# Digital Aquascaping? What do you think?



## Luca Freiensehner (19 Nov 2020)

Hi guys,

have you ever thought about creating or planning your aquascapes digitally?

For me, there was always the problem of converting my layout ideas into reality. So I tried to develop a new way of planning layouts... 

It's named "Scape It". Scape It allows you to create stunning layouts in a matter of minutes. Easy, fast and absolutely free.

It's a project, that evolved of the issue above. It's driven by the joy of aquascaping.

You can find Scape It here: scape-it.io

So, please give it a try. It has just been released a few days ago and is at its very starting point. If you have any feedback, ideas or questions -  I would be happy to answer them.

Have fun with Scape It





- River Layout created with Scape It




- Scape It Editor


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## Yanee (19 Nov 2020)

Hey Luca, I use it as well! So much fun to plan my new Scape on that! Also I made 6-7 different layouts and have more in my mind😁


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## dino21 (19 Nov 2020)

Really Good !!  👍


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## Wolf6 (19 Nov 2020)

I've tried it  Good way to try out some inspiration. Some tips: Allow layers to be locked, when trying to place plants behind larger hardscape, I kept accidentally moving the hardscape. Add blyxa and fissidens to the plants, both were sorely missed


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## noodlesuk (19 Nov 2020)

Looks great, as a CAD user, always like to try things out digitally first, helps think things through.


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## Wolf6 (19 Nov 2020)

Upon reloading the page, I now see the layer tool with options to lock a layer  Sorry, just a browser issue on my side! That just leaves adding more plants


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## tiger15 (19 Nov 2020)

Wonderful planning tool.  I used something similar decades ago to plan my terrestrial garden.  There wasn't one designed for aquascape when I started my planted tank, so I used Paint tool to draft the layout. 

I recompose my scape by moving real plants around as I don't root any plants in the substrate.  I anchored all my plants in pots or epiphytes attached to small rock which I move around to re-scape.  It turns out that re-scaping is more important  than initial scaping as plants grow, change form, stunt, or die so  initial scaping is never satisfactory.


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## Wookii (20 Nov 2020)

What a fantastic tool you've created there @Luca Freiensehner - I've only had a quick play, but its so easy to use and works brilliantly! For someone like myself who doesn't have photoshop or paint program skills, this is perfect for layout planning. Keep adding to the plant options and hardscape rock and wood variants. 

I think this thread should be retitled "Scape It - Aquascape Planning Tool" and make a sticky on this forum section if @LondonDragon, @Tim Harrison et al agree. - maybe it could be added to the 'Calculators' section?


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## h17mdr (23 Nov 2020)

Thats a very good idea


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## Luca Freiensehner (29 Nov 2020)

Hey guys, thanks for your positive feedback 😍

Quick update: Scape It will soon be available for mobile devices as well. Should be ready to go within the next weeks.

Also, I would love to see your work. So feel free to share your created layouts .

Here an example, created by a user


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## Aqua360 (29 Nov 2020)

Brilliant idea, look forward to trying it on mobile! Android compatible?


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## Radiant (29 Nov 2020)

Just tried it and it was great fun!
Is there a way of saving or sharing your creations other than right clicking and saving the image?
I would be great if in the future we could upload our own images of hardscape to add plants to.


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## tiger15 (29 Nov 2020)

This is how I planned and executed my design using Paint drawing tool, my DIY version of Digital Aquascaping.  It‘s work in progress with only interim product as the scape is continuously evolving.  All my plants are  mobile as they are epiphytes attached to rock or potted so I can move them around to rescape as digital.


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## MMonis (1 Apr 2021)

Just used it for a scape planning as seen here :



Overall I really liked using the tool because of its ease of use and helps planning an aquascape better since not all of us have God-like drawing skills.

Some features/feedback you could consider :
1) Add an option of equipment which could contain heaters, in-tank diffusers, lily pipes, skimmers, etc. This would give a more realistic view of how it will all look together after final assembly.
2) Option to export the scape/project to a format which can then be imported later again if the scape needs to be reworked after say for e.g. getting inputs from folks out here.
3) Add more plants especially from the easy and medium category as this will help beginners as most likely they will be the main users of the tool.
4) A collaboration option where you could design the scape together with another user (This is just my geeky mind being a software engineer myself )

I would surely be recommending the tool as I feel it is a good starting point for novice aquascapers.

Regards,
Mel.


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