Aquascaping
The art of creating aesthetically harmonious underwater landscapes. Combine plants, rocks, woods and substrate to create naturalistic compositions.
Detailed explanation
Aquascaping was born in Japan thanks to Takashi Amano, founder of ADA (Aqua Design Amano). His "Nature Aquarium" style recreates terrestrial landscapes in miniature underwater. Mountains, forests, meadows, rivers: all reinterpreted with aquatic plants and hardscape.
There are three main styles. The Nature style (Amano): asymmetrical compositions inspired by nature. The Iwagumi style: minimalist, only rocks and ground cover plants, respects the rule of odd numbers. The Dutch style: a lush garden of plants arranged by height and colour, without rocks.
The rule of thirds is fundamental. The focal point of the composition never goes to the centre but to one of the intersections of the grid of thirds. Asymmetry is more natural and pleasant than symmetry.
Hardscape (rocks and wood) is positioned before water and substrate. The structure must stand on its own: if the rocks move once the aquarium is filled, the layout is compromised.
The plants are chosen by height, colour and growth speed. In the foreground, low ground cover plants (Hemianthus callitrichoides, Glossostigma, Monte Carlo). In the middle, medium height plants (Staurogyne, Cryptocoryne). In the background tall plants (Rotala, Ludwigia, Vallisneria).
The most used woods are mangrove wood, mopani, spiderwood and agarwood roots. They all release tannins that colour the water yellow-brown. Tannins are harmless and indeed beneficial for many Amazonian species. If you don't like the colour, activated carbon removes it.
International aquascaping competitions (IAPLC, AGA, EAPLC) are very important events that raise the technical and artistic level of the discipline every year.