Build living art you designed yourself
Qscapes Academy walks you through every layer — from raw rock and driftwood to a thriving, self-sustaining ecosystem — so you can confidently design, plant, and maintain a Nature Aquarium-style aquascape or closed terrarium entirely on your own.
"I teach the why behind every step — because a hobbyist who understands their tank never has to guess their way out of a problem."
— Lyndsay Hardin, Founder of Qscapes
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Design a Nature Aquarium-style hardscape using rock and driftwood composition principles
- Select, prepare, and plant aquatic or terrarium plants suited to your tank's light and size
- Set up and dial in a basic CO2 system and lighting schedule for healthy plant growth
- Test and maintain water quality parameters to keep an aquascape stable long-term
- Build and seal a self-sustaining closed terrarium from substrate layers to final planting
- Troubleshoot common problems — algae outbreaks, melting plants, cloudy water — and confidently correct them
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
6 modules · 29 lessons
Foundations of Living Aquascapes and Terrariums
Establishes the core mindset, vocabulary, and gear so beginners can make confident setup decisions from day one.
- 1.1The Nature Aquarium PhilosophyIncluded
- 1.2Choosing Your Build: Aquascape or Terrarium?Included
- 1.3Tank Selection and Essential EquipmentIncluded
- 1.4Understanding Your Environment: Light, Water, and AirIncluded
Hardscape Design: Rock, Wood, and Composition
Teaches Nature Aquarium composition principles so you can build a visually striking, structurally sound hardscape before a single plant goes in.
- 2.1Composition Principles: Golden Ratio, Triangles, and Focal PointsIncluded
- 2.2Selecting and Preparing RocksIncluded
- 2.3Selecting and Preparing DriftwoodIncluded
- 2.4Building Your Hardscape Step by StepIncluded
- 2.5Substrate Layers: Function Meets FormIncluded
Plant Selection and Planting Techniques
Gives you the knowledge to choose the right plants for your setup and place them with professional precision.
- 3.1Reading a Plant Profile: Light, CO2, and Growth RateIncluded
- 3.2Foreground, Midground, and Background PlantingIncluded
- 3.3Aquatic Plant Preparation and Planting MethodsIncluded
- 3.4Terrarium Plant Selection and PlacementIncluded
- 3.5Dry Start and Emersed Growth TechniquesIncluded
Lighting and CO2 for Healthy Plant Growth
Demystifies the two most critical growth drivers — light and carbon dioxide — and shows you how to dial them in safely.
- 4.1How Plants Use Light and CO2Included
- 4.2Choosing and Setting Up Your Aquarium LightIncluded
- 4.3Introduction to Pressurized CO2 SystemsIncluded
- 4.4Dialing In CO2: Drop Checkers and Bubble RatesIncluded
- 4.5Lighting for Terrariums: Natural vs. ArtificialIncluded
Water Quality and Aquascape Maintenance
Builds the testing and routine-care habits that keep a freshwater aquascape stable and beautiful long-term.
- 5.1The Nitrogen Cycle ExplainedIncluded
- 5.2Essential Water Parameters and How to Test ThemIncluded
- 5.3Water Changes: Schedule, Volume, and TechniqueIncluded
- 5.4Fertilization Basics: Macros, Micros, and DosingIncluded
- 5.5Filter Care and Flow ManagementIncluded
Troubleshooting, Long-Term Care, and Evolution
Equips you to diagnose and fix the most common problems and confidently maintain — or redesign — your living setup over time.
- 6.1Diagnosing and Beating Algae OutbreaksIncluded
- 6.2Fixing Melting, Yellowing, and Dying PlantsIncluded
- 6.3Cloudy Water and Other Common Aquascape ProblemsIncluded
- 6.4Long-Term Terrarium Care and RebalancingIncluded
- 6.5Rescaping, Restarting, and Growing Your SkillsIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
The Nature Aquarium dreamer
She's been pinning aquascape photos for months and is finally ready to build the real thing — from scratch, herself.
The lapsed fish keeper
He had tanks years ago but never got into planted setups — this gives him the structured foundation to do it properly this time.
The terrarium collector
She loves closed terrariums but has been guessing at substrate layers and moisture balance — she wants the science behind what she already loves.
The frustrated DIY-er
He's watched hours of YouTube but can't figure out why his plants keep dying or his water keeps clouding — he needs a coherent sequence, not more fragments.
The interior design enthusiast
She sees aquascapes and terrariums as living décor and wants to learn composition and aesthetics as much as the biology behind them.
The patient skill-builder
He's retired, unhurried, and wants to learn aquascaping the right way — understanding every parameter before moving to the next layer.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Lyndsay Hardin, Founder of Qscapes
If you've ever stood in front of a Nature Aquarium display tank — the kind where the stones look like a mountain range and the moss carpets the foreground like a forest floor — and thought I want to build something like that, I know exactly where you are right now.
You've probably also felt that quiet doubt that follows: But I don't know where to start. What if I kill everything? What if it turns into an algae swamp in two weeks? Those fears are completely valid, and they come from the same place: not lack of ability, but lack of a clear, logical sequence to follow. Nobody's born knowing how to layer a substrate or dial in a CO2 bubble rate. You learn it, step by step, the way you learn anything that's worth doing well.
That's what I built Qscapes Academy to be — a calm, structured path from an empty tank to a thriving living ecosystem you designed and built yourself. Everything in this curriculum is sequenced intentionally. We start with the philosophy and the foundational decisions, move through hardscape composition and planting technique, then work into the science of lighting, CO2, and water chemistry — not because I want to overwhelm you with biology, but because understanding the why is what makes you a confident hobbyist instead of someone who's always guessing. The troubleshooting section exists because I've made every mistake covered in it, and I'd rather you learn from a lesson than from a tank crash.
I also made sure this course doesn't abandon terrarium builders. Closed terrariums are their own beautiful discipline — the substrate layering, the moisture balance, the art of sealing a self-sustaining little world — and they deserve the same depth of instruction as a planted aquarium. Both paths are here, fully developed.
This isn't a kit you assemble once and photograph. It's a skill set you'll carry into every tank you ever set up. I genuinely can't wait to see what you build — and I'll be with you through every layer of substrate to get you there. Come in, get comfortable, and let's start from the rocks up.
— Lyndsay Hardin, Founder of Qscapes
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- 6 modules, 29 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
- Learn on any device, at your pace
- Full access for as long as you're subscribed