How to aquascape slopes

I've been looking at ways to aquascape slopes and mounds like I've seen in some beautiful tanks but I have a couple of questions.

First is, how do they make those slopes in the first place? Do they use some sort of rock bed underneath or some sort of other filler material to make height under the substrate? Is there any video tutorial you guys know about this? I've been extremely curious, since I have plans to make an aquascape of my own in the close future.

Second question is about substrate - what susbtrate to use to prevent slopes from leveling and keep a good plant growth to create a lush planted tank? I guess black sand is out of question, but is there also any other black substrate that can hold those slopes in place that looks similar to black sand? I preffer the colour black rather than white or brown substrates. I've also seen a video where the aquascaper used something similar to clay?... What are the options, and what are their pros and cons?

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this, since I'm extremely curious and eager to know how to get myself started in making a stunning aquascape. I would have started with my current tank, but at the time I set it up I didn't bother to look up nice aquascapes to find inspiration, and thus I never felt compelled to search much about this subject, ahah.

 

I just use sand, aquascaping tools (e.g. tweezers, brush etc.) and rocks my personal favorites are dragon stone and river rock.

Theres so much "correct" things to do this, everybody has different references. But If you wished to glue things in the tank, then your freedom of re-aquascaping later is limited.

 

Seiryu stones are commonly used for the 'mountains' in aquascaped tanks, if that's what you mean by slopes. Lava rock is good, too. Depending on how tall they are, hills are also made just by piling up the substrate taller in one place than the others. If you need a really tall slope you can use something to hold the soil in place, like a piece of styrofoam.

Eco-Complete is used in a lot of planted tanks, it's black. Seachem Flourite Black works too. I've also heard of using potting soil with a cap of sand, I'm not sure how it works but I'm sure you could find something about it.

 

Thanks for all the responses so far.

I have another question: how can we achieve the pristine, crystal clear water we see in some more advanced aquascape setups? Does it have to do with the tanks being heavily planted or are there more secrets to it, like type of lighting and such? Does the type of filter also play any role whatsoever? What type of filter is best suited for such tank?

 

My water has always been very clear, but I imagine they use good filters. I'm sure lighting and the plants play into effect as well. I've never really aquascaped, so I don't know. Someone else who has more experience might be able to answer that better

 

When I aquascape with sand there would always be cloudiness, but my filter clears it out on a couple of hours that's how I get clear water. Regarding the filter, sponge filters does the best for sand cloudiness but like any professional aquascaper these type of filters "ruin" the scenery. Which is why they use canisters which is also good.

 

I just got my 2nd SunSun303B canister kit. It's a great filter and media kit for the price ($65 from Amazon). I have it on my 40 and 15 tanks that I have pics of in my 40G Breeder Build post.