i swear, I am your biggest fan for two reasons. The first is that your humility is not natural, and the second is that you share 10 years of experience for free, in my personal belief, you are undisputedly number 1.

As usual, you are clear about what is your opinion then immediately follow with your experience that show why you have that opinion. You have an uncanny knack for being able to add things that even experienced fish & plant keepers and aquascapers learn from. I have been a fan since your earliest videos and will arm wrestle @BlackLionDZ for the #1 fan title. LOL

Best tutorial ever

What did I just watch ? Super cool camera shots, clear explanations, complete informations, beautiful tanks, great voice and nice choice of the backing track, edit on point showing all we need to see... Probably the most perfect video for aquascaping beginners. Congrats on this, you can be proud of your work ! 💚

Thanks for this. Learned a lot and gained inspiration to take the leap in Aquascaping.

Amazing video! Just in 20mins you explain so so so much about aquascaping for people like me who wants to get a tank but have no clue what I need and where to start with and even what kind of fish I need to balance the ecosystem! And all of this is for free! I cannot believe it. Thank you very much❤ priceless!

Great video as usual. I do think small sponge filters can be a great option for beginners. They can be hidden with plants / hardscape, and are easier to set up and maintain than canister filters. Plus they’re great for shrimp which are an excellent stocking option for newbies.

Thank you!

Just in time ❤️

Everything covered, very well done!

Great video as usual 👏

Great video for all beginners Mark! I wish you and all folks here a very happy, healthy and successful new year full with awesome aquascapes! 🎉

Great video Mark. You make content that is fun to watch. I've been aquascaping for years and still enjoyed the video!

This video is awesome. thank you sso much for making it

18:28 the epiphyte plant on the wood! is that montecarlo!? looks sooooo good

This is best aquarium video I’ve seen! Amazing for literally everyone who is interested in setting up an aquarium.

Thanks Mark! Ook voor niet beginners weer een duidelijke guide om even op terug te vallen! 😊

I love it

Thank you for this wonderful tutorial

Tones of useful tips and high level production quality. Good job 👏

Mark you are the best thanks alot for the help❤😊

Thank you so much a really good introduction!

Very helpful video, thanks.

Really enjoyed this video Mark very informative love your channel take care.

Great and perfect video. 👍.

Best advice in one place

You are a landscaping genius! I'm amazed by your work!

Great video Mark! I've been keeping fish since 2008 but this year I really want to focus on the scaping aspect. Thank you for always being a excellent source of information and inspiration.

First time on this channel, subbing immediately! Great video, about to start my 3rd scape! 😄 Last one went horrible so wish me luck!🤞🏻Groetjessss!

Nice video 😎

Thank you for this! I just started up a new tank and was wondering about when to start the ferts. Im also thankful for the algae types i can expect. I knew i would get some, but wasnt sure what types to expect! Thankyou!

This is really great beginners guide!! I am staring mine and can’t wait to share.. hope it will turn out well.

I am new to aquascaping and your videos have given me more clarity, insight, and confidence in next steps, than all the research I did online this past week

Awesome basic guide for the beginners

Love all your videos!!!! You should Colab with MD!! 🙏🙏

@vgrang6201

4 ай бұрын

Yes ❤ the 2 best on KZread

The floating plants are such great help. Based on your tips, put in some red root floaters and frog bits. Worked charm and didn't face algae. Also I started with a "leached" soil and added ferts incrementally.

Uma verdadeira aula!!!

Your channel is very nice! I've been following you for a few years! Try a video with a dark start! It would be useful information for many to avoid algae from the beginning! clear waters and lots of growth!

Great advice! It took me the longest time to get my lights on a schedule, and I had lots of bba. Once I finally started turning them off after the proper amount of time the bba went away.

I have set myself up for (re)scaping 5 tanks for the coming year. I'll take any and all inspiration I can find. Thanks! 😅

The best beginner friendly setup guide from start to finish that I have ever had the pleasure of watching. I was 50/50 about getting back into the hobby in my new home. Had a lot of issues with my old tank due to not having a clue 😊 With this video I now have the confidence to get a 60p and agains thank to KZreadrs like you it’s a great fountain of knowledge on tap. ❤ Thank you very much Mark I really appreciate it 😊

You have inspired me to try a planted tank again. I had one years ago but didn't know what I was doing. I just bought a new tank and am ready to get started. This video was perfect timing for me. Thank you!

This man is a genius ❤

I like this format, you should do it again, chats with Matt!

where I live in the states, we have absolute trash for stores to buy stuff. Petco... and they have dead plants and like 3 aqueon tanks. Other countries love this hobby it seems!

This is very helpfull! I would really like to get into aquascaping. I am saving up for buying a nanotank and making a setup for some shrimp and maybe snail.

Hi Mark thanks a lot! Will you make a video tutorial for beginners about choosing the right plants (for foreground/background...epiphyte, floating, etc...)? I think this the most important point and I really hope you will make it next, please. Thanks again!

I have been following for a looong time but I didn't know your name Mark. Nice to meet you.

Lindo demais

This is a super tutorial… 1 2 3 Thanks Mark

Big fan of you 😉love from Bangladesh

Good video as always, very helpful, i have a couple of questions: i've read that Otocinclus need to be added in an already mature setup because they can die easily if they don't find the right mature environment, have you ever had problems in this sense? Have you ever tried an hardscape only aquarium or considering setting one up or this is not your thing at all?

Great Guide! not only for beginners!!! Regarding using Soil... I have 3 packages of Tropica Soil of 9 liters each at home for more than 16 months, but I have never dared to use it in any of my aquariums or Nano Cube or Nano Tanks. What really slows me down a lot with Soil, and makes me always decide on the combination of Substrates + Sand or very fine gravel, is the duration of the Soil. I read again and again that the duration of the benefits of Soil in terms of water acidification and nutrient supply has a very short duration, just one year.... However, I can have Substrates such as Dennerle JBL or Tropica under sand or gravel for 5 years without problems. Perhaps for someone who is a more radical Aquascaper, having to restart an aquarium every 12 months is great.... but in my case I usually have many dwarf american cichlids and Scalar fish, and I don't like the idea of ​​having to constantly restart my aquariums since this type of fish is very sensitive to changes. So the Soil option is usually the discarded option even though, for example, the reduction in PH that Soil usually causes, for the type of fish that I usually have in my aquariums, would be something great. Greetings from Germany. 👋🏻❤👍

Thumbs up on the DIY co2..I was just looking into this..I have 3 pickle jars right now my 1st try.. its going well..horticulture us what I do 9 months if the year outdoors..its -20 windchill no..so I brought the live for plants indoor

Hi Mark! First let me say that you are a true artist, both in aquascaping and filming. I've always admired gifted people (and envied a little, too ;). In one of your videos you mentioned that we should avoid "dead zones" in our tanks where there is no water flow. Maybe you could say something more about water circulation in your tanks and in general? Where to put inlets and outlets in a small tank and in larger ones?

I'm interested in full automation, like auto-refil water and auto feeder for the fish.

Probably your best, most straightforward video to date, Mark. Thank you!

@higherresolution3511

4 ай бұрын

I would say this is the best beginner advice for aqua scaping I have ever seen. I was 50/50 about getting a tank again after problems with my first setup - Looks like I’m getting a 60p thanks to the confidence you have now given me. Thank you good sir! ❤

Great video Mark nice work. Do you recommend a dark start for a new scape? Also we cannot get amano shrimp in Aus anything else you would recommend

I just made my first one 3 weeks ago and my water is still brown.. i didnt know to get the wood chips out. Now i gotta wait till my baby shrimp get bigger so i canstart over

I love the video. Thanks for all the information. I have a question about cleaning the gravel. Do you use a gravel vac? How would you recommend cleaning the bottom of a planted aquarium? Thanks

Good to see all the basics being covered in the video. If someone is willing to start proper aquascaping, they should watch it. I have tried low quality stuff, less plants, bad soil and have suffered and learnt the hard way...better to start with good equipment and sound advice...

I use Week Aqua as a light. I am very pleased with it. I use Z400 Pro in one set and Z200 Pro in the other tank. I recommend it to you, dear hobbyists.

I'm finding Aquasoil very difficult to source in Canada, would Fluval Stratum be an acceptable substitute?

Best aquascaping youtuber in the world 🎉❤

Hey Mark, maybe an idea to turn the recreations of the Green Machine scapes into a series, I really liked the one you did and would love to see you tackle some more. Green Machine ahs some of my favourite scapes ever.

I agree. Planted tank is not as complicated as it seems Mine just stabilised within a month 😂

Can you make a video where you show the cleaning process please? How to clean the gravel/aquasoil what are useing to do it and so on.

do you recommend buying an already built scaped tank and just continuing to take care of it?

Amazing video as always! Just want to ask, what background are you using on all your aquariums? are those frosted background or just plain white? Thank you!

Good timing Mark-Jan, my new Oase StyleLine 175 will be delivered in two days!

@MJAquascaping

4 ай бұрын

Nice one!

New year and I am trying to motivate myself to have a hobby that's unique and creative and I see you here in youtube maybe it's a sign to try aquascaping cuz I'm already a fishkeeper. I am sure that I could learn aquascaping through watching your videos. New subscriber here from philippines.. And I enjoy as well as amaze by watching your videos. Hoping to see more videos from you this year..

@MJAquascaping

4 ай бұрын

Go for it!

mark i have got my first 10 gallon tank i used stratum and potting soil mix capped with sand (i got this idea from some other videos) it has been cloudy for 3 days im waiting for it to subside how long does it normally take

Fly high 🕊️

Hello MJ! Would love to see an experiment comparing plant growth and algae issues with two aquariums: one with lights on from 6am to 11am and 6pm to 11pm, and the other from 9 am to 5 pm. Curious to see the results! 🌿 #AquariumExperiments

Wish I had suh great stores close to town! If there are any, they arent well publicized and shopping hardscape online is often a hit or miss.

I have watched many of your video's and they are amazing. I am not new in the aquarium hobby, i had freshwater aquaria when i was younger, from zebra and discus till pirahna and about 12 year ago i had a 1000 liter seawater reef aquarium. Now i am thinking to start a aquascape tank and that is something i don't have any experience in. Something i am not sure about is what size aquarium to start with. In seawater it is bigger is easier for starters. If you start you can maintain a 1000 liter tank easier than a 60 liter tank, since the bigger the volume, the easier it is to get it stabelized and keep it that way. Is this the same with aquascape aquaria? What size would you recommend to start with and is there a difference in a shallow aquarium other then the looks? (I am currently looking at the Superfish Scaper 90 to start with, but i am open to suggestions if there are better options in the same price range)

What substrate should i use if i dont want it to change water chemistry but grow plants and not to be replaced

What aqua soil is reccomended?

what hardscape store were you at, i live in the Netherlands as well and saw dutch tekst.

What size or rather gallons is the aquarium you are using

should I put sand on the top and aquasoil on the bottom

Love your videos MJ, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard you discuss filter media. What do you use and do you add anything different for the first month?

@MJAquascaping

4 ай бұрын

I have tried the bio media from seachem and from aquario, but I don't see a difference compared to the cheap stuff, so I usually just use whatever comes supplied with the filter. Lately I have started adding some active carbon in new setups, but again hard to tell if it's really doing anything.

@mattferg84

4 ай бұрын

@@MJAquascaping I appreciate the info, I switched from mostly sponge to mostly seachem in my canisters and have been liking the results over a few months

@ldm7532

4 ай бұрын

Do I need to buy Ro water or can I use tap water with a dechlorinaror in it?

Waarvoor zijn die watten die je gebruikt bij het aan elkaar lijmen van hout (hardscaping)?

Hi, is it safe to put a rock with a freshly super glue gelled plant on it, straight into an already inhabited tank, or do you need to leave it out of the tank in a bucker of water for a few days? If anyone can answer, I'd be much appreciative, thanks!

Amazing! I'm trying to learn aquascaping and I'm not very creative with it ... what do you think is the easiest layout (such as the concave shape etc)

@MJAquascaping

4 ай бұрын

I'm a big fan of the triangular shape, and I find them quite easy to make :)

At 16:59, what is that pump called?

Great video.. Thanks... When and/or why are you using black or white background?

@888fluffy

4 ай бұрын

I choose my background depending on positive/negative space. A frosted background imitates sky or open water, creating an illusion of distance. If negative space is important in your aquascape, a frosted background will excentuate that. By drawing focus to the open space, you can create a feeling of wonder or liminality (your brain telling you to explore 'yonder). The tank at 6:13 is a good example, as the circle created by the arch is the main focus, rather than the arch itself. But negative space could be a gorge/valley, or light through trees, etc A black background is the opposite. The positive space (the stuff) should get all the attention, you don't want people looking at the background. Colours are brighter against black, creating contrast. The darker feel ups the drama. Your aquascape is awesome, imposing, it deserves the spotlight. for example, the tank at 13:39 . P.s literal spotlights are often a good idea with black.

@TheTorqueMusic

4 ай бұрын

@@888fluffy Thanks alot!

hang on the back filter crew😁

Hoi Mark, mooie video en heldere uitleg. Heb je nog een tips voor winkels met grote voorraad hardscape materialen? Ben ook benieuwd in welke winkel je gefilmd hebt.

@MJAquascaping

4 ай бұрын

Hey Dennis! De Maanvis in Nijmegen is zeker een aanrader voor hardscape

Hi man , You make an Amazing work every time, Can you help me with a things , i need pro advice. I want to rescape my 35 liter and 70 liter with fresh soil ( fluval stratum) my filter are already cycled , one oase thermo 250 and one hang on filter. Can i rescape and go with New soil New plants and my fish and neocaridaina without risky amoniak and nitrite pyke in begin or is suicide for my fish and shrimp ?? Thanks

@MJAquascaping

4 ай бұрын

If your filters are cycled it should be fine, just do a few extra water changes in the beginning

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Do i have to buy Ro water or can i use tap water with a dechloinator in it ?

@MJAquascaping

4 ай бұрын

Tap water with a dechlorinator is fine 😊

@ldm7532

4 ай бұрын

Thanks .I am moving over from marine so its all new again to me.I have kept marine tanks for 20 years and now all of a sudden you can't get marine stock for your tank as most marine shops are closing down .

How do you grow Tripartita Japan emersed? I have a swallow tank, but the triparta wont grow emersed or on my driftwood. I would like the same effect as you swallow tank. (The long narrow scape with the rocks).

@MJAquascaping

4 ай бұрын

I placed a few tiny plugs on the waterline, sprayed it a few times in the first days and then it just took of

16:53 Never mind nitrates and ammonia, the blue guy wants out of his swimsuit!

What do you think about making your own ferts from dry salts?

@MJAquascaping

4 ай бұрын

Very cost effective, but you need to know what you are doing or have a recipe

❤👍

Mj 🍃🌿💚

what food were you giving the fish, i cannot find a brand that stays afloat, they imediatly go to the bottom

@MJAquascaping

4 ай бұрын

I use the dry flakes and granules from OASE

oh thank god lol the co2 part confuses me.

👍👍👍👍👍👍