# A discussion about the canadian Aquascaping Scene



## UsAndThem (Jan 20, 2015)

I have a few opinions i wanted to get off my chest, but I really wanted to create a post here to share my thoughts and hear what others think and have to say about it . Your opinions may differ, please i encourage healthy discussion .

1) On a global scale, Where do you feel it ranks in terms of popularity ?

- I'm going to say on a scale of 1-10 we are probably a 1. I say this because outside of our communities its almost completely unheard of. We have virtually no online presence in the global Aquascaping community. 

- We have no aquascaping contests that I have heard of or large scale conventions dedicated to the art.

- No famous aquascapers with an online presence . but just on the other side of the pond, the hobby is absolutely BOOMING. it appears to be extremely popular with males between the age of 20-50 and its almost a status symbol, one could say even "Cool" to be an aquascaper.


It could be a cultural thing but Europe and asia seem absolutely in love with the hobby. Im going to give a big shout out to the few specialty shops that help keep it alive over here.

any thoughts ? would love to hear your perspective on the matter.!


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## infolific (Apr 10, 2016)

UsAndThem said:


> 1) On a global scale, Where do you feel it ranks in terms of popularity?


As with most things global, Canada is smack in the middle. You can look at the IAPLC entry counts by country here: http://en.iaplc.com/results19/index.html. As a ratio of population to number of entries, it looks like Japan wins. This doesn't surprise me as aquascaping seems like a natural extension of the interest in zen/rock gardens and bonsai trees.



UsAndThem said:


> It could be a cultural thing but Europe and asia seem absolutely in love with the hobby.


I think there's a big cultural component at play particularly around aesthetics. Take a look at a typical North American's fishroom. The stands are made from unpainted 2x4's with hoses and wires all over the place. The primary objective seems to be to cram as many tanks into a space as possible. If a tank can be acquired for free it'll be used even if the size is completely different from all of the others. And we seem to revel in the idea of DIY even if the result isn't particularly attractive. Obviously some exceptions exist, but look at how impressed we are when someone paints their racks or covers them with nice panels.


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## Jhw1126 (May 17, 2019)

0/10

The over all environment for aquarium keeping are terrible here. Let alone aquascaping 

Not enough demand, makes everything so over priced, selections are also limited. And when everything is overpriced, less individual are entering the hobby.

Plus most store are profit driven, pushing sales with lies, making it even worse 

I am not saying you have to spend alot to create a good scape, you could harvest some resource outdoor, but it is too time consuming and risky. Since fish med is banned lol 

Asian, east asian at least are mostly in to koi, gold fish and larger preditor species, species that doesn't go alone with plant. But with enough hobbyists, there's definitely more individual who choose to express their artistic talents


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

It's virtually non existent on a global scale but it's much better than it was 10-15 years ago. At least today you can find most of the tanks and equipment that you see in those aquascaping contests. I remember when I started keeping scaped tanks it was a real challenge to find things that are commonly available like ada soil or similar substrates. 

I'm ok with that. I keep my tanks for me. The hobby has grown to a point that I can find most the hardware and plants that I need through a few specialty stores and through amazon. 

The freshwater folks deep into the hobby around here seem to like keeping fishrooms for breeding fish or what have you which in-itself is a really interesting part of the hobby but not for me


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## infolific (Apr 10, 2016)

Jhw1126 said:


> The over all environment for aquarium keeping are terrible here. Let alone aquascaping


I disagree with the above. With a little effort you'd see the hobby is alive and strong. Discussions online are in an amongst global groups so it's hard to see who is local. The in-person club meetings in and around Toronto are great places to meet like-minded individuals, but I get that travel in the GTA can be a pain.



Jhw1126 said:


> Not enough demand, makes everything so over priced, selections are also limited. And when everything is overpriced, less individual are entering the hobby.


I don't think there are fewer people getting into the hobby. Small, specialized stores like ShrimpFever require that people enter the hobby. And when was the last time a Big Al's closed? I'd say most folks are price conscious here reducing demand for many products. I bet if even if every ADA item was available, we'd still be buying the cheap knockoffs from Amazon. So the lack of selection is our own doing.



Jhw1126 said:


> Plus most store are profit driven, pushing sales with lies, making it even worse


All stores are, in the end, profit-driven. They won't last otherwise. But I agree many could do more to direct people down the right path.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Money is a factor but the culture here seems to spread out to all areas of the hobby which I think is nice. Shrimps, betta's, killifish, cichlids, ponds, planted, goldfish, predator species, monsterfish, brackish tanks and of course saltwater setups etc.... can all be found the the GTA. Have had people who have fishrooms ask me if planted tanks were expensive to buy/maintain lol. 

There are tons of fish stores in the area. Some specialize and some cater to a specific part of the hobby. That's a good indication to me that the hobby as a whole is strong around here. We as planted enthusiasts have plenty of options around here. What you can't find locally you can find online. Good gear costs money. We can get everything from ADA we have suppliers here and we have access to the US market. If you want to buy it you can get it.

I used to complain and feel frustrated that I was never able to find ADA tanks until they arrived and I got a good look at the price tags. I never ended up buying one.


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## Jhw1126 (May 17, 2019)

infolific said:


> Jhw1126 said:
> 
> 
> > The over all environment for aquarium keeping are terrible here. Let alone aquascaping
> ...


The amount of stores(specialty store/online store) shows the demands, thus the amount of hobbyists.

Tho I could definitely word that better, not less people are getting into the hobby, rather the ratio of growth comapere to how advance we are in terms of knowledge and technology available to us compare to 10,20 year ago.

Why get overpriced product when there are others similar product available for less then a fraction of the price. Yes some product might not be as good but they are price accurately to its quality.

Most companies are just capitalizing on new hobbyists and tho who dosent do their own research

Knock off will always exist, believe it or even in China there are very high demand for quality equipment such as ehiem heater.

Lack of selections is not our own doing, it is due to the value is not being deliver at a given price point.

I am on my second replacement motor on my fx6 in 6 months( covered by warranty), unlucky forsure but I am not seeing how a bucket with a motor is worth that price if they cant make sure its quality.

Business is business at the end of the day, i am happy to support them, since they are the one making investment without knowing there will be a retrun. even for a fact I know things are being markuped. But when they misinform their customer either due to lack of knowledge on the subject or just simply have no ethics and lie, that's a different story.

Tbf, I do carry a different perspective from most of you due to my racial background. What I am seeing is mostlikely different, for better or for worse.

Btw most items you consider as cheap Chinese knockoff from amazon are also very heavily markuped compare to their market price in china.

Take these into to consideration, and let me know if that changes your mind on the subject.


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## Jhw1126 (May 17, 2019)

planter said:


> Good gear costs money. We can get everything from ADA we have suppliers here and we have access to the US market. If you want to buy it you can get it.
> 
> I used to complain and feel frustrated that I was never able to find ADA tanks until they arrived and I got a good look at the price tags. I never ended up buying one.


Personally, I believed tanks are slightly different compared to equipment. Since it directly changes the visual effects on our aquarium inhabitants. Good quality tank is definitively worth the money, plus they are also hard to transport and easily damage. More care and human resources are invested into it.

Equipment on the other hand is mostly hidden, as long as it does its job and doesn't make noises or negativly impact our fish, I personally believed some product are overrated and price is being raise because they are so hyped

I buy unbranded and branded product and i get mix result for both side. I just simply dislike how some brand is treating their customers like idots and over charge them from time to time.

And you are absolutely right good product cost money, when they are well design and well build.

Not because some brand decide to put their name on a product. Since equipment are there to serve a purpose, and they are not like luxury goods that offer you social status.

Yeah.... sorry for the rant, is just everytime I retrun from china, makes me more upset about this topic, seeing the difference between the two market


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Jhw1126 said:


> Personally, I believed tanks are slightly different compared to equipment. Since it directly changes the visual effects on our aquarium inhabitants. Good quality tank is definitively worth the money, plus they are also hard to transport and easily damage. More care and human resources are invested into it.
> 
> Equipment on the other hand is mostly hidden, as long as it does its job and doesn't make noises or negativly impact our fish, I personally believed some product are overrated and price is being raise because they are so hyped
> 
> ...


Isn't this the case for most items between the 2 markets?

If you were jest in China why didn't you bring anything back with you?


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## UsAndThem (Jan 20, 2015)

I think it would be great if some of the specialty shops put something on.
all over Europe you see guys like Filipe Oliveira , George Farmer and Oliver knott doing workshops on aquascaping.

If a company like lets say "Angel Fins" did something like this the demand could be there and it would definitely help them with a few extra sales thats for sure.


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## Jhw1126 (May 17, 2019)

planter said:


> Jhw1126 said:
> 
> 
> > Personally, I believed tanks are slightly different compared to equipment. Since it directly changes the visual effects on our aquarium inhabitants. Good quality tank is definitively worth the money, plus they are also hard to transport and easily damage. More care and human resources are invested into it.
> ...


I do actually, I always bring things with me when ever I have an chance. But I like to try new things to automate my system and i also upgrad way to often. 
I do support company that come out with new ideas or equipment, and willing to pay premium

But not interested on paying a premium on equipment that existed for decades just with brand name on it


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