776 Corals (1/2)
The wild west African style and the serene Japanese style formed a sharp contrast against each other. The other aquascaping styles were somewhere between the two of them.
Zhang Zian introduced the aquascaping styles to Snowy one by one. Even the other customers strolling by them were drawn to what Zian was saying.
”Is there a Chinese style in aquascaping?” Snowy asked after finishing the tour, yearning for more.
”Unfortunately, there is not. At least, I've never heard of any,” Zhang Zian answered. ”Japanese aquascaping is 40 years behind western aquascaping––it took a lot of effort to catch up with the latest trends. You must understand that in Japan, the cost of aquarium tank construction and decoration can be counted into one's mortgage, which relieves the financial burden. Aquascaping became popular in China even later than it did in Japan. It takes time to form a distinct style. Maybe someday in the future, there will be aquascaping in the Chinese style.”
Snowy felt that it was unfortunate, but art could not be forced. China was a big place, and the major cities didn't get along with each other. It would be very hard to agree on a common style.
Apart from financial factors, sufficient time and money were needed for aquascaping. The middle class in China were usually too busy every day with old parents and young kids; they didn't have any time to calm down and play. Most aquascaping fans were retired old people with good pensions, or the elites with financial freedom, or companies and government agencies.
After finishing with the central display area, Zhang Zian needed to get down to his real order of business. He arrived at the front of the different stores, looking for the appropriate aquarium supplies.
Snowy followed him, having no idea about the things that he was looking for. Zian picked up a handful of bottom sand and pinched, then picked up an eco-bio-block to observe the color and sniffed it under his nose. He barely asked any questions except about the prices. The store owners could tell from his behavior that he was a business insider. They usually started off with the lowest price to spare each other the hassle of bargaining.
Zhang Zian stopped at one shop, grabbed two long, rod-shaped artificial stones, and knocked one on the other.
”What's this? Hollow bricks?” Snowy asked, noticing the tiny holes covering the surface of the two artificial stone rods. They looked light, which reminded her of the hollow bricks used in construction.
”No, these are bacteria houses, a type of filtration material to culture the nitrifying bacteria.” Zhang Zian handed one of the rods to her. ”Most saltwater tanks use eco-bio-blocks for this task, so no extra bacteria houses are needed. However, for Fish-Only-Tanks, or FOT, in which there's nothing else but the tank, they are needed. Bacteria houses turn acidic after a long time. You need to use them along with coral sand.”
After explaining, he told the store owner, ”Get me one of those.”
Zhang Zian bought the bacterial house from the store he was at, and then he stopped by every store on the second floor and bought a bacterial house from each one. He stored the houses in different plastic bags, then marked down the store name with a marker.
Before Snowy asked him, he explained, ”Bacterial houses are consumed in large amounts, and at least 50 kilos are needed each time. But the quality differs a lot. I'm buying some samples first, then I will smash them up and check the internal structure under a microscope. Some bacterial houses are poorly made. They have small holes in their surface, but the inside is solid. I'll find out which store offers the best quality, then come back and buy some more. Of course, I'll ask for a bulk price.”
Snowy was very impressed, as she didn't really understand all of it.
They turned a corner and arrived in front of a store that sold corals.
Live corals, coral reefs, and decorative corals were often mixed up. In fact, live coral was actually a living creature. The two latter were the remains of dead coral.