The Aquascape Everyone's Copying This Year | Luis Navarro Masterclass

We hosted a live aquascaping masterclass at our Lauderhill store with Luis Navarro from Seachem, who scaped a UNS 50C cube in real time using firestone, ghostwood, full CO2 injection, and Kessil A360xe Tuna Sun lighting. This is a full breakdown of his technique — a great reference for anyone building their first high-tech freshwater (FW) planted tank.

Foundation & Hardscape

The build started with Aqua Rebell aqua soil, humic-based and milder on KH/pH swings than many aqua soils, making early tank breaking-in easier. A back-to-front slope of 6–8 inches was built into the substrate immediately — a flat substrate bed reads as flat and boring, while a slope adds real depth to the layout. Rocks anchor the wood in place, bonded with CA glue rather than water-logging over weeks (the pro approach for a slower build).

Layout Zones

• Foreground: ground cover plants, densely planted so nutrients get absorbed quickly rather than lingering and feeding algae
• Midground: slow-growing shade plants and bucephalandra to define the space and shade the foreground
• Background: fast-growing stem plants (Rotala Indica/Rotundifolia, Rotala Bossi) that pull excess nutrients early in a tank's life

Bucephalandra and ferns were glued into hardscape wedges and contact points, layered with microsorum lower and buce higher for a natural, staggered epiphyte look.

CO2 & Fertilization Basics

• Roughly 70–80% of plant nutrition is carbon — a pressurized CO2 system with a bubble counter and diffuser was used here
• A KH around 4 allows dissolved CO2 up to roughly 30 ppm without crashing pH; a drop checker (blue = insufficient, green = on target, yellow = danger zone) makes monitoring simple
• Low-tech tanks can substitute Seachem Flourish Excel as an organic carbon source (not an algaecide, despite the common myth)
• Target ranges: nitrates 10–20 ppm, phosphates 0.5–1 ppm, potassium 8–15 ppm — Seachem Flourish covers micronutrients, amino acids, and vitamins; Seachem Iron (gluconate form) is taken up efficiently through stem and leaf
• Water changes every other day in week one, twice weekly in week two, then weekly after that as the tank matures

Ready to build your own high-tech planted aquascape? Shop CO2 systems, fertilizers, and hardscape supplies in our Aquascape Builds collection at natureaquariums.com.