Mary Allen
Aquascaping stands for modern and unusual aquarium design. There are no limits to creativity when designing underwater landscapes. The aquascaping world champion Oliver Knott explains the correct implementation.
A beautiful mountain range in the Alps with lush meadows and deep green forests. At least that’s what you might think when looking at the corresponding picture. But mistake: It is not about a landscape, but about an unusually designed aquarium. The technique behind it is called aquascaping (derived from the English word landscape). «For me, aquascaping is nothing more than underwater gardening, an aesthetic design of aquariums – similar to the design of gardens. Underwater scapes can be breathtaking,” says aquarium designer Oliver Knott.
Aquascaping was born around 1990. At that time, the Japanese Takashi Amano brought to light an underwater world that had never been seen before with his book “Naturaquarien”. Amano does not understand natural aquariums to be a 1:1 replica of real biotopes, but rather a small section of nature. “The possibilities are practically unlimited. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a rock formation, an island, a stream, or just a dead tree stump overgrown with moss: everything can be copied,” says Knott.
This form of aquarists is intended to appeal to a young audience in particular, in that it can bring in an individual «style». “Ultimately, there is nothing more beautiful than watching the plants sway and the inhabitants of a wonderful underwater landscape move after a hard day’s work,” enthuses Knott. There are now even international championships where the best underwater landscapes are awarded. Knott was already able to secure the world championship title.
The Choice of Animals Should be Carefully Considered
But how can interested parties recreate their desired landscape in miniature format underwater? Oliver Knott offers the perfect instructions for this in his book «Aquascaping». For example, he recommends not placing the largest stone in the middle of the pool, but slightly offset, to the left or right of the middle. The other stones should be lined up so that the overall effect is enhanced. Roots can also be decorated with stones. This creates the impression that roots and stones form a unit, which results in a “wonderful optical effect”.
Planting plays an important role, since plants “paint” pictures. Larger groups of the same plants would often work better than individual ones, says Knott. Accents can also be set with reddish plants or special leaf shapes. In order to keep an overview, you should start with the foreground plants before moving on to the background plants via the middle ground.
And, of course, the choice of animals should also be carefully considered. It is best to make a wish list of fish and their needs that need to be met in advance. After all, according to Knott, the ultimate goal of aquascaping is “to create a small green oasis that offers its residents a good quality of life and creates joy and relaxation”.