TOO
Member
Besides planted nature aquarium I have for a long time been interested in biotope aquaria.
Recently I have been thinking that it might be a future idea for UKAPS to add a section on biotope aquascaping. I am aware that the focus of UKAPS is on the planted aquarium, and since many (true) biotopes do not in fact have plants, it may fall outside its remit.
Yet I feel that, even if founded in a different philosophy, biotopes offer an equally great challenge for the aquascaper. Too often biotope aquaria proceed with no aestethic purpose. This is true for the set-up as such, but also for the external equipment.
One might say, of course, that thinking about aesthetics in a biotope aquarium is somehow contradictory. I dont think so, necessarily. I think it is possible to create something that is aesthetically convincing as well as biotopically correct. In some of his previous work, George Farmer has shown some great examples of this. Currently I have a Sulawesi shrimp set-up, which is just a lot of stones spread over the surface. Sounds dull, but to me it is very visually appealing.
Anyway, just something to consider for the future. Any thoughts are welcome.
Thomas
Recently I have been thinking that it might be a future idea for UKAPS to add a section on biotope aquascaping. I am aware that the focus of UKAPS is on the planted aquarium, and since many (true) biotopes do not in fact have plants, it may fall outside its remit.
Yet I feel that, even if founded in a different philosophy, biotopes offer an equally great challenge for the aquascaper. Too often biotope aquaria proceed with no aestethic purpose. This is true for the set-up as such, but also for the external equipment.
One might say, of course, that thinking about aesthetics in a biotope aquarium is somehow contradictory. I dont think so, necessarily. I think it is possible to create something that is aesthetically convincing as well as biotopically correct. In some of his previous work, George Farmer has shown some great examples of this. Currently I have a Sulawesi shrimp set-up, which is just a lot of stones spread over the surface. Sounds dull, but to me it is very visually appealing.
Anyway, just something to consider for the future. Any thoughts are welcome.
Thomas