# The Art of Nature Aquarium



## Geoffrey Rea




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## Onoma1

Such a shame his books are now put of print and selling for crazy prices.


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## tiger15

I visited Sumida Aquarium in spring of 2019, and posted a thread of it.

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/my-visit-to-japan-aquariums.57800/

By comparing to the documentary videos, the layout remains  authentic to design by Amano  in 2013.


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## PARAGUAY

ADAs videos are ones l can watch over and over even the ones with subtitles


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## Geoffrey Rea

tiger15 said:


> By comparing to the documentary videos, the layout remains authentic to design by Amano in 2013.



This is admirable and part of why those videos are a joy to watch. I know the plant choices lean towards easier long term preservation of the original concept, but to me that is simply good planning.

For newcomers to the hobby, if you’re attentive those videos provide oodles of instruction and because it’s on a larger scale it’s easier to pickup.


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## Wolf6

Enjoyed seeing these! Seeing ADA tanks are what got me back into the hobby, some 10 years ago now. I'd never seen tanks like that before, so natural and beautiful.


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## Wookii

Absolutely incredible scapes - I love the way the fish school up in the open spaces - amazing.  I was leafing through my Amano books the other day - it's interesting how his style evolved.

I can't even begin to imagine the maintenance on those though - I mean just trimming that carpet in the 7m tank would be a mammoth task.

It's also interesting how much we emphasize 'flow and distribution' on this forum, and yet there really can't be much flow at all on that 170cm deep tank.


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## rebel

Wookii said:


> yet there really can't be much flow at all on that 170cm deep tank.


Amano ran (advocates) lower light and lower water column nutrients.


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## PARAGUAY

@Wooki  Something l have wondered about on certain scapes CO2 straight to  surface and little visible flow


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## Wookii

rebel said:


> Amano ran (advocates) lower light and lower water column nutrients.



You don't get a carpet like that with low lighting lol, besides, look at the amount of metal halide Solar 1's in the video:


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## tiger15

One challenge of these giant planted tanks is maintenance.  They have to do it in night hours when the aquarium is closed to the public, often not done until sunrise.  Because of the human size height and width of the tanks, they often have to stand inside the tanks on suction cups on the wall and  make  use of special long arm tool to do the pruning.


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## Geoffrey Rea

PARAGUAY said:


> Something l have wondered about on certain scapes CO2 straight to surface and little visible flow



Some ADA setups you see on video (from their gallery) have very low surface agitation along with low flow. Coupled with low nutrients lowering Co2 demand, you can get by fine. Better preservation of all dissolved gases that way but in tank evaporation becomes more of a factor in influencing your Co2. It’s more aesthetically pleasing viewing the scape without bubbles blasting everywhere, more calm. My understanding is Amano was an advocate of lifting lily pipes up at night though to increase surface agitation.

Anyone who’s turned a filter off (zero flow) and left a diffuser running in tank knows first hand that the drop checker still turns yellow rapidly. Suppose the dividing point here is dissolved gas and Co2 mist really.

Clean diffusers also produce fine mist but all we catch at a glance is the larger bubbles, especially on video rather than in person.


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## Geoffrey Rea

Wookii said:


> I can't even begin to imagine the maintenance on those though - I mean just trimming that carpet in the 7m tank would be a mammoth task.






tiger15 said:


> One challenge of these giant planted tanks is maintenance. They have to do it in night hours when the aquarium is closed to the public, often not done until sunrise.


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## Wookii

Geoffrey Rea said:


>




Incredible - the carpet trimming looks painstaking!


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## Geoffrey Rea

Wookii said:


> Incredible - the carpet trimming looks painstaking!



Huge carpet at that as well... Ain’t it grand designing scapes when you don’t have to maintain them 😂


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## PARAGUAY

@Geoffrey Rea . Thanks for the explanation makes perfect sense. And have noticed how ADA lift the lily pipes think it was on the Green Aqua visit to the NA gallery


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## Melll

Thank you for posting the links to those videos, I have seen them all before but it was very good to see them again


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## Geoffrey Rea

PARAGUAY said:


> Thanks for the explanation makes perfect sense. And have noticed how ADA lift the lily pipes think it was on the Green Aqua visit to the NA gallery



That’s ADA’s way.

An easier way...  a couple of 2 litre jugs, remove some water to drop the water level overnight, pour back in when morning comes around. Far less broken lily pipes from suction cups failing.




Melll said:


> Thank you for posting the links to those videos, I have seen them all before but it was very good to see them again



Their content is timeless. This site has become heavily weighted towards scientific argument lately, which is great. However, thought the content list could do with something firmly planted in the art side for anyone new to the hobby. Bit of eye candy for inspiration.


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## Melll

Geoffrey Rea said:


> That’s ADA’s way.
> 
> An easier way...  a couple of 2 litre jugs, remove some water to drop the water level overnight, pour back in when morning comes around. Far less broken lily pipes from suction cups failing.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Their content is timeless.  However, thought the content list could do with something firmly planted in the art side for anyone new to the hobby. Bit of eye candy for inspiration.



I would love to just go and sit and soak up the peace and quiet of the garden at Amano`s home, seeing his tanks all set up would be a bonus


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## Tom Ryan (@aquascaperay)

Always great inspiration!


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## sparkyweasel

Geoffrey Rea said:


> This site has become heavily weighted towards scientific argument lately, which is great. However, thought the content list could do with something firmly planted in the art side for anyone new to the hobby. Bit of eye candy for inspiration.


Good thinking.


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## Geoffrey Rea

Full circle back to the beginning:


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## Wookii

Geoffrey Rea said:


> Full circle back to the beginning:




Really interesting seeing his thought processes on the designs. he was clearly a massively talented guy . . . wouldn't have fancied working for him though! #nightmareboss 😂


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## Siege

Any one interested in the ADA gallery I’d recommend this book. It’s 30 euros plus postage on aquasabi, so not too bad at all.

https://www.aquasabi.com/Oliver-Knott-Training-Days-In-Japan-My-Journey

At 1st glance I thought it was rather basic, but upon reading I find myself learning a small thing in each chapter. It is very entertaining and funny also with excellent photos.

On my link there is only 1 left in stock, so if they run out it may be worth pming Oliver Knott on social media as to where you can get one. Alternatively contact Aquasabi to see when they may have more in, assuming it is still in print.


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## Melll

Out of stock now


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## Siege

[





Geoffrey Rea said:


> Their content is timeless. This site has become heavily weighted towards scientific argument lately, which is great. However, thought the content list could do with something firmly planted in the art side for anyone new to the hobby. Bit of eye candy for inspiration.



Can we pin this post! 😂


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## Geoffrey Rea




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## Jayefc1

Great content you have posted @Geoffrey Rea really interesting to watch the vids totally agree with this site becoming more and more scientific which has its place it's just not at all aspirational of what I think ukaps should be to the new comers


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## Geoffrey Rea




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## tiger15

This forum tends to be heavier in scientific discussions as many posters,  like Tom Barr and Dianne Walstad,  have science or academia background.   Amano is not a scientist but a nature photographer, so he sees aquascaping with artist eyes. His well known publications are heavy in photography, but light in narratives and science. His approach is empirical, based on experience more than theories.  Even his discovery of the use of CO2 is an accident by pouring soda water after a bar visit.  His contribution in aquascaping includes not just CO2,  but pioneering the use of  novel plant species, mosses, carpet plants and shrimp  he explored from nature.


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## Geoffrey Rea

Jayefc1 said:


> totally agree with this site becoming more and more scientific which has its place it's just not at all aspirational of what I think ukaps should be to the new comers



Not wishing to be misunderstood, fully appreciate there is a need for both. Beyond that there is a huge amount of gratitude for everyone and anyone that contributes to UKAPS. This thread is simply comprised of videos that are clearly seated in artistic merit. A catalogue of the big ones that appear to have inspired a lot of people that have chatted about the matter.

The sharing of these videos from ADA and ADA alone is to display these projects without a YouTuber putting their head in the way and giving you their mind dump. Everyone can make their own minds up for themselves.


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## PARAGUAY

I think Amano when he concentrated on the benefits of CO2 and nature aquarium made a decision to go high end and quality on ADA products with his own theory and method. It would have been easy for ADA to make a budget range and probably more financial expansion but he didn't compromise on his beliefs and  think we should acknowledge that


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## Geoffrey Rea

180cm Concave Composition


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## Jayefc1

What a beautiful scape


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## Geoffrey Rea

Really smart 180cm. Relatively low amount of hardscape and lower profile of soil. Still uses all the same techniques as previously showcased in larger projects.  Shows the benefit of planning ahead with pre-soaked wood and wabi kusa.


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## Geoffrey Rea

120cm


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## CooKieS

Geoffrey Rea said:


> 120cm




This one is stunning; perfect use of shadows, wood placement is top notch and clever use of ohko stones...very inspiring.


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## Tim Harrison

Thought I'd share incase some haven't seen it yet...


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## Geoffrey Rea

CooKieS said:


> This one is stunning; perfect use of shadows, wood placement is top notch and clever use of ohko stones...very inspiring.



This generation of ADA scapers seem to have a really great contrast between their styles. You can almost pinpoint the scaper just from viewing the scape, which is promising. A noticeable divergence away from Amano led scape creations for the 2020’s. Daisuke Inoue’s repeated preference for hornwood and ohko stone in the 120cm and the other 180cm in the gallery especially stands out for all the reasons you outline @CooKieS


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## Conort2

Geoffrey Rea said:


> 120cm



One of my favourites, great plant choice and fish selection. The black water apistogramma in that tank is amazing.I like how ADA often use rarer fish that aren’t the usual harlequins etc that we often see in aquascapes. There are so many suitable fish people can use if they think outside the box a little bit.

cheers

Conor


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## Wookii

The 180cm iwagumi looks like a bit of a waste of real estate to me, but the rest are beautiful scapes!


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## tiger15

Wookii said:


> The 180cm iwagumi looks like a bit of a waste of real estate to me, but the rest are beautiful scapes!


Iwagumi style  is like Chinese landscape painting, beautiful, artistic and poetic, but sterile.  There is a lot of real estate in this ADA Iwagami aquarium  in Tokyo which is the largest in the world, but has the smallest, single species of fish-- hundreds of cardinal tetra. 

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/my-visit-to-japan-aquariums.57800/


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## Ed Wiser




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## GHNelson

Thanks, Ed 
Great video


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## adavin

Tim Harrison said:


> Thought I'd share incase some haven't seen it yet...




I cant wait for my 90 to be delivered


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## Tim Harrison

adavin said:


> I cant wait for my 90 to be delivered


Exciting times ahead


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## Wookii

Ed Wiser said:


>




Beautiful tanks


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## adavin

Tim Harrison said:


> Exciting times ahead


Should be here next week so guess I will do a build thread. No doubt will be seeking loads of help 

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk


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## glasscanvasart

Ryo's video or more specifically the 180P, made me change my plans for my 60cm. It will have to be a 'classic' Nature Aquarium.

ADA layouts don't appear as good as last years, though I think that was an exceptional year and they didn't show all of their layouts.


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## DeepMetropolis

Wookii said:


> The 180cm iwagumi looks like a bit of a waste of real estate to me, but the rest are beautiful scapes!


That was my thought also.. I just can't find something interesting in the whole scape..


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## RHill24

Geoffrey Rea said:


>



These are some big tanks!


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## rebel

Conort2 said:


> The black water apistogramma in that tank is amazing.I like how ADA often use rarer fish that aren’t the usual harlequins etc that we often see in aqua





Conort2 said:


> There are so many suitable fish people can use if they think outside the box a little bit.


You guys are spoilt for fish over there. In Australia we have to pay crazy prizes for uncommon fish. Apistos are often $50 each.


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## Geoffrey Rea

Maintenance


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## Geoffrey Rea




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## Wookii

Absolutely stunning! Even the Iwagami (and I'm not a huge Iwagami fan) is captivating.

Someone needs to explain this to me though. Huge tanks with just one filter inlet and outlet, barely any flow, and the CO2 diffuser just sending bubbles straight to the surface at the other end of the tank. If I did this I'd have algae everywhere, stunted stem growth - generally a mess. How do they do it?


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## Geoffrey Rea

Well start from a more skeptical position:

- Is that how they run their tanks or is that how they’re presented for filming for a calm aesthetic?

- Always run like that? Not differently at startup, then different again once plant mass is established?

- If you had an efficient and established system, why wouldn’t low turnover and preservation of dissolved gases through low surface agitation be enough to carry the system 24/7?


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## Wookii

Geoffrey Rea said:


> Well start from a more skeptical position:
> 
> - Is that how they run their tanks or is that how they’re presented for filming for a calm aesthetic?



. . . and I thought I was a twisted old sceptic! 😂  . . . Perhaps you're right - I could certainly see them turning a pump down, or off for the  video shoot, but do you really think they are pulling some filters outlets and power heads out for filming - aren't these show tanks viewable by the public? 



Geoffrey Rea said:


> - Always run like that? Not differently at startup, then different again once plant mass is established?



You're far more experienced than me on this - does CO2 distribution become less important to a plant once it becomes established?



Geoffrey Rea said:


> - If you had an efficient and established system, why wouldn’t low turnover and preservation of dissolved gases through low surface agitation be enough to carry the system 24/7?



Honestly, I don't know - I wish I did - I hate having to push the water around as much as I do in my own tanks. I've seen similar comments by people that have seen Green Aqua's tanks, in that they are low flow/turnover, but it seems to go against all the advice you see dispensed on this forum, and it must surely result in areas of the aquarium with low(er) CO2?

I do feel like a kid here, not being able to work out how the magic trick is done! 😆


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## tiger15

In the maintenance video, it said that stems can only be topped a limited number of times before having to be uprooted, chopped, discarded the bottom, and replanted. 

I understand the maintenance routine but don’t understand how in nature stem plant beds can be self established.


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## Wolf6

tiger15 said:


> In the maintenance video, it said that stems can only be topped a limited number of times before having to be uprooted, chopped, discarded the bottom, and replanted.
> 
> I understand the maintenance routine but don’t understand how in nature stem plant beds can be self established.


I imagine its like any plant in the garden: it grows untill it falls over/breaks/rots and from the root/remaining bits of stem, new tops form. The tops of the rotted stems float away and land somewhere else, forming new plantbeds occasionally.


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## dw1305

Hi all,


tiger15 said:


> it said that stems can only be topped a limited number of times before having to be uprooted, chopped, discarded the bottom, and replanted.


I guess it is to do with the limited number of "axillary buds", these are the (normally dormant) buds in the leaf axils.  They contain the meristematic tissue that can  grow a new plant. Plants potentially have <"totipotency">, the ability to regenerate a plant from a single cell, but for most plants they can only regrow <"from meristematic tissue">.




Every time you remove the shoot tip ("terminal bud") at least one axillary bud is stimulated to grow due to the removal of "apical dominance".




If you keep on cutting the stem at a low level, after a while it won't have any dormant axillary buds left (they all will have grown out and been cut off) and will be unable to produce a new shoot.

cheers Darrel


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## tiger15

Wolf6 said:


> I imagine its like any plant in the garden: it grows untill it falls over/breaks/rots and from the root/remaining bits of stem, new tops form. The tops of the rotted stems float away and land somewhere else, forming new plantbeds occasionally.


I think rotting  bottom and floating away is an aquarium thing, not something that occurs naturally or else the stem beds would not have established.  Stems are flowering plants that set seeds propagated by air and water and don’t make sense the  need to break away to form new plants.  This  underwater video of a river in Brazil has large beds of Myrio, Bacopa, and Ludwigia that in the aquarium often develop bare rotten bottoms, but apparently not so in their natural habitat.  What’s causing bare and rotten bottom in the aquarium is an unnatural thing.






						A journey through the Rio Sucuri
					

Woke up this morning seeing this beautiful vid. Probably most of you know the channel, but I just wanted to share.



					www.ukaps.org


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## Wolf6

Looking at my pond and streams around here, I would say breaking off is a major source of propagation there at least. Animals and fish break off parts and they settle a bit further. Rotting occurs less, but sometimes plants get so full and bushy they collect sediment and mulm and turn into large dirt and algae balls, and those stems do go bad eventually, leaving the healthy tops to float away. Thats just my observations of local stuff. Algae and decay to me is natural as well. Id prefer to not have it in my tank though


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## dw1305

Hi all,


tiger15 said:


> Stems are flowering plants that set seeds propagated by air and water and don’t make sense the need to break away to form new plants.


The same as @Wolf6  really, the majority of aquatic plants in temperate regions are perennial, rather than annual a nd they can spread by vegetative growth, it just makes sense in a permanently wet habitat.

This even extends to trees like Willows (_Salix_ spp.)  and <"Poplars (_Populus_ spp.)"> which spread vegetatively, as well as by seed,  by shedding branches which are swept downstream  and can re-root on new silt banks etc.

Aquatic roots  are <"pretty common on a lot of stem plants">,  allowing them to fragment and spread vegetatively.

You will get more annual plants in seasonally wet habitats, like tropical countries with a regular pattern of wet and dry seasons. There is some discussion of this with <"_Murdannia keisak">, _where it looks like once <"flowering is initiated death is inevitable">.

cheers Darrel


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## tiger15

True, according to this field guide about an invasive species of Myrio, stems do develop bare bottom in the wild, and spread vegetatively more so than by seeds.



			Eurasian Water-Milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum)
		


Plant: herbaceous aquatic plant; stems grow to the water surface, usually extending 3-10 ft. but as much as 33 ft. in length and frequently forming dense mats; stems are long, slender, branching, hairless and become leafless toward the base; new plants may emerge from each node (joint) on a stem and root upon contact with mud.
Spreads: vegetatively by rhizomes, fragmented stems and axillary buds that develop throughout the year. Although seeds are usually viable, they are not an important means of dispersal.


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## castle

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I guess it is to do with the limited number of "axillary buds", these are the (normally dormant) buds in the leaf axils.  They contain the meristematic tissue that can  grow a new plant. Plants potentially have <"totipotency">, the ability to regenerate a plant from a single cell, but for most plants they can only regrow <"from meristematic tissue">.
> 
> ...
> Every time you remove the shoot tip ("terminal bud") at least one axillary bud is stimulated to grow due to the removal of "apical dominance".
> 
> 
> ...
> If you keep on cutting the stem at a low level, after a while it won't have any dormant axillary buds left (they all will have grown out and been cut off) and will be unable to produce a new shoot.
> 
> cheers Darrel



@dw1305 Is this true for every stem? I've cut Rotala down to the gravel, and yet it seems to grow? Maybe, I'm incorrect in my cutting.


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## dw1305

Hi all, 


castle said:


> I've cut Rotala down to the gravel, and yet it seems to grow?


I don't know with _Rotala spp.,_ but the <"root itself "> could have buds that can regenerate a leafy shoot, or there might be a modified stem section (<"like a tuber or a corm">), than has many buds on it.  Some plants (often from fire prone habitats) have a section of tissue at the base of the stem that has epicormic buds on it, like the <"lignotuber of a _Eucalyptus_ spp.">.  

cheers Darrel


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## Geoffrey Rea

Riverbed 150cm


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## Geoffrey Rea




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## REDSTEVEO

Onoma1 said:


> Such a shame his books are now put of print and selling for crazy prices.


Crazy prices you say. I have a box in the loft with every book he ever published. Not only that, but each one is signed and stamped with the original private 'chop' from Takashi Amano himself.

Not only that, but I have got about 75 copies of his monthly magazine from the 1990's each one still wrapped in the original sealed plastic covers.

He sent them to me personally from Japan after I sponsored him to get a puppy for his daughters Birthday from a UK Breeder. The full story is in one of the forums on here.


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## Wookii

Bringing this thread back alive. ADA added this tank to their YouTube page recently - I love the grassy look:




Also stumbled across this. Not technically a Nature Aquarium per the thread title, but quite an amazing constructional feat. I can't help but wince as they lift the rocks in:


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## Ash_bash

Had all of his books and gave them away when I sold my fishtank years ago *facepalm


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## Tim Harrison

NA Gallery Aquascape Selection vol.2


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## Tom72

Tim Harrison said:


> Thought I'd share incase some haven't seen it yet...



Wow, I think I’ll give up now😞………Not really, totally awesome and so inspiring. The confidence of the scapes and planting is phenomenal. Thanks for posting, it has me made me think to be bolder on my next scape, which I hope is coming later this summer.


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## Tom72

Ash_bash said:


> Had all of his books and gave them away when I sold my fishtank years ago *facepalm


I gave away all my fish books, including the second print of Dr Axelrods encyclopaedia of fresh water fish. Then when my interest resumed I saw the prices they fetch..,Arrgghhhh! What a complete idiot.


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## Tim Harrison

Tom72 said:


> it has me made me think to be bolder on my next scape,


It's the only way to scape 



Tom72 said:


> Then when my interest resumed I saw the prices they fetch..,Arrgghhhh!


I know, just look at the prices of Amano's Nature Aquarium World; that's if you can find them...

Amazon product


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## Deano3

Tom72 said:


> I gave away all my fish books, including the second print of Dr Axelrods encyclopaedia of fresh water fish. Then when my interest resumed I saw the prices they fetch..,Arrgghhhh! What a complete idiot.


I done exactly the same sold books when thought was out then interest came back and purchased all back  i will keep hold now 

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk


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## Tim Harrison

Really nice video of  Yusuke Homma talking about the Miomote River located in Murakami City as inspiration for an aquascape.


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## Tim Harrison

Scenic Garden, 90cm Scape


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## Geoffrey Rea

Yusuke Homma and Naru Uchida visiting the Shin Egawa River, Niigata, Japan.


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## Geoffrey Rea

The Nature Aquarium Exhibition 2021:





W240cm Terrarium walkthrough:


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## Geoffrey Rea

A bit of inspiration for anyone starting a new aquascape in 2022:


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## Ibz10

Wow


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## Yalai

Any art, is built by time and money and the most important is, hobby.


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## Geoffrey Rea

Possibly a bit like Marmite for folks. Love or hate and nothing in between. Nice conversation between Inoue and Uchida, need to hit the captions if you want English subtitles:


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## plantnoobdude

love it! that sphaerocarpa is stunning!


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## john arnold

Geoffrey Rea said:


> That’s ADA’s way.
> 
> An easier way...  a couple of 2 litre jugs, remove some water to drop the water level overnight, pour back in when morning comes around. Far less broken lily pipes from suction cups failing.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Their content is timeless. This site has become heavily weighted towards scientific argument lately, which is great. However, thought the content list could do with something firmly planted in the art side for anyone new to the hobby. Bit of eye candy for inspiration.


Just seen this about the lily pipes that is  a legendary alternative, ADA aint as good as they think aye haha


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## Geoffrey Rea

Classic 180cm Iwagumi:



Hit the closed captions button (CC) in the top right corner if you want English subtitles.


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## Wookii

Geoffrey Rea said:


> Classic 180cm Iwagumi:




Inspiration for your 1200?


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## Geoffrey Rea

Nature Aquarium Exhibition 2022:


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## Wookii

Geoffrey Rea said:


> Nature Aquarium Exhibition 2022:




Beautiful tanks - the first and second in particular look incredible. Makes me wish I could fit an 1800 somewhere! 🤔


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