Aquascaping Tips

My knowledge of plants and aquascaping skills have improved a lot since acquiring my first tank. I don't really believe in rescaping a tank but building and improving on an existing aquascape to make it better. However, eventhough I'm no renowned guru on this subject, researching and some practical experience has taught me a few lessons I would like to share.

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• First and most importantly patience, because plants will need time to grow /multiply into the desired aquascape.
• Consistency in pruning and changing of water (20%) every week. This will keep the dreaded algae in check.
• Try to space the dosage out by dividing it so you can do it a few times a week, in smaller doses. This will minimise the occurrence of an algae bloom caused by too much nutrients in the water.
• Know the growth habits of your plants. This will give you a sense of the space (height and width wise) they will need to grow out, so you can design your aquascape accordingly. The knowledge will come with experience but the internet helps a lot.
• Use terracing with shorter plants at the foreground and taller ones in the background. This will help make your aquarium look a lot larger.
• Join some forums related to this topic (please refer to my links aquascaping) and there will be people who are quite willing to help.
• Use plants with fine leaves and tiny fish for smaller tanks. This will give the tank a larger illusion. It took me 2 years to realise this as I've never been really happy with how my smaller tank was scaped till now.
• Lastly, other than the essential algae eaters, try to keep just one type of fish in your tank, preferably shoalers. This will give your tank a stronger visual impact.