About Me

by Apr 1, 202013 comments

Hello, and welcome to All About Planted Aquariums. I am Lemuel Sacop from the Philippines, and I am 42 years old. I am an Electronics and Communication Engineer and worked for the last 15 + years as a Senior Interactions Recording Engineer. I have my loving and very supportive wife with 3 kids.

A Little Story About Me Starting and Loving This Hobby

More than 6 years ago, I pursued this hobby of keeping an aquarium at home but only for a fish only tank. I started with just a 15 gallons community tank using only gravel substrate, plastic plants, and ceramic decors.

But more than 4 years ago, I was blown away upon seeing a nature planted tank in person, and I knew right then, this will be my next passion and natural progress.

I know 4 years and 6 months of experience in planted aquariums is not something to be overly proud of, but I love doing this and spent hours, days, weeks, months in research, and testing. In fact, I am still learning new things everyday.

I had lots of downs but came through it all, and I want to help you, fellow hobbyists, in setting up, finding the balance, and maintaining your very own planted aquarium at your very own home.

My Planted Aquarium

My Planted Aquarium – Dusk

Science + Art + Nature

I researched a lot before dedicating myself to this 35-gallon outdoor tank, which is by the way in our terrace, with no direct sunlight shining through but lots of ambient light.

The thing I love about this hobby is that I can apply what I learned from my science classes (Biology, Chemistry, and even Physics) at school a long time ago. I was able to use my Major too. I applied automation for every piece of equipment in my tank. I tried to convert my planted tank into a high-tech one, high energy light and injecting CO2 from a pressurized tank.

Aquascaping is the art of underwater gardening: how you arrange the rocks, driftwood, and plants to simulate an underwater natural ecosystem. It looks different day by day as the plants grow, the scape changes, variables change, and you have to find the balance of everything, just like nature.

As opposed to a reef or marine tank, I find a freshwater planted tank to be more pleasing and relaxing to look at. And you will begin to appreciate how a natural system balances itself out, how even the smallest organisms/bacteria can be so important for establishing our planted aquarium/s. With your planted tank it is an enclosed system, and there is no running water to do the filtration and replenish the nutrients. It is us, the hobbyist, who needs to maintain and balance everything out with our equipment on hand.

A Lot of Downs…

But like I said, just in case if you’re wondering, YES, I fought with algae for months, and those algae are the hardest ones to eradicate. I fought the ambient light on our terrace, I struggled to balance my fertilizers, CO2, and light + the ambient light, I fought 100 ppm + nitrates, I started with DIY CO2 (baking soda + Citric acid) and fought the inconsistencies of it, and I had faunas died on me which results from fighting off those algae, which were really sad.

But I came through it all by researching, thinking outside the box, and help from local Aquascaping Forums. 

Current State of my Planted Aquarium August 2021

My Planted Aquarium August 2021

I took risks. I even DIY-ed my aquarium lights and CO2 injection and a lot of testing to prove my ideas and theories.

Why Listen to Me and Why This Site?

The internet has a lot of misinformation, “one size fits all” advice, and I don’t want fellow and new upcoming hobbyists to go through that. Every planted tank setup is unique. What worked for me may or may not work for you at that moment. As your plants grow and become larger in mass, variables change, even after trimming your plants, even after you relocate some of your plants.

Even after you uproot plants, and replace them with another one, etc. You have to find your own tank’s balance of lights, fertilizers, CO2, etc., and learn to adjust it as well as time goes by. You may want to re-scape in the future and try a new style. 

Even if your tank is perfectly balanced for months/years, it doesn’t mean that it can’t go out of whack at some point in time. We have to stay vigilant, protect your beneficial bacteria always, and always keep up with our maintenance.

My Planted Aquarium May 2022

My Planted Aquarium May 2022

My Planted Aquarium June 2022

My Planted Aquarium June 2022

Learning the fundamentals and science of a planted tank goes a long way. It will help you think outside the box, theorize an idea, and test it. And I gained a lot of experience by solving someone else problems base on his tank parameters and symptoms, not base on my experiences on my own tank, even if it is a similar problem. Be it a friend’s tank or a fellow hobbyist in my local community, solving issues should be on a tank-to-tank basis.

I Want to Share and Help

I am still learning, and I am looking forward to learning from my co-hobbyist as well. I may not have the longest experience in years, I may not have owned multiple tanks to work on or to boast of, but I love this hobby and love to help others and will forever nurture this piece of nature at our home. I want my children to learn and care for a plant or animal and treat it kindly and patiently, for they may get invaluable training in learning to treat and respect people/all living things the same way.

And I want to give it back. I want to help you save time and money and not go through the same mistakes and wrong decisions that I made throughout my journey with this hobby.

My Riparium

My Riparium

Long Term Keeping

This site does not aim for perfect tanks or winning tanks. Even Mother Nature is not perfect (but that is where her beauty lies), even in the most natural of systems. Nature has no trimming scissors, she manages with what she only have, she deploys algae when something is not balanced, she does not deliberately limit nitrates for our viewing pleasure nor the judges, etc.

When we humans tampered over her creations, she can recover against all odds, but it may take years to even decades. When we humans are long gone, she will take over. Nature’s secret is having patience and there are no shortcuts.

The site aims for the long-term keeping of planted aquariums at your very own home.

My Riparium May 2022

My Riparium May 2022

My Riparium June 2022

My Riparium June 2022

Most of the examples shown here are from everyday men/women and passionate hobbyists who keep a planted aquarium in their own homes. But we do provide pictures of competition tanks, and we are not discouraging you from advancing and going in that direction.

The site provides basic to advance best practices in keeping a planted aquarium at home. But there is no stopping you to DIY, thinking outside the box, creating a hypothesis, experimenting, testing, and applying. We all have different situations and differing degrees of unfavorable conditions.

My Riparium August 2022

My Riparium August 2022

We are not all in a studio. Not everyone has the money to acquire good to great equipment but still wants to keep a planted aquarium at home.

Your patience and adjustments are the keys to be successful with this hobby, just like Nature. You may have the most expensive equipment but if you don’t know how to find the balance of everything, does not care to do your research, and not be able to keep up with the maintenance of your planted aquarium, it is futile.

My Planted Aquarium August 2022

My Planted Aquarium August 2022

My Planted Aquarium Feb 2024 A

My Planted Aquarium Feb 2024 A

My Planted Aquarium Feb 2024 B

My Planted Aquarium Feb 2024 B

More About Me

When I am not looking at or maintaining my tank, I love to spend my time with my family and play my guitars. I have some collections of guitars and effects pedals and am still not done. Nowadays, I am hunting for vintage Ibanez guitars and Boss pedals. I do my own guitar tech, modifications, set-up, refinishing, and maintenance. I can also DIY and modify effects pedals. I am passionate about musical gears, guitar amplifiers, effects pedals, etc. I dreamed of my very own recording studio as well.

I also love DIY-ing at home. I started DIYing some essentials for my planted aquarium. I am also into all sorts of electronic gadgets, home automation, and new technology breakthroughs. I am into website development and affiliate marketing as well.

So have a look around, and if you ever have anything to share with regards to Planted Aquariums, I would love to hear it.

To your little piece of nature at home,

Lem

My Guitar Collection 1
My Pedalboard Top
My Guitar Collection 2
My Pedalboard Under
My Amps and Cabs
Me

Founder of All About Planted Aquariums

With Mother Nature & a Swollen Foot After Trekking – Madalag, Aklan – Philippines – May 2019

It is not the Destination, but the Journey

planted aquarium heavily planted

Forces of Nature

Boulders – a long journey from the Mountain eroded by water – Madalag Aklan River – you can imagine how powerful the forces of Nature at work here

Reduce Stress

On the Way

These boulders will be completely submerged when the rainy season comes – some of these boulders are as big as a Nipa hut – Madalag Aklan River – on the way to Madalag Aklan

Nature Calmness

Can't Wait to be with Mother Nature

Madalag Aklan River – view from the side of the mountain during trekking – I had a swollen foot due to some insect bites and was already out of breath here, but I can’t wait to reach the first waterfall and be close to one of Mother Nature’s creations

Aquarium Near the bedroom Ian Garrido

First Waterfall

First Waterfall – Madalag Aklan – is about half a kilometer trekking from the town proper – there is a 2nd bigger waterfall upstream, but it is already getting dark and having non-optimized cardio. Yeah, I need to slim down.

Affiliate Disclaimer

As an affiliate, a commission on sales may be generated. However, it will be at no extra cost to the buyer whatsoever. Additional bonuses may or may not be on offer to the buyer when doing so, and in some cases, the price paid through affiliate links may be lower than the price advertised by the vendor due to exclusive special prices offered to affiliates by the vendor. In addition, as a Wealthy Affiliate Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Closing Remarks

Do you want to blog about your passion and be able to monetize it? What about having to build your own website and an insatiable thirst for knowledge? Earn money online doing what you love, be your boss, using your laptop, and in the comfort of your home.

I have to warn you that this is not a get-rich-quick scheme. You have to work really hard and invest in it in time and money, as any business would have. You will learn a lot and each of us has our own clock to success.

WA Successful Business
WA Build business
WA not magic

13 Comments

  1. Aly

    It’s easy to see your passion for planted aquariums jumping off of the page. 

    I appreciate this newly-found love for aquatic plants and aquariums and how you’re sharing your journey and lessons with those with this shared interest. 

    We also have a guitar enthusiast in our home and he’s always setting up a friend’s guitar or doing some kind of guitar tech… it’s fun to see how a little love to an old guitar can make a huge difference in how it plays!

    Reply
    • Lemuel Sacop

      Hello Aly and thank you for your appreciation with my passion.

      And thank you for sharing your family member guitar enthusiast. It is so nice to know people with the same passion as me.

      Reply
  2. Riley

    It’s nice to meet you Lemuel and I have to tell you that it is a very nice thing to see that you have decided to share all about your passion with me here on your website. I am very sure I am going to enjoy learning from you. The fact that you have a number of months of experience with the aquarium and all about that is not so bad because you seem to love what you do and that is all that truly matters here. Keep doing your good stuff. Cheers!

    Reply
    • Lemuel Sacop

      Hi Riley thank you for the kind words and appreciation. Please watch out for more articles coming soon!

      Reply
  3. Randy Baker

    Great site. When I was a boy, we had a big fish tank in our home and I loved it. Now that I have a family of my own, I’ve often thought of getting a fish tank set up. I think there is something calming about them. I had never given much thought to a “planted aquarium”, though. This looks like a cool thing to do, more natural than most aquariums I see. It seems like there are some challenges and potential problems involved for a newbie, so it’s good that you are providing the benefit of your experience. If I decide to pursue this, I will check back here to make sure I’m not making any rookie mistakes.

    Reply
    • Lemuel Sacop

      Hi Randy,

      Thank you for sharing your experience as well. If you have questions along the way, please don’t hesitate to ask. We have your back.

      Reply
  4. Juan Saladin

    I want to share and help! That’s the key behind anything we could do in life. Everybody can fell when you do something just because or when you truly love what you do. Profit, fame or any other benefit comes after that first step of following your dream and loving what you do.

    Fishtanks are natural stress relievers, having the opportunity of getting them set up in a way human intervention is barely required should be our main goal.

    Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge in regards to a valuable piece required in order to achieve this goal!

    Reply
    • Lemuel Sacop

      Thank you so much that you find my article valuable. Please watch out for more articles coming soon.

      Reply
  5. Erasto Sanchez Jr

    I love the way you created this site to help others. Still not done reading but this will definitely help a newbie if they want to start their own. Keep it up!

    Reply
    • Lemuel Sacop

      Thank you Sir Jun for the nice comment! Please watch out for more articles coming soon.

      Reply
  6. Pinky Joson

    Thank you for sharing your ideas about planted aquariums, it is really new for me.
    Creating a website like this inspires me to learn more about the details and hopefully to have my own planted aquariums someday.
    Im so excited to see more updates from you.

    Reply
    • Lemuel Sacop

      Thank you Pinky for the support and appreciation!

      Please watch out for more articles coming soon.

      Reply
  7. julie

    Just stumbled on this website and you have a new fan in Chicago. Thank you for sharing your learning with us so generously.

    Reply

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