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Amphiscape
Setting land–water ratio first
On a full rainforest tank from about 30 cm wide, a land–water split that fits gives the bank, the depth, and what you can keep a place. A split that misses leaves humidity in the wrong band, and the animals standing on the glass. Below: how to measure the three ratios, how to choose by tank width, and what to change when they do not line up.
Why set the land–water ratio first
On a full tank from about 30 cm wide, set where the waterline sits on the floor, and what percent of that floor is land, before buying plants or animals. Plants can be added later. Animals can move in later. Changing bank width or water depth means moving soil that is already soaked.
Once the line is built in with a glass divider, a foam background, or a solid bank, changing it means taking the bed apart. Put the percent and the depth on a ruler first, so the bank, the slope, and the zones have a place.
Set these three first:
- On the floor: land at 70–85%, 50%, or 25–40%.
- Water depth in the band 1–4 cm, 4–8 cm, or 8 cm and up.
- A slope at the waterline that an animal can walk. A vertical face taller than 8–10 cm separates the bank from the water.
How to measure the three ratios
Our rainforest tanks use three land / water settings: mostly land, half and half, and mostly water. Percentages use the floor at the waterline. The divide runs front to back, with the bank on one side. On an island layout, the island’s footprint counts as land and the water around it counts as water.
How to measure:
- Measure inner width and front-to-back depth at the waterline. How high the land is stacked does not change those two edges.
- With the bank on one side, water width ÷ inner width is the water share. The rest is land.
- Measure depth at the deepest water. Bank height is a separate dimension.
- Estimate volume as water width (cm) × front-to-back depth (cm) × water depth (cm) ÷ 1000, in litres. Stacking the land 20 cm high still counts litres from the water surface.
From the front, a land shelf 15 cm tall hides the water behind it and reads as almost all land. From slightly above, that same water may be only 20% of the floor. When the two readings disagree, use the floor area. Land piled high and still covering only 30% of the floor is the mostly-water setting.
Mostly land
About 70–85% of the floor, water 15–30%. The water is a puddle or a strip, 1–4 cm deep, and an animal can walk out. On a 45 × 30 cm floor, land is about 950–1150 cm² and water about 200–400 cm². At 2 cm deep, that is about 0.4–0.8 L.
Half and half
Each side 45–55%. A depth of 4–8 cm is the usual band, with a clear waterline and a sloped bank. On the same 45 × 30 cm floor, water is about 600–750 cm². At 6 cm deep, that is about 3.6–4.5 L.
Mostly water
Land about 25–40%, water 60–75%. The bank is a strip or an island, 8–15 cm deep; a 90 cm tank can go to 12–20 cm. On a 45 × 30 cm floor, water is about 800–1000 cm². At 10 cm deep, that is about 8–10 L.
On the same floor, 5 cm of water width changes the volume by a clear step. In a tank 45 cm wide and 30 cm front to back, at a 6 cm depth, narrowing the water from 15 cm to 10 cm drops the volume from about 2.7 L to 1.8 L. Size the filter and the water changes to the width you settle on.
Humidity, depth, and zones that follow
Once the three settings are chosen, humidity, depth, and plant zones follow. The ratio sets how much water surface there is and how deep it is. The lid and the ventilation decide whether that vapor stays.
Mostly land, a front-opening door, and a slot of ventilation can hold 70–90% after misting. The same land with a screen top often falls back to 50–70% by day, then rises again with a night mist. Half and half has more water surface, so substrate at the waterline stays wet more easily. With the lid mostly closed, land 10 cm back from the water can still sit at 75–90%. Mostly water leaves a narrow bank: soil at the waterline is wet, and the top of the bank dries. Once a screen top lets the vapor out, air above the bank tracks the room more closely.
Daytime humidity targets in the Feedbook are not the same number. The azure poison dart frog entry is 70–90%. The crested gecko entry is 50–70% by day, with night misting allowed to run higher. The day gecko entry is 60–80%. How the two humidity bands are kept apart is a separate topic.
Depth:
- Mostly land at 1–4 cm is for soaking and drinking.
- Half and half at 4–8 cm lets marginal roots reach water while leaves stay in the air.
- Mostly water at 8–15 cm gives a submerged leaf room, and a waterline an animal can walk along. A mangrove propagule needs its lower section in water and its upper section in the light. Water only about 1 cm deep does not hold that lower section.
Plant zones:
- Above the waterline: place cushion moss whole as a pad, and lay Hypnum as a thin carpet at 0.5–1 cm. Keep fittonia on the front of the slope, with a border between it and the moss. Mount a bromeliad in a wood fork, with a little water in the cup, and change that water often. Whole-tank humidity is not carried by that one cup. Creeping fig gets one background wall. Pothos is the backdrop. Boston fern and staghorn fern hang in the mid–upper level. A miniature orchid hangs on a side branch. Sphagnum can be a 1–2 cm moisture cap, with drainage under it, and the core not sitting in water.
- At the waterline: tie anubias and Java fern to wood or rock, rhizome exposed. Some leaves can emerge.
- Below the surface: only half and half, and mostly water, have standing depth. A 1–4 cm puddle on a mostly-land layout has no room for a submerged leaf to stand up.
Choosing by tank width
Front width starts at 30 cm. The divide runs front to back, with the bank on one side. Front-to-back depth is about 20–30 cm at 30 cm wide, 30 cm at 45 cm, 30–40 cm at 60 cm, and 40–45 cm at 90 cm. Water width is measured along the front.
| Band | Width | Land–water | Water width × depth | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 30 cm | Mostly land | 5–8 cm × 1–3 cm | Geckos; water is a shallow dish |
| Small | 30 cm | About 50% | 12–16 cm × 3–6 cm | Dart frogs, on a small floor |
| Small | 30 cm | Mostly water | Bank 8–12 cm; water 18–22 cm × 6–10 cm | Plants with the base in water |
| Small–medium | 45 cm | Mostly land | 7–13 cm × 1–4 cm | A pair of azure poison dart frogs starts here |
| Small–medium | 45 cm | About 50% | 20–25 cm × 4–8 cm | Dart frogs |
| Small–medium | 45 cm | Mostly water | Bank 12–18 cm; water 27–33 cm × 8–12 cm | Plants with the base in water |
| Medium–large | 60 cm | Mostly land | 9–18 cm × 2–5 cm | Geckos or dart frogs, with a wider bank |
| Medium–large | 60 cm | About 50% | 27–33 cm × 6–10 cm | Dart frogs |
| Medium–large | 60 cm | Mostly water | Bank 15–24 cm; water 36–45 cm × 10–15 cm | Plants with the base in water |
| Large–XL | 90 cm | Mostly land | 14–27 cm × 2–6 cm | Wide land, water still a strip |
| Large–XL | 90 cm | About 50% | 40–50 cm × 8–12 cm | Dart frogs |
| Large–XL | 90 cm | Mostly water | Bank 22–36 cm; water 54–68 cm × 12–20 cm | Size filtration and the stand to the volume |
One half-and-half set on a ruler: 45 cm wide, 30 cm front to back, water 22 cm wide and 6 cm deep, about 4 L. Bank about 23 cm. The slope rises 6–10 cm.
In our rainforest tanks, small 30–45 cm matches the 30 cm and 45 cm rows, medium 45–60 cm matches 45 cm and 60 cm, large 60–90 cm matches 60 cm and 90 cm, and XL from 90 cm up follows the 90 cm row.
Which ratio fits which life
Once the ratio is measured, plants and animals are listed under mostly land, half and half, and mostly water. Depth here is water for movement or planting.
Mostly land
Land 70–85%, water 1–4 cm deep.
Plants:
- Place cushion moss whole, as a pad.
- Lay Hypnum as a thin carpet, 0.5–1 cm.
Animals:
- Crested gecko and day gecko: water is a shallow dish. Height from about 45 cm matters more than floor area.
- Vampire crab and panda crab: land about 60–80%, water 2–5 cm, for soaking and molting.
- Springtails and isopods: leaf litter above the waterline, surface damp, core not flooded. Standing water kills springtails in large numbers.
- Crickets are feeders, kept in their own box. They do not take up land area.
Half and half
Land about 50%, water 4–8 cm deep.
Plants:
- Tie anubias and Java fern to wood or rock at the waterline, rhizome exposed. At 4–8 cm, some Java fern leaves can emerge.
Animals:
- Azure poison dart frog: shallow water 1–4 cm, with a way out. A pair starts at about 45 cm (450 × 450 × 450 mm). Mostly land also fits. Mostly water reduces the floor they use to a strip of bank.
Mostly water
Land 25–40%, water 8–15 cm deep. A 90 cm tank can go to 12–20 cm.
Plants:
- A mangrove propagule stands upright at the edge, lower section in water, upper section in the light. About 1 cm of water does not hold that lower section.
- Anubias and Java fern have depth to open their leaves. The rhizome stays exposed.
- Cushion moss on the bank sits on a drainage layer.
When the ratio does not line up
A full tank keeps a path across the land and leaves a water zone. Once a moss pad covers past about 85% of the floor, that water zone disappears and the reading becomes all land.
These five rows are the usual look when ratio and depth do not line up. The animals can still be present while the zones have already changed.
| What you see | Why | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| Animals stay on the glass, and the puddle is the only floor they can use | Land is under about 40% of the floor, and the bank is a vertical face taller than 8–10 cm, with no slope | Bring land to 70% or more, or make a slope they can walk. Keep the puddle at 1–4 cm |
| Springtails are gone from the soil within a few days | The land is a rock island with no leaf litter, or water has covered the soil | Keep a litter shelf above the waterline, surface damp and the core not flooded |
| A gecko stays on the ceiling by day, and the skin is still wet at noon | Half or mostly water, plus a mostly closed top, holds daytime humidity above 70%. The crested gecko’s daytime band is 50–70% | Move the ratio to mostly land and reduce the water to a dish. Let humidity fall by day, and mist again at night |
| A mangrove propagule blackens at the base | The whole stick is buried in land, or the water is only about 1 cm deep | Move to mostly water. Lower section in the water, upper section in the air |
| An anubias or Java fern rhizome blackens | The rhizome was buried in bank soil | Tie it to wood or rock at the waterline, rhizome exposed |
Setting it in the studio
In Magic Amphiscape the control is named 陆水比例. The English label is Land / water ratio. The three options use the same names as the bands above: 陆多水少 (Mostly land), 半水半陆 (Half land, half water), and 水多陆少 (Mostly water).
Choosing a habitat brings a ratio with it:
- Dart-frog vivarium: half and half, enclosure form set to a front-opening vivarium. All three ratios can be changed afterward.
- Bioactive gecko vivarium: mostly land. Choosing either of the other two sends it back to mostly land.
- Stream riparium: mostly water, enclosure form set to a land–water split tank. All three ratios can be changed afterward.
- Mangrove tank: mostly water. If it is left on mostly land, the studio switches it to mostly water. Half and half stays.
Tank size has four steps that match the table: small (30–45 cm), medium (45–60 cm), large (60–90 cm), and XL (90 cm+). Set habitat type and tank size, then the land / water ratio. Plants and animals are checked after those three.
A generated image is a composition reference. The waterline in the image can be checked against this table. It does not replace a drainage layer, misting, or the reading on a hygrometer.
Open Magic Amphiscape and set habitat type, tank size, and land / water ratio before plants and animals. Generate one full-tank product shot from that. Glass thickness and tank shape are in How to choose a tank.
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2026-10-13