Imagine you have had a long day at work, you get home and crack open a bottle of beer. Instead of turning on your telly, you settle down in front of a fishtank designed by the world-renowned aquascaper Takashi Amano. This is a dream for me and hopefully, one day, it'll come true. Aquascaping is being taken more and more seriously in the design world and so it should be! It's not all about landscaping and architecture you know! Mr. Amano is in my opinion, the king of all aquarists as he actually takes so much care into each tank he designs, big or small.
I have come to realise that if you want to be good in this game, you have to have the patience of a saint! The plants (flora) must establish their root networks first and the water quality must be pristine before any animals (fauna) can be introduced. This can actually take from 4-6 months! A period of time most of us would not be bothered to wait. However, if it is all done correctly, it will involve less daily up-keep than a normal fishtank as it it becomes self-cleaning, non dirty/smelly ecosystem that looks after itself.
For tutorials and more info, check his WEBSITE