It is mesmerizing how each aquascape is unique and intricately crafted. An aquascape tells the story of an entire ecosystem while simultaneously being a world unto itself, composed of nothing but water, plants and rocks. For years, I attempted to create tanks that contained all the elements, but they were somehow lacking the depth of character which aquascapes capture so effortlessly. I quickly realised that I had overlooked the fundamental principles of design. My collection…

My first encounter with a rimless tank was at an international aquascaping competition in Singapore. After a twenty-hour flight, jet legged me, and dealing with the scrutiny of customs (bragging about a TSA’s playground plant scissors is a risky proposition), the icing on the cake was the astonishing stone-cut tank with pristine water perfectly encompassing nature’s beauty. The tank’s pristine water surface, with no hindrances on view induced by plastic edges or borders, touched my…

Every scar tells a story, I got one in my right palm from an incident my wife fondly calls, “The Great Dragon Stone Disaster of 2018.” Imagine a stunning rock formation I constructed sitting in my 75-gallon tank. It thrived in all its beauty for three glorious days, until during a routine water change, it came crashing down and shattering into fragments. Not only did the explosion splash shards into my hand and frighten my…

What do you think happens in the background while some aquascape is being set up? Well, I photographed the absolute chaos for you. An example is the work I did a month back for a doctor’s office which needed a relaxing 60-gallon aquarium tank. If captured, the photo I envision would feature a grown man blankly staring at a piece of driftwood arguing with himself internally. “Why the hell won’t you stay still? Imagine the…

When I tried my hand at Dutch-style aquascaping, I ended up with an unmitigated disaster. Plant life was strewn across the aquarium with no attempt at organization, focal points did not exist, and the color combinations were not just dissimilar but almost hostile to one another. It was as if the underwater world decided to replicate an unrefined abstract painting—and paint splatters at that. During my second attempt, I tried to balance my overabundance of…

I will never forget how, about a year ago, I set up a Rio Negro blackwater tank in the waiting area of an upscale dental office. In one of my monthly maintenance visits, I had the chance to listen to one of the receptionists talk to a patient who had just come back from an Amazon River cruise. One of the things that struck me was when, in one of his exclamations, he revealed, “That’s…

Knowing how to multiply a single plant into multiple plants makes designing an underwater forest easier. After aquascaping for years, going through multiple failures, I have recently come to view propagation, albeit reluctantly, as a form of moving meditation. Being able to watch small tree cuttings grow into little forests able to enhance the charm of an aquarium is something simply magical. Prior to this I had attempted different ways of self sustaining plant propagation,…