Vincent Chan.

Founder, Northwater Aquatics.

How it started

Hi, I'm Vincent. I started Northwater because I fell into this hobby the same way most of my clients do. I saw a planted tank online, thought “I want that in my living room,” and spent the next three weeks drowning in forum threads arguing about water hardness.

I almost gave up before I'd bought a single plant. What pulled me back wasn't a tutorial. It was a video where a creator I admired, MD Fish Tanks, placed a piece of driftwood, stepped back, and moved it half an inch. That tiny adjustment changed the whole tank.

That's when it clicked for me. Aquascaping is design work.

Dragon Stone hardscape with carpeted foreground

Dragon Stone · material reference

The belief

A good aquarium
is not just decoration.
It has mood, movement,
proportion, contrast,
and patience built into it.

Who I work with

Northwater is built for people who want a beautiful planted aquarium in their home or office, but don't want to be lectured at, sold a pile of gear they don't need, or shamed for not knowing what a Walstad method is.

(You don't need to know. That's my job.)

Carpet plant macro detail with pearling bubbles

Glosso carpet · planting reference

Studies & References

The aesthetics I'm building toward.

A small library of reference compositions, material studies, and atmospheres that inform the studio's direction.

Dwarf baby tears forest floor with emergent driftwood

Forest-floor planting · Nature style reference

Nano cube tank with driftwood arch, anubias, and ground cover

The bench · ongoing study

Trimming a stem plant with curved aquascape scissors

Stem trim · Tuesday morning

Wide planted tank with mixed stems, driftwood, and foreground carpet

Mood study · planted tank in situ

References, materials, and atmospheres. Northwater installation photography forthcoming as the studio launches.

How I work

01
We start with a conversation.
Your space, your taste, your budget, and honestly, how much time you actually want to spend on maintenance.
02
I send back a plan.
The layout, the equipment, the plants and fish that suit the scene, the order to add them, and the maintenance rhythm.
03
We build, or you build, with the plan.
Local installs in the Puget Sound; remote setup guidance for everyone else. Either way, the care rhythm holds up past month three.

The Northwater Vision

The long view

In time, Northwater will grow into a small aquarium and fishing goods studio, rooted in Seattle.

Part design service, part local shop, part resource for people who care about water, plants, and the rooms they live in. For now, the work is consultations, personalized aquascape plans, and setup guidance.

Where I work

Seattle. The Eastside. The greater Puget Sound.
Virtual plans, anywhere.

47.6062° N · 122.3321° W

Begin a brief