Journal First time aquascaping. My 90cm nature style from the start.

[SkyeScapes]

It is quite good.
My only suggestion would be to run co2 starting from day 1 and fine tune it with pH method or Hanna co2 checker. This is so that the microbial colony is adapted to the specific conditions of your tank including pH.

what aquasoil do you plan to use ?

I would also recommend not to plant sensitive plants like Buce early. Even if you do a dark start, it takes time to reach stability and would rather suggest faster growing stems initially.

The most important part would be regular water changes after the dark start is completed.

That makes perfect sense to start the CO2 from the start, and great advice re the buce, thank you.

I’m using Tropica aqua soil, fairly deep at the back and just sand in the foreground. I’m expecting the aqua soil to release a bit of ammonia?

 

[CincyScaper]

That makes perfect sense to start the CO2 from the start, and great advice re the buce, thank you.

I’m using Tropica aqua soil, fairly deep at the back and just sand in the foreground. I’m expecting the aqua soil to release a bit of ammonia?

I personally have only used APT feast, and if it were APT feast I would not bother checking for atleast 4 weeks of dark start since it is quite rich. I think Tropica's aqua soil based on what i have heard is less rich so might need much briefer dark start.