# Omega's Iwagumi - Xibalba



## Omegatron (6 Nov 2013)

Hi,

Snooping around here for inspiration and learning from others i thought it was time i created an account on this beautiful forum aswell.

I recently got a new tank, the dimensions are: length 120cm X wide 40cm X height 35 cm (inches= 47,2 X 15,7 X 13,8).

I had to get a new stand as well. Since I am on a budget I decided to build it myself.  On
    Planted Aquarium Tank Portal - Project Aquarium
I found sort of a  tutorial of how to build it.  Since my dad has friends in the construction business I asked him to check how much the materials would costs. I gave him the print screens from projectaquarium.com and then it went quiet…too quiet. Until a week later he sends me these pics.









He secretly had the stand build! I was very surprised and very happy because to be honest if I had to do it myself… well let me put it this way…I can’t even build ikea furniture to something usable. I did paint it myself though 











In the meantime I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the aquascape. I’m a sucker for the Amano style and I love Iwagumi so I had an idea. I build a fake tank and threw some rocks in. Sadly that didn’t work. Luckily there are forums like these were people are willing to help each other.
So I created something that I thought would look nice and Lawrence helped me to make it work and also teaching me why you would do something and why not. Since we had only contact by mail using photos and a major time difference it took us about 2 weeks to create the final layout. Lawrence was a big help in making this scape, to be really honest I often felt like Amano’s helpers in those black t-shirts and following Lawrence his input. I could not have done this without him

This was my fake tank:





And here I went to recreate and improve it in the real tank:





When I thought this would be my final layout I got an email from Lawrence with this drawing attached. What would I think of a path/river/road running through the tank. I wasn’t 100% enthusiastic about it because I have no idea how to keep in clean and not covered in plants. But I really liked the sketch and thought I will figure it out when I get to that point.

The sketch:




The Tank with and without the path:









When the hardscape was ready I went for planting.
I’m using the following plants (with ADA Amazonia soil):

Hemianthus callitrichoides
Glossostigma elatinoides
Eleocharis parvula

For technique i have the following:
Filtration:

Eheim Professional 3 2071
Eheim Ecco Pro 2036
Pressurized Co2
Inline heater
2x T5 Bulbs (1x 6000k and one 9000k) with a Odyssa fixture.
I fertilize with micro/macro solutions that i make with powders using EI method





Some pictures after planting:














Update, 25 days after planting:









Let me know what you think of it!


----------



## Lee Sweeting (6 Nov 2013)

It looks awesome, i really like the hardscape. The custom cabinet looks great too.


----------



## sa80mark (6 Nov 2013)

Very nice, great cabinet and a lovely scape


----------



## zanguli-ya-zamba (6 Nov 2013)

looking good mate !!!! 
As the other said, the cabinet is very nice !! great work.

BTW welcome to UKAPS !!! enjoy your stay


----------



## steveno (6 Nov 2013)

Absolutely lovely scape...great sense of scale, really like the path. 

How you get a full carpet in 4 weeks, I'm struggling to get mine to fully cover and it been almost 5weeks.


----------



## Ian Holdich (6 Nov 2013)

Wow! That is awesome, thanks for sharing! Welcome to ukaps!


----------



## Gary Nelson (6 Nov 2013)

Thats a great scape and the rocks work is stunning, a really nice design


----------



## Curvball (6 Nov 2013)

Beautiful.


Posted from the comfort of my iPhone...


----------



## Samuran (6 Nov 2013)

Really like the hard scape!


----------



## Deano3 (6 Nov 2013)

Stunning great cabinet and amazing scape, like others have said love the river and what great growth 4 weeks that's brilliant u get much algae or any problems ?  Stunning and welcome to ukaps 


Thanks Dean


----------



## Alastair (6 Nov 2013)

Love it. The cabinet finish is perfect. Welcome to ukaps

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## tim (6 Nov 2013)

This is superb, scape, cabinet and superb images too,


----------



## kirk (6 Nov 2013)

That's really nice good work Cool user name too transformer mad in this house.


----------



## Vito (6 Nov 2013)

Stunning, and welcome!


----------



## LondonDragon (6 Nov 2013)

Great scape and great DIY!!! Welcome to UKAPS  and keep us posted  congrats


----------



## Omegatron (7 Nov 2013)

Hi,

thank you all for the compliments I am really honored. Im really happy the scape turned out so well. Why it grew out so fast? Tbh i have no idea. I did nothing special. adding CO2 and dosing EI from day 1. I dont know if this could be a reason behind it but I accidently started out with 10 hours of light instead of the 8 I was planning. (the timers were still set for the previous tank and forgot to change it).

To be really honest the scape looks better on the pics atm then in real life. Im still figuring out the reason but the HC colors arent great. they are dull and yellowish. debating atm the add more iron or Mgso4.

Thanks again, i really appriciate all the feedback!


----------



## Omegatron (12 Feb 2014)

Hi guys,

Back for an update, things arent going the way they should lately. A few weeks ago my girfriend decided to feed the fish.... this whas the result:









So i wasnt really pleased with her feeding the fish and i had to clean out the tank, I had to replant 70% of the HC because it all came lose when cleaning.

Now a few weeks after replanting its starting to look better but then i noticed the silicone acting weird. It al started when i picked up the tank in september i  noticed some bubbles in the silicone. the LFS said it wouldnt give any trouble. but overtime the silicone turned white and i contacted the LFS this week with the same picture. As a result the tank is not save and they are building me a new one. Big bummer to start all over again.

the silicone:





So next update will be an exact copy of this layout and hopefully i have better luck with the new tank.


----------



## James D (12 Feb 2014)

Sorry to hear about your troubles Omegatron, it was looking really nice.


----------



## aliclarke86 (12 Feb 2014)

Bummer. I would be asking for compensation.....

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk


----------



## LondonDragon (12 Feb 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> Bummer. I would be asking for compensation.....


At least a few bags of soil


----------



## GabrossIV (12 Feb 2014)

Really to bad hope next time you have better luck. 
Very nice aquascape your a genius!


----------



## Omegatron (17 Mar 2014)

Hello again,

A few weeks ago I got my new tank, after having some conversations with the LFS it seems that the silicone i requested (they have given me a few options for silicone to choose from last year) wasnt suitable for aquariumbuilding. The new should be suitable 

Anyways, I took the time to do it properly. I bought an extra bag of aquasiol (the LFS didnt want to compensate me for anything, just the tank). Last time i didnt have enough soil and i used stockings filled with lava gravel. This time its all aquasoil. i didnt want to go for a new scape yet because the scape in the old tank was never finished and i thought that creating the old scape would be easier and faster aswell. I was wrong haha. It took me 5 days to recreate the scape. After having some good looks i went on and planted everything. After planting i took a pic for the forum just to find out that wasnt happy with the right side. So i left the left side untouched but redid the the rightside.

So if you see a difference in growth then thats the reason (left side is planted a week ago, right side a day ago.)

I normally use 2 filters but since i had to move the fish to another tank i am using 1 filter (the filter with the external heater is used for the temp fish tank.) So thats why i have a nice internal heater for the next couple of weeks.

For now this will have to do, the substrate line is banking up toward the path and the path itself is too high at the glass. That has already been adjusted. The path is also not 100% perfect but after 2 weeks of scaping/rescaping i wanted to leave it be for now. Once the HC grows back in i should be able to form the path better (by trimming the HC in shape).

Sorry for the crappy phone pic,  i've been asking my dad to make some nice pics with his shiny camera but he cant get good pictures (technical camara settings to figure out that i dont know anything about). So hopefully one day i will have some shiny pics aswell.

Thanks for reading and looking!


----------



## Omegatron (25 Mar 2014)

Small update, everything is growing in nicely spotted a bit of hair algae but removed it and didnt came back. Im doing a WC every other day and dose according EI. Co2 is really high atm since no livestock is added yet.

When i get home in the evening i see a tank that has snow in it, when i move closer i see this, its literately everywhere in the tank. It looks nice.



 



 

Phone pics sorry


----------



## aliclarke86 (25 Mar 2014)

How's the right side doing?

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## Omegatron (25 Mar 2014)

Right side is doing ok but iyou can tell that i planted the right side 1 week later. Plants werent as healthy anymore so they are still recovering a bit but i see new leaves so it will be better soon


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## tim (25 Mar 2014)

Phone pics are better than no pics  it's a beauty mate keep em coming.


----------



## faizal (26 Mar 2014)

Great recovery on the fish food accident. The tank's looking lovely mate. Can't wait for more pictures


----------



## Omegatron (26 Mar 2014)

Thanks for the kind words!

I forgot to mention that i added a little bit of Hydrocotyle sp."Japan" i placed them around the main stone and a little bit at the left stone formation. Im curious too see how this will look or if it will work in this scape.


----------



## Omegatron (11 Apr 2014)

Hi,

Today i decided to put the simulans  and otto's back in the tank, i also did some maintenance. everything growing in nicely i already did some trimming on the HC, the carpet is getting there slowly.

Here is how i do a WC, i connect the hose directly from the tap out of the kitchen, very fast and easy   Also notice the workmate, it has plastic tank on it. This is were my fish was for the last month. I put a garbage bag in front of it so the wouldn't be so stressed. Obviously the wife was very happy with that the workmate went back to the garage again.





view from the couch:





how it is now:



 

That's it for now, thanks for looking!


----------



## Deano3 (11 Apr 2014)

very nice, great view from the couch


----------



## brancaman (12 Apr 2014)

Wow great aquascaping you've got. I'm not a big fan of white sandy rivers but yours is just fine for me 

Hope this time you get more luck with the tank. And great work with the cabinet


----------



## Omegatron (3 May 2014)

Hi again,

Small update, Amano shrimps were added in the tank, also my friend emptied his tank and had some moss leftovers, so i added some wheeping moss (not sure if its the real deal) and some fissidens fox. I dont know if it will look nice but i can always remove it. I used small pieces of wood and some fishing line to attach the moss on, i put 3 pieces of fissidens on the main rock and 2 pieces on the largest stone left of the path.

Im not happy with the path at the moment is lacking the feeling of depth a bit. if anyone has any suggesions how to make it look better please let me know.

Just took some random shots with the phone, nothing fancy.


----------



## Omegatron (6 Aug 2014)

Hi,

A while ago i created a new thread (http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/suggestions-needed-how-to-continue-after-a-vacation.33485/) because of my upcomming holiday and using the method where one doesnt turn on the lights/no co2/ferts or feeding fish. For me it didnt work since i lost a lot of my HC.

I replanted all HC, (what was left of it). Now 6 weeks later the growth hasnt been good. because i didnt want to add my shrimps yet (they like to pull the HC out and play with the substrate) it has been running without cleaners. So the last few weeks i have more algae then HC. The HC still lives but it looks like its suffering from the algae.

So yesterday i added the cleanup crew again only to findout that they can destroy what has been growing for the last 6 weeks. So i decided im going to take the shrimps out again. I also ordered new HC. I'll add 10 pots of it. Its probably more then enough but they cost less when you buy 10 pots in one order.

Hopefully the new HC (in combination with the old HC) can compete better against the algae.

Im not worring about algae. I keep the same regime (lights/feeding/ferts) as i always did so in the end they should dissapear. I do 50% WC everyother day for now.

hopefully better times will come soon again.

No pics yet but i will make some soon.

thanks for reading!


----------



## EdwinK (6 Aug 2014)

Don't give up and keep us posted. Good luck.


----------



## Martin in Holland (7 Aug 2014)

Amano shrimp like to dig indeed, maybe try some other shrimp?


----------



## Omegatron (13 Aug 2014)

Small update, still no pics haha. So i noticed that the combination of putting back 20 something Amano's back in the tank and adding Easy Carbo (overdose ftw) I almost completely got rid of diatoms and other algae within 24 hours. I was really suprised to see the bright green color of the plants instead of brownish when i got home. Though because the shrimps were also messing with the scape aswell i already took them out again and planted the new HC. Now 6 days later the HC still needs to transform to the submersive state and obviously algae are starting to come back (diatoms included).

So the dillema I have now is, do i leave it as it i? Adding no shrimps so the scape will stay intact but having algae comming back or add the shrimps and have a nice green tank but also fix the scape every evening and keep replanting the HC since the shrimps pull it out of the substrate.
I think i need to endure the algae for the time being, do you guys agree?


----------



## Alexander Belchenko (13 Aug 2014)

Put shrimps in, and plant HC much deeper. It will find its way out!


----------



## Omegatron (13 Aug 2014)

Hi, thanks for the response. I have the HC pretty deep already, also i rather leave it as it is, disturbing the HC again will only make the settling in take longer me thinks.


----------



## Mr. Teapot (13 Aug 2014)

Nice tank - really visually arresting. 

If you wanted a really robust carpet, you could always put a second, deeper rooted carpeting plant in with your HC. Mini hairgrass has a really strong root structure and the runners will mesh in with the HC nicely. Will spoil the flatness somewhat but personally I like a bit of texture in a lawn.


----------



## Omegatron (13 Aug 2014)

I have parvula already in the mix, not everywhere but i added some more then i had before my vacation. thanks for the suggestion and the compliment!


----------



## LocustDemon (13 Aug 2014)

Such a great build! Love the tank stand, your dad has done a great job! The pathway really makes this tank in my opinion, sometimes making it slope towards the front (back higher than front) adds depth? Subscribing because I've got a feeling this isn't the last of this build  
Cheers for the read, 
Matt.


----------



## Omegatron (13 Aug 2014)

Thanks for the compliment, much appriciated!

About the depth and the path. Its a bit annoying because if you look at the back,the substrate line make has the shape of a horizontal 'S' so the middle where the path is is also the lowest part of the substrate in the back (dont know if i still make sense). So what i was doing the entire time was adding more white sand on the path in the back so when the HC grows it doesnt cover up the path in the back and you can still see the path (creating the depth). Its a bit annoying but if I would have more substrate in the background (in the middle) then the 2 hills on the side wont look as big anymore.


----------



## tim (13 Aug 2014)

Omegatron said:


> Small update, still no pics haha. So i noticed that the combination of putting back 20 something Amano's back in the tank and adding Easy Carbo (overdose ftw) I almost completely got rid of diatoms and other algae within 24 hours. I was really suprised to see the bright green color of the plants instead of brownish when i got home. Though because the shrimps were also messing with the scape aswell i already took them out again and planted the new HC. Now 6 days later the HC still needs to transform to the submersive state and obviously algae are starting to come back (diatoms included).
> 
> So the dillema I have now is, do i leave it as it i? Adding no shrimps so the scape will stay intact but having algae comming back or add the shrimps and have a nice green tank but also fix the scape every evening and keep replanting the HC since the shrimps pull it out of the substrate.
> I think i need to endure the algae for the time being, do you guys agree?


Cleanup crew is important IMO maybe add cherry shrimp instead of amanos Untill the hc settles.


----------



## Martin in Holland (14 Aug 2014)

I've tight some HC up to some mesh (but just a 6x6cm mesh) in my previous tank, that stopped shrimp from messing it up.


----------



## Omegatron (14 Aug 2014)

thanks for the tips, though im not going to buy cherry shrimps now and remove them after a week or so. The algae is still managable but if it becomes troublesome i will add the amano's again. yesterday i raised my lightfixture so hopefully this will help aswell,

I also started the Gastropex treatment 2 days ago because i have a sh*tload of snails atm. Im going to repeat this treatment in 2 weeks so all the eggs still present now will be hatched by then. Does anyone know how long it will take with gastropex to kill the snails? today is the third day but i can still see them moving around.


----------



## ADA (14 Aug 2014)

Loving this, to get the path looking more natural could always try a few tiny stones/pebbles to break up the transition between the HC and sand .


----------



## flygja (15 Aug 2014)

That's one of the best sandy paths I've seen. I really like how it moves behind the left side mount. Have tried to re-create that in a small tank (30cm deep) but couldn't get it to look nice. Extremely envious of your HC!


----------



## Omegatron (18 Aug 2014)

Hi guys, I took some pictures this weekend. Its getting repetitive though so nothing new. New HC is setteling in, no live stock added yet. Algae is under control.


----------



## ADA (18 Aug 2014)

Love this, the more it grows the better the perspective.


----------



## Omegatron (18 Aug 2014)

ADA said:


> Loving this, to get the path looking more natural could always try a few tiny stones/pebbles to break up the transition between the HC and sand .



Thanks for the input. I tried it once but i didnt get the right look. Maybe the stones i had where to big. Could try it again though. Thanks for the tip!


----------



## Martin in Holland (19 Aug 2014)

looking good....


----------



## tinthree (19 Aug 2014)

I really this scape especially the white sandy path. Pleased to see that you've managed to redo it after the incident. (^^,) 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## LocustDemon (20 Aug 2014)

Really reminds me of Derbyshire where we go walking.. Quality! I think I'm going to go with HC when I start my scape , 3 weeks to go! Haha. Still one of my favourite scapes on here


----------



## Hamza (20 Aug 2014)

what a fine minimalist scape this is! 

I just wish it had tad more hardscape on left.


----------



## Omegatron (21 Aug 2014)

LocustDemon said:


> Really reminds me of Derbyshire where we go walking.. Quality! I think I'm going to go with HC when I start my scape , 3 weeks to go! Haha. Still one of my favourite scapes on here


 


Hamza said:


> what a fine minimalist scape this is!
> 
> I just wish it had tad more hardscape on left.


 
Thanks for the compliments! About the hardscape on the left, what would you have done differently? because the more i would add on the left side the impact of the rightside would be less. (not saying im going to change it but always open for good ideas   )


----------



## Konrad Michalski (23 Aug 2014)

I'm starting quite similar scape with sandy path in between rocks. I used amazonia soil powder and so far I'm about ready to cry. Basicly (even without shrimp) grains of the soil already covered my sandy path and I'm struggling with tidying it up. When I switched my filter on quite a few plants (HC) got pulled out and it doesn't look as I expected. I know it is not an easy scape to maintain so well done for your work. Any tips how to add some sand or substrate while the water is already in? And how to remove soil grains out of tge sand? Cheers and good luck with further work.


----------



## Omegatron (25 Aug 2014)

Konrad Michalski said:


> I'm starting quite similar scape with sandy path in between rocks. I used amazonia soil powder and so far I'm about ready to cry. Basicly (even without shrimp) grains of the soil already covered my sandy path and I'm struggling with tidying it up. When I switched my filter on quite a few plants (HC) got pulled out and it doesn't look as I expected. I know it is not an easy scape to maintain so well done for your work. Any tips how to add some sand or substrate while the water is already in? And how to remove soil grains out of tge sand? Cheers and good luck with further work.


 
The waterflow is no issue for me, Maybe your outlet is a bit too much downwards and its disturbing the sand/soil? Maybe you can try putting the HC furher in the soil. I dont think the powder version of teh soil is the reason that HC uproots (so my guess is the combination of your waterflow and how deep you put the hc in the soil).

I sometimes replace parts of the white sand, i just suck it up with a hose, i use bankcards to make sure that i dont suck out the soil. So what I do is I place some bankcards or whatever works for you, to seperate sand and soil. Then holding the bankcard in place i add new sand. I use a seringe to add white sand. Put sand in the seringe then slowly take it underwater while having a finger on the tip of the seringe. Then when you remove your finger from the tip of the seringe, a flow of sand comes out (like sandpainting). You could use the same seringe to suck up sand/soil (removing it).

Also when you are working on the path, turn of the filter so the sand doesnt end up all over the place. Take your time while doing it 

the seringe i use:




Good luck!


----------



## Konrad Michalski (26 Aug 2014)

Thanks for all the info. I'm sure they will help me to improve the sandy path and health of my hemianthus. Cheers


----------



## Omegatron (1 Sep 2014)

A few days ago i decided to speed up the plant growth, so i lowered the lights by a lot and went psycho on the co2. This is 24 hours after a waterchance, 2 mins after i stopped the filters and powerhead about 10 minutes before lights go out. I also overdose with EI just to be save.

instead of iphone photo's i maybe my first you tube video today, nothing fancy, iphone handheld. Set it on 1080p for better quality. Sorry for the abrupt ending.



thanks!


----------



## Alexander Belchenko (1 Sep 2014)

It looks like you have a live painting in your room.

Sent via Tapatalk


----------



## Omegatron (2 Sep 2014)

Alexander Belchenko said:


> It looks like you have a live painting in your room.
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk


 
haha thanks!


----------



## Omegatron (10 Oct 2014)

Hi guys. 

2 weeks i added some utriculari graminifolia. Its setteling in nicely although it gets a bit brown but ive been told that is normal in the beginning.

Im wondering when i should trim this plant because in 2 weeks it has grown upwards a lot still no carpet forming yet. 

Is it save to give the UG a trim after 2 weeks or is it still to early?

Thanks!









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## ADA (10 Oct 2014)

Shame there's none near the glass as you could check its root structure, I read on one of James Findleys and I think he waited about 3 - 4 weeks before trimming.


----------



## Martin in Holland (10 Oct 2014)

Die doen het heftig goed.
They are doing really well.


----------



## REDSTEVEO (10 Oct 2014)

Wow, wow and wow again. Omegatron you really did a fantastic job, well done I am totally impressed. The cabinet looks brilliant and so does the tank, hard scape planting, simple and effective, you should be proud of that. 

Its a shame that you girlfriend ruined it for you by dumping all that food in, what happened, did the lid come off or something.

You really hit bad luck with the fault in the tank design and I feel for you.

I wish you loads of luck in replacing it, I would be insisting on a new tank and my money back for the first one at the very least.

p.s is she still your girlfriend?


----------



## Omegatron (14 Oct 2014)

Haha thanks for the compliments!

The lid did indeed come of but no worries we are still together 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Omegatron (14 Oct 2014)

ADA said:


> Shame there's none near the glass as you could check its root structure, I read on one of James Findleys and I think he waited about 3 - 4 weeks before trimming.



Ill wait another to weekz then to be save, thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Konrad Michalski (14 Oct 2014)

Some nice progress there. Any recent pictuers of a whole tank?


----------



## Omegatron (16 Oct 2014)

Konrad Michalski said:


> Some nice progress there. Any recent pictuers of a whole tank?


 
hopefully soon, im waiting for the UG to grow in more so i have something to show (I keep posting the same pictures for over a year now haha)


----------



## Konrad Michalski (16 Oct 2014)

Have you experienced any issues with diatoms during the first weeks? My scape is very similar (carpet made of hemianthus) and still struggling with diatoms on plants and rocks. How often do you trim your HC? Thanks


----------



## Omegatron (16 Oct 2014)

Konrad Michalski said:


> Have you experienced any issues with diatoms during the first weeks? My scape is very similar (carpet made of hemianthus) and still struggling with diatoms on plants and rocks. How often do you trim your HC? Thanks



Yes i always have diatoms in the beginning but these will dissapear eventually.  With startup i always do a WC every other day. That helps a lot. (While maintaining EI dosing and adding co2).

I trim my HC once per month.


----------



## Konrad Michalski (16 Oct 2014)

Cheers mate. I will wait another few weeks and if it won't disappear I will try to think what to change. I read a lot that it maight be caused by silica in the sand but replacing the sand would rather be impossible. What do you reckon should the diatoms disappear after 7 weeks of running the tank or is it still too early? Thanks


----------

