Copyright Header Picture: Karsten Dünne

Karsten Dünne is a successful German aquascaper from near Cologne. He is very active on Instagram under the name "Green Nature Aquascaping" and impresses with great pictures of his designs. Karsten feels very much at home in Nature Aquarium keeping, but also in designing layouts for emersed setups such as Wabi-Kusa or other aqua-terrariums. In national and international contests such as the EAPLC and IAPLC, too, Karsten has already achieved some great placements. Our interviewer Aram Schneider (AS) was able to meet Karsten Dünne (KD) in person at the Art of the Planted Aquarium 2023. Read more in the interview that follows.

Wabi Kusa wall by Karsten Dünne. Copyright: Karsten Dünne

The interview

AS: "Who or what has influenced you, where do your inspiration and ideas come from? Which artists do you find impressive?"

(KD): "On the one hand, I like to look at nature photography. You can derive a lot from it for a layout. The IAPLC booklets of past years are also a great inspiration for me. There are a lot of good artists, nationally and internationally, but I think Yusuke Homma and Daichi Araki have had the most influence on me. I would also say that by now the NA style suits me best."

AS: "You also work in a pet store. Do you still feel like taking care of your aquariums in the evening?"

Aquascape by Karsten Dünne. Copyright: Karsten Dünne

(KD): "Yes, I have now been working in the aquarium department of the Zoofachmarkt Sankt Augustin for about 3 years. I think for many people the hobby becomes more like work because of the job. That's not the case for me. In the store I have a lot of freedom for my creativity. That makes the job a lot of fun. So it feels to me as if hobby and work were one. I simply like setting up aquariums and dealing with the topic, whether at work or at home."

Copyright: Karsten Dünne

AS: "What do you fertilize with?"

(KD): "I run all my aquariums with Masterline 1, 2 and Carbo. In addition there are Rootcaps in the substrate. That has proven best for me over time."

AS: "What is your favorite material, that is, which hardscape and aquatic plants do you like to use?"

(KD): "Phew.. That's a difficult question. I like wood the most; driftwood and pine wood I find the coolest. For stones I would have two favorites: black lava and black pagoda. Both are types of stone that actually find their place in almost every aquarium. With plants, I am by now into grass-like plants of all kinds a lot. But if I had to commit now, it would be Cryptocoryne parva, since it is very versatile."

AS: "How long have you been doing the hobby? "

(KD): "Well, as a child I always had an aquarium. After a very long break, I got a classic community aquarium again in 2018. It became clear to me fairly quickly that I was headed toward aquascaping. Now I have been doing the whole thing for 5 years."

AS: "What are your greatest successes in competitions? "

(KD): "EAPLC Wabi-Kusa category top 10, IAPLC rank 172, ASC rank 4. Let's see how things go next year."

Copyright: Karsten Dünne

AS: "You are also extremely active on social media such as Instagram. How important do you find the connection between aquascaping and influencing, or networking via social media, these days?"

(KD): "I think networking via social media is very important for the hobby. You see a great many different aquascapes on Instagram and the like. You can exchange ideas and support each other across the world. I myself have met many people through Instagram whom I now count among my close friends. Greetings at this point to the guys from the Aquascaping Summit group :)."

AS: "If you had to choose between a beautiful stone and a beautiful aquatic plant, which would you take? "

(KD): "Clearly the plants. Thanks to the two growth forms that plants can take on, you can not only design aquascapes but also beautiful Wabi-Kusa."

AS: "Thank you very much for the interview, dear Karsten!"

Copyright: Karsten Dünne