Aquatic Experience — Eight Beautiful Large Aquascapes

Hi, I'm Alex, and this is Tank Tested. This week I want to show you the eight large tanks at the Aquatic Experience, and guide your eye to some of my favorite features. Let me know which was your favorite tank in the comments down below. This scape is a lovely example of what you can do with a less expensive stone. It's lava rock, a lightweight stone that's usually black or red. And I really like how the fluffy Monte Carlo compliments the rough lava rock. In this detail shot, I really like how the lava rock breaks down into a rubble that eventually leads into this white path. The high contrast of the sand is mirrored in how the Monte Carlo and Java Fern pop against the rockwork. I also think that these rainbows were a great choice. Their patterning brings the brown of the wood and the black of the rock together to make a cohesive tank. This is one of my favorite tanks. I love how lush and grown in the plants feel. I also really enjoy the sense of scale the green neons give to the scape. And as they dart around, they bring your eye from one section to another. Now because there's so much green in the tank, and there are a lot of shadows, details could get lost. But because there's such a variety of hues and leaf shapes, it keeps the energy up and your eye moving. The pop of red from the rotilla in the back of the tank is a nice bonus. The cave to the left is my favorite part of this tank. It lightens the feel of the larger mound and brings an unexpected detail to the environment. When taken as a whole, that detail is easy to miss, but I think it really elevates the design. This is an interesting layout. It almost feels cartoonish and surreal, and I really appreciate that stylized approach. Up close, you can see how the two islands are separated by a thin path. I really went back and forth on whether I liked it, but ultimately I think it works, at least in person. I think these dwarf neon rainbows are the perfect fish for this tank. They have cartoonish colors that almost feel heightened in this environment. This tank might be too symmetrical, but only one side has the red stem plants in the back. It's a nice reference to the fins of the rainbows swimming throughout the tank. This is my favorite tank. I love how natural it feels while mimicking an idealized version of a river. This tank also has dwarf neon rainbows, but they feel totally different in this setup. Everything feels aged and peaceful, and the rocks blend in with the wood, which in turn blends in with the substrate. Like I said, I love this tank. I interviewed one of the creators of this tank, and you'll find a link to that interview and more footage at the end of this video. So I want to apologize to the folks that made this scape, because I wasn't recording for most of the time I was in front of the tank. Still, with the few shots I have, I'd love to point out the crypts in the bottom left, the baby tears in the middle right, and the larger red crypts in the foreground. I'm not sure this tank really came together, but I really love the fact that they used different types of plants. I think more aquascapers should take a risk and use large crypts in their tanks because they really do pack a punch. One of the things I love about this tank is that I believe most of the plants want to be where they are, except maybe the line of moss on the arch. But the java fern in the foreground and background feel right at home in the low-light crevices where nothing else can grow. And the hairgrass here also feels really organic to me. The rockwork in this tank is also really striking, because it feels both precarious and grounded. While the upper rock and arch are suspended, the base feels grounded and rooted in the substrate in a way that's hard to pull off organically. That's one of my favorite things about this tank. This tank won people's choice, and it's easy to see why. It's a showstopper. Even though the rockwork is extreme, it follows its own internal logic, which is challenging to pull off. All of these structures seem to have formed together and connect in a satisfying invisible line that cuts diagonally across the tank over and over. The Monte Carlo in the foreground that pours over the rockwork also gives a sense of age that's echoed by the moss growing on the upper rock structure. That sense of age is also in the substrate. The rock fragments and tufts of hairgrass break up the sandy path and make it feel lived in. My biggest complaint with this scape is the left side of the large structure. To me it feels too vertical and cut off. But this is still an amazing tank. This is the last tank in the show. While there is some plant work, it's the rocks that are the star. I'd actually love to have seen this tank without any plants, and just a nice colony of hardwater cichlids. But the plants in this scape are also mimicking nature to some extent. Because in the wild, plants don't cover everything. They grow in the patches of light. They grow where the nutrient flow is strongest. And you can see that in the stick that's covered with anubias, and the little patch of hairgrass that's struggling to hold on. So those were the eight tanks. Which was your favorite? Next week, I'll be back with the first 15 of 30 tanks in the nano competition at the Aquatic Experience. If you want to see that, please subscribe. Thanks for watching and have a great week.