As quoted by aquascape expert Mr. Mayur Dev, “Imagination – Inspiration – Implementation – Personalization -Natures Equation and Evolution are key factors that make an excellent AQUASCAPE’.
A blend of art and technology completes a successful aquascape.
Art brings life to your imagination or inspiration and technology makes it real. Without technology, it would be difficult to turn your imagination or inspiration into reality. Both these balanced out make a great aquascape.
You can recreate a story you imagined or a place that has inspired you and bring this to life with your hardscapes, stones, and wood.
Implementing these materials by arranging them rightly like keeping one on top of the other or behind the other creates depths, gives it a new perspective, or creates layers or levels of fondness.
Implementation is building or creating and personalization is making it your own. This makes even the smallest things like a small bush of plants and its shadow your thought.
Once you have put your materials together including the right filtration, lights, CO₂, and fertilizers, you will let nature take over which is referred to as the Nature’s Equation.
All the right materials will allow nature’s equation to give scope to evolution.
Simple rocks, wood, and plants can help evolve into a flawless beautiful picture.
Having said all of the above, a good aquascape needs core elements such as hardscapes, substrates, LED lights, filters, live plants, fish, CO₂, and fertilizers.
Now, let’s take a look at the elements and its need,
Hardscapes
A Hardscape is the first step toward making a great aquascape. The wood and rocks develop a connection, which helps in creating a 3D view with depth dimensions.
Wood in aquascaping is crucial in creating the illusion of depth. It provides character and a natural look.
Every piece of wood has its own beauty, it can replicate an inspiration from nature into reality. Even if you have no inspiration just picking the right wood can inspire you enough.
When you use rocks in aquascapes, you need to remember that there is a need to appreciate their character and put it in the right place.
If rocks are observed well and placed in the right position it will throw light on the theme of your aquascape.
For example, a stone with lines will need to be placed in such a way that the lines are in one direction cause in nature, there is uniformity.
Do not mix two different-looking stones unless you like them, but adding similar stones will replicate nature the way it is.
Substrates
Almost every aquascape swears by soil, and with a good reason: It is densely packed with nutrients.
It contributes to an aquarium’s overall aesthetic appeal. When teamed up with plants, pebbles, driftwood, and other decors, it creates attractive visuals.
Choosing a substrate color that contrasts with your fish’s coloring might help to bring their colors to life.
It helps in filtration, provides nutrition to plants’ roots, and helps in the water chemistry by lowering the pH and kH values.
Select sand that compliments your aquascaping objectives. A blackwater tank might appear better with a blend of earth-toned naturalistic mixed grain sands.
For a dramatic contrast against colored plants, a dutch style scape can use black sand. The substrate should also compliment the hardscape; for example, if you have black/dark rock, white/grey sands will look better than brown.
An appealing aquascape will result from plants’ proper choice and arrangement. It also helps your aquarium’s water quality and pH balance.
There are a variety of plants that can be employed to create a wild and stormy aquascape or a serene and peaceful scene, depending on your preferences.
When selecting plants keep in mind that mature plants might look very different! This is especially crucial if you’ve picked a plant as part of a color scheme.
Fish
You could begin with a clear idea of the species you want to keep or the aquascape you want to build.
If these two regions don’t work together, your aquascape won’t appear properly or last long. Keep your aquascape’s eventual goal in mind when selecting fish. If you wish to keep more than one species, make sure you check to see if they can coexist peacefully.
Choosing the right light in accordance with the plants and fish that you have included in your aquascape is very important as it affects everything: it can increase aquarium plant coloration, determine growth rates, and impact algae control.
Low lighting is suitable for shade aquarium plants. Medium lighting with good CO₂ for commercially available plants. High lighting is good for red/colored aquarium plants.
A CO₂ cylinder is needed to keep injecting gas into the water while the light is on. The amount of CO₂ produced varies from tank to tank, depending on the plants, the soil’s nutrition capability, and the amount of water available.
Fertilizers are provided in a variety of forms. It goes without saying that it is essential for plant growth.
Plant chemicals and food waste can pollute the water. An aquarium filter is required to remove them.
This is the heart of the system and can make the difference between a thriving eco system and a dead desert zone. Planted tanks require heavy flow. Chat with us at Splashy Fin and find out more.
Having said all of the above, just remember that aquascaping is not complicated, it’s a feeling expressed or an inspiration drawn from a place that is recreated in an aquarium.
Take away
Have you made it this far? Congrats!
We understand that there is a lot to take in. However, like many things in aquascaping, trial and error is the only way to learn. All you have to do now is get your hands dirty and get creative!
