Zen Garden Aquascapes
If you have ever looked or been to a Old Chinese Garden, you'll feel a sense of tranquility and balance in the whole scene or environment. A Zen aquascape is often overshadowed by the Nature Aquarium Style which took the Zen Style and developed it further. The Zen style focuses creating sophisticated and graceful layouts with aquatic plants and hardscapes. Bonsai Gardens are fantastic examples of this principle.
The Zen emphasizes the relation of objects (domination and subordination) whereas a Nature Aquarium Layout adheres to creating natural nature. There are old Japanese Aesthetical rules that dictate a Zen Garden (whether it's in an aquarium or a landscape). For example, the position of rocks must be in a specific arrangement and order to qualify it as a Zen Garden. 3-stone Iwagumi based aquascapes are examples uses of this technique.
Here's an example of a Zen inspired Aquascape
Please discuss the techniques involved in creating a Zen Aquascape, and feel free to share your own Zen style aquariums. (
Click here to discover other aquascaping styles).
-John N.