dutch/nature/jungle styles defined

[Nospherith]

It's kindof ironic that the arrangement of stones is key in the planted tank. But Iwagumi really is an art, as can be seen by that wonderful tank. I've heard of rock placement and the use of triangles before, and unwittingly practiced Iwagumi when first setting up my planted tank per Nature Aquarium's Beginner's Manual Step 2. Thanks for the enlightenment, RobertH.

It seems as if many Iwagumi tanks' plants are intended to compliment the rockwork, so carpet plants are the choice (and the only one it seems). It's a beautiful style that I must try some day, yet it seems more like an underwater terrestial landscape than an aquarium and (one of the interesting things about this style) the fish are like wild aliens floating in mid-air. Although for now I'll still be trying to grow colorful stem plants to simulate an underwater ecosystem, I can only imagine the skill and knowledge required to perfect such a tank as the one above.

 

[mrV]

I personally don't like the Amano-stylish aquariums - they seem to be more decoration than pieces of nature. Some of them look just like an abstract painting without any reality at all. But, it's only my opinion.

Well, I don't mean that my tanks are either copies from the world

And close-up picture

But still they look more natural - well, at least somehow B)

 

[fish_r_great]

gf225 what kind of plants do you have in there?

 

[Ginge]

WOW this threads a year old.

The tank no longer has water in but i think i can see Java Fern and Dwarf Sags.

 

[George Farmer]

gf225 what kind of plants do you have in there?

Hygrophila difformis
Hygrophila polysperma
Microsorium pteropus
Sagittaria platyphylla

I recommend the Hygros for starting out and fighting off early algae, that was their use at this stage.

I nearly forgot about that layout, pretty awful really!

 

[Gnatfish]

Ummm...so a Natural Tank doesn't necessary mean its something from underwater.

With plants and fish from the same place?

 

[George Farmer]

Ummm...so a Natural Tank doesn't necessary mean its something from underwater.

With plants and fish from the same place?

The Nature Aquarium and a natural aquarium are two very different things. Here's an extract from an article I am currently working on.

It may cause some surprise that the aim of a Nature Aquarium is not to recreate the biotope of a specific region (although this is possible). The main goal is in fact to create a kind of underwater landscape or an imaginary fantasy scene. If you study many of Amano’s and other Nature style aquascapes you will soon get the idea. Scenes that physically replicate a realistic underwater environment can be created but generally speaking they do not provide the same degree of aesthetic appeal to the aquascaper as an underwater landscape. I believe the reason for this lays in our own perception of what appears to most represent nature. Being a land-based species we humans are familiar with landscapes, certainly more so than underwater scenes and the Nature Aquarium uses this relative attractiveness to its advantage.

Perhaps another surprising aspect to the Nature Aquarium is that it is not a typical natural aquarium. Confused? Let me explain. The natural aquarium is usually low-tech, uses basic equipment, lower lighting levels, no CO2 injection and minimal water column fertilisation. In contrast the Nature Aquarium as pioneered and promoted by ADA is contradictory to this low-tech methodology. ADA is at the cutting edge of design, technology and style and their whole philosophy revolves around merging their high-tech products with nature.

“To learn from nature, to connect a human being to the nature…
The nature aquarium situated in a room provides a direct impression of this high and dense technology, and unites the human being with nature. This corresponds to the philosophy of The Nature Aquarium.â€￾

ADA Euro Catalogue 2005 edition

You may find this thread interesting if you haven't already seen it - http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=139508&hl=