Aquascaping is a very popular pastime that has been growing in popularity across the country and is practiced around the world.
It is a natural alternative or extension to anyone who considers themselves avid gardeners on land, or people that are looking to make their fish tank look even better or more natural.
Learning how to sculpt and cultivate water-based plants is a great new skill to be able to add to your gardening repertoire.
It is also a great way to learn how to make some better use of any water sources that you currently have in your garden.
However, not only does it take a lot of time and experience to just get started, even for someone who already has some gardening experience, but it can also be tricky to find the right inspiration that is right for you as a beginner in this particular type of home gardening.
Many of the designs, plants, and ideas that you will find online require you to already be pretty well-versed when it comes to aquascaping.
It can be pretty disheartening to try and find some fresh new ideas for you to practice with as a novice, only to find that the only things you can find need 5 years of experience and a bank account with at least a 5-digit number to spare in their budget.
However, that does not mean that there are no good ideas for beginner aquascapers out there. It just takes a little patience and looking in the right place.
Fortunately, we’ve already done that last part for you here!
We’ve compiled a shortlist of some great ideas for you to try if you’re new to aquascaping, as well as some helpful tips that might help give you a head start when it comes to this amazing pastime.
Some Helpful Tips Before You Get Started
Before we even consider throwing some reeds in your pond or aquarium, we should probably go over a few helpful tips that are perfect for those people who are just starting their journey as aquascapers.
Everyone was a newbie at some point, so it pays to lend a few ideas and thoughts to those who might be a little less experienced when you can.
Stick To A Smaller Tank
It will be easier for you to take care of your plants and fishes if you start with a small or medium-sized aquarium, rather than a large pond.
Know Your Water, Plants, And Fish
One of the most important things you can do when starting knows exactly what you’ll be working with in terms of the kind of water you have, as well as the plants and fish that will be living in it.
This goes beyond simply knowing if your pond or stream has salt or fresh water in it.
If you have a tropical water pond, that can have a serious effect on the fish that you will be raised in it, as well as what plants will be able to grow in there.
Mosses are a popular choice when it comes to picking your first plants, such as weeping moss or peacock moss, as they are small enough to manage without having to understand when to trim or cut as you might with larger plants.
You should also know whether you will be keeping fresh or tropical fish in your water, as their most comfortable temperatures will vary.
Check Your Water’s PH Level
Many of your fish and plants will have ideal pH levels that they thrive at.
Try and make sure that they are very similar to each other when you are out buying them. You don’t want one to thrive while the other one suffers.
Keep Chlorine Out Of Your Water
Whilst chlorine might be great for making a swimming pool safe to swim in, it can have harmful effects on the plants and fish living in your water, so do not add this chemical to your pond or aquarium.
Aquascaping Ideas That Are Perfect For Beginners
Now that we have some basics out of the way, we can now get to the part that you have been waiting for: The great ideas for beginners!
Epic Planted Aquarium
This one is a great option for beginners, as it uses many short and low-growing water plants that do not take up a lot of space and are relatively easy to look after as we mentioned before.
The grasses and mosses cover the rock in the tank as you can see, as they propagate and grow very easily.
There are a couple of larger plants here, to add a little variety, but the rest is otherwise pretty simple. Just make sure that you have a little lava stone dirt or gravel, and coral moss, and you’re ready to go!
Oakheart Aquascape
You’ll find that many aquascaping displays use tree branches as a basis to allow the rest of their water plants to grow over and across, and this example is no exception.
Amazing name aside, we love how this example uses the aquatic plants to help create the illusion of a true canopy that you would find on an ordinary tree.
The use of the Elatine hydropiper green plant across the bottom of the tank to represent grass helps craft this image perfectly, leaving you with a gorgeous display.
Reusing Hardscape
Using another tree branch as the main focal point, this aquascape creates the image of a great old tree on the seafront, thanks to the use of the rocks and contrasting sand to represent the distinction between dirt and sand on a beach.
While the plants on the tree will require some maintenance, the result speaks for itself.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there is plenty that you can do to make your aquascape look amazing, even if you are just using a small tank.
We hope that the information we have given you is helpful and that we have sparked your inspiration!
