🐠 TOTM Helina - September 2026 Tank of the Month Winner

[connorlindeman63 4]

We have a winner in Tropical Fish Forums'
September Tank of the Month Contest

We had 5 awesome tanks entered in this month's TOTM contest.
It was a close contest, but only one could win...
And the winner is.......
@Helina


Let's all congratulate her​

Aquarium technical details:

• Aquarium: Eheim Aquastar 54 litre LED (14,3 US Gallons), working since 2020, moved twice
• Filter: EHEIM biopower 160 with Eheim Substrat Pro biological filter material and Seachem Purigen for crystal clear water. Intake holes protected from shrimps with filter floss
• Light: Eheim classicLED PLANTS 7,7 W, 6-8h per day
• Heater: Eheim thermocontrol 50 W, at 24 Celsius
• No aeration, fast surface filter flow from tube with many holes, imitating natural surface flow

My favorite pets:

• A shoal of 8 Green Neon Tetras (Paracheirodon simulans)
• 20+ Neocaridina davidi var. "Yellow Striped" shrimps
• 1 male Honey Gourami (Trichogaster chuna)
• 1 Macrotocinclus affinis algae eater

Plants for greenery that I love:

• Tiger Lotus, Cryptocoryne, Java Moss, Leopard Vallisneria, regular Vallisneria, Amazon Sword plant and 2 Moss Balls

Fertilizers, I should add more often:

• Tropica Premium Nutrition 2-4ml (1-2 pump) /50 litres 1-2 times a week
• Seachem Iron, 1-2 ml 1-2 times a week.
• Root tablets are JBL ProFlora Ferropol Root
• No added CO2

Feeding, which these aquatics are crazy after:

• daily automatic flake feeder: crushed JBL Pro Novo Guppy, containing 18 % Spirulina algae
• occasionally: JBL Pro Novo Artemio containing 100 % dried artemia, dusted to small pieces
• almost every day: a tiny frozen cube of gelatin food of spirulina algae and mixed fish foods

Water parameters from 22 July 2026 checkup at Helsingin Akvaariokeskus -fish store:

• NO3: 10
• NO2: 0
• GHd: 5
• KHd: 3
• pH: 7,6
• CO2: 2,2
• Fe: 0,3
• K: 5
• Mg: 3
• Conductivity: 204
• PO4: <0,02

 

[connorlindeman63 4]

Congrats @Helina for the win. Beautiful planted aquarium. Fantastic job.
In second place are @Whitecloudminnowguy09, @MattW and @bgarthe. Good going.
In last place is @Back in the fold.
Big thank you to all the entrants and voters.

We are currently accepting entries for our September Pet of the Month contest. Enter here if you have a pet other than fish: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/enter-now-september-2026-pet-of-the-month-contest.500368/

 

[Fishmanic67 183]

@Helina
Gorgeous tank. You have a real talent for aquascaping aquariums. Nice job! Looking forward to seeing your next creation.

 

[Essjay67 182]

Congratulations

 

[emeraldking47 98]

Congrats on the win, @Helina ...

 

[Innesfan62]

Well-deserved, a real beauty of a tank.

 

[gwand66 183]

Congratulations on a lovely, well crafted tank.

 

[MattW67 183]

Congrats!

 

[Back in the fold21 6]

Very very nice ! A beautiful aquarium .

 

[Jennet46 104]

Very well done. Congratulations.

 

[bgarthe67 85]

Congrats Helina. Well done.

 

[Whitecloudminnowguy095]

Congrats! A well deserved W!

 

[Helina30]

WOW, thank you everybody!
I'm really amazed about your comments! Thank you so much! Everyone of you is warming my heart!

I confess, I've desired this for some time, but my tank couldn't make it in a competition like this about a year ago. This forum is full of talents! My tank has also changed as the plants grow with time and as new ideas of arrangement appear, like to everyone of us. And I enjoy seeing that in this forum in peoples posts and diaries and competitions! Therefore a huge thank you to the personnel of this forum for your silent background work which we get to enjoy!

I appreciate your votes and comments and this win especially because this tank is my one and only "jewel-of-the-lining-room"! I have very limited space at my 2 room apartment with sidewall-kitchen in the living room. So it was really all or nothing in my case in this competition! So, thank you again for your heartwarming comments and congratulations! It means allot to me!

Congratulations also to everyone else in this competition! And best of luck for the future!!
Lets keep showing our love for our fish, aquarium greenery and for this hobby on this forum!