Aquascape is craftwork, it’s an art, and it’s a quest. Aquarium hobby grows from a simple fish tank turned into complex natural ecosystem tank. Started as fishkeeping and then became how to make it more. As a human, we desire to be surrounded by nature. We learn from it, moulded by it. For every Aquascaper, achieving a balance between nature and rectangular glass called aquarium is a quest.

 

            Aquascaping involves many basics principles of design, underwater biology and then apply it into an aquarium. Designing an aquascaping can be quite challenging, browsing for aquascape build is good to help you decide which style is great for you. Aquascape can be built to create the calm ambience and reducing people stress level, placing nature style aquascape at hospitals or recreational area for example.

 

            Before we go deeper into aquascaping, there are important elements to learn when setting up an aquascape. Nature aquarium style has since become popular for newbies, because of its simplicity and low maintenance possibility. Using easy to keep plants like ferns, Anubias, Mosses and abundant variety of Cryptocorine can be stunning.

 

For aquascape to thrive, it will need 5 elements to be balanced. Your flora and fauna will deteriorate over time if the balance is broken.

1. Lighting

Aquarium lighting is important to recreate sunlight.  In nature, plants use sunlight to produce food with photosynthesis. Plants use organic matter, CO2 and light to produce food for themselves and also release oxygen into aquascape ecosystem that needed by fish and shrimps. 

LED light system is widely used nowadays, but it doesn’t have to be LED. There is few alternatives for lighting setup. Depending on how the aquascape desired, using the correct type of lighting setup is crucial. Using low-intensity light setup on deep aquarium will cause the plants deficiency.

2. Nutrients 

All plants need a set of elements to grow, one of them is the availability of nutrients. Normally, our tap water contained some of it. Fish waste also contributes to nutrients availability inside the aquascape ecosystem. As the first thermodynamics law principle, these nutrients are the potential energy available to change its shape becoming oxygen or plant growth.

Over time, nutrients become scarce and the plant will be deteriorating. Adding a continuous dose of fertilizer into the ecosystem will help your aquascape last longer.

3. CO2

Every fauna including humans needs oxygen from the environment. Plants need carbon dioxide to progress on the photosynthesis process, it will produce necessary oxygen for every living fauna and bacteria inside the ecosystem. The optimal level of dissolved CO2 in the water is the biggest impact on successful aquascape. Most of living things on earth were made of carbons. Some aquatic plant still thriving even though there is a low concentration of CO2 in the ecosystem.

4. Filtration 

The filtration system also has big role in a closed environment like aquascape. It will provide most of the biodegrading process and provide some water recycling. The current provided by filtration devices also affect the plants' growth and our fauna health. Correct water flow helps the plant with the nutrient and CO2 exchange. You can check our aquarium filtration kit from here.

5. Bioload 

Most newbies usually forgot this parameter. Adding too much fish or another fauna into the aquascape setup will shake the ecosystem balance. Fauna Feses will increase ammonia level that can be poisonous for themselves and the ecosystem. Too much bioload also promote Algae growth.

STARTING POINT

               “ if you want to mimic a great sense of nature on your aquascape, you have to spend your time to see, enjoy and understand the nature itself. Go to the jungle, the riverside, or any natural environment” – Heri amir, international aquascape champion.

              Aquascape is a product from people imagination and knowledge. Inspiration can come from existing aquascape build, natural environment and sometimes our own imagination. There is no shortcut, patience and determination are required.