The underwater world is always interesting to explore. However, most people find it difficult when explore this underwater world. But, don’t worry because you can now discover the underwater world at your fingertips, of course with an aquatic or aquascape hobby that is easy, fun, and can give you an underwater feel without having to dive into the ocean.
Aquascape is a type of aquatic and aquascape hobby that has attracted the attention of various groups. Aquascape itself offers something that is not only beautiful but also about creativity and ideas. This is an aquatic hobby that is quite fresh because you can bring the underwater world into your hands and of course, you can create the underwater world according to your imagination and creativity.
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Tips Aquascaping for Beginners
Doing this hobby will certainly be quite difficult for those of you who are still beginners. However, don’t worry because we will explain to you some quite useful things, which can be useful when you want to start your aquascape hobby. Of course, you have to pay attention to some of the tips that we will share this time, especially for those of you who want to start your aquascape hobby and cover the underwater world with your hands.
Below we will explain to you some important tips for aquascaping that beginners can do. Hopefully, this can be useful for you.
Tanks/Aquariums
A tank or aquarium is a glass container that we will use to put all the media into it. The sizes of these tanks vary depending on your budget or space to store them in your home. The bigger the price, the more expensive it can be.
Substrate / Soil
Substrate / Soil is often classified as hardscape, but in this article, it is separated from this point so that it gets attention. There are various types of substrates, you can use sand, poor sand, small stones, or specially processed soil for growing flora in water.
Hardscape
A hardscape is an ornament that we usually use to complement and beautify an aquascape. We can use various kinds of natural materials as hardscapes, such as stones, branches, roots, and artificial ornaments.
Flora
Flora are plants that we can plant in an aquascape, using flora will beautify and add a natural impression to your aquascape. This flora varies in type and level of difficulty. For those of you who are beginners, I recommend using plants that are easier to maintain.
Fauna
Meanwhile, Fauna are animals especially fish that we place in the aquascape. Like flora, fauna also has its level of difficulty in maintaining and varies in price.
Light
Another thing that is no less important is lights or lighting, In an aquascape this lighting is to help the chemical processes that occur in the tank; photosynthetic flora. There are several levels of use of this light, but beginners can start with low/or medium lighting first.
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Filter
Apart from filtering ‘dirt’, the filter also provides a means for microbes to carry out the nitrification process or the decomposition of waste substances from living creatures in the tank, into substances that can be reused by flora and fauna.
Apart from that, the filter also provides “Flow” so that the water circulation in the tank is dynamic and continues to rotate. This flow is related to the distribution of nutrients to all parts of the tank.
What differentiates Aquascape from a regular aquarium is that the main concern is the development of aquatic plants. Meanwhile, the fish is only used as decoration.
Aquascape itself also has various types of concepts, and one of them is Iwagumi. Iwagumi, is an Aquascape concept that prioritizes rocks as decoration.
Aquascape is the art of caring for aquatic plants in an aquarium medium. It is also said that aquascape is the art of caring for and regulating the level of water clarity so that plants and other biota such as ornamental fish can live.
To further support this aesthetic, you can also use stones, coral, wood, and ornamental fish to make it more attractive.
One thing to pay attention to here is the selection of ornamental fish. Not all ornamental fish can be classified as fish that can live in an aquascape ecosystem.
Guppies
The first ornamental fish is the Guppy Fish or Gupi. Guppies are one of the freshwater fish that are very popular throughout the world because they are strong and easy to adapt and breed.
Rasbora Galaxy
The second ornamental fish that can be kept in an aquascape ecosystem for beginners is the Rasbora Galaxy. This fish is agile and active so you will enjoy seeing it swimming. However, you need to be careful, place plants that are strong with waves or have strong stems, or make sure the roots of your aquascape plants are strong so that they are not easily damaged by these fish. The temperature of these fish is generally around 25 degrees with sufficient bright lighting.
Neon Tetra
Originating from South America, this bright blue fish combined with radiant red is one of the fish that fits perfectly in an aquascape ecosystem. However, it should be noted that this fish is quite sensitive and gets stressed easily. You need to regulate the water content so that there are no sudden changes in the temperature or acidity (pH). These fish also need to live in groups, so at least buy these fish in schools of 5-6. This fish is quite small, so it will be safe for the survival of your aquascape plants.
Cardinal Tetra
It is the same type and is the same as Tetra, but cardinal tetra is different from Neon Tetra. Cardinal Tetra is characterized by the red color extending from the tail to the head, while the Neon Tetra is only partially red.
Apart from color, the Neon Tetra fish has a larger fin shape compared to the Cardinal Tetra whose upper fins look smaller.
These are some tips that we have compiled from The Aqua Advisor. These tips are for beginners who just want to start their aquascape hobby. With aquascape, you can discover an extraordinary underwater world and make your home even more interesting.
