When transitioning from regular fish-keeper to aquascaper, there are some things to keep in mind. Aquascaping is an art in itself and it goes beyond just keeping an aquarium at home.
While starting out with aquascaping, beginners tend to get overwhelmed with the extra planted aquarium information they have to go through. So we’ve put together a simple and easy guide to understanding How To Aquascape Your Fish Tank and Different Aquascaping Styles.
The aquascape style is determined by the type of substrate, the type of plants used, rocks and the type of lighting used.
Choose a Natural Looking Substrate
Depending on the plants you intend to grow in your tank, you should choose natural looking gravel. The substrate acts as a base for the entire aquarium and you don’t want it to look artificia
Rocks composition
Now is the time to place the rocks into position. It is recommended that you have play a little bit with them, outside of your tank, to find the best way to place them. A couple of tips:
Use rocks of the same type
Use rocks that are suitable for aquariums
Place bigger rocks first and complete the composition by adding smaller ones for a natural look
Search for faces of the rocks that better display contrast and texture
Put the rocks in boiling water to clean them and sanitize them
Recommended Fish for Aquascaping Setups
Most people already have in mind what fish they want to put in their aquariums. When it comes to aquascaping, getting the right type of fish is a delicate choice, because there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration.
There is no specific rule, but you have think of their behavior, their breeding cycles, swimming habits and so on. You should avoid fish that would disturb your aquascape.
The most common types of fish are small and usually schooling (tetras, Australian rainbow fish etc) because they have nice bright colours and they make the tank look bigger.
Learn the Basic Aquascaping Design Principles: Rule of Thirds and Focal Points, Golden Ratio and Contrast
Aquascaping may be a form of art in which imagination and creativity play an essential role, but mastering the backbone of this process is elementary if you want to be successful. Measure is very important in nature, and aquascaping makes no exception.
You want your tank to not only please your eye, but make it wonder in the right places. You want your fish to feel comfortable; you want your plants to grow to their full potential.
You can do all that by following a set of truly mathematical rules. Yes, before being wonderful, unpredictable and diverse, nature is mathematical.
The Rule of Thirds in Aquascaping
The rule of thirds is a great composition technique and refers exactly at how we can use imaginary guidelines so that we know how to place certain elements within our scape in such a way that we are able to control what the eye of the viewer sees.
In order to understand how the rule of thirds works, try depicting an image as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines. The purpose of these imaginary lines is actually to locate the intersection points of the grid, where you can establish the focal point of the image.
A focal point is an invisible visual mark which anchors the viewer’s gaze first and from which the viewer’s eye can glide towards other points of interest, making the viewer’s experience more interesting, captivating, relaxing and pleasing.
Placing the focal point in the middle of your tank would take away from what is happening around.
Aquascaping and the Golden Ratio
Simply put, the golden ratio is a special number obtained by dividing a line into two parts in such a way that if you divide the longer part by the smaller part the result is equal to the whole part divided by the longer part.
This special number is approximately equal to 1.618.
In both art and mathematics as well as in nature, the golden ratio is strictly connected with the creation of a focal point. In aquascaping, this would be the point the eye is directed towards at a first glance.
Contrast in Your Planted Aquarium
Contrast in aquascaping is a very important thing to keep in mind. There are 2 types of contrast which you can easily apply for you planted aquarium:
Contrast of Size
Think of an Iwagumi layout, the contrast between the size of the rocks (Big) and the size of the aquatic plants used, usually carpeting plants (Small).
Contrast of Color in Aquascaping
This is an easier type of contrast which you can apply to your own aquascapes. For example: the color contrast between the brown (light or dark) of the aquarium driftwood and the green of the aquatic plants.
Or think how the green of the plants stand out against the grey of the rocks. By far the greatest color contrasts are made between a lighter and a darker color.
There is a good number of color combinations you can try and the easiest way to find out what works best is to sketch it or draw it on a piece of paper, which we’re gonna talk about later in this article. The most renowned styles of aquascaping make use of the rules described above. Whether we are talking about the Nature Aquarium, Iwagumi or Dutch style, they all start with the setting of focal points by implementing the golden ratio rule and then creating a strong contrast.
Don’t Overstock Your Planted Aquarium
In aquascaping you should always keep your focus on aquatic plants rather than the fish.
And at the start of a new aquascape is always better to have more plants than fish, especially long stem plants, which have a higher growth rate which will help in absorbing the extra nutrients from the water.
Overstocking your planted aquarium will only lead to extra nitrites and nitrates being accumulated in the water making it a suitable environment for algae blooms.
Planting – Foreground, Middle and Background Features
One of the most common aims of the beginning aquascaper is to create a carpeted tank. This produces a beautiful effect and can form the base for some stunning creations.
Possibly the most important aspect to get right when choosing the plants for your tank is to understand plant conditions. Without the right amount of CO2, light and fertilisers, your plants simply won’t grow. Research, research, research, and you will be able to create the green carpet you are looking for.
Now you can start to think about the layout of your aquascape. Start at the back and work forwards. A great aquascaping tip here is to really make sure these areas are distinguished.
It’s not just plants that are used in aquascaping; rocks and driftwood make great middle ground features. Consider the long borders of (land) gardens at stately homes and how aesthetically pleasing they are. A lot of time, effort and planning goes into achieving successful borders and this must be the way you approach your aquascape.
Aquascaping tip: If you are planning this design as a long-term project, then space the stems out. For an instant wow factor, plant stems densely.
Aquarium Lights
Often the real difference between an OK ‘scape and a breathtaking one is the lighting. This doesn’t just affect how your ‘scape looks but how your plants grow so it’s important to invest in decent lighting.
There are a few lighting options to choose from but, from our experience LED lights are by far your best bet. Most plants need a ‘colour temperature’ of between 5000 – 7500 Kelvin (k) to thrive. Natural light tends to hover around 6500k so lights around this level will give a gentle, natural look to your setup. Below 6500k will begin to look ‘warmer’ with more orange light. Think of a household bulb’s light – they’re generally 2700 – 3000k. At the other end of the spectrum beyond 7000k the light gets harsher and whiter. A good example is Xenon headlights on cars – they run around 10000k. In the spirit of fairness we can touch on the four lighting options very quickly;
Incandescent bulbs – lease suitable. Too ‘warm’ in colour and too weak to generate the K’s you need for your plants but just about perfect for a tank full of algae. They also get incredibly hot so a splash of cold water will cause them to shatter. Into your tank.
Metal halogen bulbs – more often used for saltwater aquariums but also suitable for freshwater aquascaping. They create a distinctive ripple effect that looks especially good in shallow aquascapes mimicking environments like a river bank.
The big downside is they also get hot. Really very hot. Hot enough to make your water temperature a problem! As if that weren’t enough, all that heat generated means they take a lot of power to run, too.
Fluorescent bulbs – a good middle ground between ease, efficiency, & cost. Fixtures and bulbs are easy to source and cheap to buy. They burn out faster than LEDs but last longer than both incandescent and metal halogen, & many people prefer the quality of their light from a visual perspective.
However, they can shift in spectrum over time – becoming something of a timebomb above your tank! They are also being steadily phased out by a number of suppliers in favor of LED, due to the need for them to be disposed of on a regular basis (ideally they should be replaced every 12 months)
LED lights - are the most common choice as they are affordable, light, durable, and run on little power. This makes them energy efficient and inexpensive. They run for roughly 50,000 hours before they need to be replaced, generate little to no heat, and are more efficient than any of the other options. Yes, they may be the most expensive to initially set up but their efficiency and reliability mean they’re far cheaper in the long run. You’ll see lights installed as part of most set-ups, some will be freestanding above, some will be separate – go with whichever is easiest for you. First timers may just want the inbuilt ‘scaffold’ style and that’s perfect.
You’ll need a timer clock, too, to set your lights up with. You’ll be wanting your lights on for a set period each day, generally 8 hours. Too much can damage your plants, not enough and they could lose their colour or even stop growing completely. Play around with your timing until you hit on the right one for your set up.
There are different styles of aquascaping out there (Dutch, Nature Aquarium, Iwagumi etc.), what’s your favorite one and why?
Nature Aquarium is my favourite. I feel it connects me with nature and brings a greater feeling of relaxation than other styles. I admire a good Dutch aquascape for the technical ability but the style is too forced for my taste. I also enjoy Iwagumi, which is part of the Nature Aquarium philosophy.
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