When considering the setup of a aquascape aquarium from scratch, water flow must be one of your most important considerations. Unlike tropical fish, aquarium plants cannot move about the fish tank to find nutrition. Live plants can only utilize the aquarium fertilizers and CO2 (for those of you who use CO2 reactors) when these substances make physical contact with the plant leaves. So how do we achieve that and what do we need?

In nature, water current brings plants, fishes and other invertebrates food, oxygen, nutrients, and movement that they need to grow. Water movement in your freshwater aquarium will do this task. Not only that, water flow in aquarium is crucial to the viability of your freshwater tank. Currents help feed and nourish inhabitants, wash away waste products and sediment that promote damaging algae growth. Incorporate one or more of the following three types of water movement to create the best conditions for your aquarium inhabitants.

Laminar flow is the most common in the aquarium and simply means that the water is moving steadily and in only one direction. It is most often produced by powerheads. Depending on your aquarium setup, you can create laminar flow only or multi-directional flow with a powerhead by adding PVC pipe and fittings to the outflow. Or, implement an oscillating powerhead, which rotates within the aquarium and directs water over a wider area. Several oscillating powerheads, used together can create beneficial turbulence. The Switching Current Water Director, installed on the return of your main filtration, contains a pressure-activated switching valve that effectively splits your return line into two alternating outputs to create beneficial currents.

Surge is similar to laminar flow, only stronger, for a shorter duration, and followed by a weaker reverse flow. Think of the sudden movement of an entire school of fish in a single direction, followed by their sudden return to the initial location once the surge passed. Like turbulence, surge is very difficult to replicate.

Turbulence is the random swirling and flow of water in multiple directions. This happens when currents collide with each other. Turbulence is extremely desirable and difficult to replicate. Some techniques commonly used to generate turbulence is by turning the powerheads on and off randomly using electronic wavemakers with several standard or oscillating powerheads. Of the three types of aquarium water movement, turbulence is the most desirable and the most difficult to replicate.

With proper planning and equipment, you can create some of these healthy "water movements" within your freshwater aquarium.

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Aquascape with Arowana fish is very fine combination. No serious incompatibility, however some compensation should be done while displaying both aspects with the best result (fish and aquascape in harmony).

Aquarium for Arowana is usually big one (especially for adult arowana). Bigger Aquascape need more equipment / many which certainly cause more expenses. So the main challenge is cost. If it can be overcome, I am sure the next one becomes easier.

For consideration, Arowana is a type of fish that likes to jump, and it has very strong jumping. So, the side tank lid is required. However, the top cover should not be fully used, conduct circulation of net to keep the air freely circulate. It is important to rely on refrigeration through the fan, does not matter if you are willing to provide chiller.


Temperature aquascape is not always be cold, even plants grow faster in the temperature of 29-30 instead of 24-27 (except moss). 27-28C is good enough. The reason to use the cold temperatures on the aquarium aquascape is to avoid the algae problems. Besides aquatic plants, the algae will also grow faster in aquariums with a high temperature. What we have to adjust is the types of plants; do not force the plants from the cold water such as some species of moss, and certain aponogeton pellia.

Arowana fish is kind of mid-top swimmer, so when you are decorating the aquascape you should pay attention to this. Avoid sharp or towering hardscape transverse fish aquarium in order for freely movement. Use the plants that do not meet the width / height tank, or keep the size of the plant with proper trimming. Let the foreground area and partially empty midground sweetened by sand and small stone hardscape accents just enough if the population arowana. It is to facilitate the vacuuming cleaning process on sand.

If the maintenance becomes one of the problem, such as taking care of the dead leaves floating is too often making the arowana/owner in stressful situation, then choose relatively durable leaved plants and avoid the use of stem plant that grows too fast, leafy and relatively short-lived. You can also choose a long-lived slow grower plants, large and durable leaved plant for your arowana aquarium, so it will be easier for maintenance such as cryptocoryne sp, anubias sp, Crinum sp, echinodorus sp.


CO2 injection system for the aquascape aquarium with arowana fish is highly recommended that plants grow better. Importantly, like the planted aquarium in general, the supply route and proper dosage of CO2. The sensitive fish can live healthier in aquascape aquarium compared to an empty one.

Relying on naturalistic way (non-CO2 system with a natural counterweight) on the aquascape would seem to be more difficult considering that the arowana is given quite strong pollution. Please use a special fertilizer that appropriate for aquascaping so it will not harm the health of arowana in long term.

If you've mastered aquascaping and have experience in maintaining arowana fish, I think instinctively you will immediately know what to do when setting up aquascape aquarium with Arowana. Do not be afraid. It is possible thing to do……

Red Tail Gold Arowana in Planted Tank Video

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Have you been thinking of adding a freshwater aquarium plants to your home? It’s a lovely way to enjoy a miniature riverbed from the comforts of your own room. An aquarium, to put it simply, is a container that can sustain fish and other aquatic life for a longer period of time. Acquiring a good aquarium for your fish or plants is not a very difficult job as long as you give it some thought before you actually get it.

There are some obvious considerations to be taken in to account. Setting up a fully stocking a good aquarium will take any where between a couple of weeks and a month. The time that you spend with these basics step will save you a lot of time and trouble at a later stage.

There are several things to consider before you purchase an aquarium. How much time you are willing to spend on the aquarium? What kind of aquarium do you want to buy? What is the ideal spot for your aquarium? What kind of fish should you put in your aquarium? How do you keep your fish and their environment healthy in the easiest and quickest way? How much time would it all take to maintain? What should you feed your fish and how much? What should you do when diseases or algae strike? These are just some of the many questions that you need to think about.

A good and well stocked aquarium needs quite a bit of equiptment. Here is a simple list of the items that you will need for a basic freshwater aquarium plants :

An aquarium tank

An aquarium stand

A hood

Lighting equipment

Air pump

Heater

Thermometer

Aquarium Filters (internal or external)

Gravel

Aquarium Decorations

Maintenance items like scrubber, siphon tube, tweezers, scissor, algae magnet etc.

A beautiful freshwater aquarium with healthy, energetic fish swimming in clear waters and surrounded by green vegetation of the various aquatic plants is a stunning sight. But before you begin, you need to be armed with all the relevant facts.

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