Aquascape Details
Dimensions: 91.44 cm x 45.72 cm x 45.72 cm
Title: 香料巷 Xiāngliào xiàng “Spice Lane”
Volume: 151.4L L
Lighting: Fluval 3.0 LED
Filtration: Sponge Filtration
Plants: Dicranum scoparium ‘Mood Moss’, Syntrichia ruralis ‘Star Moss’, Vesicularia ferriei ‘Weeping Moss’, Riccia fluitans, Ficus pumila ‘Creeping Fig’, Ficus radicans, Nephrolepis cordifolia ‘Duffii’, and Selaginella kraussiana.
Live stock: 5 x Tylototriton shanjing, the “Emperor Newt”
Hardscape Materials: Malaysian Driftwood, Seiryu Stone, Cinnamon Bark, and Thai Cutch Bark
Background: Hardscape mounted using light diffuser panels, expanding foam insulation, and aquarium sealant
Substrate: Aquarium Sponge, Fluval Stratum, Sphagnum Moss, Soil, and Charcoal Flakes
The choice of very fast growing plants is going to take a lot of work to maintain.
This layout demonstrates the great value that color has on the final impression of a display. The work is framed by red stone looming over head, covered in ivy species that convey a great sense of visual weight and age. Beneath them, dark shadows that stand in stark contrast to the bright foreground species and dense patches of moss. This carries into the submerged portion, where tannin-soaked orange waters filled with mulm and heavy leaf litter convey a sense of history and passage of time. This emphasis on color only feels even more intentional when the incredibly unique livestock is considered, wearing the brightest of colors, without feeling out of place or unconsidered. Brilliant work.