Normally a background is not used. The tank is built into the wall of my basement and is viewable from both sides. For display and photographing purposes, I drape a black polyester cloth behind the tank.

Lighting is URI Aquasun VHO fluorescent. There are two circuits on separate timers. Rear illumination is 480 watts for 7 hours per day. Front illumination is 320 watts for 8 hours per day. Total illumination time is 10.5 hours. The lighting is direct with the bulbs mounted in waterproof end caps approximately 4 inches over the water.

The tank is acrylic with rear corner overflows. There are bioballs in the overflows. The tank is overfilled so that water passes into the top of the overflow chambers and the top of the overflows are used as a sediment and detritus trap. Basically, disposable polyester batting is used on top of the bioballs as a prefilter. The water is then pumped through a Rainbow Lifeguard Pleated cartridge filter and a UV sterilizer is in line but not normally used. CO2 is provided by a separate loop consisting of an in tank Rio pump, a 20lb CO2 tank with a Cornelius beverage Gas Pressure regulator, an external CO2 reactor and an ARO flow control valve.