Aquascaping is all about the method and technique when it comes to decorating and setting up your planted tank to look more elegant. Recognized back in 1990 by Takashi Amano in Japan, the idea is about making aquariums beautiful and attractive while creating a biosphere that can live in perfect cohesion. As most aquarists tend to decorate their fish tanks by placing plants and rocks, there are several other factors which can be followed to achieve satisfactory results. So, for the people who find it difficult to decorate their fish tanks by themselves, this article surely has some of the best tips and tricks to be followed. Well at shed some light on stones and driftwood uses in your planted tank.
There are lots samples and projects available on forums, articles, and in your community, even at your local fish store. Those looking to implement stones or driftwood into your aquascape, some additional factors come into play and some may need to search for ways to implement techniques for aquascaping in order to bring your dreamscape to life. Some fish tank owners prefer simple tanks whereas others want to bring elegance and modernity. In order to provide beneficial assistance in this regard, we have discussed some basic principles for aquascaping which can be followed without any hassle.
Before you start designing your aquascape or begin adding stones and woods into your tank, make sure the aquascaping style you chose is simple enough for you to construct and does not exceed your intended budget. Simple and unique aquariums are more pleasing as compared to others that have a lot of decorative work. Minimalism is in, why? It looks cleaner, sharper, and in some cases is even easier to maintain.
There are several styles and prototypes of aquascaping designs which can be chosen as per your requirements. Some popular categories of aquarium designs to select from including the Japanese inspired nature style, jungle style and garden like Dutch style. By overviewing your style and design requirements, alterations can be made to make the aquascape your own unique design.
In order to build a perfect and reliable fish aquarium, it is important that you maintain a balance between decoration and plantation. Moreover, fish only remain healthy in environments and surroundings that sufficiently meet their needs.
Arranging rocks or stones with plants or even alongside decorative driftwood pieces like Mopani wood, in a proper manner can give extra roaming for fish to move around. As there are no predefined rules and regulations for aquascaping, fish tank owners can also use their imagination and design expectations to prepare a beautiful end product. Make sure your fish tank has a regulated CO2 supply, water filtration mechanism, and a lighting source to ensure plants and fish remain healthy and happy.
To help beginning tank owners, we have overviewed some common knowledge of setting up and maintaining a planted tank. Don't worry, talk of stones and woods is coming, but first, for those who keep skipping all of the beginner guides. So, if you are excited to prepare a fully functional yet elegant planted fish tank and learn how stones and driftwoods can be used to enhance visuals, then read on and get educated.
No aquarium is complete without a working filtration and light source, make sure you purchase the required equipment of best quality. Keeping the tank size and dimensions in mind, there are several types of filtration systems available for which we recommend our readers to search for the best one that will suit their tank size and scape requirements. Furthermore, an efficient lighting supply is a must for plant growth and fish health. Keeping the lighting low and soft is advised by expert aquarists as it does not cause any disturbances for fish, however, some plants will require a higher lighting intensity.
Again, what is a completed aquascape and planted tank without a proper CO2 supply. As it is necessary for both plants and fish to survive, fish growth can only be ensured if you take care of water cleanliness and CO2 is properly dialed-in. There are certain amounts of CO2 that is also required for photosynthesis to be effective, which is a great factor for plant growth and sustainability. This is why it is important to make sure your levels are appropriate for both plant and livestock. Furthermore, researching and implementing good substrate and nutrient doing is beneficial for plant growth as they will start to cover your aquarium in less time.
Aquascaping is not just limited to adding beautiful plants or fish, in fact, those are just two aspects of aquascaping and planted tanks. There are different types and categories of wood and stones that are available for both decorative and environmental purposes. Placing natural rocks, stones and driftwood will bring an elegant touch to your aquarium as they provide a healthy environment for fish to breed as well. Aquascapers mostly use rocks and woods while preparing their fish tank to make it natural and elegant.
Just place about 2 to 4 rocks in your aquarium base and arrange them accordingly. Alongside, you can also use submersible lights and air stones to create an amazing visual effect. This will surely enhance the beauty and elegance of your fish tank making it more attractive. Before starting with the decoration process, we advise our readers to make a hand sketch and purchase necessary items afterward. Let plants to grow up to your required length and perform trimming to make them look natural. As aquascaping is all about fun and imagination, we hope our tips and methods will yield amazing results.
Okay well maybe we didn't get too far into the use of stones and woods in aquascaping, so here it goes. When designing a planted tank or aquascape, there are several things that must be taken into account and planning is required, especially if you want to succeed. Failure blows and having to redo tank after tank, due to poor planning is one of the worst plains. Trust me!
Some scapes only use one or the other, either stones or wood, but there are also designs that make great use of both in the same scape. Whether you decide to use one over the other or both, there are a ton of positions in your scape that can be enhanced by implementing the use of stone of driftwood.
A technical use for stone and drifts in your planted tank, especially those with livestock is the sense of providing a secure habitat for certain species, so they can feel safe and live happily, which also affects their vitality.
From a decorative point of view, driftwoods and stones are literally the building blocks of scapes. It is the use of these elements that bring aquascapes themselves to life.
Woods and stones are used to develop tree or mountainous-like structures that serve as a natural balance in the scape to provide depth, boundary, scenery, and layers.
In addition to rocks, stones, driftwoods, and other hardscapes, there are also a lot of other great methods that can be used when decorating your planted tank, like introducing a multi-colored plant into the scene to create vibrancy and contrast.With the wide variety of plants that are available to both low-tech non-CO2 planted tanks and the high-tech CO2 fueled version that can be combined to create truly remarkable scapes.
Some plants need routine care and certain substrate mixtures while other can grow without any additional nutrient dosing. So, before you purchase any plant species for your aquarium, make sure it is easy to grow and maintain.
Placing driftwood and stones can surely enhance the beauty and elegance of your planted tank. Although there are many other steps and methods to complete your planted tank. Driftwood is known to provide a hiding place for fish where they can breed and enjoy shelter. Furthermore, stones and rocks add more appeal and attraction to your planted tank as they also provide balance to aquarium base.
