Aquascaping Hardware and Natural Elements

• Lighting – One of the most important pieces of aquascaping equipment, with crucial influence upon the health and growth of the aquascape plants, the lighting is considered to be the functioning heart of an aquarium.
• Water filters – As their name says it, the purpose of water filters is to remove excess food, the fish’s waste, dangerous chemicals and decaying organic matter within the aquarium. There are three basic methods you can filter water: mechanical, biological and chemical, and most water filters on the market involve a combination of two of them.
• Carbon Dioxide – The CO² systems might be slightly costly, but they are essential for the growth of plants. No plant grows without carbon dioxide, period. Those who are truly passionate about aquascaping think for the long term and know that purchasing a good CO² system enables them to grow their plants to their full potential.
• Liquid fertilizers – Think of fertilizers as of vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay hearty and strong. Depending on the lighting and CO² systems of the aquarium, there are two types of fertilizers you can use to keep it healthy: macronutrients and micronutrients. They both need to be dosed properly to create an appropriate aquatic environment.
• Substrate – Aquascape plants feed not only through their leaves, they also feed through their roots, which makes a correct selection of aquascaping substrate very important. Depending on the plants you want to grow (small foreground, tall background etc) the right substrate will ensure their proper size, development and color.
• Hardscape materials (aquarium driftwood and rocks) – You know how you say about a person that she’s beautiful because she has an amazing bone structure? This is what ornaments represent in aquascaping. The plants are not enough to secure the aesthetic of an aquarium. You need to add rocks, wood, gravel etc, make them look as unique as possible, and arrange them in an unusual yet attractive way. Hardscape materials are the essential elements which ensure the design and layout part of the entire aquascaping process.

Elemental Rules Concerning Aquascaping Visual Construction and Setup

Aquascaping may be a form of art in which imagination and creativity play an essential role, but mastering the backbone of this process is elementary if you want to be successful.

Measure is very important in nature, and aquascaping makes no exception. You want your tank to not only please your eye, but make it wonder in the right places. You want your fish to feel comfortable; you want your plants to grow to their full potential.

You can do all that by following a set of truly mathematical rules. Yes, before being wonderful, unpredictable and diverse, nature is mathematical.