Aquascape Lifetime

[Wombat]

This might be a really stupid question but how long do you keep your aquascapes once you're happy with them?

Mine is getting there. I imagine it'll be where I envisioned it in about 6 - 8 weeks and I plan to try to keep it like that for several months or considerably longer if possible.

I notice a lot of you will strip down your scapes and start again regularly. Is this because of your continual pursuit of perfection or is it due to difficulties in keeping a scape once it's at perfection?

I'd never really thought about this aspect before. All I wanted to do was create a nice scape with a nice carpet and, amazingly, it's pretty much there. I'm assuming that, apart from the occasional replanting of my monte carlo due to compaction etc, I'll be able to keep my scape more or less as it is indefinitely?

 

[Straight Shooter]

In a CO2 enriched tank with medium/high lighting plants will grow like weeds. You can go from setup to complete grow out in 2-3 months in many cases. It's not that people can't maintain a nice scape beyond this time, just that they want a rescape to try something new generally.

Trimming and maintenance takes practice. You learn to keep a scape looking good long term with experience.

 

[Chris Jackson]

It's a time and personal preference thing mainly I think. Creating scapes is a creative artistic pursuit so new ideas will always be calling for new scapes. I like to take things slow and evolve a hardscape into various forms with different plants before re-building.

Tank size plays a part also because the larger the tank the greater the time and cost involved with a full re-scape which can be rather off putting...

 

[Dantrasy]

Lately my scapes last for at long as it takes the filter to get really dirty.

 

[PARAGUAY]

My smaller tanks always every so often set up a bit different,larger living room tank metre long several different changes in plants and hardscape,still has same gravel from 2005 when it was home to chiclids,think that's why the substrate fish waste over the years it has allowed plants to grow sucessfully,at present home to a mix of tetras,barbs,shrimp,never rehome fish if I can help it(got a 7 year old black widow in there)it very often ends up jungly since I added CO2 and EI. after discovering Amano and saw how nature aquariums and how the planted aquarium has evolved.Probably been as it is now couple of years mainly same plants trimmed

 

[Mick.Dk]

As per above comments - it's a matter of "personality" basically.........
Personally I get my needs for rescaping fully covered at work .........so my private tanks/scapes have very long "lifetime". I have had several tanks going on continuously for allmost 20 years without rescaping. A lot of trimming, dividing plants and re-planting, though. Those have proven the, by far, most stabile and healthy tanks I have ever experienced. Because of well established micro-biologyo, I am sure.
So yes, it is possible.

It must be said, though, that not all scape"designs" are equally apropriate for long time life.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I have had several tanks going on continuously for allmost 20 years without rescaping. A lot of trimming, dividing plants and re-planting, though. Those have proven the, by far, most stabile and healthy tanks I have ever experienced. Because of well established micro-biologyo, I am sure.

I'm a <"good thing comes to those who wait"> fan as well.

cheers Darrel