4Being natural products, the layout materials used in the Nature Aquarium such as stones and driftwood are all different and each of them has its own unique features. By bringing out these features, you will be able to make your own distinctive layout. If you have found a layout material you like, you can fully bring out what it has by using it repeatedly. This is the first advantage of the repeated use of layout materials.

In the event that a particular stone or driftwood has been exhausted in its place of origin or its production area is hit by a disaster, the material may no longer be available. In view of this, every layout material you come across in shops has incomparable values. Considering that natural layout materials are limited, it is meaningful to use them repeatedly through the change of arrangement and combinations.

Another advantage of repeated use of layout materials is that the stones and driftwood that have been in use repeatedly for a long time cause less impact on water quality, allowing easier growing of aquatic plants and maintenance of the aquarium tank. For example, some stones like elephant skin rock, Ryuoh stone tends to cause the total hardness and carbonate hardness to rise due to fine dust particles initially observed on the stone as well as calcium carbonate leached out from the stone surface exposed to water.

A rise in total hardness and carbonate hardness can lead to smaller leaves, whitening and poor growth of the aquatic plants that are vulnerable to the change in water hardness. Nevertheless, these stones will eventually leach less calcium carbonate because of the layer of algae and  microorganisms  formed  on the stone’s surface.

This means the repeated use of these stone in layouts helps mitigate its impact on water quality; and the same applies to other varieties of stones as well. In view of this, the repeated use of these stones, which more or less contain calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, offers the benefit of reducing impact on the tank water.

Another example of reduced impact on water is organic matters and coloring substance leaching out of driftwood. Fresh driftwood usually leaches a lot of these substances, but their amount will become less as the wood is being used over time. Horn Wood, a type of driftwood, leaches a large amount of coloring substance when it is just placed in a layout, but the amount of the substance will be gradually reduced through repeated change of tank water. As for Branch Wood which contains a substantial amount of organic matters when it is still new, fungal growth is observed on the wood’s surface immediately after it is used in a layout, but this problem will eventually be resolved as the organic matters contained in the wood reduces over a long period of usage.

From these facts, it can be said that driftwood that have been repeatedly used causes less problems compared to new ones. On top of this, the epiphytic plants including ferns, moss and Anubias that have been attached to driftwood and stones can be carried forward to the new layout. Doing this allows the hobbyists to save time and effort of reattaching the plants to the layout materials, and also helps the slow-growing ferns grow big over time. The ferns which have grown to a considerable size look splendid and also provide an enhanced natural feel to the layout. As can be seen from the above, the repeated use of layout materials not only has various advantages but it is also a technique to create a more perfect layout.