Swiss aquascaper Damian Gysi achieved a great ranking at the IAPLC 2023 with his impressive Nature Aquarium - rank #31 for the aquascaper from Zurich. Damian kindly left us some photos and information about how the aquarium came about, and of course we don't want to keep them from you.

The tank with a front length of 1.80 m is his living room aquarium, which was set up in August 2022. Damian's goal was not primarily a contest aquarium; rather, it was meant to serve as a showpiece in the living area and above all bring joy. He nevertheless decided to take part in the IAPLC and was rewarded with the "Winning Work" and "World Ranking 31" awards. Here are some key facts about this great aquarium:

Technical data

Aquarium: 180 cm x 55 cm x 55 cm (gross approx. 540 liters), pool construction, clear silicone joints.
Cabinet: Custom-built from maritime pine.
Lighting: Custom-built, Bridgelux Thrive LEDs (mixed & dimmed to approx. 5,000 K and approx. 19,000 lumens, 150 W).
Filtration: EHEIM professionel 5e 700, EHEIM experience 350. Minimally equipped (two bags of Seachem Purigen in the 5e, and a small amount of Seachem Matrix in one basket, otherwise completely empty).

Fertilization: Currently with Aqua Rebell Estimative Index (50 ml bolus dose at the 50% water change plus 3 ml daily via a dosing system). Micro Basic Iron: minimal bolus dose at the water change (3 ml), plus 1 ml daily of Special Iron via dosing pump. Every few weeks/months, a few Tropica Nutrition Capsules are pushed into the rear soil areas, the first time after about four or five months. The temperature is set to around 26° (JBL Pro Temp e500). CO₂ pressurized gas system with night shut-off (Hiwi dual-chamber pressure reducer); the CO₂ level is set to around 20 mg/l and is dissolved into the water via a diffuser. Here you will find the fertilization plan for the daily dosing.

Water preparation: RO water, hardened with SaltyShrimp GH+ and Epsom salt; for dosing amounts including bolus doses after the water change, see here.

Hardscape: Black lava rock and driftwood, quartz sand and ADA La Plata Sand in the foreground.
Substrate: Base layer of lava rock fragments, topped with Tropica Soil and powder soil as the top layer.

Plant list:
Anubias barteri var. nana "Pangolino"
Anubias barteri var. nana "Petite"
Blyxa japonica
Bolbitis heudelotii
Bucephalandra sp. "Red"
Bucephalandra sp. "Velvet Tricolor"
Cryptocoryne albida "Brown"
Cryptocoryne beckettii "Petchii"
Cryptocoryne parva
Cryptocoryne spiralis "Red"
Cryptocoryne spiralis var. caudigera
Cryptocoryne x willisii "lucens"
Cyperus helferi
Echinodorus "Horemanii Red"
Echinodorus palifolius
Echinodorus uruguayensis
Eleocharis sp. "Mini"
Fissidens fontanus
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Limnophila hippuridoides
Lobelia cardinalis "Mini"
Ludwigia palustris "Super Red"
Microsorum pteropus "Trident"
Myriophyllum sp. "Guyana"
Nymphaea gardneriana "Santarem"
Pogostemon stellatus "Broad Leaf"
Staurogyne sp. "Porto Velho"
Vesicularia sp. "Mini Christmas Moss"


Livestock:
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Mikrogeophagus altispinosa (only two left, older animals)
Corydoras reticulatus
Paracheirodon simulans
Nannostomus mortenthaleri
Otocinclus sp.

Step by step

Damian also built a lot himself for this project. Here you can first see how he made the cabinet.

After the base frame came the making of the cabinet doors.

Here you can see the fully assembled cabinet.

The hardscape was built in two steps. First, the lava rocks were put in.

Then the driftwood was placed.

In August 2022, the layout was fully planted and the aquarium was flooded.

Then the cycling phase began. The aquatic plants already showed decent growth.

This is what the interim state looked like in October. The layout already looks more grown-in. The Echinodorus plants rising out of the water are a great eye-catcher.

By December 2022, the aquarium had been running even longer. You can see that the aquarium plants are taking up more and more space.

As another highlight, the black background was removed in January 2023 and a light background was installed. The result is something to be proud of.

Then in May came the final shot for the IAPLC 2023.

And even after more than a year, the aquatic plants in this aquarium are still thriving.