NT LABS
PROCARE AQUASCAPING TOOLS
Reviewed by: Nathan Hill
Price: around £19.99 each
More info: ntlabs.co.uk
Any self-respecting ‘scaper wouldn’t be seen dead without their quality aquarium gardening tools in tow, and many an aspiring plant fan covets a set of their own. To be sure, the market isn’t exactly lacking in them—a decent set of planting scissors are as readily available these days as a decent algae pad, so to stand out you need to have something extra special.
It turns out the only thing that can turn my head faster than a selection of fancy metal tools is a set of fancy blue-coated metal tools. Hats off to the chaps NT Labs on this one, these things are gorgeous. Not exactly cheap, but gorgeous all the same.
There are five different tools currently in the range: substrate sculptor; nano scissors; wave scissors; tweezers; and angled tweezers. Out of the packs, there’s the tiniest inconsistency in colour (my substrate sculptor is a slightly different blue to everything else) but the tools are excellently constructed, robust and do exactly what they’re supposed to. The scissors scissor, the tweezers tweeze, they do so with precision and a smooth action, and under the LEDs of my tank they look spectacular doing it.
The three longest tools (tweezers, wave scissors and sculptor) sit around 25cm, with the nano scissors the shortest at around 17cm. Construction is of stainless steel, so there are no rusting issues waiting down the line. Storage will need to be carefully considered, however. I made the mistake of keeping mine unsecured in a pouch (I know, I’ve even got a magnetic tool holder
