South American Biotope

[Shogunblue24]

Right then, as mentioned in my post on the welcome area of the forum, I'm inexperienced, but ambitious in my plans for my new tank. Luckily, I'm happy to ask questions and get advice. I'm about to embark on a bit of a project whilst at the same time I suspect there are a whole bunch of things I've not considered yet. My aim is to create a South American biotope that looks as natural as possible, but also pretty to look at. I'm quite inspired by this tank (link) although obviously I'm not looking to create a perfect replica. Rather, I hope to create something that is similar in theme. I'm hoping to produce a dense feel to one side of the tank using a nice piece of bog wood (hopefully tree root shaped) and lots of native plants. Moving to the other side of the tank, I'd like a little open water for shoals to explore.

So first off, what substrate materials would people recommend I use to get that natural look? I noticed someone else of this forum used a combination of sand and top soil for their SA biotope.

 

[Gvilleguy]

I cannot answer the substrate question. Wanted to comment on the lighting for live plants and give you a free bump. Check the planted tank area of the forum and make sure the lighting you get can handle the plants you want. I would have purchased a bigger tank and light fixture had I known ahead of time.

 

[Shogunblue24]

I would have purchased a bigger tank and light fixture had I known ahead of time.

Funny you should say that. My cousin who was selling me his 165l tank has just decided to keep it. I'm devastated if I'm honest as it was going to be an affordable step up for me. So I suppose I now need to be asking people what tank they would recommend of a similar size. It'll mean I'll have to save up a little more, but at least it'll be shiny and new.

So tank suggestions and I guess any other suggestions like lighting and filters please.