such thing as prominant Marine aquascaping school of thought

hi, has anyone ever heard of aquarium or aquascaping designers or 'schools of thought' specific to Marine aquariums? take for example Takashi Amano, a Japanese designer that does freshwater tanks (links below). his designs are beautiful and built upon theory and technique....

but i'm a reefer! all reef tanks are beautiful but to me it seems that most reefer's design aesthetic is to just keep adding as many corals and/or fish as one can possibly fit into a tank. design being limited to putting in as many different colors (or rare species) as possible. the "smorgus board" approach for lack of better words. is there a design aesthetic for marine aquaria that people subscribe to other than this? i'm just building up my reef and getting into inverts so was wondering. thanks for all comments!

Takashi Amano in India for Aquatika 2009
http://www.amanoinindia.com/images/tana/cust-03.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IveFNaXc6Mo/R-uOQlkIxBI/AAAAAAAAAYE/ZI81wees9l0/s400/nature-aquarium-2.jpg

 

check this link out. the japanese are kicking arse in aquascaping:

Yasuhiro's Blue Lagoon a Legendary Japanese Reef Aquarium | glassbox-design.com

 

I personally design with more function in mind. Making rock stable and trying to include plenty of hiding spots is my main concern.

The last link you gave was really neat looking. Almost like another world where fish fly.

 

I don't know what I want yet......but I am getting closer. I have all of the corals I need at this point minus a few zoas, and my rockwork is close.....

 

I think this is a great question and would also like to know the answer also. Thanks for asking it, K+.

The picture of the landscape in a waterscape, the last pic you posted. What would this style be called? Its interesting. The idea is very border line tacky but the example you posted here is stunning. A reef version, could be amazing. I wish i had better words to describe how i imagine a reef version but im imagining essentially replacing everything in the freshwater aquascape u posted with equivalent looking things from salt.

I think the link in your second post of the blue lagoon exploring lighting is extremely interesting. A version where the base lighting is just normal halides and using colored LED's to spot light for effect could be easily achieved im guessing without having to get a degree in the lighting requirements of specific corals.
I used an underwater LED one time to light a cave which looked so so and i guess is same same but totally differn't to Yasuhiro's blue lagoon. I dont mind a bit of colored lighting in the tank if its done right, I havent seen many examples of good or bad ones.

Maybe people could also reply with pictures of 'really differnt' kinds of aquascapes. Not just the regular caves, walls, archs. Are there any aquascaping rebels? Whos pushing the boundries?

 

thanks for replies. these are just random thoughts so far about it:

With Freshwater aquariums it's easier to be sparse with the rocks or not use any at all (use wood instead) because most reefers use a minimum amount of live rock to host beneficial bacteria. So, most reefers end up having a "big pile" of live rock rather than a few scattered here or there as accents. Dealing with lots of live rock and placement thereof would be the first issue to tackle i would think.

Freshwater aquariums feature plants and i'm no freshwater plant expert but i'm pretty sure you don't have as much to worry about compatibility-wise as you do with mixing corals/anemones/inverts. Most plants won't kill other plants that they touch. And they won't pick up and move around either. However, reefs by far offer a larger color palette; there's corals of almost any color. This excess of color though is i think what gets reefers in trouble; we tend to want one of every color rather than simplifying for homogeneity (a good design principle). i wonder if there's folks that 'plant' corals in patterns like freshwater plants to create intentional color landscapes?

personally i'm attracted to designs that mimic nature...something you can look at and think that perhaps this could occur naturally in nature; something balanced and beautiful without being overbearing.

oh hell i'm getting my first invert soon (a red bubble tip anemone)...and after that it's off to the races. i'll prolly end up getting one thing of every color just like most reefers; it's so addicting! :-D

 

Here is an interesting take that I'm thinking of modifying for my own needs.

Rock Gallery

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/general-reef-topics/reef-mimicry-68453.html

I was thinking exactly what you were thinking. Im very inspired about nature and want to mimic it as much as possible

 

I studied a lot before I did mine. I'm not a fan of the pile of rocks look or the "reef wall".
It's really an artform. I think an artist will design a better looking tank than an engineer.
Here's a pic of mine before corals and I changed the background to blue to look more natural and bright.

Also you hit the nail on the head with the trying to fit as many colorful corals as possible comment.... that's not necessarily the way to go to get a natural beautiful look.

 

I will be doing my 150short in an open style sand bed with large branching bombies at the 2 ends I will keep all of my live rock in a lit sump designed just for this