# Lava-Rock The World v2.0



## xtevo (23 Nov 2012)

Hello fellows!
As I have mentioned at my other journal, I'm a happy owner of two aquariums, but the problems, maintenance also makes double. 

My inspiration was that faboulos tank made by Hector Baca - Sky Cliff, and after that I decided to make a minimalistic iwagumi / rocky-mountain layout. Of course I don't want to copy-paste that tank, I just want to make a similar. 

Here are the specs:

*AQUARIUM*
70x30x35 6mm float glass
*FILTRATION*
Tetratec EX1200
*LIGHTING*
Hagen Glo 2x24W (Osram Daylight + Sylvania Grolux)
*HEATING*
Jager 50W or Jager 100W
*COOLING*
House AC
*SUBSTRATE*
JBL Aquabasis Plus + Akadama
*DECORATION/LAYOUT*
15kg lavastone
*FERTILIZERS*
Green Aqua Micro + Macro
Easy Carbo
Co2: nope
*FLORA*
Eleocharis Parvula
Taxiphyllum barbieri 
Vesicularia dubyana "Christmas"
Lomariopsis lineata 
*FAUNA*
_Haven't decided it yet, suggestions are welcomed!_
Laubuca dadyburjori - Chela + yellow fire shrimp
Boraras Brigittae + sakura shrimp


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## xtevo (23 Nov 2012)

Hardscape on my carpet:

preview by [stevo], on Flickr

Playing with the rocks in the tank:
*Vol.1*

Layout vol.1 by [stevo], on Flickr


Layout vol.1 by [stevo], on Flickr

*Vol.2*

Layout vol.1b by [stevo], on Flickr


Layout vol.1b by [stevo], on Flickr


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## xtevo (23 Nov 2012)

*After the first fillup:*

After the first fillup - test phase #1 by [stevo], on Flickr


After the first fillup - test phase #2 by [stevo], on Flickr

*Planted phase #1*

Planted - Day 1 by [stevo], on Flickr


Planted - Day 1 by [stevo], on Flickr


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## xtevo (23 Nov 2012)

DIY Lighting hanging: done

DIY Lighting project: done. by [stevo], on Flickr

The path:

The path by [stevo], on Flickr

and just a photo of the current look:

Sideview from my place by [stevo], on Flickr


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## xtevo (24 Dec 2012)

The scape is 1 month old, here are the pics:


1 month old - Frontview by [stevo], on Flickr


1 month old - Sideview by [stevo], on Flickr


Right Sideview by [stevo], on Flickr


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## tim (24 Dec 2012)

looks good mate which moss have you used how is it attached ? only thing for me is maybe a finer substate at the front would be better like this a lot though


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## xtevo (24 Dec 2012)

tim said:


> looks good mate which moss have you used how is it attached ? only thing for me is maybe a finer substate at the front would be better like this a lot though


 
Thanks.  The moss is mostly java and a little christmas. I will make a proper foreground in the near future, and that won't be a problem any more.


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## foxfish (24 Dec 2012)

Looks great! I guess you could contrast the foreground or use Tesco cat litter as it looks be be a very similar colour.


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## xtevo (24 Dec 2012)

foxfish said:


> Looks great! I guess you could contrast the foreground or use Tesco cat litter as it looks be be a very similar colour.


Thank You!  I will plant some parvula mini, and will place some mossy stones to make a soften transition between substrate and rock.


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## xtevo (6 Jan 2013)

Here are some fresh pics taken today: 


Frontview by [stevo], on Flickr


Sideview by [stevo], on Flickr


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## cosmin_ruz (7 Jan 2013)

Looks great, but i don't like the substrate! I recommend using weeping moss on the rocks. Good luck!


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## Palm Tree (8 Jan 2013)

Wow, what a great looking tank. I actually really like the substrate. I am contemplating doing a tank very similar to this now.
How come your going for mini Eleocharis as a foreground ? E. tenellus might look better as a foreground plant, mini eleocharis might look a bit swamped when its planted in with the larger foreground substrate size.


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## Arana (8 Jan 2013)

looks great, i am really liking Lava rock i wish i could find some


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## xtevo (8 Jan 2013)

cosmin_ruz said:


> Looks great, but i don't like the substrate! I recommend using weeping moss on the rocks. Good luck!


Thanks!  I like the color of the substrate, this light brown fits perfectly for the scape, but with the size of each gravel, I agree, I don't satisfied with it.



Palm Tree said:


> Wow, what a great looking tank. I actually really like the substrate. I am contemplating doing a tank very imilar to this now.
> How come your going for mini Eleocharis as a foreground ? E. tenellus might look better as a foreground plant, mini eleocharis might look a bit swamped when its planted in with the larger foreground substrate size.


Thanks, my pleasure, that You liked it.  Just ask, if anything come to your mind, I hope I can help. Well I have already planned to plant some eleocharis parvula mini in the foreground, and of course some mossy stones. I've just need some free time. 



Arana said:


> looks great, i am really liking Lava rock i wish i could find some


Thanks!  Just a travel to Italy, or a near vulcano, and problem solved!  joking. You can easily buy in a Garden "shops" or from Aquarium Stores.


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## clone (11 Jan 2013)

Nice hardskape. Love the canyon look. Crush some lava rock and spread it in the front so will look as fragments from the big ones..looking forward for update.


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## xtevo (13 Jan 2013)

clone said:


> Nice hardskape. Love the canyon look. Crush some lava rock and spread it in the front so will look as fragments from the big ones..looking forward for update.


Thanks! That's a good idea, crushing some lava rocks, I will do this.  Hopefully I will buy some new ones also next week from a friend, for rescaping my other tank.


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## xtevo (23 Apr 2013)

Shame on me, for the lazyness... Tank is still going, and the mosses are dominating the scape. Unfortunately I haven't developed the scape "manually" I let the nature to do the job. 

Current look, about 4 months old:

Frontview - 4 months by [stevo], on Flickr


Sideview - 4months by [stevo], on Flickr


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## xtevo (23 Apr 2013)

I have cleaned the tank today, here is how it looks, when I sit at my desk to learn/work. 


Frontview_dark by [stevo], on Flickr


Sideview_dark by [stevo], on Flickr


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## foxfish (23 Apr 2013)

Fantastic my friend!
The tank looks very healthy, have you had any algae issues?


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## xtevo (23 Apr 2013)

foxfish said:


> Fantastic my friend!
> The tank looks very healthy, have you had any algae issues?


Thanks! My pleasure, that You like it also.  Well, to be honest, only green spot algae on the glass, because sometimes direct sunlight comes in the room, and a little hair algae, but I take it out with a toothbrush weekly 5 minutes maximum. 
I dose Easy Carbo 1,5ml/day and GreenAqua Micro & Macro 3ml/week.


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## clone (23 Apr 2013)

Love your mosses mate, keep up the good work!


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## xtevo (23 Apr 2013)

clone said:


> Love your mosses mate, keep up the good work!


Thanks, I appreciate it! I will make some slight changes in the near future, will keep the thread updated, of course.


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## Dan Crawford (25 Apr 2013)

That's a lovely and quite different layout. I love how the moss growth softens the big block of red. It really works, great stuff


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## BigTom (25 Apr 2013)

Yeah, looking great now the moss has grown in. Have to admit I wasn't hugely keen on the lava rock to begin with, but the contrast works really nicely now.


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## xtevo (27 Apr 2013)

Dan Crawford said:


> That's a lovely and quite different layout. I love how the moss growth softens the big block of red. It really works, great stuff


 


BigTom said:


> Yeah, looking great now the moss has grown in. Have to admit I wasn't hugely keen on the lava rock to begin with, but the contrast works really nicely now.


Thanks both of You! Indeed ,in the beginning everyone said that is a landscape from the planet Mars...  But by time the whole scape and especially the mosses grow like mad, unfortunately the parvula what was planted, completely disappeared... but I will make another try soon with acicularis also.  To soften the transition in the background between valisneria and the rocks.


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## Pedro Rosa (27 Apr 2013)

Stevo,

I personally don't appreciate this kind of rock, but what you did with them and the colors that your aquarium have are just beautiful. 
Love it.

Pedro.


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## xtevo (27 Apr 2013)

pmgsr said:


> Stevo,
> 
> I personally don't appreciate this kind of rock, but what you did with them and the colors that your aquarium have are just beautiful.
> Love it.
> ...


Thanks Pedro and all of, who commented before, all were a massive compliment for me! Such an amazing thing, that you appreciate my work and effort, for making this rock more "loveable"  For this kind of attitude it worth the hard work.


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## xtevo (26 Oct 2013)

Well, I haven't updated this thread for a while... for almost half a year, oh gosh...Apologize for it, I have had a lot of work and university things, what I had to take care of. But last week I have taken this massive moss jungle apart, unfortunately the hair algae almost killed the whole scape, that was the final stab in my heart.
I was wondering a lot, what to do, instead of it. But I kept my original idea to make another iwagumi/mountain like layout. I have made the hardscape in a temporary tank, so I had to label the rocks one by one, to recreate the scape in the original tank.

Some pics, please excuse the poor quality I had to hurry at that time...


v2.0 - Layout test 20131023 by [stevo], on Flickr


v2.0 - Left sideview 20131023 by [stevo], on Flickr


v2.0 - Frontview 20131023 by [stevo], on Flickr


v2.0 - Right sideview 20131023 by [stevo], on Flickr


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## tim (26 Oct 2013)

Love the rock work xtevo, what do you have in mind for planting this time round ? Look forward to following version 2 mate


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## xtevo (26 Oct 2013)

tim said:


> Love the rock work xtevo, what do you have in mind for planting this time round ? Look forward to following version 2 mate


 
Thank You! 
Well good idea, what to plant. I will definitely use some christmas and java moss, these are my favorites, but this time I venture into fissidens also, with some parvula and acicularis at the back. So mainly slow growing plants, with some grass. 

What do You guys thinks about foreground? I would like to use some sand, but not sure about the color... white / brown / black... dunno.


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## TOO (26 Oct 2013)

Looks almost like a reef tank .

I think it gets a bit "heavy" and compact with these big stones. I would probably want to open it up a bit more.

Will watch this.

Thomas


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## xtevo (26 Oct 2013)

TOO said:


> Looks almost like a reef tank .
> I think it gets a bit "heavy" and compact with these big stones. I would probably want to open it up a bit more.
> Will watch this.
> Thomas


 
Hehe, indeed.  Thats interesting, a friend of mine also said the same, that this tank is a bit crowded, don't have much space for fish/shrimps. I said the same to him, that after planting, You won't feel that.


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## TOO (26 Oct 2013)

xtevo said:


> Hehe, indeed.  Thats interesting, a friend of mine also said the same, that this tank is a bit crowded, don't have much space for fish/shrimps. I said the same to him, that after planting, You won't feel that.


 
Maybe you are right. I would still create some kind of "hole" in the wall, though. But I am ready to be proven wrong .

Thomas


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## xtevo (26 Oct 2013)

TOO said:


> Maybe you are right. I would still create some kind of "hole" in the wall, though. But I am ready to be proven wrong .
> Thomas


 
I promise to think about moving the rocks a bit, or making a narrow corridor between the "mountains".


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## Little-AL (28 Oct 2013)

Like the new layout, looks much better than the old imo. Only thing I would suggest is breaking down the larger rocks to makes lots of smaller then build it up with those. The reason I suggest this is that there isn't much of a sense of perspective in the scape for me.... the large rocks do look overly large in the tank so the sense of scale is a bit off imo.


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## James D (28 Oct 2013)

I like the new layout as well (liked the old one as well). It would scare the bejesus out of me putting all that rock into my tank without anything to cushion it though!


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## Lindy (28 Oct 2013)

I think once it is partially covered with mosses etc it will be really broken up. Java moss looks abit random and wild I feel for a tank like this. How about coral pelia? Spikey moss would look nice too as would christmas moss. Grass at the back will look great.


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## xtevo (28 Oct 2013)

Little-AL said:


> Like the new layout, looks much better than the old imo. Only thing I would suggest is breaking down the larger rocks to makes lots of smaller then build it up with those. The reason I suggest this is that there isn't much of a sense of perspective in the scape for me.... the large rocks do look overly large in the tank so the sense of scale is a bit off imo.


 
Thank You!  Good idea, I will do that, to make a softer transition between sand and rocks!



James D said:


> I like the new layout as well (liked the old one as well). It would scare the bejesus out of me putting all that rock into my tank without anything to cushion it though!


 
Thank You!  Don't worry, I have tested it before, it wouldn't harm. I just have to care about not moving them suddenly or at all... 



ldcgroomer said:


> I think once it is partially covered with mosses etc it will be really broken up. Java moss looks abit random and wild I feel for a tank like this. How about coral pelia? Spikey moss would look nice too as would christmas moss. Grass at the back will look great.


 
You are right! I will skip java, and substitute to coral pelia, or riccardia.

Thanks for the feedback and advices, I appreciate it!


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