What makes a nature aquarium
The nature aquarium style was made famous by Takashi Amano in the 1990s. Rather than a garden, it recreates a landscape: a hillside, a forest edge, a riverbank, at the scale of a tank. It is built on hardscape, usually driftwood or stone, with plants used the way nature uses them: moss on wood, low growth in the foreground, taller stems behind.
The rules the planner checks
- Built around rock or wood. One strong piece, or a group, carries the layout.
- A focal point on a third. Put the main piece about a third of the way along, not dead centre. The classic layouts are triangular (high on one side), concave (a valley in the middle) and convex (an island).
- A sloped substrate. Rising toward the back adds depth to a shallow box.
- Short in front, tall behind, with open water above the hardscape so the layout can breathe.
- A focused plant list. Four to fourteen species. Repeating a few plants reads as natural; thirty species reads as a shop.
Good plants for a nature layout
Christmas moss or Java moss on wood and stone, Java fern Windelov and bucephalandra tied onto the hardscape, cryptocorynes in the midground, Monte Carlo or Marsilea for a low carpet, and rotala or hygrophila stems behind. Without CO₂, choose the moss, ferns, crypts and Marsilea and leave out high-light carpets.
Other styles
- Iwagumi aquascape planner
- Dutch aquascape planner
- Jungle aquascape planner
- Biotope aquascape planner
- Low-tech aquascape planner
New to the styles? Read Iwagumi vs Nature vs Dutch, or start from the main aquascape planner.
Questions
What is the difference between a nature aquarium and Iwagumi?
Iwagumi is a strict form of nature aquarium that uses only stones and very few plants. A nature aquarium can use wood and stone together and a wider range of plants.
Do I need CO₂ for a nature aquarium?
Not always. Mosses, ferns, crypts and Marsilea grow well without it. Fast carpets such as HC Cuba and many red stems need CO₂ and bright light.
The aquascape planner is in beta. If something looks wrong or you would like a plant added, tell us.