dutch/nature/jungle styles defined

http/www.aquahobby.com/tanks/e_tank0212.php

I thought this might interest some of you.

Nice link.

I have always found it hard to define styles personally. I suppose one's definition to a certain extent is down to personal interpretation of the style (nature or dutch) AND the individual aquascape in question. For instance, in the link I actually think the Nature aquarium looks more Dutch with the planting of large groups of stem plants. There is obviously elements of more than one particular style in some layouts i.e. there is elements of all three styles in the Jungle layout.

How would you define my layout out of interest? That goes out to everyone.

^^^^Overgrown underpruned jungle...............

Very hard to define many planted tanks some are more like hybrids of nature and jungle, which personally i think looks cool, i suppose with some aquariums you can definatly say thats either jungle nature or dutch style, but i think you really have to set out to achieve those looks in the beginning and most of us dont.

Only joking gf it looks very well, again its hard to define could be a hybrid of nature and jungle, but looking good.

zig said:

^^^^Overgrown underpruned jungle...............

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Many a true word said in jest!

For the record I completely agree with you zig. If I wanted the well-kept and pruned look I would be in there every day with the scissors. It looks ok but is by no means a "great" layout. As you probably already know, the plants are chosen for utilitarian purpose over aesthetic i.e. they grow fast, eat nutrients like mad and basically give algae no chance. One exception is my Java fern which is actually growing very well. When I eventually get around to planting a new layout with more delicate, demanding and slower growing plants then this Java fern (and bogwood) will become the main focal point around which the new aquascape will develop. I may keep the Sagittaria too, an undemanding yet nice looking foreground plant.

Anyway, back to the point! I have to agree with you about a Nature/Jungle hybrid. To be perfectly honest I had never before heard of the "Jungle" style, only Nature and Dutch. It definitely gives more scope to define layout style.

I think these pictures clarify the two styles more:

Dutch:


Nature:

Nospherith said:

I think these pictures describe the two styles better:

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Wonderful examples of each style. No chance of misinterpretation there. So different yet both so beautiful. Thanks for sharing that with us Nospherith.

That dutch tank reminds me of those colour-blind test charts you have to read as a youngster. A random mass of colour with something hidden in there for you to find. The only thing missing from it is a bit of neon gravel! Can't say I like that tank too much! The natural tank is simply stunning.

WK

Waterloo Kid said:

That dutch tank reminds me of those colour-blind test charts you have to read as a youngster. A random mass of colour with something hidden in there for you to find. The only thing missing from it is a bit of neon gravel! Can't say I like that tank too much! The natural tank is simply stunning.

WK

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Don't hold back WK!!

BTW Was it you that was after opinions on Arcadia Plant-Pro T5 tubes? Did you get any response?

I think I asked about them eons ago. I am running one now in my tank. My plants like the light they give off. I have 1 Flora Glo T8 and a Plant Pro T5 with a couple of daylight bulbs (one of each T8 and T5).
I was dosing CO2 and my plants were growing like there's no tomorrow but after a pH crash due to low KH and the resultant lose of many fish and shrimp I now no longer dose any ferts at all. The tank is running at a very mediocre pace with light pruning required every 3-4 weeks. I run the T5's every other week and keep the T8s running every week. I STILL get BGA and my nitrates are always undetectable (very light fish load now). I put the BGA down to low flow in the tank (Juwel filter!).
The plant specific light tubes are great though. Definite improvement over standard bulbs.

WK

What colour do they give off? Pinkish?

Yeah, very pink. I do find that the daylight bulbs (the T5 is a D&D daylight bulb and the T8 is a Hagen Sun-Glo) balance out the pink pretty well. The plant tubes don't half make the glowlight tetra show up!
One thing that I noticed whilst running T8 and T5 tubes is that T8s are pretty much a waste of time! Comparing them to the T5s is like (almost literally) night and day. They look about three times brighter than the T8s to the eye. I would wholey recommend that anyone whose thinking of setting up a planted tank think long and hard before using T8 tubes. Do yourselves a favour and get the T5s.

Now, getting back to the style subject. Although I clearly do not like the Dutch style I must admit that that tank is technically extremely good. Absolutley no algae showing a very well balanced tank. Nice composition, placing the red and green plants to (sort of) compliment each other. One day my tank will be that balanced and well set out. I will not say that it will look like that coz there's no way I could look at that tank with the hang-overs I get!

WK

Waterloo Kid said:

my nitrates are always undetectable

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Why not dose with KNO3?

I started dosing KNO3 just before the big pH crash. I've not plucked up the courage to start messing abut with the chemistry side of stuff yet. To be honest I'm contemplating a house move in 6-9 months time so the tank will be broken down for the move in the forseeable future. I'm not going to start messing with stuff just in case it all comes good only for me to rip it apart again! Think I'll wait for the new setup in the new house.

WK

Good point. Perhaps your new home will have harder water. I didn't think adding KNO3 had much bearing on pH, sounds more like too much CO2, especially through the night - I assume your DIY CO2 runs 24/7.

Thanks for the info on T5 BTW - my wife isn't impressed though, more pennies!! I may buy the unit next year, immediate plans (late August) are upgrading to pressurized CO2.

The "Nature aquarium" style stems from the japanese aquarium artist Amano, and are meant to recreate natural looking scenes, (not biotopes), while dutch aquarium are based on formal garden designs. Dutch aquascapes usually have a limited number of species that are grouped together in contrasting shapes and colors, and some compare them to old English style gardens.

There is another "style' stemming out of japanese gardening called "Iwagumi" which refers to the craft of stones arrangement. The craft was originally developed in Japanese gardens and the techniques have been generalized to other crafts. "Iwagumi" is a general term. There are different kinds of Iwagumi -- each a specific kind of arrangement.

In general arrangements are made of 2,3 or more stones in odd-numbered groups. The layout of stones within an aquarium using the golden section is pretty well known. Within a group it is common to use triangles as the basis for an arrangment and to concentrate on balancing the triangle around it's center.

No matter what the else may be done, the main goals in Iwagumi are to keep a natural, weathered look and a balanced arrangement.