During a new setup, once your aquarium has been planted it can be very difficult to fill it with water without disturbing the look that you have achieved.
A good way to leave the tank looking the way it was intended is to;
A. Scrunch up several sheets of newspaper and place them over the finished planting until it is completely covered.
B. Wet the newspaper down with a garden spray.
C. Place a large sheet of thin plastic over the newspaper and ensure all of the surface area is covered.
D. Slowly fill the tank with a hose ensuring that the flow falls gently onto the central part of the plastic sheet.
E. When the tank is full gently remove the plastic sheeting followed by the newspaper.
You will be surprised at just how effective this can be, leaving your plants, substrate and hardscape just as you intended.
Thanks goes to the well known German aquascaper Oliver Knott for demonstrating this technique to us during his demonstration at TGM on the 13th September 2009.
View technique in action in the video of the Oliver Knott demonstration »