# Riparium Ikebana



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

*Riparium Ikebana*

I have been working on the idea of incorporating aspects of _ikebana_, the Japanese art of (refined) floral arrangement, into planted riparium aquascapes. 

Ikebana uses more theory than regular decorative flower arranging and emphasizes minimalism, negative space, balance, movement and the incorporation other plant parts, such as stems and leaves...

Google: Ikebana

An ikebana-inspired riparium planting could look very good. Here are some of the elements that I propose using in such a planted layout...


shallow and broad rimless aquarium enclosure
the best hardscape and gravel materials
graceful, slender and vertical driftwood branches
nano fish
erect riparium stem or grassy plant with open foliage and graceful form
shorter midground foliage providing depth and contrast
I have one specific tank setup in mind already and I hope to post some pictures soon.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

Please do post some pictures! Nice Idea!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I'll try to get some pictures on the way.


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## amygirl11 (May 20, 2012)

Looking forward to it.


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## AirstoND (Jun 17, 2011)

Here are some from a show I went to few years back, if anyone knows the flower names, please ID.

I see lavender & dieffenbachia somewhere, other than that Im clueless:icon_ques


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## AirstoND (Jun 17, 2011)

I don't know why they're sideways either


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## scotty b (Oct 23, 2012)

looking foreword to it , have you tryed a Wabi Kusa type of set up at all ?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

AirstoND said:


> Here are some from a show I went to few years back, if anyone knows the flower names, please ID.
> 
> I see lavender & dieffenbachia somewhere, other than that Im clueless:icon_ques



Wow thanks so much for posting those. That looks like a _Protea_ (an interesting plant) flower in the first picture with the palm fronds. The yellow blooms in the last photo might be witch hazel.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here is one plant that I think might work well with this idea, cat palm (_Chamaedorea catractarum_). To develop an ikebana layout with it I would use just one cat palm plant, and then arrange shorter riparium foliage down around the base. 

Cat palm is a true marginal aquatic palm--it grows along the edges of rainforest streams in Southern Mexico--and does really well in the riparium planters.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I should get a new plant that I ordered special for this today with the mail...


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I'm building a tank for this. Here are the dimensions that I have in mind...


22" width
15" depth
6" height

Accounting for 1/4" glass thickness, a tank this size will hold about 1.793 cubic inches, or 7.75 gallons. I'm going to build mock-up with cardboard to see how the proportions look.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here's another candidate for growing like this, Montezuma cypress (_Taxodium mucronatum_). These are tiny little seedlings just beginning to sprout....










If this plant grows in the riparium planters--I'm just starting to test it out--It should be possible to keep it small and shape bonsai-style.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here's another new plant that I got--it came with the mail last night!--that might work for this idea. Buttonbush (_Cephalanthus occidentalis_) is swamp shrub that occurs in the Eastern US & Canada into Northern Mexico. Most temperate-zone trees and shrubs really need to be grown outside, but I found a few references to growing this plant as indoor bonsai, so it might be OK. I will find out. 










Buttonbush is in the coffee family (Rubiaceae) and has attractive and fragrant white snowball flowers. I have seen wild plants in Wisconsin in backwaters along the Mississippi River and in Florida in hardwood hammock swamps. 









(Wikimedia Commons image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cephalanthus_occidentalis.jpg)


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I made a quick cardboard mock up to have an idea of proportions. The 22" X 15" footprint looked too big, so I cut it down to 20" X 14" to get this shape...










Accounting for .25" glass, this will have a total volume of about 6.5 gallons.

I hope to get the glass soon. I need to work on a stand as well. The whole thing will most likely end up on a bench in the basement while I put it all together.


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## mosspearl (Jan 30, 2013)

Can't wait to see how this turns out.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

mosspearl said:


> Can't wait to see how this turns out.


I'll keep working on it.

Just for an idea of scale I stuck a couple of riparium plants in the cardboard mockup. I think the enclosure is about the right shape. I might still make it another 1/2" or so shorter than this.


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## TimesAWastin (Mar 26, 2013)

I can't wait to see how this turns out! Any ideas for what your fauna will be?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

TimesAWastin said:


> I can't wait to see how this turns out! Any ideas for what your fauna will be?


I will try to maintain good progress. 

I plan to use some kind of real small nano fish, such as _Boraras_ or _Neoheterandria_.


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

haha i LOVE this idea. i've been looking for the tank size that you're looking into also for similar reasons, & layout. i've scoured the net and found none. 

if i may make a request - can you kindly share some detailed photos of your tank build? so that a noob like me may attempt to make the same tank using your methods? i've looked into it and doesn't seem too hard but i'd love to see your work first before i venture into it myself. 

PLEASE keep us posted! subscribed!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

gnod said:


> haha i LOVE this idea. i've been looking for the tank size that you're looking into also for similar reasons, & layout. i've scoured the net and found none.
> 
> if i may make a request - can you kindly share some detailed photos of your tank build? so that a noob like me may attempt to make the same tank using your methods? i've looked into it and doesn't seem too hard but i'd love to see your work first before i venture into it myself.
> 
> PLEASE keep us posted! subscribed!


The ADA 60-F is a similar shape, but only 12" deep and a bit taller. 

I'll try to post post some construction photos. I think it won't be too hard to put together. For such a short tank I won't need super strong seems, but I'll build it as well as I can. It will be important to put it on a real level surface to avoid pressure points. 

I have some fun plants in mind for this. Swamp rose (_Rosa palustris_) has a nice open branching habit like other roses and pink blossoms.










(Wikimedia Commons image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swamp_Rose_(Rosa_palustris)_on_the_Galien_River_2011.JPG)


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I found another plant that might look good in a setup like this. 

River cane (_Arundindaria gigantea_) is a Southeast US-native true bamboo. It can grow to 15' tall, but I have seen some pretty nice bonsai bamboo, so maybe I can keep it pretty short with the right kind of pruning.

I found a plant cheap on eehbay and ordered it and maybe I'll see it this week. i might just kill it by planting like this as a riparium plant, but I think it's worth a shot. A bamboo could look really great in a riparium.









(Wikimedia Commons image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Arundinaria_gigantea.jpg)


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Glass tomorrow!

I need to buy a tube of silicone, too.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Looking forward to it.
My girlfriend is asking me since a long time to get a Riparium set from you. But the problem is, I dont have lights which can be hanged. My lights are clamped on the tank and are pretty close to the water surface. So the riparium plants wont get light. 
Now this seems to be a great idea. I can put some study lamp kinda thing on it. Great...
Keep updating this thread


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

You can use a floor lamp like this over the plants.

http://common2.csnimages.com/lf/49/...e-Light-64-Goose-Neck-Floor-Lamp-in-Black.jpg

Thats what I use over my riparium plants, I just use a "day light" type bulb or you could use a UVB reptle bulb.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

sumer said:


> Looking forward to it.
> My girlfriend is asking me since a long time to get a Riparium set from you. But the problem is, I dont have lights which can be hanged. My lights are clamped on the tank and are pretty close to the water surface. So the riparium plants wont get light.
> Now this seems to be a great idea. I can put some study lamp kinda thing on it. Great...
> Keep updating this thread


Yeah a floor lamp could be a good option or if the plants are not too tall you could use a long gooseneck LED fixture. For my Mr. Aqua setup I made a simple mount using a metal shelf bracket.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Waiting to see more. I want to do something similar with my spare 60F for the living room.


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## FisheriesOmen (Jan 14, 2012)

hydrophyte said:


> I found another plant that might look good in a setup like this.
> 
> River cane (_Arundindaria gigantea_) is a Southeast US-native true bamboo. It can grow to 15' tall, but I have seen some pretty nice bonsai bamboo, so maybe I can keep it pretty short with the right kind of pruning.
> 
> ...


You gotta let me know if this bamboo works out in a riparium!


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

I have a small piece of silverstripe bamboo that I have had in a glass forever on my windowsill, along with a stem of begonia that flowers! It wouldn't do anything, but it stayed green so I left it in there. Today I pulled it out and it has a tiny root.


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