SETTING UP A SUPER SHALLOW AQUASCAPE

In this build, I set up a new ultra-shallow aquascape using some really unique equipment. The tank is a custom made ultra-shallow design measuring 100 x 25 x 15 cm. It’s the perfect tank for my window ledge.

For lighting, I used one of Dalua's brand-new Illumagic Freshwater Pixel bundles, which they generously provided for this project. If you're familiar with the saltwater side of the hobby, you’ll already know Dalua has been making some of the best lights for years and now they’re moving into freshwater with some seriously cool products.

This setup includes the rear mount, a 90 cm Infinity Rail, three Illumagic Freshwater Pixels, and a controller so you can fully program the light cycle. There are tons of ways to configure the lights across the rail, but for this aquascape, I mounted them for an even spread and kept the controller front and center, partly because I love having the little clock visible. You can hide it away if you prefer a cleaner look.

For the hardscape, I chose elephant stone, and after playing around with a few different layouts, I built up the background with about 4L of Contra Soil. I did make a small mistake by not filling the small gaps at the front and sides, which caused some of the soil to roll forward. Luckily, I was able to fix it by breaking up some of the elephant stones into smaller pieces and gluing them into place.

One interesting (and slightly tricky) thing about elephant stone is that its interior color is very different — breaking it reveals a reddish tone that doesn’t quite match the outer texture. I did my best to hide these tones, but it’s going to make finding matching detail stones a bit of a challenge later on.

For planting, I focused on species that were already grown immersed to minimize melting and make the transition smoother. Here’s the plant list I used:

• Acorus Gramineus

• Hydrophila Pinnatifida

• Lilaeopsis novaezelandiae

• Persicaria sp Sao Paulo

• Bacopa Myriophylloides

• Riccia fluitans

• Monte Carlo

I prefer planting into moist substrate, so I lightly sprayed the soil before starting.

The first plant I added was the Acorus Gramineus, which I’m really excited about — it smells amazing and has a cool history in traditional medicine. Then came Hydrophila Pinnatifida, which tends to grow like crazy once it reaches the surface. In the smaller gaps, I planted Persicaria sp Sao Paulo, though it’s a little trickier to grow, so fingers crossed it does well!

After the first planting phase, I added white quartz sand to the foreground (just 2.5 kilos of a cheap online brand) and planted a few more patches of ilaeopsis novaezelandiae around the rock bases. Normally I'd add some detail stones here, but as I mentioned, elephant stone’s red interior made that tricky. If you have any suggestions for good detail stones that would match, feel free to let me know.

The last plant I added was the Bacopa Myriophylloides, another species I’m a little unsure about, but hopefully it thrives and starts to break the water surface soon.

I filled the tank about halfway with RO water, then topped it off with tap water to bring the TDS to around 120–150. Once everything was set up, the Illumagic Pixels really started to shine — they focus their light inside the tank with almost no spillover, which looks incredible in a dark room. Even at just 35% power, they completely light up the aquascape.

After cycling the tank with a small pre-cycled hang-on-back filter, it was finally time to add some life. I introduced two fish species: Neon Blue Rasboras and Glowlight Tetras. Though after seeing them together, I might swap out the Glowlight Tetras for something smaller like Strawberry Rasboras the Glowlights feel a bit too big for this setup.

I also added a small group of blue cherry shrimp (including two berried females!) and a bunch of Ramshorn snails to help handle algae and any plant melt.

So far, the tank has been running beautifully. The plants are thriving under the lights, and early signs of flowering in the Persicaria are super exciting. Even though you can't adjust color channels on the ILU Pixels, the default spectrum is basically perfect — I wouldn't change a thing.

This tank sits on a window ledge but only gets a few minutes of direct sunlight (Sunset) every day, so I don't have to worry about algae blooms or temperature spikes.

Two Months Later: How It's Going

After a couple of months the tank is looking fantastic. The plants are growing like crazy and algae growth as been minimal. Probably because I’m currently only running the lights at 35%. I’ve also removed the glow light tetras and replaced them with pygmy cories, ember tetras and emerald rasboras. They really enjoy the length of the tank and quite often swim the entire length which is really impressive to see.

The shrimp population has also exploded and I now have about 30 little blue shrimp getting around which is great considering I only started with 4.