Takashi Amano has become the father of
aquascaping. Although he has passed, his vision will remain immortal; Amano
expanded a niche to an obsessive global passion. Takashi Amano's brand ADA
(Aqua Design Amano) has seen huge success in Japan and the entire globe. But
it's Amano's visionary touch reflected in his natural style of aquascaping that
receives the most attention. Most notably, the Amazon Inspired 2,400 gallon
aquarium that resides in his home in Japan. The Wall Street Journal quotes
Amano viewing his masterpiece:
"Lie
on your back and look," says Amano, "You feel like you're
inside,".
Takashi
Amano
 |
| © AquaDesignAmano ADA LTD |
Amanos home lies within the depths of Niigata, a region in Japan, which is surrounded by peaceful rice fields and naturally flowing water. You can tell this is where the inspiration is born. Lightly foliaged trees are dotted over the region. Its crazy quiet. You can only hear nature, it is serenity in it's rawest form.
Amano’s aquarium is magnificent. Almost 15 years old and it stands solid and proud. It is utterly amazing how clean the aquarium is, there is no algae, no debris and the gravel looks as though it had been hand polished. Being able to keep a self sustaining ecosystem for that period of time is truly awesome. The aquarium is constantly changing throughout the seasons, the open top allows the driftwood to spill out over the edges of the glass while also allowing the plants to flower in the Spring.
Amano’s aquarium is magnificent. Almost 15 years old and it stands solid and proud. It is utterly amazing how clean the aquarium is, there is no algae, no debris and the gravel looks as though it had been hand polished. Being able to keep a self sustaining ecosystem for that period of time is truly awesome. The aquarium is constantly changing throughout the seasons, the open top allows the driftwood to spill out over the edges of the glass while also allowing the plants to flower in the Spring.
The exact dimensions are 4m x 1.5m x 1.5m. The aquarium has it's own automated water change system, custom CO2 injection and constant temperature & pH of 24 degrees and 4.5 respectively. Notable plants include Echinodorus, Rotala Rotundifolia, Microsorum, Red Tiger Lotus & Bolbitis heudelotii. Amano truly replicated a snapshot of the Amazon.
Amano didn't begin as an aquarium retailing
hobbyist. During the first 17 years of his career he competed in over 1000
professional track cycling races. With savings of around $1.6M from the sport
he was able to work his way into the aquascaping scene. Amano Takashi's success
is attributed to his early emphasis on the importance of hardscape. Amano
carefully selects stones, wood and gravel arranging them in such a way to
provoke the audience. The fish themselves are a supporting act and not the
focal point of his designs. Amano selects aquatic plants on their merit to
'grow in' to their allocated spaces, their structure, shape and unique
colorations. Amano consistently uses small schooling fish in his works to give
the illusion of a much larger aquarium.
His notable recent works include the Lisbon
Aquariums Oceanarium. A 40m long freshwater exhibition labeled 'Forests
Underwater'. It has been widely acclaimed as one of the best examples of modern
aquascaping and large scale design.
Takashi Amano went on to produces hundreds of
stunning aquariums. What is even more impressive is Amano was never trained nor
studied any form of design. Toward the end of his career Amano refused to
travel outside of Japan for projects smaller than 13 feet in length. His
extreme demand allowed him to pick only projects that appealed to him. He
recalls his younger years in which he stayed up until 2-3am perfecting his
aquascapes, only to wake up the next morning and hate his own work.
Through his life Amano did try his hand at
marine aquariums. Although successful, the difficulty & sustainability of
the scapes did not resonate with Amano. Freshwater aquascaping was his true
passion.
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