My principles of designing a nature aquarium in priority in my humble opinion are: Nature : does the scape reflects and resembles a slice of nature? Does it look artificial? Of course, all aquariums are man-made and lighting, filtering, heating and CO2 pressuring are necessary. Choices of hardscapes and plants are down to us too. But there can be two extremes, one is plastic pirate boats and the other is diorama that hardscapes and miniature plants are arranged such that the scape resembles a landscape and doesn't look like anything underwater. This is a very narrow principle I know. Unfortunately, I think most of the Top 100 IAPLC contests winners are of some forms of diorama. So it is personal, but in my opinion, when I look at a tank, I would like to enjoy a simple plant, or a stunning fish as part of the beautiful creation, which is wonderful and what get me into the hobby. I would enjoy much less of a tank which is just a collection of rocks and wood to show off some techniq...
