My first attempt at a 1ft Iwagumi setup

Discussion in 'Aquascaping and Member's Setups' started by Blueneon, Apr 7, 2015.

  1. Blueneon
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    Blueneon Green fingers

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    Hey guys,

    So today I setup my first 1ft Iwagumi... well at least I tried to make it "Iwagumi" :p

    Just planted with trimmings from my main 4ft planted tank.

    1ft_iwagumi.jpg Anyway, water still a bit cloudy from the dirt, but here it is....

    Let me know your thoughts...

    Setup:
    • 1ft tank
    • ADA soil
    • Injected CO2
    • Canister Filter (15Xtank volume flow turnover)
    • 30W LED Floodlight (6500K) -- Plants are loving it, pearling away immediately.
     
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  2. Trev Pleco
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    Trev Pleco Algae destroyer

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    Iwagumi traditionally has minimal plant types to compliment the rock formation naturally...
     
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  3. Blueneon
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    Blueneon Green fingers

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    @Trev Pleco Yup, thanks I know... just planted with trimmings from main tank so I have "something" to look at, and to help control algae until the carpet, hairgrass and vals take effect. Then the rest will be removed.
     
  4. Trev Pleco
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    Trev Pleco Algae destroyer

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    Try and work with an odd number of rock/stone, scaping it naturally like you might find it in the wild...

    Minimal lights and ferts at the start is easier and there is no problem using the final plants you have in mind at the start rather than pulling stems out the ADA later. A natural slope blending in with your rock and vegetation is usually more aesthetically appealing than a flat bottom..
     
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  5. Luis Embalo
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    Luis Embalo Valued Contributor

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    I could never do an iwagumi.. :) but know how they look.. :) this does not look like one..
     
  6. Blueneon
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    Blueneon Green fingers

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    There are 3 rocks in there already per the standard Iwagumi layout (to be honest I would have preferred some nicer 'black' rocks, but this is all I had).

    I suppose I could brush the dirt from front-right corner a bit towards back-left corner (the big rock) to give a slight slope, wouldn't want a drastic slope though.

    Regarding the plants... As you can see I'm using a 30W LED Floodlight, its "high light" and unfortunately not dimmable, so given the fixed nature of the light, I felt there's no choice but to balance with CO2 and plants accordingly "for now", to help keep mr. algae at bay. It's really no train-smash to remove the plants once the HC and so forth get going.

    My main issue with the setup is simply that I don't particularly like the rocks I have in there - I think the large rock, albeit falls in line with Iwagumi standards (2/3 height), is perhaps a bit too broad and therefore I'm losing the sense of scale.

    Ideally I should replace the three rocks with sharpish black rocks (no clue where to find these), and slope the dirt from all sides up towards the centre rock formation.
     
  7. Blueneon
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    Blueneon Green fingers

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    Oh well, guess I'll tear it down tomorrow and start over, lol
     
  8. Blueneon
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    Blueneon Green fingers

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    Scape redone, awaiting cloud to dissipate so I can upload pic... this ADA Amazonia is like no other soil, it's the most cloud inducing stuff I've every used! :/
     
  9. Deadpool
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    Deadpool Algae destroyer Staff Member

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    Try riversand WITH Aquasoil...it's a nightmare!! I used it in my 5ft (just rescaped this weekend). Aquasoil in the back for plants...riversand in the front for aesthetics. Thinking of renaming my tank "Pompeii" :BangHead:
     
  10. Trev Pleco
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    Trev Pleco Algae destroyer

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    I don't follow, if you are applying and using it correctly as instructed there should be no problem ...
     
  11. Blueneon
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    Blueneon Green fingers

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    @Trev Pleco then you've obviously been using a different ADA "Amazonia" to what we've been using. You need only google it to see how it has been a nightmare for most people. My other soils do not create anywhere near as much of a cloud. The tank is pretty much clean same day. But with Amazonia - eeeeek.
     
  12. Trev Pleco
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    Trev Pleco Algae destroyer

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    I have used between twenty and thirty 9L bags of the stuff over the years in various scapes including my own and no problems. Sure it's not directed at the newbie aquascaper and like most things you need to do your research and homework first..

    Sean can give you more advice to hopefully assist you. It's been a great asset to my scaping endeavours and I'm sure the more experienced folk on this forum will say the same.
     
  13. Ryno
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    Ryno Plant menace

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    Ive also never got cloudy water from aquasoil. But I do get from flourite and riversand when I set it up
     
  14. Blueneon
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    Blueneon Green fingers

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    I can assure you that I have used it correctly, this is not the first time I'm using dirt in a tank. Perhaps it's a crappy batch, I don't know, I got it from Loolilocks and the bag did look as though it had been sitting in stock for a long, long time before finding its new home. I also notice a bit of "powder" sediment that has now formed in-between the grains, so I'm sure that the bag has been through the wars and likely resulted in some crushed grains along the way too.

    Regardless, as I said I have used other soils that have not given me cloud at all, some that have given only a slight cloud (that filtration gets shot of it in a couple hours) and now this, which is just ridiculous. Anyway "newbie" TAG aside - I think if anything, this is just a crap batch, or rather that ADA sometimes produces crap batches and you've been lucky enough not to get one. Again reiterate that a simple google search reveals that many very, very experienced aquascapers have had the exact same problem.

    Anyhooo... it's really not that big a deal, will give it a day or two and some WC to help. :)

    Back onto the topic... here's two cloudy pics of the layout in the meantime...

    1a.jpg
    1.jpg
     
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  15. Trev Pleco
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    Trev Pleco Algae destroyer

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    yeah I hear you, as you say it might be an oldish batch that has compacted and powered too much, but your tank clarity looks pretty good having just filled it..

    The scape is much better as well !
     
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  16. Blueneon
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    Blueneon Green fingers

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    Thanks, yea I went ahead and did a quick 50% WC to clarify it a bit more about an hour ago. The rest will just need to clear up through filtration.

    Regarding the scape though, any suggestions? Not sure if I'm 100% sold, kind of thinking the two main rocks could be pushed further apart, OR move the entire lot left (to try cover pipes more and give more 'open plan' on the right for carpet. ... I'm a bit of an idiot, should have planted my HC stems after a day or two of contemplation on the scape, haha.
     
  17. Ryno
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    Ryno Plant menace

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    Looks nice. Slopes goes a long way in a scape. For me the most important parts of a scapd is enough hardscape slopes and proportions
     
  18. Luis Embalo
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    Luis Embalo Valued Contributor

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    It looks really good.. well done.. :) would look awesome with a hairgrass carpet.. really like the layout.
     
  19. Slagter
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    Slagter Aquascaper

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    Hey there! Aquasoil should definitely not be cloudy like that. As you said though, if it was at loolilocks for a long time and got "abused" then that "abuse" could potentially break the aquasoil pellets down and create dust in the aquarium. If you'd like, I will replace the bag with a brand new bag from my shipment that landed on Tuesday? A token of good faith and support for the "newbies".
     
  20. Blueneon
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    Blueneon Green fingers

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    @Slagter that would be awesome! Thanks =)
     

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