RE: [GSAS-Member] (no subject)

["Holly" <holly@ourglasshouse.com>]

I really enjoyed the focus on specifically accurate and natural biotopes.  I
had not thought about my tanks with that much depth and appreciated that
view very much.  I didn't know you could gather so much information from a
single photograph like Phil does.  

I appreciated the idea of focusing on the visuals of an actual current like
one would find in a river.  My rivers apparently flow only 1 foot from to
back in my tanks ;)  I wonder what kind of filters he used to make the
current go from side to side?  I am assuming canister.  Or maybe that was
all done with separate powerheads.

And placing first large rocks, then pebbles, then sand is such a simple but
brilliant idea!  I have always laid one kind of substrate, then try to dig
my large rocks and wood into it, and place the plants around it trying to
make it look natural.  Heh.

Also, placing your actual aquarium into a natural waters and then filling it
with exactly what you might find in those specific dimensions is a pretty
cool thought.  However, you could also expand the range by doing a type of
aquatic bonsai.  You couldn't really miniaturize everything, but you could
imagine that your tank spans many yards instead of only a few feet.  You
could even keep smaller fish to try to scale your tank as if it's a small
forest of plants.  I know that's not exact, but then things don't have to be
all of the time.  

There is reason people go to great lengths to landscape their properties.
Natural grounds can be very nice and very beautiful.  But I think home
landscapes can be improved upon by pulling the weeds and implementing some
planning.  I'm not a huge fan of things overly manicured and "perfect", but
even using native plants alone and letting nature have it's way in part can
be very efficient.  I think you can improve on nature a bit for small
controlled areas.  

Different aquascapes and landscapes all have different goals, themes, and
purposes.  I suppose my tanks would all be aquatic gardens.  My favorite
tank at the moment happens to be a vintage chrome tank that I plan to outfit
as sort of a retro-modern art piece and make it look kind of mod.  I
wouldn't want all of my tanks to looks so distant from Mother Nature, but
it's fun to spice it up and change things sometimes.  Hopefully the fish
won't hate me for it.

How late did the talk end up going til?


Holly ~ 


-----Original Message-----
From: gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com
[mailto:gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com] On Behalf Of Monica H
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 10:45 AM
To: gsas-member@thekrib.com
Subject: RE: [GSAS-Member] (no subject)

I enjoyed the meeting very much!  It inspired me to create a biotope, and to
improve my current planted tanks.
Monica


>From: "scs" <s.simion@comcast.net>
>Reply-To: Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member 
>chat<gsas-member@thekrib.com>
>To: "Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat" 
><gsas-member@thekrib.com>
>Subject: [GSAS-Member] (no subject)
>Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 12:22:22 -0500
>
>There are two kinds of presentations: Brief, with a lot of questions left 
>to be asked, and Informative, with not to many questions, at the end. Well,

>I think Phil Edwards' talk was the "Informative" type -maybe to informative

>for some, but that shows the speaker's level of dedication to the subject 
>presented. Personally, I enjoyed Phil's discussion on the "Biotope 
>Aquascape" topic, and admired his enthusiasm about the subject. I believe 
>he did a very good job. Thank you.
>
>Sandu
>
>Reef inverts
>mailto:service@reefinverts.com
>(425) 746-2720
>
>_______________________________________________
>GSAS-Member mailing list
>GSAS-Member@thekrib.com
>http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member


_______________________________________________
GSAS-Member mailing list
GSAS-Member@thekrib.com
http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member


_______________________________________________
GSAS-Member mailing list
GSAS-Member@thekrib.com
http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member