Ten-Gallon Planted Aquarium

Wow. I took these pictures over a year ago.

Here is a step-by-step guide to preparing a substrate for your very own 10-gallon planted aquarium. I'll assume you've already selected a location, you've already rinsed the tank out with tapwater, and you have some common hand tools sitting around.

First, assemble the following:

one 10-gallon aquarium (20.25"Lx10.5"Wx12.5"H)
one sheet of plastic eggcrate louver about 1cm thick
one small bag of potting soil
~5lb of coarse-grain (5-8mm) natural-colored aquarium gravel
~15lb of medium-grain (3mm) natural-colored aquarium gravel
~10lb of silica sand (e.g., Home Depot "Play Sand")
optional: aquarium plant fertilizer tablets



Cut the eggcrate louver into a 19.5"ish by 9.75"ish rectangle. There is probably no neat way to do this. The material is obnoxious by design. Wear eye protection or something.

( more riveting images here )