‘Tributary’ aquascape by James Findley

Read our article on shallow Nature Aquariums.

Professional aquascaper and founder of The Green Machine James Findley explains that not only are shallow aquariums incredibly fun to work with, but they also make it very simple to achieve outstanding results, and present ample opportunity for individual experimentation and artistic interpretation.

James Findley’s latest work entitled ‘Tributary’ demonstrates what can be achieved with these unusual aquariums.

James chose the ADA Cube Garden 120-F (120x30x20cm ) because he wanted the opportunity to experiment with something new: ‘Shallow tanks provide a fantastic opportunity to do something a bit different, and to really experiment with aquascaping in a fun and inventive way. Variety is one of the things I love about aquascaping, and pushing the boundaries is what it makes it so fun and exciting!’

Something new…

James adds that one of the things he particularly enjoyed about working on this size aquarium was the opportunity to experiment with emergent plant growth and the placing of aquatic hardscape outside of the traditional parameters of the aquarium: ‘this creates a dual perspective, in which you can see both below and above the water, and each aspect is equally as beautiful. It adds a whole new dimension to your aquascape.

Nature’s Microcosm…

James wanted to explore the microcosm of nature and the way that sometimes the smallest, least obvious and most discrete things in life can be the most beautiful and awe-inspiring, yet so often go unnoticed. He describes how this inspired him to create this aquascape, and how the shallow dimensions of the Cube Garden 120-F naturally lent themselves to an exercise in the minute. James entitled this aquascape ‘Tributary’ because it focuses on the smallest element of the stream, and celebrates the beauty of what is often overlooked.

This aquascape is indeed very unusual and certainly original: one of the most striking elements of this work is the way in which James has banked up the substrate very highly at the two diagonally opposite corners of the aquarium. This helped him to create the feeling of a tributary, in which the flow of the water naturally pushes the substrate to the sides. He chose to place the outflow pipe in the centre of this rivulet to add to the authenticity of the aquascape, and create the natural flow of a tributary.

Read the rest of this article on our website here.

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