Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
WERBEVIDEO | In this video, I’m building a realistic fallen tree aquarium from start to finish — a 140 cm planted aquarium designed and installed in a beautiful private home.
The entire aquascape started with just two pieces of driftwood that fitted together almost perfectly. From there, I built the composition around them using additional branches and basalt pebbles to create the impression of an old fallen tree that has been shaped by water and erosion over time.
I’ll take you through the complete process: building and securing the hardscape, creating substrate supports underneath the wood, arranging the stones, using the Dark Start Method, preparing and planting the aquarium, setting up the filtration and RO water, and finally starting up the finished aquascape.
The aquarium was built by Aquarienbau Emmel and measures 140 × 60 × 60 cm.
aquarienbau-emmel.de
To support the channel you can buy most of the equipment, hardscape and plants from https://www.aquasabi.de?ref=ls * or https://www.liquidnature.at?ref=6201 * (*affiliate links)
Most of the Aquascaping T-shirts I wear are from mosscotton.com/shop
AQUARIUM & EQUIPMENT
Aquarium — Emmel, 140 × 60 × 60 cm
Backlight — Daytime Backlight LED
Main Light — Daytime Matrix with 10 × SunLike Color LED modules
Filter — Oase BioMaster 650 Thermo
CO₂ — JBL 2 kg pressurized CO₂ system with solenoid
CO₂ Diffusion — JBL Inline CO₂ diffuser
HARDSCAPE & SUBSTRATE
Driftwood
Basalt pebbles
Tropica Aquarium Soil
Tropica Aquarium Soil Powder
JBL fine-mesh filter bags — used as substrate bags underneath the driftwood
PLANTS
10 × Bucephalandra sordidula ‘Blue’
18 × Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
15 × Cryptocoryne × willisii
10 × Cryptocoryne spiralis ‘Red’
3 × Bolbitis heudelotii
3 × Marsilea hirsuta
5 × Riccardia chamedryfolia
10 × Cyperus helferi
9 × Bucephalandra sp. ‘Needle Leaf’
20 × Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘Green’
3 × Eleocharis acicularis
3 × Helanthium tenellum ‘Red’
OTHER PRODUCTS USED
ARKA Ultra Liquid Super Glue
ARKA Gel Super Glue
ARKA Poly Glue
ARKA myAQUA 3800 RO System
ARKA myAQUA Multifilter 4000
ARKA Ultra Pure filter media
ARKA Special Blend
APT SKY remineralizing salts
Gardena hose reel & pump
RO water was remineralized using APT SKY to approximately GH 5 / KH 0.
The aquarium was initially started using the Dark Start Method and left running without plants or lighting for approximately two months before the final planting.
Hope you enjoy the build!
If you have any questions about the aquarium, plants, equipment or techniques used in the video, leave them in the comments below.
WERBEVIDEO | In this video, I’m building a realistic fallen tree aquarium from start to finish — a 140 cm planted aquarium designed and installed in a beautiful private home.
The entire aquascape started with just two pieces of driftwood that fitted together almost perfectly. From there, I built the composition around them using additional branches and basalt pebbles to create the impression of an old fallen tree that has been shaped by water and erosion over time.
I’ll take you through the complete process: building and securing the hardscape, creating substrate supports underneath the wood, arranging the stones, using the Dark Start Method, preparing and planting the aquarium, setting up the filtration and RO water, and finally starting up the finished aquascape.
The aquarium was built by Aquarienbau Emmel and measures 140 × 60 × 60 cm.
aquarienbau-emmel.de
To support the channel you can buy most of the equipment, hardscape and plants from https://www.aquasabi.de?ref=ls * or https://www.liquidnature.at?ref=6201 * (*affiliate links)
Most of the Aquascaping T-shirts I wear are from mosscotton.com/shop
AQUARIUM & EQUIPMENT
Aquarium — Emmel, 140 × 60 × 60 cm
Backlight — Daytime Backlight LED
Main Light — Daytime Matrix with 10 × SunLike Color LED modules
Filter — Oase BioMaster 650 Thermo
CO₂ — JBL 2 kg pressurized CO₂ system with solenoid
CO₂ Diffusion — JBL Inline CO₂ diffuser
HARDSCAPE & SUBSTRATE
Driftwood
Basalt pebbles
Tropica Aquarium Soil
Tropica Aquarium Soil Powder
JBL fine-mesh filter bags — used as substrate bags underneath the driftwood
PLANTS
10 × Bucephalandra sordidula ‘Blue’
18 × Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
15 × Cryptocoryne × willisii
10 × Cryptocoryne spiralis ‘Red’
3 × Bolbitis heudelotii
3 × Marsilea hirsuta
5 × Riccardia chamedryfolia
10 × Cyperus helferi
9 × Bucephalandra sp. ‘Needle Leaf’
20 × Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘Green’
3 × Eleocharis acicularis
3 × Helanthium tenellum ‘Red’
OTHER PRODUCTS USED
ARKA Ultra Liquid Super Glue
ARKA Gel Super Glue
ARKA Poly Glue
ARKA myAQUA 3800 RO System
ARKA myAQUA Multifilter 4000
ARKA Ultra Pure filter media
ARKA Special Blend
APT SKY remineralizing salts
Gardena hose reel & pump
RO water was remineralized using APT SKY to approximately GH 5 / KH 0.
The aquarium was initially started using the Dark Start Method and left running without plants or lighting for approximately two months before the final planting.
Hope you enjoy the build!
If you have any questions about the aquarium, plants, equipment or techniques used in the video, leave them in the comments below.
