Aquascaping - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Aquascaping is the craft of arranging aquatic plant

Aquatic plant

Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...

s, as well as rocks, stones, cavework, or driftwood

Driftwood

Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man. It is a form of marine debris or tidewrack....

, in an aesthetically pleasing manner within an aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

—in effect, gardening

Gardening

Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...

under water. Aquascape designs include a number of distinct styles, including the garden-like Dutch style and the Japanese-inspired nature style. Typically, an aquascape houses fish

Fishkeeping

Fishkeeping is a popular hobby concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. There is also a fishkeeping industry, as a branch of agriculture.-Types of fishkeeping systems:...

as well as plants, although it is possible to create an aquascape with plants only, or with rockwork or other hardscape and no plants.

Although the primary aim of aquascaping is to create an artful underwater landscape

Landscape architecture

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...

, the technical aspects of aquatic plant maintenance must also be taken into consideration. Many factors must be balanced in the closed system of an aquarium tank to ensure the success of an aquascape. These factors include filtration

Filter (aquarium)

Aquarium filters are critical components of both freshwater and marine aquaria. Aquarium filters remove physical and soluble chemical waste products from aquaria, simplifying maintenance...

, maintaining carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

at levels sufficient to support photosynthesis

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...

underwater, substrate and fertilization

Substrate (aquarium)

The substrate of an aquarium refers to the material used on the tank bottom. It can affect water chemistry, filtration, and the well-being of the aquarium's inhabitants, and is also an important part of the aquarium's aesthetic appeal...

, lighting

Aquarium lighting

Aquarium lighting describes any type of light that is used to illuminate an aquarium tank or in some instances, such as with reef aquariums, support the life contained within.-Freshwater:...

, and algae

Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...

control.

Aquascape hobbyists trade plants, conduct contests, and share photographs and information via the internet. The United States-based Aquatic Gardeners Association has about 1,200 members. Popular English-language Internet forums include: The Planted Tank with over 49,000 members, Aquatic Plant Central with over 35,000 members, and Aquascaping World with over 11,000 members.

Dutch style

The Dutch aquarium employs a lush arrangement in which multiple types of plants having diverse leaf colors, sizes, and textures are displayed much as terrestrial plants are shown in a flower garden

Flower garden

A flower garden is any garden where flowers are grown for decorative purposes. Because flowers bloom at varying times of the year, and some plants are annual, dying each winter, the design of flower gardens can take into consideration to maintain a sequence of bloom and even of consistent color...

. This style was developed in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

starting in the 1930s, as freshwater aquarium equipment became commercially available. It emphasizes plants located on terraces of different heights, and frequently omits rocks and driftwood. Linear rows of plants running left-to-right are referred to as "Dutch streets". Although many plant types are used, one typically sees neatly trimmed groupings of plants with fine, feathery foliage, such as Limnophila aquatica
Limnophila aquatica
Limnophila aquatica, known commonly as the Giant Ambulia, is a plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. Limnophila aquatica grows naturally in Asia, Sri Lanka and India and is characterised by its fine leaves and bushy, pine-like appearance. It grows best in medium or very high lighting,...

and various types of Hygrophila, along with the use of red-leaved Alternanthera reineckii
Alternanthera reineckii
Alternanthera reineckii is a species of aquatic plant. Several cultivars are used in the aquarium trade.This is a small herbaceous plant, which when living in marsh conditions has two forms: emergent , and submersed...

, Ammania gracilis
Ammania gracilis
Ammannia gracilis is a plant in the family Lythraceae, also known by the common names large ammannia, red ammannia, pink ammannia, and delicate ammania, and is native to West Africa....

, and assorted Rotala

Rotala (genus)

Rotala is a genus of plants in the loosestrife family. Several species are used as aquarium plants.Species include:*Rotala densiflora*Rotala hippuris*Rotala indica*Rotala ramosior*Rotala rotundifolia-External links:*...

for color highlights. More than 80% of the aquarium floor is covered with plants, and little or no substrate is left visible. Tall growing plants that cover the back glass originally served the purpose of hiding bulky equipment behind the tank.

Nature style

A contrasting approach is the "nature aquarium" or Japanese style, introduced in the 1990s by Takashi Amano

Takashi Amano

is a photographer, designer and Aquarist.His interest in aquaria led him to create the Japanese company Aqua Design Amano.Takashi Amano is one of the most influential people in the freshwater aquascaping community. He can largely be credited with introducing Japanese gardening concepts such as...

. Amano's three-volume series, Nature Aquarium World, sparked a wave of interest in aquarium gardening, and he has been cited as having "set a new standard in aquarium management". Amano's compositions draw on Japanese garden

Japanese garden

, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....

ing techniques that attempt to mimic natural landscapes by the asymmetrical arrangement of masses of relatively few species of plants, and carefully selected stones or driftwood. The objective is to evoke a landscape in miniature, rather than a colorful garden. This style draws particularly from the Japanese aesthetic concepts of , which focuses on transience and minimalism as sources of beauty, and , which sets rules governing rock placement

Japanese rock garden

The or "dry landscape" gardens, often called "Zen gardens", are a type of garden that features extensive use of rocks or stones, along with plants native to rocky or alpine environments that were influenced mainly by Zen Buddhism and can be found at Zen temples of meditation.- Overview :Japanese...

. In the Iwagumi system, the , or main stone, is placed slightly off-center in the tank, and , or accompanying stones, are grouped near it, while , or secondary stones, are arranged in subordinate positions. The location of the focal point of the display, determined largely by the asymmetric placement of the Oyaishi, is considered important, and follows ratios that reflect Pythagorean tuning

Pythagorean tuning

Pythagorean tuning is a system of musical tuning in which the frequency relationships of all intervals are based on the ratio 3:2. This interval is chosen because it is one of the most consonant...

. Plants with small leaves, such as Eleocharis acicularis
Eleocharis acicularis
Eleocharis acicularis is a species of spikesedge known by the common names needle spikerush and dwarf hairgrass. It has a circumboreal distribution and it can also be found throughout the rest of the Americas. It is also found in Australia, where it is probably an introduced species...

, Glossostigma elatinoides, Hemianthus callitrichoides, Riccia fluitans
Riccia fluitans
Riccia fluitans, whose common name is crystalwort, is an aquatic floating plant of the liverwort genus Riccia which is popular among aquarists as a retreat for young fry and is used in live-bearing tanks. It can be found floating in ponds, and often forms thick mats on and under the water...

, small aquatic ferns

Süsswassertang

Süsswassertang is a type of aquarium plant formerly known as "round Pellia" or "round-leaf Pellia". It was long considered to be a liverwort, which it strongly resembles, but in 2009, a molecular phylogenetic study determined that it is, in fact, an fern gametophyte. Further, it is a species of...

, and Java moss

Java moss

Java Moss is a moss belonging to the Hypnaceae family. Native to Southeast Asia, it is commonly used in freshwater aquariums. It attaches to rocks, roots, and driftwood...

(Versicularia dubyana or Taxiphyllum barbieri) are usually emphasized, with more limited colors than in the Dutch style, and the hardscape is not completely covered. Fish, or freshwater shrimp such as Caridina multidentata and Neocaridina heteropoda, are usually selected to complement the plants and control algae.

Jungle style

Some hobbyists also refer to a "jungle" (or "wild jungle") style, separate from either the Dutch or nature styles, and incorporating some of the features of them both. Bold, coarser leaf shapes, such as Echinodorus bleheri
Echinodorus bleheri
Echinodorus bleheri is commonly known as Amazon sword plant, although other plants are also known under this common name. The plant is cultivated for and used in freshwater aquariums.-Synonyms:...

, are used to provide a wild, untamed appearance.

Biotopes

The styles above often combine plant and animal species based on the desired visual impact, without regard to geographic origin. Biotope aquascapes are designed instead to replicate exactly a particular aquatic habitat at a particular geographic location, and not necessarily to provide a garden-like display. Plants and fish need not be present at all, but if they are, they must match what would be found in nature in the habitat being represented, as must any gravel and hardscape, and even the chemical composition of the water.

Paludariums

In a paludarium

Paludarium

A paludarium is a type of vivarium that incorporates both terrestrial and aquatic elements. Paludaria usually consist of an enclosed container in which organisms specific to the biome being simulated are kept. They may be maintained for purely aesthetic reasons or for scientific or horticultural...

, part of the aquarium is underwater, and part is above water. Substrate is built up so that some "land" regions are raised above the waterline, and the tank is filled with water only part way. This allows plants, such as Cyperus alternifolius
Cyperus alternifolius
Cyperus alternifolius is a grass-like plant in the very large genus Cyperus of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is native to Madagascar, but is frequently cultivated worldwide. The subspecies Cyperus alternifolius ssp...

and Spathiphyllum wallisii
Spathiphyllum wallisii
Spathiphyllum wallisii, commonly known as Peace lily, White sails, or spathe flower is a very popular indoor house plant of the family Araceae. The genus name means "spathe-leaf," and the specific epithet is named after Gustav Wallis, the German plant collector.It is a caespitose herbaceous perennial...

, as well as various Anubias
Anubias
Anubias is a genus of aquatic and semi-aquatic flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical central and western Africa. They primarily grow in rivers and streams, but can also be found in marshes. They are characterized by broad, thick, dark leaves that come in many different forms....

and some bromeliads

Bromeliaceae

Bromeliaceae is a family of monocot flowering plants of around 3,170 species native mainly to the tropical Americas, with a few species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, Pitcairnia feliciana...

, to grow emersed, with their roots underwater but their tops in the air, as well as completely submersed. In some configurations, plants that float on the surface of the water, such as Eichhornia crassipes
Eichhornia crassipes
Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as Common Water Hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin, and is often considered a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range.-Ecology:...

and Pistia stratiotes
Pistia
Pistia is a genus of aquatic plant in the arum family, Araceae. The single species it comprises, Pistia stratiotes, is often called water cabbage, water lettuce, or Nile cabbage. Its native distribution is uncertain, but probably pantropical; it was first described from the Nile near Lake Victoria...

, can be displayed to full advantage. Unlike other aquarium setups, paludariums are particularly well-suited to keeping amphibian

Amphibian

Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

Saltwater reefs

Dutch and nature style aquascapes are traditionally freshwater systems

Freshwater aquarium

A freshwater aquarium is a receptacle that holds one or more freshwater aquatic organisms for decorative, pet-keeping, or research purposes. Modern aquariums are most often made from transparent glass or acrylic glass. Typical inhabitants include fish, plants, amphibians, and invertebrates, such as...

. In contrast, relatively few ornamental plants can be grown in a saltwater aquarium

Marine aquarium

A marine aquarium is an aquarium that keeps marine plants and animals in a contained environment. Marine aquaria are further subdivided by hobbyists into fish only , fish only with live rock , and reef aquaria. Fish only tanks often showcase large or aggressive marine fish species and generally...

. Saltwater aquascaping typically centers, instead, on mimicking a reef

Coral reef

Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...

. An arrangement of live rock

Live rock

Live rock is rock from the ocean that has been introduced into a saltwater aquarium. Along with live sand, it confers to the closed marine system multiple benefits desired by the saltwater aquarium hobbyist...

forms the main structure of this aquascape, and it is populated by coral

Coral

Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...

s and other marine invertebrates

Marine invertebrates

Marine invertebrates are animals that inhabit a marine environment and are invertebrates, lacking a vertebral column. In order to protect themselves, they may have evolved a shell or a hard exoskeleton, but this is not always the case....

as well as coralline algae

Coralline algae

Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls...

, which together serve much the same aesthetic role as freshwater plants.

Lighting plays a particularly significant role in the reef aquascape. Many corals, as well as tridacnid clams

Tridacna

Tridacna is a genus of large and gigantic saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the subfamily Tridacninae, the giant clams. They have heavy shells, fluted with 4–6 folds. Mantle is brightly coloured. They inhabit shallow waters of coral reefs in warm seas of the Indo-Pacific region...

, contain symbiotic

Symbiosis

Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...

fluorescent

Fluorescence in the life sciences

Fluorescence is used in the life sciences generally as a non-destructive way of tracking or analysing biological molecules by means of fluorescence....

algae-like protozoa

Protozoa

Protozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...

called zooxanthella

Zooxanthella

Zooxanthellae are flagellate protozoa that are golden-brown intracellular endosymbionts of various marine animals and protozoa, especially anthozoans such as the scleractinian corals and the tropical sea anemone, Aiptasia....

e. By providing intense lighting supplemented in the ultraviolet

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...

wavelengths, reef aquarists not only support the health of these invertebrates, but also elicit particularly bright colors emitted by the fluorescent microorganisms.

Techniques

In addition to design, freshwater aquascaping also requires specific methods to maintain healthy plants underwater. Plants are often trimmed to obtain the desired shape, and they can be positioned by tying them in place inconspicuously with thread. Most serious aquascapers use aquarium-safe fertilizers, commonly in liquid or tablet form, to help the plants fill out more rapidly. Some aquarium substrates containing laterite

Laterite

Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock...

also provide nutrients.

It is also necessary to support photosynthesis, by providing light and carbon dioxide. A variety of lighting systems may be used to produce the full spectrum of light

Visible spectrum

The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light. A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 390 to 750 nm. In terms of...

, usually at 2–4 watt

Watt

The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

s per gallon (0.5–1 watts per litre). Lights are usually controlled by a timer that allows the plants to be acclimated to a set cycle. Depending on the number of plants and fish, the aquascape may also require carbon dioxide supplementation. This can be accomplished with a simple homemade system, using a soda bottle filled with yeast, warm water, and sugar, and connected to an airstone

Airstone

An airstone, also called an aquarium bubbler, is a piece of aquarium furniture, traditionally a piece of limewood or porous stone, whose purpose is to gradually diffuse oxygen into the tank, eliminating the noise and large bubbles of conventional air filtration systems, and providing other benefits...

in the aquarium, or with a pressurized CO₂ tank that injects a set amount of carbon dioxide into the aquarium water.

Algae (including cyanobacteria, as well as true algae) is considered distracting and unwanted in aquascaping, and is controlled in several ways. One is the use of animals that consume algae

Algae eater

Algae eater is a common name for many bottom-dwelling fish that feed on algae. Algae eaters are important for the fishkeeping hobby and many are commonly kept by hobbyists.Some of the common and most popular freshwater algae eaters include:...

, such as some fish (notably cyprinid

Cyprinid

The family Cyprinidae, from the Ancient Greek kyprînos , consists of the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives . Commonly called the carp family or the minnow family, its members are also known as cyprinids...

s of the genera Crossocheilus

Siamese algae eater

The Siamese algae eater, Crossocheilus oblongus, is a species of freshwater fish in the carp family, Cyprinidae. This bottom-dwelling tropical fish is found in mainland Southeast Asia that includes the Chao Phraya and Mekong basins as well as the Malay Peninsula. Their natural habitats are streams...

and Gyrinocheilus
Gyrinocheilus
Gyrinocheilus, also Chinese algae eater or sucking loach, is the single genus in the family Gyrinocheilidae, a family of small Southeast Asian cypriniform fishes that live in fast-flowing freshwater mountain streams...

, and catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

of the genera Ancistrus
Ancistrus
Ancistrus is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Loricariidae of order Siluriformes. Fish of this genus are commonly known as the bushynose or bristlenose plecos.-Taxonomy:The type species is Ancistrus cirrhosus...

, Hypostomus
Hypostomus
Hypostomus is the largest genus of the armored catfish family Loricariidae. It includes the popular freshwater aquarium fish Plecostomus...

, and Otocinclus
Otocinclus
Otocinclus is a genus of catfish of the family Loricariidae commonly called "dwarf suckers" or "otos". Otocinclus originate from tropical, freshwater rivers in South America.-Taxonomy:...

), shrimp, or snail

Snail

Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...

s, to clean the algae that collects on the leaves. A second is using adequate light and CO₂ to promote rapid growth of desired plants, while controlling nutrient levels, to ensure that the plants utilize all fertilizer without leaving nutrients to support algae.

Although serious aquascapers often use a considerable amount of equipment to provide lighting, filtration, and CO₂ supplementation to the tank, some hobbyists choose instead to maintain plants with a minimum of technology, and some have reported success in producing lush plant growth this way. This approach, sometimes called the "natural planted tank" and popularized by Diana Walstad, can include the use of soil in place of aquarium gravel, the elimination of CO₂ apparatus and most filtration, and limited lighting. Instead, only a few fish are kept, to limit the quantity of fish waste, and the plants themselves are used to perform the water-cleansing role typically played by aquarium filters, by utilizing what fish waste there is as fertilizer.

Contests

Early Dutch hobbyists began the practice of aquascape contests, with over 100 local clubs. Judges had to go through about three years of training and pass examinations in multiple disciplines in order to qualify. This competition continues to be held every year, under the auspices of the National Aquarium Society. There are three rounds, beginning with contests in local clubs. First-place local winners are entered in the second round, held in fifteen districtkeuring (districts). The winners at that level are then entered in the third round, which is the national championship.

In the Dutch contest, the focus is not only on composition, but also on the biological well-being of the aquarium's inhabitants. Most points are, in fact, awarded for such biological criteria as fish health, plant health, and water quality. Unlike contests in other countries, the judges travel to each contestant's home to evaluate the tank, where they measure the water parameters themselves.

The Aquatic Gardeners Association, based in the United States, Aqua Design Amano, based in Japan, and AquaticScapers Europe, based in Germany, also conduct annual freshwater aquascaping contests. Entries from around the world are submitted as photographs and explanatory text online.

The Aquatic Gardeners Association contest is judged based on:

overall impression (35 points),
composition, balance, use of space and use of color (30 points),
selection and use of materials (20 points), and
viability of aquascape (15 points).

There are also smaller contests conducted by Acuavida in Spain, and by the Greek Aquarist's Club.

Public aquariums

Large public aquarium

Public aquarium

A public aquarium is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, housing living aquatic species for viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept by home aquarists, as well as smaller tanks. Since the first public aquariums were built in the mid-19th century, they have become popular...

s sometimes use aquascaping as part of their displays. As early as the 1920s, the New York Aquarium

New York Aquarium

The New York Aquarium is the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States, having opened in Castle Garden in Battery Park, Manhattan in 1896. Since 1957, it has been located on the boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn. The aquarium is managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society as...

included a moray eel

Moray eel

Moray eels are cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few, for example the freshwater moray can sometimes be found in freshwater...

display tank that was decorated with calcareous

Calcareous

Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...

tufa

Tufa

Tufa is a variety of limestone, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from ambient temperature water bodies. Geothermally heated hot-springs sometimes produce similar carbonate deposits known as travertine...

rock, arranged to resemble a coral reef, and supporting some stony corals

Scleractinia

Scleractinia, also called stony corals, are exclusively marine animals; they are very similar to sea anemones but generate a hard skeleton. They first appeared in the Middle Triassic and replaced tabulate and rugose corals that went extinct at the end of the Permian...

and sea fans. Because they typically present wildlife from a particular habitat, modern day displays are often created to be biologically accurate biotopes.

External links

The following sites offer tutorials, images, and in-depth discussions on aquascaping styles and techniques:

These sites provide extensive non-commercial descriptions of aquatic plant species and their use in aquascaping:

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.