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39th Issue Vol. 4 No. 12 ISSN 2094-1765 December 2011

The Beauty of Aquarium Aquascapes

A Dutch style garden aquascape, usually composed of groupings of colorful plants. Though it is

not natural, this style is certainly appealing and attractive. This Aquarium densely packed with

clumps of fine-leaved plants, some with green leaves and some with red leaves. A large red fish

swims at left.

Aquascaping is the art and science of arranging aquatic plants, as well as rocks, stones,cavework, or driftwood, in an aesthetically pleasing manner within an aquarium ineffect, gardening 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 as well as plants, although it is possible to create anaquascape with plants only, or with rockwork or other hardscape and no plants.

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Although the primary aim of aquascaping is to create an artful underwater landscape,the technical aspects of aquatic plant maintenance must also be taken intoconsideration. Many factors must be balanced in the closed system of an aquarium tankto ensure the success of an aquascape. These factors include filtration, maintainingcarbon dioxide at levels sufficient to support photosynthesis underwater, substrate andfertilization, lighting, and algae control. There are currently a lot of aquascape hobbyists,

who trade plants, conduct contests, and share photographs and information via theinternet. An example is the United States-based Aquatic Gardeners Association whichhas about 1,200 members.

Designs

1. Dutch style aquascape -- The Dutch aquarium employs a lush arrangement in whichmultiple types of plants having diverse leaf colors, sizes, and textures are displayedmuch as terrestrial plants are shown in a flower garden. This style was developed in theNetherlands starting in the 1930s, as freshwater aquarium equipment becamecommercially available. It emphasizes plants located on terraces of different heights, andfrequently 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 seesneatly trimmed groupings of plants with fine, feathery foliage, such as Limnophilaaquatica and various types ofHygrophila, along with the use of red-leavedAlternantherareineckii, Ammania gracilis, and assorted Rotala for color highlights. More than 80% ofthe aquarium floor is covered with plants, and little or no substrate is left visible. Tallgrowing plants that cover the back glass originally served the purpose of hiding bulkyequipment behind the tank.

2. Nature style It is an aquarium with multiple gray stones. The stones are arranged tobe low in front and high in the back, with the back-most stones placed vertically in theshape of mountain peaks. Some of the stones are carpeted with small, low, fine greenplants.

Nature style aquascape. Note the rock formation simulating mountains and cliff usually seen in

forested tropical islands

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A contrasting approach is the "nature aquarium" or Japanese style, introduced in the1990s by Takashi Amano. Amano's three-volume series, Nature Aquarium World,sparked a wave of interest in aquarium gardening, and he has been cited as having "seta new standard in aquarium management". Amano's compositions draw on Japanesegardening techniques that attempt to mimic natural landscapes by the asymmetricalarrangement of masses of relatively few species of plants, and carefully selected stonesor driftwood. The objective is to evoke a landscape in miniature, rather than a colorfulgarden.

3. Jungle style This is a style usually using a wide aquarium tank, lit from above, anddensely planted with many plants of varying leaf shapes and growing in a tangle. Mostplants are green, while a few have red foliage. There is an area of low green plants infront, and small bright blue and red fish swim from side to side.

A Jungle style aquascape. Note the variety of plants present.

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Some hobbyists also refer to a "jungle" (or "wild jungle") style, separate from either the Dutch ornature styles, and incorporating some of the features of them both. Bold, coarser leaf shapes,such as Echinodorus bleheri, are used to provide a wild, untamed appearance.

4. Biotopes -- The styles above often combine plant and animal species based on the desiredvisual impact, without regard to geographic origin. Biotope aquascapes are designed instead to

replicate exactly a particular aquatic habitat at a particular geographic location, and notnecessarily to provide a garden-like display. Plants and fish need not be present at all, but if theyare, they must match what would be found in nature in the habitat being represented, as mustany gravel and hardscape, and even the chemical composition of the water.

Aquarium with large

stones of various shapes

piled high. Some bare

sticks are at right, and

blue and yellow fish swim

in the water. This Lake

Malawi biotope with

cichlids is at the Artis

Aquarium, Amsterdam.Note the absence of green

plants in this rift lake

habitat. (Left) Anaquarium depicting an

Amazon underwatereco-system with discusfishes.

5. Paludariums an

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aquarium viewed from slightly to the side. Some rocks are in a shallow layer of water atthe bottom, and plants with spiky leaves in rosettes rise above the water.

In a paludarium, part of the aquarium is underwater, and part is above water. Substrateis built up so that some "land" regions are raised above the waterline, and the tank isfilled with water only part way. This allows plants, such as Cyperus alternifolius and

Spathiphyllum wallisii, as well as various Anubias and some bromeliads, to growemersed, with their roots underwater but their tops in the air, as well as completelysubmersed. In some configurations, plants that float on the surface of the water, such asEichhornia crassipes and Pistia stratiotes, can be displayed to full advantage. Unlikeother aquarium setups, paludariums are particularly well-suited to keeping amphibians.

8. Saltwater reefs An aquarium design depicting salt water or marine ecosystem.

A reef aquascape. Aquarium filled densely with corals in many shapes, and bright colorsincluding pink, purple, blue and green.

Dutch and nature style aquascapes are traditionally freshwater systems. In contrast,relatively few ornamental plants can be grown in a saltwater aquarium. Saltwateraquascaping typically centers, instead, on mimicking a reef. An arrangement of live rockforms the main structure of this aquascape, and it is populated by corals and othermarine invertebrates as well as coralline algae, which together serve much the sameaesthetic role as freshwater plants.

Lighting plays a particularly significant role in the reef aquascape. Many corals, as wellas tridacnid clams, contain symbiotic fluorescent algae-like protozoa called

zooxanthellae. By providing intense lighting supplemented in the ultraviolet wavelengths,reef aquarists not only support the health of these invertebrates, but also elicitparticularly bright colors emitted by the fluorescent microorganisms.

Techniques

In addition to design, freshwater aquascaping also requires specific methods to maintainhealthy plants underwater. Plants are often trimmed to obtain the desired shape, andthey can be positioned by tying them in place inconspicuously with thread. Most seriousaquascapers use aquarium-safe fertilizers, commonly in liquid or tablet form, to help the

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plants fill out more rapidly. Some aquarium substrates containing laterite also providenutrients.

It is also necessary to support photosynthesis, by providing light and carbon dioxide. Avariety of lighting systems may be used to produce the full spectrum of light, usually at24 watts per gallon (0.51 watts per litre). Lights are usually controlled by a timer thatallows the plants to be acclimated to a set cycle. Depending on the number of plants andfish, the aquascape may also require carbon dioxide supplementation. This can beaccomplished with a simple homemade system, using a soda bottle filled with yeast,warm water, and sugar, and connected to an airstone in the aquarium, or with apressurized CO2 tank that injects a set amount of carbon dioxide into the aquariumwater.

Algae (including cyanobacteria, as well as true algae) is considered distracting andunwanted in aquascaping, and is controlled in several ways. One is the use of animalsthat consume algae, such as some fish (notably cyprinids of the genera Crossocheilus

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and Gyrinocheilus, and catfish of the genera Ancistrus, Hypostomus, and Otocinclus),shrimp, or snails, to clean the algae that collects on the leaves. A second is usingadequate light and CO2 to promote rapid growth of desired plants, while controllingnutrient levels, to ensure that the plants utilize all fertilizer without leaving nutrients tosupport algae.

Although seriousaquascapers often usea considerable amountof equipment to providelighting, filtration, andCO2 supplementation

to the tank, somehobbyists chooseinstead to maintainplants with a minimumof technology, andsome have reportedsuccess in producinglush plant growth thisway. 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 ofCO2 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 thewater-cleansing role typically played by aquarium filters, by utilizing what fish wastethere is as fertilizer.

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Contests

Early Dutch hobbyists began the practice of aquascape contests, with over 100 localclubs. 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, beginningwith 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 thethird 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 biologicalcriteria 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 measurethe water parameters themselves.

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The Urban Gardener is an official electronic publication (in PDF Format) of the PlantBiotechnology Project, Research & Development Center, Rizal Technological University, Boni

Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. It is published monthly. For more information, please

inquire thru email: rdc_rtu@yahoo.com orplantbiotech_rtu@yahoo.com and landline(+632) 534-8267 Local 135 or Fax (+632) 534-9710.

Edited by N.R. Bautista December 2011The Plant Biotechnology Project Committee is composed of:Alexander B. Quilang, Norberto R. Bautista, & Jovita A. Anit.

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

The Aquatic Gardeners Association contest is judged based on: (a) overall impression(35 points), (b) composition, balance, use of space and use of color (30 points), (c)selection and use of materials (20 points), and (d) viability of aquascape (15 points).

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