Wabi Kusa

[Patrick_G]

Let’s talk Wabi Kusa. Do you have a recipe for substrate balls? What type of plants are you using? What kind of containers? 
Here’s the definition from the aquatic gardeners association site. 

Wabi-Kusa takes its origins from the term wabi-sabi, loosely defined as finding beauty in nature’s imperfection and is exemplified by natural, uninhibited growth of plants. The Wabi-Kusa is described as a creative layout primarily comprised of emersed grown aquatic plants arranged on substrate surrounded by hardscape or standing alone on a substrate ball as it was originally created by Takashi Amano. As the hobby has grown, the definition of what represents a Wabi Kusa has evolved as well and the modern Wabi Kusa encompasses a number of different styles from the simple substrate ball to elaborate aquascapes incorporating hardscape material.

some net pics and one from a shop in Seattle

Edited August 11, 2021 by Patrick_G

[Fish Folk]

On 8/11/2021 at 1:29 PM, Patrick_G said:

Let’s talk Wabi Kusa. Do you have a recipe for substrate balls? What type of plants are you using? What kind of containers? 
Here’s the definition from the aquatic gardeners association site. 

Wabi-Kusa takes its origins from the term wabi-sabi, loosely defined as finding beauty in nature’s imperfection and is exemplified by natural, uninhibited growth of plants. The Wabi-Kusa is described as a creative layout primarily comprised of emersed grown aquatic plants arranged on substrate surrounded by hardscape or standing alone on a substrate ball as it was originally created by Takashi Amano. As the hobby has grown, the definition of what represents a Wabi Kusa has evolved as well and the modern Wabi Kusa encompasses a number of different styles from the simple substrate ball to elaborate aquascapes incorporating hardscape material.

some net pics and one from a shop in Seattle

I love this idea. Although a totally different art form, something about imperfection-made-perfect reminds me of kintsugi.

The name though . . . makes me hungry, because every time I read "Wabi" I think of wasabi.

I propose a business plan: a restaurant named "Wabi Wasabi" designed to allow its diners to create artful Wabi-kusa compositions from a central revolving table while sushi remains unmoved.

Ok. Bad idea . . . 

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by Fish Folk

[KentFishFanUK]

I'd love to know a quick and easy way to make the substrate balls if anyone has a trick to it! 

[Jungle Fan]

I have done quite a few of those and have used different materials in regards to where I would place them, i.e. in a glass, or ceramic bowl, at the water surface in driftwood, or inside a stump to provide substrate for stem plants without necessarily speeding up decay of the stump.

According to what I've heard the ancient Japanese simply used to wrap stones in straw and then cover the whole in burlap (that is for the traditional Wabi Kusa in a ceramic, or now glass bowl.) I've used anything from screen door material, to bio-felt (which will last at least up to 30 years in an aquarium, longer than the substrate or plants no doubt), to ADA Wabi Kusa Mat (which comes covered in moss).

I like the bio-felt best for in tank and one can easily cover it in the aquatic moss of your choice once the substrate ball is created and contained in it.

The recipe I've used for traditional bowl type living room Wabi Kusa comes actually from the Aquatic Gardeners Association as well and was mentioned in An Article by Bob Dempsey in Volume 28, No.2 of their Journal from 2015, it described using shredded sphagnum moss (created in an old blender), shredded coconut shells, vermiculite, and a some long sphagnum moss clumped together with water, then wrapped, and covered with Java moss.

For the ones I used in the aquarium I would forego the sphagnum moss and vermiculite, and while I did some with shredded coconut shells, the only plant based material I really used more often was peat granules in those I would place in blackwater tanks.

I've used anything, and everything from laterite, clay, clay balls, gravel, aquasoil, and extremely small kernel lava rock, in any and all combinations, I also would add root tabs, or deep sea minerals (Mironekuton) at times, combined with ADA Bacter, especially with the lava rock kernels at which time I would layer rather than create one big clump wrapped in bio-felt with string.

At least for me the bio-felt has been the easiest material to work with, and regular fishing line to hold it all together. I figure fine mesh filter media drawstring bags, and polishing pad filter material could probably also work great as wrapping.

Did a quick search and found an article with pictures of a traditional bowl Wabi-Kusa for you, so you can see the material I was talking about:

https://briansbotanicals.net/2016/02/04/how-to-make-a-wabi-kusa/

 

[KentFishFanUK]

@Jungle Fan thanks! The way I would like to use them is in a tank, placed amongst rock or driftwood or gravel - my idea being I could make my nano tanks 'planted' aquariums without actually planting them - for ease of cleaning/maintaining/rearranging.

I like the idea of a modular set up in my future fish room, I could make a bunch of wabi kusa balls up, plant them then just let them grow in a nursery tank then they are ready to go whenever I want to quickly set up a fish tank and add new fish! 

I assume it would be a good way to add filtration capacity and seed a bunch of bacteria and get a new set up going quickly as well. 

Don't think I've heard of bio-felt before, I'll check it out! Thanks

[Jungle Fan]

Another way to achieve the modularity you seek would be with driftwood, or rock planted with Java fern,  Bolbitis heudelotii, Anubias, Bucephalandras, or moss. You can also combine them for an all out aquascape with Wabi Kusa balls, but if they are about to be changed around I would advise against using crypts in the Wabi Kusa balls.

Edited August 12, 2021 by Jungle Fan

[KentFishFanUK]

On 8/12/2021 at 9:23 PM, Jungle Fan said:

Another way to achieve the modularity you seek would be with driftwood, or rock planted with Java fern,  Bolbitis heudelotii, Anubias, Bucephalandras, or moss. You can also combine them for an all out aquascape with Wabi Kusa balls, but if they are about to be changed around I would advise against using crypts in the Wabi Kusa balls.

Funny you should say that, that was my exact plan! Epiphytes glued to hardscape and wabi-kusa balls, maybe floating plants too and pothos vines - all easy to move around as needed for an insta-scape so to speak. Plus the wabi-kusa and epiphytes mini scapes would be a nice little side hobby. Plan to purchase a few plants to start and propagate them myself to keep costs down. 

Of course at the moment all these ideas are just plans in my head and my notebook as I haven't even got my fish room built yet! Waiting for quotes etc to come through. 

Thanks for the advice about crypts! Will (reluctantly) avoid them. 

[Patrick_G]

@Jungle Fan, thanks! So much great info. 
@KentFishFanUK, the AGA site also has pics of Wabi Kusa  from their aquascaping contest. 

[KentFishFanUK]

@Patrick_G I'll check them out thanks!

[Jungle Fan]

On 8/12/2021 at 3:02 PM, KentFishFanUK said:

Funny you should say that, that was my exact plan! Epiphytes glued to hardscape and wabi-kusa balls, maybe floating plants too and pothos vines - all easy to move around as needed for an insta-scape so to speak. Plus the wabi-kusa and epiphytes mini scapes would be a nice little side hobby. Plan to purchase a few plants to start and propagate them myself to keep costs down. 

Of course at the moment all these ideas are just plans in my head and my notebook as I haven't even got my fish room built yet! Waiting for quotes etc to come through. 

Thanks for the advice about crypts! Will (reluctantly) avoid them. 

Diagrams of where you want to place the wood and Wabi Kusa balls are an excellent planning tool for an aquascape. When I plant a tank I always draw two diagrams, one with the front view, one from above; first I draw in the hardscape, then the plants. The important part is always to consider the size of the plants, and whether they are fore-, mid-, or background plants. Also with the Wabi Kusa close to the surface there are some plants that do better in the shade, and don't like to be that close to the light even though in the wild they would be found on flood prone river banks like Anubias and Bucephalandra.

I saw a Wabi Kusa ball that had a small Manzanita branch protruding from it besides some Pinatifida and had moss on the ball and Anubias nana petite and a small Bucephalandra on the branch, the Anubias and Bucephalandra was covered so bad in algae you could just barely make out what they were.

Edited August 13, 2021 by Jungle Fan