2026 Complete Aquascaping Beginners Guide Learn ALL The Basics

Welcome to this brand new complete aquascaping beginner's guide. In the next 20 minutes I'm going to try my best to teach you everything you need to know about aquascaping so you can start setting up your own beautiful healthy and algae-free aquarium. You can find the chapters below on the timeline but here's what we're going to cover. I'll start by quickly explaining what aquascaping is and where it came from. Then we will dive straight into the essential items you need in order to get started. After that I'll show you how to set up an aquascape in just five easy steps. Now if this is your first time on the channel then let me quickly introduce myself. My name is Mark and I've been aquascaping for over 10 years now. Early 2020 I started making videos about aquascaping and fast forward a few years later this has now become my full-time job. I like to describe aquascaping as decorating an aquarium and making it look as beautiful as possible with the use of natural materials. So as an aquascaper you carefully select rocks, wood and plants with the aim of creating a beautiful underwater environment. The style of aquascaping that I love started in Japan and was created by Mr. Takashi Amano. Like many others I've spent hours reading his books and watching his videos and at the end of 2024 I traveled to Japan to see his work with my own eyes. Now let's move on to the next part and talk about aquascaping essentials. What do you need to start your first aquascape? In terms of equipment you need a few things. You need a tank, a filter, a light, a CO2 system, this one is optional but highly recommended. You need a substrate, aquascape, plants and some small items. Now let's go over everything in a bit more detail. So obviously you need a tank and choosing a tank is something very personal. I can't tell you which tank you should get, I can only give you some recommendations. And first of all I always recommend to choose something that you like, something that fits your home and something that fits your budget. And keep in mind that the tank is only the first part of aquascaping, so keep enough budget for everything else. Besides that I would recommend to start with a nano tank. Aquascaping can be an expensive hobby but small tanks are very affordable and they're easy to set up. Besides that you will see that most aquascapers use rimless tanks made from optic white extra clear glass and here's why. Rimless tanks look very clean and very minimalistic and because of that it lets you focus on what's inside the tank and you're not distracted by bulky lids and thick black silicon lines. Because it's open you can also have hardscaped and plants breaking the water surface and because it's open it's also easier to do maintenance. Lastly the dimension of standard size rimless tanks are usually much better for aquascaping. Now these rimless open top tanks do have two downsides, there's a risk of fish jumping out and there's more evaporation. Now for me the pros definitely outweigh the cons so I mostly have rimless tanks. Finding a tank shouldn't be very difficult as there's lots of options to choose from. The most important thing here is that you choose something that you like. The next thing we need is a filter and here we again have many options. You can go for an external filter, an internal filter or a hang on the back filter. If you have a really big tank you can also use a sump filter but that's not really for beginners so we're not going to talk about sumps in this video. I like external filters because they can hold a lot of media and more media means more beneficial bacteria and more beneficial bacteria means a better healthy ecosystem. Another reason why I like external filters is because they allow you to use so-called lily pipes. They're basically in and outlets made from glass. They're mostly used for aesthetic purposes but they're also available in different shapes and sizes to help with reducing or increasing the flow in the aquarium. External filters are quite bulky and can be expensive so if you're on a budget or if you want to keep it simple a hang on back filter will do the job as well. I'm not a huge fan of internal filters because they can take up a lot of space in the tank. So unless you can hide them behind some plants or hardscape they're my least favorite option. Most important thing when choosing a filter is making sure it will provide enough flow for your aquarium. The flow rate and the recommended tank size is always mentioned on the box but take that information with a grain of salt because it is usually measured with an empty filter with no media. So my advice to you is to choose a filter with a flow rate of around 10 times the volume of the tank per hour. So if your tank is 60 liters choose a filter with a flow rate of 600 liters per hour. Next up we need a light and this is one of the most important things you need for a successful and beautiful aquascape. In my opinion what makes a beautiful aquascape is a plants and to grow beautiful plants we need a lot of light and we need good quality light. Now this can be a very complicated topic especially if we were to dive into spectrum, lumens, kelvin and all that kind of stuff but I want to keep this guide simple and easy to understand. So all I'm going to say is choose a light from a reputable brand so for example Chihiros, Twinstar or Skylight. These three brands have very good high-end lights but also more affordable budget lights as well as everything in between. So if you choose a light that's suitable for your size tank and from any of those brands that I just mentioned you'll be good to go. If you can't find a light from the brands that I just mentioned just make sure that you get a light that is dimmable so you can start your new aquarium with a lower light intensity and gradually increase it as the aquascape matures. Okay now let's talk about CO2. As I mentioned earlier this is optional but highly recommended. The main reason why I use CO2 is because I want my plants to grow fast especially in the beginning and I want my plants to look as good as possible. So if that is your goal as well then I would definitely recommend to buy a CO2 system. Now a good quality professional CO2 system is quite expensive and when I started aquascaping I didn't have the money for a system like that. So for a very long time I used a DIY CO2 system made from an empty soda bottle that's then filled with sugar and yeast. Over the years I've perfected the recipe so that will give a very stable amount of CO2 for a very long time. If that is something that you would like to try as well I will leave a link in the video description. If you are 100% sure that you're going to enjoy this hobby for many years to come I would definitely recommend to invest in a professional CO2 system. And for that you need a pressurized CO2 cylinder, a CO2 regulator, a solenoid valve so you can shut off the CO2 at night, CO2 tubing, a check valve to stop water flowing back into the tubing when the CO2 is turned off, a CO2 diffuser and lastly a CO2 drop checker so you can measure the CO2 concentration in the water. Moving on to the substrate. This one is very easy because in my opinion there's only one thing you need and should get and that is a good quality aquasol. A couple years ago I did an experiment where I tested different substrate layers and aquasol was the clear winner. Plants grow faster in aquasol, water is more clear in tanks with aquasol and tanks with aquasol have less algae issues. Let me list out all the benefits of aquasol so you know why I'm so enthusiastic about it. Number one, there's no need to rinse it beforehand so you can just open the bag, pour it into your tank and start scaping. Number two, it already contains the most important nutrients for plant growth. Number three, it's also able to absorb nutrients from the water column and feed it to the plant roots. And number four, it's very porous so you also get really good water circulation throughout the substrate. Now one question I always get is how much aquasol do I need. There's an easy way to calculate that. Let's say you have a standard size 60p aquarium so the base is measuring 60 by 30 centimeters. Then we multiply 60 by 30 which is 1800. Then we want a layer of aquasol of about 5 centimeters. A little less in front and a little more in the back but average 5 centimeters. So we multiply 1800 by 5 which is 9000. So we need 9 liters of aquasol for a 60 centimeter tank. Obviously this is just a rough estimate and it depends on what layout you're going to make and if you're going to use cosmetic sand in the foreground or not. It's a good indicator for how many bags you should purchase. The next thing we need is hardscape. So hardscape is just a fancy word for rocks and wood and this will be the foundation of our layout. So it's very important to do this right, to take our time with it. Depending on where you live you might be able to find some hardscape in nature but most people will have to buy their hardscape in a store or online. Now buying hardscape online is always a bit tricky because too often what you see in the picture is different from what you receive in your order. So unless the online store offers what you see is what you get, I would always recommend to go to your local store and hand select your hardscape pieces. When selecting your hardscape you also want to inform yourself about the characteristics of these natural materials. Some types of rock might use calcium and some types of wood might release tannins or grow thick layers of mold. Another good thing about buying hardscape in a store, there you will usually find a so-called hardscape dojo which is just a sandbox where you can practice shaping your layout. Make sure you Then we get to my favorite part of aquascaping, the plants. In my opinion this is the part of aquascaping that requires the most research because there are so many beautiful plants available and they all have different requirements. Luckily for us most plants are now labeled as easy, medium or advanced so you will know which plants you might want to try and which ones to avoid. When choosing plants it's best to first look at your setup. Are you going to use a lot of light? Now you're going to use CO2. If not then it's probably a good idea to stick to the easier category. You might also want to look a little bit into the future and think about how much time you want to spend on maintenance because if you're choosing a lot of stem plants for example you're going to be spending a lot more time on trimming. Most important thing is that you buy enough plants and I would always recommend to start with a couple of fast growing and or floating plants to help with soaking up those excess nutrients and stabilizing the aquarium. If they grow too fast you can always remove them later but they're very helpful in the beginning. Lastly some small things. So I haven't mentioned the heater yet, this also depends on the type of inhabitants that you choose. Besides that you definitely want to get some aquascaping tweezers and scissors, some super glue for your hardscape or plants, some liquid fertilizers and I also like to use a background for all my tanks. It's also a good idea to get a couple of water tests like nitrite and ammonia so you can check if your tank is cycled and ready for fish. And if you don't already have a bucket and a hose for water changes you will definitely need that as well. Now the fun begins. So we've talked about everything we need so now we can actually get to work and start scaping. We can do this in five steps. Step number one is adding in the substrate. Step number two is building the hardscape. Step number three is adding in the plants. Step number four is filling it up with water and lastly step number five is installing the equipment. Now you can of course do everything from start to finish at once but especially if you're a beginner I would always recommend to split this up into two parts. So the substrate and the hardscape first and then the planting and everything else maybe the next day or a few days later. The reason I'm suggesting this is because it will give you more time to work on your hardscape. The more time you spend on it the better the end result will be. Also if you're doing everything in one go it means you have to buy the plants before you are done with the hardscape. That part is tricky. At least for me it's a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable to make a shopping list for plants after I'm done with the hardscape process. Because when the hardscape is done it's a lot easier to visualize how it will look with the plants. So here's how I do these five steps. First up the substrate layer. As I mentioned earlier the only thing you really need is a good quality aquasol but if you're feeling confident you can always add more nutrients underneath the aquasol. In this case I'm adding in a base layer which consists of a dry clay mixture as well as some root depths for extra iron and other trace elements. Then I cover everything with aquasol until I have at least two centimeters in front and seven or eight centimeters in the back. Then moving on to the hardscape. So at this point I've probably already decided if I'm going to use rocks only, rocks and wood or just wood. So next I like to decide what shape I want my layout to be. So either a triangular layout which starts high on one end and flows down towards the other end. A convex or island style layout where you have the majority of the hardscape in the plants in the center and open spaces on either side. Or a concave layout where you have the majority of the hardscape in the plants on both sides with an open space in the middle. And when deciding the shape of the layout it's also good to consider the placement of the aquarium and from where you'll be viewing it. So for example the left side of my big tank is right next to a wall. So this creates a perfect opportunity for a triangular composition. When it comes to positioning the hardscape I like to place most of the rocks and wood in the middle and keep the foreground and background rather empty. So there's enough space for plants. When I'm done with the hardscape I like to glue everything together with cotton pads and liquid superglue. This is mostly just to prevent the wood pieces from floating up but also to help with maintenance. Especially in smaller tanks if I'm trimming the plants or cleaning the glass it's easy to knock things over and destroy the hardscape. But if everything is glued together you don't have to worry about that. Now that the hardscape is done we can take a step back and admire our work. We can always come back to it later and make some adjustments. At this point I will start working on my plant list. So I'll write down foreground, midground and background and select plants that I think will suit this layout. It's totally up to you how many different types of plants you use. Just keep in mind the size, growth speed as well as light and CO2 requirements. Once all the plants have arrived it's time to clean them up and prepare them for planting. So that means removing rockwool from potted plants, removing gel from in vitro plants and dividing everything into portions. And this is probably my favorite part, the actual planting stage. So it's up to you if you want to plant in dry or in wet soil. I usually just give everything a little spray before I start. And this might be obvious but I'm always starting in the foreground and making my way towards the background. But if you've never planted with tweezers before it might take some time to get used to it. But just firmly grip the plant at the base or just between the stem and the roots and then press the tweezer gently into the soil. Then let go of the plant and remove the tweezer from the substrate. Repeat this process until all the plants are in and that's it. So with the planting done it's now time to fill the tank up with water. And especially in the beginning you want to do this nice and slow to make sure we don't disturb the substrate. So I usually take some paper towels and let the water fall on that. Now where I live the tap water is very clean and I don't need to use any product to make sure it's safe. But if your tap water does have chlorine or something now is the time to use the chlorinator. Lastly we can add the rest of the equipment. So the filter, the heater if you're using one, the CO2 system and don't forget about the CO2 drop checker. Also make sure to put the light and the CO2 on a timer. So I have my lights on for about 8 or 9 hours per day. Usually from 1 p.m until 9 p.m. And the CO2 is on from 12 p.m until 8 p.m. The only exception is my big tank. Here the CO2 starts two hours before the lights so 11 a.m. But that's it our first aquascape is done. Congrats! Of course we're not going to stop here so let's talk about what you can expect in the first couple of weeks. So there's a few things you need to do to make that our brand new freshly planted aquascape turns into a beautiful healthy ecosystem with lush plant growth and healthy inhabitants. Speaking of inhabitants I usually wait around two to three weeks before adding any livestock to a new setup. We first need beneficial bacteria to establish in the aquarium as they will take care of toxic elements like nitrate and ammonia. Probably the most important thing to do during the first few weeks is regular water changes. Because we've used aquasol as a substrate we're going to have a lot of excess nutrients in the beginning. And if we let those nutrient levels build up too much we run the risk of getting some algae. Now what I'm going to say next is very important so pay close attention. In the first few weeks of a new setup it is very normal to get algae. I still get messages every day from people that have set up their tank recently and now they're getting algae and they don't know what they're doing wrong. Now of course there are lots of different types of algae so let me quickly explain which ones you can expect in the beginning. So the first type of algae you will get is diatoms a type of brown algae. This will usually appear after about two weeks. They will cover almost every surface. The good thing is that it will go away by itself and certain algae eaters like otocinclus love to eat diatoms. So when your tank is cycled you can add them and they will take care of the issue for you. Another type of algae you will usually get in the early stages is some green dust algae or some green spot algae. This is also normal and is caused by the excess nutrients. It will sort itself out once your plant mass increases and once your aquasol will stop releasing a ton of nutrients into the water column. So those are the types of algae that are normal in the beginning. If you're starting to see other types of algae like bba or hair algae or staghorn algae then it means that something is wrong. You need to make some changes. Either you're not injecting enough co2 or maybe the light is too strong something like that. Now what about fertilizer? So usually in the new setup I will not dose any liquid fertilizer in the first month or so. During the first few weeks the nutrients from the aquasol are enough for the plants and after the first month I'll start with half a dose and I will slowly increase that if necessary. Here are the most important things you need to take care of in the first month. Number one make sure your light and co2 are on timers so you have the same amount of light and co2 every single day. It's all about consistency here. Number two also make sure you're injecting enough co2 by using a co2 drop checker. Number three regular water changes of about 50 percent let's say three to four times in the first week and then slowly reducing that. When you get to week four once a week is more than enough. Number four after two to three weeks you can check your water parameters for nitrate and ammonia. If they're both zero you can add your first inhabitants. I will start with a cleanup crew consisting of otocinclus, amano shrimp and cleaton snails. And lastly if everything is going well and your cleanup crew is doing fine you can add more fish. After the first month is over I would say the hardest part is done. You might still have some startup algae but that will sort itself out. Hopefully the plants have started growing as well. You might have already done a trimming session. In the beginning it's always a good idea to replant some of the trimmings to increase your plant mass. Now you can also slowly start adding in some liquid fertilizer. And that's it. If you keep up with the maintenance routine you should have a healthy lush and fully grown aquascape within no time at all. That is everything you need to know to start off your aquascaping journey in the right direction. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you will get to enjoy this hobby for a long time and a good time. Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you in the next one.