# aquascaping: what do you do first?



## MiamiAG (Jan 13, 2004)

You want to aquascape your aquarium so that some day it will something you'll be proud of. This is your first aquascape. So what do you do first?

Do you take out your pad of paper and start to map out what the aquascpae will look like? Or, do you go right at it and kind of figure it out as you go along?

What do you think works best! How do you do it?


----------



## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

My best aquascape plans have come from hours of sitting in front of a tank and letting my mind wander. Often I'll daydream about a particular aquascape that I want to do and let it form and mature in my head before I ever do it. I wouldn't call it purposeful planning though, it's definately a form of pleasant distraction from real life. 

In the past, when doing an installation for a customer I didn't have the luxury of weeks. I would do a lot of sketching then if I could. Most of the time though I would have to work with whatever I had on hand at the moment and pretty much just improvise. In a lot of ways I like this method the best and the majority of my work, personal or professional, is done this way. Especially when trying for a natural vs. an aquatic garden look.


----------



## |squee| (Feb 3, 2005)

Often I draw a sketch, but because usually I don't get the stuff that I want, so what I do is I sit in front of my tank with a chosen peice of driftwood or set of rocks and start arranging until I find the nicest looking one. 

Then I'd choose the plants, let the scape mature, and then the fish. That's the way I'm going to go for my third tank.


----------



## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

My best scape's come from studying the tank and planning the scape out in my head. Then over the next week I stand back look at the tank and see what changes I need to make. Sometimes what looks good in the initial setup looks out of place once you have time to study it.

Once I tried the paper & pen method, but I found that I did not get as good results with this method. But I do recommend it to someone just starting out in aquascaping, this way just gives you a better feel for placement of plants. 

In the end it comes down to patience and experience to get an award winning tank.


----------



## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

All my tanks now, start with hardscaping materials first. I get them, then play around with them abit (usually in a tank with only substrate....or on the coffee table ). When I find something that I like, I then find plants and fish to compliment it. When planting, ALWAYS keep in mind that the tank will look drastically different once grown in. This forsight IMO is big step for people and only comes with experience....I am still learning it


----------



## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

I usually get my hardscape first and see what I have already, then I fill the tank with substrate and mess around with that with the hardscape included. Sometimes I place the hardscape on a table and mess aroudn with that first.


----------



## nevada (Apr 3, 2005)

My case, i will read more aquascaping books like the Aqua Journal. From there i can figure it out probably what kind of setup i am looking for. Then i will start looking for the source of the woods or rocks.
After getting the right position of the rocks / woods (or even both), i will start looking for the right plants for the setup. 
can do some drawing from here ... combination for the colour of the plants that we are going to choose ... once everything is right, then we can start the planting.

Not forgeting the selection of substrate and base fert also 

and thats it ... maintenance time!


----------



## Navarro (Feb 12, 2004)

Art I don't think there is anything I enjoy more than creating a planted aquarium from the minute I shop for the tank to the first water change! The first thing I do is to buy all the dry goods ahead of time. From substrate to cable ties I most have and count everything just so I can focus on the design. After knowing the hardscape materials I am about to use a decision is made for the plant selection, must of us know how difficult is to get what you need at the right time and in the quantity needed, Therefore is a good idea to always have reliable plant sources either from club members or from any of our sponsors.
Once I have the plants ready I like to sort them in trays so they can be ready when needed and time will not be waist at the planting time.
When all the details are taking care of the substrate is prepared and then the layout is created taking as much time as needed. I some time don't feel OK with the "final" layout and go to bed and try again next day.
for this reason weekend's are best for aquascaping!
Finally the planting begins and filters are turned on as well as the other equipment, skim the surface for remaining debris and sit back and enjoy!
Luis Navarro


----------



## anonapersona (Mar 11, 2004)

*sketch*

I start with a sketch of what I want to see from the front. Then I try to select the plants and hardscape that I need and put that on a plan to scale. When it all gets into the tank it will have to change eventually, but the first design of a new tank is pretty much just like I sketched in the first place.


----------



## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

I do not hear anyone talking about the mechanics of a design. This is certainly the most difficult thing for someone trying this for the first time to grasp and you really have to have some idea of the principals of a design and to have a model to work from. Amano outlines basic design models, and talks about specific techniques, yet rarely does anyone bring this up when discussing this in a forum or when critiqueing someones aquascape. I do not mean this to be critical of this forum in particular, because the same thing happens in any forum. The only person I remember ever confidently explaining basic aquascaping principals was Birgit/Wolfgang. http://www.aquabotanic.com/aquascapingprincipals.html

She shows examples of three of Amanos models, the concave, convex, and triangle, and talks about focal points. The "Dutch" style aquascape uses some of these principals as well, but it is much more difficult to find information or examples of Dutch than the "Natural Aquarium" style. But regardless, I think in order to seriously create an "aquascape" you have to have a basic model in mind or an understanding of the process. And in order to have this mindset, a person has to see examples of different aquascaping models. There is not one single person here who does not emulate what they have seen elsewhere.


----------



## anonapersona (Mar 11, 2004)

*It's tough to write about visual principles!*

The ART involved is the same as was taught in basic art classes, involving line, balance, form, and structure, as well as texture and color. On top of that you have to throw in growth patterns, short and long term, fertilization needs, and light. Then, you have the changes over time that occur.

IMO, it is nearly difficult to discuss unless you are referring to photos and pointing out the specific items, that's the only way to really explain the vocabulary used in the artistic design.

I actually really like to discuss that sort of stuff, but unless we begin with a posted photo, it is just too hard to do. And, since the critique will involve praise as well as criticism, and that might hurt the feelings of the tank designer, it is that much harder to do.

That said, I'd post my own tanks, but I am an idiot with the camera and can't seem to take a decent shot. Oh, NASH will be meeting at my house later this month, maybe I can get someone to take real photos of my tank. (Oh, God, now I'm going to obsess about how my tanks look!)


----------

