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There is no aquascape without decorative materials. Stones and driftwood are commonly called "hardscape". This name applies to all the materials in an aquarium that do not change their form when submersed. Nice pieces of driftwood and rocks are essential for an aquascape. Without them, it would be very hard to make a natural-looking layout. Driftwood comes in very different shapes and colors and offers the aquascaper much leeway for layouting, and there are so many different rocks that help you create the perfect aquascape.

The hardscape forms the basis, or the framework, for the plants, which are planted later on in the creating process, and as a rule it should never be under-dimensioned to prevent the growing plants from totally covering it later on.

There are rocks that influence water hardness, and there are rocks that don't. Carbonate rocks potentially harden the water. The more texture such a rock has, the higher is its influence on the carbonate hardness and the total hardness of the water. Ryuoh or Seiryu stones, also called mini landscape, have a relatively strong influence. You can tackle this problem with relatively large water changes and active soil substrates. Then there's no need to be worried about possible negative influences for your aquascape. Godzilla stone (also known as Seegebirge) and Black Pagoda do not harden the water significantly. Ohko stones (also called Dragon stones) are entirely neutral, as are lava rocks. Manten, Unzan and Koke stones by ADA (Aqua Design Amano) do not influence the water hardness either.

Driftwood like mangrove, river wood, Talawa Wood, moorwood, Mekong wood or red moorwood do not influence the water hardness negatively either, however, they may give off tannins and humins to the water. These substances may give the water a slight brownish to amber stain. Depending on the amount of wood in the tank, this effect may last a longer or shorter time. You can use Seachem Purigen to remove that stain from the water. However, some aquarium animals even prefer a water with such a slightly brownish tint, as it is rich in tannins and humins. For an aquascape, in which you want optimal plant growth, such a brownish tint would have a somewhat negative effect.

In our shop, all the pieces of driftwood are photographed and sorted according to size, so every aquascaper can find the piece of driftwood that's just right for their design. Red moorwood, moorwood, mangrove, Talawa wood, river wood or other kinds of driftwood: We have just the piece you've been wanting for your layout.

You should always have a well-balanced number of stones in your aquascape. Iwagumi layouts are very popular. These aquascapes are based on the stone compositions of a Japanese garden. The stones are placed according to fixed rules. You always use an uneven number of stones, with a main stone surrounded by smaller pieces.

The stones in such a layout remind the onlooker of mountains and large rock formations.

Decorative Materials for Your Aquarium

While softscape in aquascaping refers to soft design materials such as aquarium plants, hardscape is defined by the hard decorative elements. These include various types of stone that can be used in the aquarium, as well as driftwood. With stones and driftwood, you can set up aquariums in a natural-looking way; they offer the animals plenty of hiding places and provide good structure in the aquarium.

Our shop carries a wide range of different types of stone, which you can buy online by the kilogram. Among other things, we offer all the stone types popular in aquascaping, such as Mini Landscape (Seiryu), Dragon Stones (Ohko), Frodo Stones and the popular stone types from Aqua Design Amano, for example Manten Stones or Unzan Stones, in various sizes. Stones with an interesting, rugged structure and grain are especially well suited for designs in the style of Japanese rock gardens in the aquarium, known in the jargon as Iwagumi. In general, you should distinguish between neutral, non-hardening stones and stone types that add hardness to the water. The latter contain lime and increase the general hardness, carbonate hardness and pH value, especially when a CO₂ system is used on the aquarium.

Want to set up your aquarium but don't know how many stones to buy? No problem - our guide Choosing hardscape by weight will help you decide.

In our shop, we offer driftwood and other woods for aquariums as individual pieces, each photographed separately. This way, you receive exactly the unique piece shown in the product photo. Since every piece of wood is different, this lets you plan your aquarium project with confidence, even online. We sell many common types of wood such as Moorwood, Red Moor Wood and Mangrove, but also varieties that are particularly popular in aquascaping, such as Talawa, Mekong and River Wood. Depending on the type of wood, the roots are either delicate and heavily branched or compact and bulky with deep grain. The still relatively new Bonsai Trees are also available in the Aquasabi shop. These are artificial bonsai tree replicas made of wood that can be beautifully covered with moss or other aquatic plants in an aquarium.
Driftwood can tint the water brown with humic substances, especially during the cycling phase right after setting up a new aquarium. Depending on the type of wood, bacterial films can also form on the surface. You can find out how to deal with these problems, along with more tips and tricks, in the article Preparing aquarium driftwood.

You can find a detailed overview of our hardscape varieties of stones and driftwood in the corresponding article in our Aquascaping Wiki.

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