How do you plan your Aquascape?

I guess the seeds for imagination are things you have seen... sometimes related, sometimes not. For me, I draw inspiration from other ppl's tanks, terrestrial gardens and natural "landscapes". Also, some of my own accidental designs that turn out unexpectedly well.

Sometimes the idea is triggered when I find a particularly interesting piece of rock or driftwood at the LFS. I caught the driftwood/rock hoarding bug recently.

At the moment, I have a very nice piece of wood sitting around waiting for a good scaping plan. This piece is unique in that I probably have to get a tank specially made to fit it rather then try to fit in a particular (standard) tank. I've finally decided on using it for a new terrarium for my chinese firebelly newts. The next step is designing the tank... I'm planning on building in a sump filter cum waterfall... after I find a place to put it.

At the same time, I'm agonising over a new layout for my 6ft planted arowana tank. She's getting bigger and I need to rescape to give her more space. I've been browsing thru Amano's Nature Aquarium book series, the ADA 2003, 2004 catalogs, ADA Korea/Japan's tank galleries, AGA's and AB's competition galleries and other websites for ideas. Unfortunately, most tanks are "planted to the brim". :!:

I use a lot of different sources for my aquascaping layouts:

1) Nature, just looking around at what's around you. How can you recreate that same feeling? Right now, I am working on two layouts both with specific themes. One is spring and one is autumn. You need some imagination for recreating the 'aura' that you are trying to convey.

2) Other people's layouts (especially Amano). I don't outright copy any designs, but it's okay to borrow some elements like noting how two plants intergrow into one another in the foreground or an original use of hardscaping you've never thought of before. It's no use trying to reinvent the wheel.

3) Designing/working with the hardscaping I have. I sketch each piece of wood I have in my sketch book and try to draw an aquascape around it. I have a plan in my mind this way. When I go into the tank, I may change and switch around a few elements but the basic idea is still there. Sketching layouts beforehand saves a lot of time. When you tackle a tank with no plan beforehand, it is much more difficult. Designs may come out "forced" because of time constraints.

Relax. Plan your layouts a month beforehand, play around with it in the tank, etc. Let creativity flow freely from your mind instead of forcing yourself to come up with an idea within a predetermined amount of time.
Remember that your hardscaping doesn't have to be perfect the first time around (especially as the plants grow in). You may have to adjust different pieces of wood or tweak the plantings a bit to get it just right.

Carlos

A nice old thread to dig up

I think that everyone takes something from another tank...it is called inspiration Some take more than others.

Here is my inpiration on my favorite tank of mine. Clearly you can see an influence and clearly you can see that I took it in a different direction...well...I hope it is clear LOL