# "Icarus Ville" - 60cm shrimp tank scape



## Stu Worrall (4 Jun 2009)

Hi All

I thought it was about time I posted some pictures of my 60cm clearseal tank that Ive been working on for a couple of months.  Its always been my "spare" tank that lives in the utility by the washer so doesnt get seen much as we dont have enough room in the lounge for two tanks.  I decided to re-scape it in February after spotting some nice pieces of Dragon Stone at TGM plus I wanted to try a type of Iwagumi as I'd not done this before.

The name *Icarus Ville* came from my decision to not hit the tank too hard with light and thus turn it into an algae ville so no flying too close to the sun for this one   Its been running on 5 hours for a month or two and is now up to 7 hours per day.

*Hardscape*: Dragon Stone
*Co2*: Pressurised via ceramic diffuser
*Lighting*: Arcadia 2 x 24W T5 Luminaire
*Filtration*: Serafil 900
*Heating*: Internal heater
*Substrate*: Tropica substrate in the centre topped with lots of Acadama, graded gravel around the edges
*Ferts per day*: 2ml mix of 2/3rd TPN and 1/3rd TPN / 2ml Easy Carbo
*Critters*: Red Cherry Shrimp and some bloody annoying snails

*Planting*:
  Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis on the foreground (kindly provided by Dave Spencer)
  Echinodorus Tenellus in the centre
  some crypts dotted around
  Xmas and Flame moss on the rocks
  Dwarf Sag on the back
  HM (Hemianthus Micranthemoides) on the back left and right
  Pogostemon helferi


27th February 2009 - this was the initial testing of the hardscape in the tank






Followed by taking all the Acadama and rock out, putting in Tropica substrate, acadama in the centre and graded gravel around the edges.  Then trying the re-position the rocks like they were before!  Planting then commenced with more added later but I dont have any pics of this





This is the tank as of 4th June 2009.  Not everything is fully grown in yet plus I trimmed the HM before taking the shots so its not got its proper crown.  Im not entirely sure about the bare right hand side so any constructive comments are welcome   The shrimps have now started breeding as there are a few babys in there so im hoping for a jump in the local population soon!

In situ with equipment in the tank





Side view





This is the final shot I got last night when trying out the studio flashes on loan from mold camera club.  Holding a hairdryer plus the heavy flash as it wont mount on the right hand side plus pressing the shutter for the timer is no mean feat!!  I bodged slightly as you can see the edge of the card on the right but it was a bit late to change it once it was done.


*Icarus Ville - 4th June 2009*

Canon 10-22mm @13mm / F11 / 1/250th Sec / ISO-100
2 x 150w studio flash with difusers
Wifes hairdryer (dont tell her!)


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## Dave Spencer (4 Jun 2009)

That last pic is very Aqua Journal. Studio lighting certainly makes a difference. 

Lovely scape too! Another step foreward for sure.

How did you get the edges of the tank aligned with the edges of the picture so accurately? I reckon I must be doing it wrong.

Dave.


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## Steve Smith (4 Jun 2009)

That's a great scape Stu!  I really like it   It has a real jurassic feel to it!  It just needs some tiny pterodactyls flying around those mountain peaks


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## Stu Worrall (4 Jun 2009)

Cheers dave and steve, i just wish I had it in the lounge so I could see it a bit more often   (and pterodactyls would be nice too 



			
				Dave Spencer said:
			
		

> How did you get the edges of the tank aligned with the edges of the picture so accurately? I reckon I must be doing it wrong


The original is a bit more bendy. Ive straightened it out in PS3 useing the crop tool with perspective turned on.  You drag all the crop corners to the corners of the tank which straightens it out to a rectangle.


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## aaronnorth (4 Jun 2009)

awesome scape, i like the addition of the crypt in there,makes it more original.


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## Vito (4 Jun 2009)

Fantastic tank stu, really like hardscrape and the plants go so well. The dragon stone owns, I might have to invest for the next scape.

Keep us updated!

Vito


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## Superman (4 Jun 2009)

Hot diggity, that's one nice tank.
I love the way the dwarf sag has been used, I guess that is "Sagittaria subulata" and you've used it as a background when the tropica text states it's a foreground but can grow tall.


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## John Starkey (4 Jun 2009)

Hi stu,love the rock placement and the choice of stone,the dragon stone comes into it's own under water ,at least with the low light it will be less work trimming and so on,superb pics as usual,
Regards john.


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## Stu Worrall (4 Jun 2009)

aaronnorth said:
			
		

> awesome scape, i like the addition of the crypt in there,makes it more original.


Cheers aaron, there are some more behind the rock on the right but I may have made a mistake in putting them there as they are too hidden



			
				Vito said:
			
		

> Fantastic tank stu, really like hardscrape and the plants go so well. The dragon stone owns, I might have to invest for the next scape.





			
				john starkey said:
			
		

> Hi stu,love the rock placement and the choice of stone,the dragon stone comes into it's own under water ,at least with the low light it will be less work trimming and so on,superb pics as usual,
> Regards john.


thanks both, I really like the dragon stone. I did originally weigh some seriou at TGM but could quite get my head around the price at the time for how much rock there was   Its so dense that a small amount costs a lot whereas the dragon is really light and full of holes so cheaper!



			
				Superman said:
			
		

> Hot diggity, that's one nice tank.
> I love the way the dwarf sag has been used, I guess that is "Sagittaria subulata" and you've used it as a background when the tropica text states it's a foreground but can grow tall.



thanks Clark, I got the sag off someone on here on the for sale section, it grew quite long when I had it in storage so thought it was ideal for the back.


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## George Farmer (4 Jun 2009)

Wicked Iwagumi!  Very wild-looking but not too much so.  

Makes a nice change from some of the clinical Iwagumis we see (mine included).

The photography is top notch.  My next investment is studio lighting...  Then L-series lenses...  Then full-frame sensor....  Then.... (dream on). lol

I'm impressed with the lack of barreling using the 10-22mm.  Better than the Sigma 10-20mm?


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## Mark Evans (4 Jun 2009)

Dave Spencer said:
			
		

> 2 x 150w studio flash with difusers



do you find this enough light? would you wish for more?......i've just ordered 2 x 200w bowens mono blocs, so i'm hoping this should be enough light.

scape looks great. unusual, which is always good


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## rawr (4 Jun 2009)

Wow, this scape is right up there as one of my favourites! It looks so natural and original. I especially  like the fact you've used Crypts in a layout like this. 

Is that tall grassy looking plant the Sag? 

In regards to the open right hand side I think it works well but might flow more when it's a bit taller than it currently is.


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## Stu Worrall (4 Jun 2009)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Wicked Iwagumi!  Very wild-looking but not too much so.
> 
> Makes a nice change from some of the clinical Iwagumis we see (mine included).
> 
> ...


thanks muchly mr farmer   

Dan was looking at some studio lights on ebay for Â£199 for three lights with all the accessories! I'll post a link to them later but they looked very good value.

The 10-22mm is great for hardly any barrel distortion, its one of the main reasons I chose it over the Sigma as you can shoot sea horizons with no worry about fixing it later.  The pic above has been squared in photoshop though as I was low down in front of the tank so i could get the ripple in shot


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## George Farmer (4 Jun 2009)

stuworrall said:
			
		

> Dan was looking at some studio lights on ebay for Â£199 for three lights with all the accessories! I'll post a link to them later but they looked very good value.
> 
> The 10-22mm is great for hardly any barrel distortion, its one of the main reasons I chose it over the Sigma as you can shoot sea horizons with no worry about fixing it later.  The pic above has been squared in photoshop though as I was low down in front of the tank so i could get the ripple in shot


Wow!  I was looking at around Â£400 for entry level (2 x 300w and accessories).  Please do PM or post that link.

Very interesting on the Canon over the Sigma.  Barreling is something I've not noticed in all the Sigma reviews so I'm glad you mentioned it.

Keep up the good work mate.  Loving it!


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## Stu Worrall (4 Jun 2009)

saintly said:
			
		

> stuworrall said:
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Thanks mark.  Re the 150's it was certainly enough for this. I thought id need my 580 flash to light the background but it wasnt needed plus I got a good amount of light as I was using F11.  I could have gone up to F16 but didnt have enough hands to hold the lights and black card and so I could angle them better.  I would guess that the higher levels of light would be needed for high key portrait photography though for this 150w is fine.  I also used these on georges demo tank for the green amchine writeup but i did use my 580 flash for the background on that=



			
				rawr said:
			
		

> Wow, this scape is right up there as one of my favourites! It looks so natural and original. I especially  like the fact you've used Crypts in a layout like this.
> 
> Is that tall grassy looking plant the Sag?
> 
> In regards to the open right hand side I think it works well but might flow more when it's a bit taller than it currently is.


Thanks rawr, yup the tallest at the back is the dwarf sag (at least thats what it was sold to me as cos ive not used it before  )


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## Mark Evans (4 Jun 2009)

stuworrall said:
			
		

> Thanks mark. Re the 150's it was certainly enough for this. I thought id need my 580 flash to light the background but it wasnt needed plus I got a good amount of light as I was using F11. I could have gone up to F16 but didnt have enough hands to hold the lights and black card and so I could angle them better. I would guess that the higher levels of light would be needed for high key portrait photography though for this 150w is fine. I also used these on georges demo tank for the green amchine writeup but i did use my 580 flash for the background on that=


thanks mate, the guy i spoke to (no aquatic photography experience) reckoned with 2 x 200w @ f16 i'd be looking at roughly iso400 1/125....but with that kind of lighting i'd want to use iso100 and 1/250  on my 5D

ok, thanks. i've ordered them now so i'll stick with them Â£500 notes is lot of money when it's not right


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## Stu Worrall (4 Jun 2009)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Wow!  I was looking at around Â£400 for entry level (2 x 300w and accessories).  Please do PM or post that link.
> 
> Very interesting on the Canon over the Sigma.  Barreling is something I've not noticed in all the Sigma reviews so I'm glad you mentioned it.
> 
> Keep up the good work mate.  Loving it!


I'd double check re the barreling, im pretty sure the sigma did it more than the canon but at the time there wasnt much difference in price due to a cashback plus cheaper deals.  i seem to remember something about being able to get wackier distortion with the Sig which didnt suit me for landscapes.

the ones on ebay are very much budget flashes which would do me for this application but if you were using them seriously you may want to spend some more, some reviews on the internet were quite favourable of them apart from a long ish recycle time of 4.5 seconds

This was the link dan sent although I cant check if its working as ebay is banned in work  http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-x-180W-PORT...0|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50


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## George Farmer (4 Jun 2009)

Link is sweet.  Nice one buddy.


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## Stu Worrall (4 Jun 2009)

saintly said:
			
		

> thanks mate, the guy i spoke to (no aquatic photography experience) reckoned with 2 x 200w @ f16 i'd be looking at roughly iso400 1/125....but with that kind of lighting i'd want to use iso100 and 1/250  on my 5D
> 
> ok, thanks. i've ordered them now so i'll stick with them Â£500 notes is lot of money when it's not right


Bowens is quality kit so no doubt a worthwhile purchase.  You can guarantee that if youd bought lower powered ones youd find something you wanted to photograph which needed the extra.  Im still learning lots on flash so by no means an expert.  You may need the extra power on a bigger tank with more water depth.


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## Themuleous (4 Jun 2009)

Nice tank  how do you find the akadama?  Cant say Ive done any tests but from what I hear they should like very similar substrates.  I really haven't do all that well with my akadama.

Sam


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## Stu Worrall (4 Jun 2009)

the acadama has been quite good in this tank.  It was however "run in" before i used it as it had already been in the tank for afew months before hand when I had some wood and spare plants in there.  The only problem ive found with it is that the granule size is too big and that its not as easy to plant in as ada aquasoil.  next time id probaby just buy a bag or aquasoil or oli knott to try.


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## Themuleous (4 Jun 2009)

Yeh the one time I got it to 'work' was after a good few months of pumping HC into it before it finally took hold.  The bonsai place I got it from said they sieve it before using it on the trees to remove the dust to stop it clogging and presumably to get rid of the larger chunks, which might well also help.  I've thought some of the bits are quite large. 

Sam


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## Dan Crawford (5 Jun 2009)

What a tank Stu, i'm truly blown away! And as always, the photography is fantastic. Once i get the studio lighting then you're gonna have to come show me what to do LOL
Well impressed with it all Stu, you should be very proud!


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## andyh (5 Jun 2009)

Just wanted to to say , love the scape. The Dragon stone is excellent and has made me seriously consider for my next scape.

Excellent photos! Like the whole hairdryer trick!

andyh


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## dsandson (5 Jun 2009)

stuworrall said:
			
		

> The only problem ive found with it is that the granule size is too big and that its not as easy to plant in as ada aquasoil.



I have to agree with you there. Think if I used it again then I'd seive it first then maybe mix some the bigger particles in with some JBL aquabasis to bulk it out a little.

I really love what you've done with the Akadama though. Tank looks brilliant, and will only look better as it grows in.


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## Stu Worrall (5 Jun 2009)

Dan Crawford said:
			
		

> What a tank Stu, i'm truly blown away! And as always, the photography is fantastic. Once i get the studio lighting then you're gonna have to come show me what to do LOL
> Well impressed with it all Stu, you should be very proud!


cheers dan   Alway up for a bit of photography practical sessions!



			
				Themuleous said:
			
		

> Yeh the one time I got it to 'work' was after a good few months of pumping HC into it before it finally took hold.  The bonsai place I got it from said they sieve it before using it on the trees to remove the dust to stop it clogging and presumably to get rid of the larger chunks, which might well also help.  I've thought some of the bits are quite large.





			
				dsandson said:
			
		

> stuworrall said:
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I did actually sieve the acadama through the three different sized bonsai sieves I have.  The problem with the bags is that theres lots of big stuff, some powder and small stuff which you dont want and not as much of the "middle" size which is better for planting.  I think to get a lot of the middle sized granules I would have had to use about 3 or four bags which kind of  defeats the object when you then look at aquasoil. This is Red line acadama by the way. I just used it in mine as I had it going spare after re-potting my trees.



			
				andyh said:
			
		

> Just wanted to to say , love the scape. The Dragon stone is excellent and has made me seriously consider for my next scape.
> 
> Excellent photos! Like the whole hairdryer trick!


Thanks andyh, dragon is definately a nice stone to use. make sure you clean it before putting it in though as is usually covered in loose clay which mucks up your tank.  my use of the hairdryer is just a blatant copy from the aquajournal stuff


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## TDI-line (6 Jun 2009)

Amazing Stuworral, the whole atmosphere of the scape sets the tone very well.


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## aaronnorth (6 Jun 2009)

i had a go changing the perspective to get the tank aligned with the sides, very easy to do which enhances the tank. Thanks,


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## Tony Swinney (7 Jun 2009)

Looks awesome Stu - I love it     That final photo is a stunner too.

Cheers

Tony


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## Graeme Edwards (23 Jun 2009)

stuworrall said:
			
		

>



Dude, I love this. Very Creative aquascape union. Love the water. 
I need to investes in some gear to get even close to that standard of picture. Or ill just give you a call   

Any update pics pal?

See ya next week mate.


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## Stu Worrall (24 Jun 2009)

Graeme Edwards said:
			
		

> stuworrall said:
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Cheers graeme, whats aquascape union? not heard of that before.  give us a shout re the pictures, think me and dave are going to do some studio flash stuff on his tank too in the future.

Got no update pics yet, getting a bit of fuzz algae low down in a bit of the moss so spot dosing that at the mo and bumped up the co2.  Also its had a big trim so needs to gro back a bit but ill try and get some closeup shots of the shrimp.  Really need a macro lnes


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## Dan Crawford (24 Jun 2009)

stuworrall said:
			
		

> whats aquascape union? not heard of that before.


http://www.cau-aqua.net/index.php?lang=en
Some awesome stuff on there pal!


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## Stu Worrall (2 Dec 2009)

this tank is currently being broken down but I found a video of it from June which Ive just posted to youtube

Heres the linkomatic


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## grandb3rry (21 May 2010)

That's a nice scape!!! Love it! Well done!


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