Introduction and Background
Hi, I’m Olivier Ly, 28 years old. I live in France and love planted tanks and particularly Nature Aquarium setups. I began when i was 15 years old. I watched my father's tank and that began my passion for fish. My passion for planted tanks came when i saw Amano's tank on the Net.

The last two years, I made 2 small tanks while waiting for my house to be built. I had help from members from www.les-crevettes.com and www.paysages-aquatiques.com

A 25 liter tank with Crystal Red shrimp:













And a 30 liter tank with Red Cherry shrimp and Japonica shrimp:









Specifications
The house was finished in April, and i finally began the installation of the tank...
The size : 160*60*60cm (576 liters). For this volume i chose 3 HQI (150W and 5200K). CO2 is a 2Kg bottle and a Tunze reactor. The filtration is 2 Eheims: one 2080 and one 2222 with only biological filtration (just a little perlon). For substrate i used Powersand, Bacter 100, Tourmaline BC, Clear Super and Aquasoil Amazonia + Bright Sand. For the hardscape: redmoor wood and many stones. I wanted to make two plants groupings with a path in the middle.


Setup
In the beginning:







The light fixture I made myself:





With the lights, and the wall paint:



Plants
Echinodorus tennellus, Eleocharis parvula, Rotala sp. ‘green’, Rotala rotundifolia, Ludwigia arcuata, Bacopa caroliniana, Hygrophila polysperma, Bolbitis, many Cryptocoryne species, and Micranthemum umbrosum.

Fertilization
For fertilization, i use Tropica Aquacare Alimentation+, Liquid Iron, Easylife Easycarbo.

Fauna
For the stocking, i wanted something attractive but not "flashy". I chose 42 Hyphessobricon eos, 20 Hyphessobricon bentosi, 3 Ancistrus sp. and a lot of shrimps...

Hyphessobricon bentosi:




Hyphessobricon eos:

Caridina multidentata:







The Tank
The tank after initial setup:



A few days later, tank shot from the back:



The final shot:






And my preferred view, when you first come in the house:


Final Thoughts
Much thanks to all the french aquascapers who helped me (criticize, and help) and my wife who supports my hobby (LOL)...
Soon, a new version is coming...