Tips for how to Aquascape with Seiryu Stone

Undeniably one of the most popular hardscape stones used in aquascaping, Seiryu stone is often used in Iwagumi aquascapes and is perfect for creating ledges, rock walls, and underwater caves.  Its deep gray color and rough jagged texture make them perfect freshwater planted aquascapes or focal point hardscapes.

Our molded Seiryu Stone offers many advantages over natural stones:

• It’s lightweight, making it easy to position into place – and easier to clean.
• It will not break or scratch aquarium glass.
• It will not alter pH or water chemistry in any way and requires no pre-soaking.
• It’s also molded from actual pieces of Seiryu Stone – so what you see is what you get!

Here are 4 quick tips to help you create a stunning aquascape with our molded Seiryu Stones:

TIP#1 – CREATE THE BASE FIRST

The narrow oblong shape of our larger Seiryu Stones is perfect for using them horizontally flat as a base, stacking them, or positioning the vertically at angles. They are also very lightweight, so create your base structure first, laying stones horizontally flat – then position stones vertically to fit them together. Fit smaller stones between larger stones to add stability and/or blend along the outer edges of the aquascape. Ideally, it’s best to do this when initially setting your aquarium up (empty), but you can also easily do it in an already established aquarium.

TIP#2 – CREATE AN ISLAND CONCAVE

The narrow oblong shape of Seiryu Stones is ideal for creating a concave island-style aquascape, especially in aquariums 36″ long and smaller. Concave layouts create a natural center focal point, visually bringing the eyes directly center and producing an illusion of depth. Simply lean outer stones at opposite angles from the desired center of the aquascape and blend in with plants or smaller stones.

TIP#3 – CREATE VISUAL FLOW

Scenery-style aquascapes mimic mother nature within the aquarium and leaning Seiryu Stones and branches in the same diagonal direction will create an added sense of gentle water movement. Start with taller pieces at one side, then slope them down to a shallow end. It’s minimal, clean, and produces an incredible perception of naturally flowing water.

TIP#4 – BLEND IT IN

Add smaller plants into the crevices and gaps in your rockwork to blend in the aquascape. Live plants such as Anubias work extremely well as their roots will readily anchor to the deep crevices in molded Seiryu stone. You can also use artificial plants like our Hedge and Shrub foreground plants.