aqua terrarium, emersed plants

Id: Xb3Trilltik

Length: 8min 29sec (509 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 28 2021