my 5 foot planted tank

[longhorn13]

how was it cleaning that sand? i was thinking of using that for my next tank...

 

[Fuzzy]

wow it looks awsome

 

[babyfish]

Care to share what equipment you have? Lights, CO2, filtration, fertilization? Thanks!

From the bottom up, I am lucky enough to have a garden which hasn't seen a chemical for over 20 years so there is an inch of garden soil on the bottom as I have lots of heavily rooted plants.
Next is 2 inches of the black sand.
2 x 300 watt heaters.
1 fluval 304 external filter.
1 fluval 403 external filter.
U.V steriliser attached to the 403.
Lights are to be changed soon, but at the moment 1x beauty light
1x daylight plus
1x triton.
No fertilizer is used as the plants get all the nutrients needed from the substrate.
No CO2 is used either, mainly 'cos I just don't need it, I have to throw out plants once a month.

Cleaning is simple, simply stir the sand being careful not to disturb the roots, then syphon off the waste with a syphon tube held about half an inch above the sand. Most of the dirt stays on the surface anyway so it's easy to remove .
Tanks been running for about three years now and all the fish and plants are really healthy