HARDSCAPE STUDY
The study of the hardscape is certainly the fundamental part of being able to have good results in terms of respecting the photographic rules governing perspective and the golden section of a layout.
It is important to observe nature and learn from nature… so one tip is to take many photos during your excursions or search online for shots to use as inspiration, and then study the perspective and image rules of the analysed photograph.
Here is the inspirational photo that I studied and analysed:
I then use a convenient application to apply the guidelines for analysing and having optical references:
So I start with the actual construction of the hardscape… trying to place the rocks following precise guidelines… and looking at
always the tank with the eye of the camera lens.
As you can see, I have tried to get as close as possible to the guidelines dictated by the inspirational photo, I have helped myself to create depth and rise in the back of the tank with some simple women’s stockings, filled with substrate recovered from previous set-ups, therefore already rich and biologically colonised.
A further important step is the choice of plants to be used, here experience plays a very concrete role, because if you know the bearing and growth speed of plants it is much easier to understand which plants to order in order to achieve the layout idea we have in our heads.
As you can see, already in the design phase we have to define the volumes and spaces that the plants should have… and we will have to keep them respected through pruning.
Selection of plants:
- Hemianthus callitrichoides “Cuba”
- Rotala sp. “Gia Lai” / “H’Ra”
- Rotala sp. “Green”
- Hygrophila pinnatifida
- Hygrophila pinnatifida
- Eleocharis sp. ‘Mini
- Micranthemum sp. “Montecarlo-3” – 1-2-GROW!
- Hemianthus glomeratus
- Marsilea Crenata
- Riccardia
DSM dry start method for at least 40 days, where we allow the riccardia to anchor itself firmly to the rocks themselves, and then create a very natural effect.
The photograph shows the positioning of the plants chosen, and then planted with a clear idea in mind of the volumes and spaces they should have.
Below is a history of the tank itself:
As you can see, the tank suffered during its first month of maturation, an abundant outbreak of brown diatom algae, which had covered most of the rocks.
Diatoms are algae that feed on silicates, but as I have a newly purchased reverse osmosis system with integrated anti-silicate resins, I am sure that the water used had 0 TDS.
During the maturation phase of a tank, there are so many variables at play that one must arm oneself with patience and bombard the tank with specific products for biological activation.
PROBACT used in conjunction with VIVIDO allowed me to recover the situation. logically, close maintenance and cleaning the rocks with an electric brush accelerated and made the biological action of the bacteria effective.
You see that it is starting to take shape, now it is essential to intervene in pruning and in keeping to the shapes and spaces set in the design phase… most of the time the plants take over and start to grow, taking up the space available… this is where constant maintenance, and pruning, comes in.
And here is the shot that participated in the 2018 IAPLC.. 48th in the ranking
This shot encapsulates all the study done, all the constant work and a lot of patience in the attention to detail and maintenance… everything is encapsulated in a photograph.
That is why we must be able to convey our passion and our art through photography.
As far as fertilisation is concerned, I relied on the super expert line, as I needed to be able to dose products in a targeted and studied way.
The protocol I used could be summarised as follows:
– FLORIDO TRACCE and FLORIDO Fe & Mg dosed once a week in conjunction with water changes;
– FLORIDO C7, dosed daily;
– FLORIDO K7, I tried to keep Potassium constant to ensure at least 15/20 ppm;
– FLORIDO P7 and FLORIDO N7 dosed after the first month of tank start-up, trying to maintain a sort of link between the plant mass present and the dosage of these elements. I start dosing them with the precise half that the protocol mentions in the instructions and then gradually increase the dose weekly, always maintaining strict control of the plant mass present in the tank… so logically after each pruning carried out I go back to reassess the dosages.
When it comes to activating the BIO SYSTEM, I now constantly rely on BACTERYA, BIO-ALGANEX, PROBACT.
VIVIDO has helped me with algae.
As a conditioner I used SCUDO, and for the salts to be re-integrated LINFA A&B.
I think that from this article you can really understand the great work behind a tank and a project carried out with determination and a lot of willpower.
This tank gave me a strong emotion and great satisfaction by being in the TOP 50 of the 2018 IAPLC, ranked 48th out of more than 2500 participants.
First in the ranking among Italian participants… but what really counts, apart from the international ranking, was the emotion I was able to derive from it during every maintenance and every intervention.
Aquascaping also means spending hours and hours in front of your creation in silence watching and listening to nature.
Special thanks to Equo S.r.l.
Roberto Bielli – May 2018