If you don’t already know what auqascaping is, then maybe it is about time you found out. Some people like to have giant aquariums with fish inside of them, some like to have a beautiful garden outdoors, and some like a combination of both. Aquascaping is kind of a like a combination between both of those, it’s the best of both worlds. Let’s talk about what exactly aquascaping is, why you might want to try it, and a whole lot more.
What Is Aquascaping?
To put it in simplest terms, aquascaping is pretty much gardening under water. Aquascaping involves arranging aquatic plants, gravels, rocks, sands, driftwoods, and other fitting items in a manner that it pleasing to the eyes. It is pretty much like creating an underwater garden in your aquarium, one which you can display in your own home.
Generally speaking, most people will combine the plant and rocks of the aquascape with actual fish, since after all, it is still inside of an aquarium. Many people do add fish to their aquascapes, but many choose to just have the plants, kind of like a garden without all of those pesky moles and birds.
Reasons Why Aquascaping Is Great For Gardeners
There are a few different reasons as to why aquascaping is great for gardeners and great for people in general.
1. It’s Relaxing
First of all, aquascaping is very relaxing and it’s a great way to unwind. For many people, gardening is an extremely relaxing activity because it gives you a chance to unwind from a long day and disconnect with the world. It lets you do something that you really like doing, and even better it lets you combine your love of fish and plants into one awesome hobby. Plus, there is just something relaxing about nature and the tranquility of flowing water. It’s just a great way to relax after a long day.
2. Plants + Fish = Fun
Probably the best thing about Aquascaping is that you get to combine two loves into one awesome hobby. You get to do some gardening and take care of plants, which is of course a really relaxing thing. And you also get to watch your fish swim around the tank, you get to take care of pets, and you get great satisfaction too. Moreover, it’s great because you don’t have to go outside to do the gardening. Everything can be done from the comfort of your own home.
3. It’s Not That Expensive
Something else that is pretty neat about an aquascape is that it is not all that expensive to create your own from scratch. You don’t need all that much. Just get some substrate, some plants, a couple fish, a filter, and a light. All together you are only looking at a couple hundred bucks to create the aquascape of your dreams.
Getting Started With Aquascaping
Getting your very own aquascape started is not as hard as you may think. It does involve a fair amount of work and planning, but the awesome looking aquarium that you will get is definitely well worth it. There are really only a few things that you need to create an awesome aquascape.
To begin you will want to add all of the basics that will make up your aquascapes. This is where you pick your actual aquarium, with size being a pretty important consideration. The size of your aquascape is all up to you and how many things you want to put inside of it, plus it does depend on your space requirements too.
After you have the tank, you will want to choose what actually goes inside of the aquascape tank. This is where you are going to choose your substrate, which could be sand or gravel, little or big rocks, or maybe no substrate at all. The type of substrate you get does somewhat depend on the type of plants you have inside of it.
You also want to choose the type of plants you put inside of it, with some being free floating, some resting at the top of the water, some being attached to rocks or pieces of wood, and some being rooted in the substrate. The plants are the biggest part of your aquascapes so you will want to choose the ones that suit you best, or in other words, the prettiest ones which are also the easiest to take care of.
Now, those are the easy things, and even if you don’t put any fish in your aquascapes, you will still need to some equipment to keep the plants alive and the tank clean. You are definitely going to want to get a good 3 stage filtration system to remove unwanted waste, compounds, and toxins from the water, all things which can kill your plants.
If you do decide to add fish to the aquascape you will want to get the best protein skimmer that money can buy. A protein skimmer removes fish waste and things like ammonia which fish waste contains, both things which can kill both your fish and your plants.
Another thing that you definitely need for an aquascape is a good lighting system. Both your fish and plants need good old UV light to grow and stay healthy. Moreover, you may want to consider getting a UV sterilizer to kill harmful bacteria in the water, plus you will also want a heating unit to keep the water at a desirable temperature.
Aquascaping – Conclusion
There are many different types of aquascapes and which one you create is up to you. You can get one with just plants, or with plants and fish too. The point of the whole thing is to help you relax and to provide your home with some good scenery. As long as you keep the tank clean you should have no trouble keeping all of the plants and fish alive, heck you can even make an aquascapes in a betta tank.