RE: [APD] Aquascape layouts

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

A painter once told me, "You don't learn how to paint by
reading. That makes you a better reader but tou learn to
paint by looking and painting.  Look at your work and the
work of great painters and paint some more, again and
again. Painting is something you learn to *do* not
something you learn to read"  I said, "That's great, but
when will you finish the trim on the house?" ;-)

But the point wasn't lost. A great way to get good ideas
for aquascaping that suit your tastes is to view lots of
aquascapes and see what you personally like.  Consider why
you like them, what you like about them, then follow your
tastes. If you want to design for others, I would still
suggest starting with what pleases you, then photographing
it and putting it out for criticism and suggestions.

Here are some sites with lots of good stuff to peruse:

http://www.mynatureaquariums.com/

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/

http://www.aquatic-plants.org/gallery.html

http://www.aquaticscape.com/

http://www.deepforestaquatics.com/

http://www.greenstouch.com/africanlakes.htm


Some of the best planting tips I ever got are these:
When first planting an aquarium, don't fill the aquarium
all the way with water -- just a few inches, plant, then
fill.

Plant your plants individually -- stem plants too if you
don't find it too tedious.  Use a small tweezers or
forceps.

Some find it easier to design by using just a few types of
plants rather than putting dozens in one aquarium.

Otoh, be patient to let things grow but otoh, don't be
afraid to change things.

The Aquatic Gardener, the quarterly full color journal of
the Aquatic Gardeners Associaton has been running a series
of articles on aquascaping by Amano. You can't get better
advice than Amano's if you're interested in the Amano style
of aquascaping or just want some good tips on techniques.
If you're not an AGA member, you can get back issues from
the AGA site:

http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/bookstore.html

Also available there 

http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/convention.html

You can also just borrow copies from friends but don't tell
the AGA Board I said so ;-)

Also at AGA is a video tape that covers the 2000 and 2001
AGA conventions -- therein is a really good presentation on
the Dutch style of aquascaping (rules, rules and more
rules) plus a full recording of Amano actually setting up
an aquarium and discussing the what and why as he does so. 

Good luck,
Scott H.

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears
http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/
_______________________________________________
Aquatic-Plants mailing list
Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants