• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

60x45x40 Iwagumi tank

F. Jeppesen

Member
Joined
29 Jul 2015
Messages
41
Been waiting 7months to be able to post this, but finally time has come!
This is my first aquascape, after having a few years break from my old 400l mbuna tank!
My original idea was a very simple iwagumi setup with a gorgeous full cuba carpet. Eventually I'll put in some proper stemplants in the background to get a little depth. Still havent figured out if I'll go for some lovely green plants or some bright red ones to get a little contrast.
As you might realize, im a big fan of George' work. And this setup might have some similarities to his 1pot challenge. But hey, you gotta start somewhere! ;)
But here goes!

Tank and cabinet: Had no luck finding a supplier that would send their products to Denmark, so i made the cabinet my self, and ordered a specially made tank from Germany with the dimension i wanted.
Lighting: Up Pro led UP series from co2art. 7k
Filter: Eheim 350 professional
Heating: Hydor 200w external heater
Substrate: Black TMC nutrasoil
Co2: 2kg flask, Aluminium bubblecounter, UP inline diffuser, two gauge solenoid regulator. Running 2bps
Nutrients: Co2arts Micro and macro solution
Lilypipes are Co2Art's 16/22mm version. Lovely glasswork if you ask me.

After having all the stuff i needed lying around for 4 months waiting for my tank, I was pretty excited when I got time to make the cabinet(too much work). But the 2nd of January was the day!
Here I was setting up the hardscape. After many attempts, this is what I liked the most.
20qh0t2.jpg


I let it sit overnight, just in case i didn't like it the next morning.
But I was still happy with it, so time to plant!
I looked away for a split second, and ended up overfilling it a bit .. But what ever..
rsslj6.jpg

2use5n8.jpg


Rinsing out the 1-2 grow cubas. Ended up using 3 pots.
aaypmw.jpg


Planting them all.. Time consuming work holy hell!
vymm9j.jpg


Now this is something I didn't suspect.. I made my cabinet 10-15cm too low if you ask me.. The external heater was a lot longer than first expected, and this created a little troubles for me.. But after waaay to long i got it working ..
34zghvq.jpg


After 2 days DSM, i realized the water was cold as hell.. Tank is sitting next to a really poorly insulated wall, and i was afraid the cold water would either kill the plants, or slow down growth too much. Time to fill it up!
Got a few floaters, but that was expected
142czg1.jpg

2hwi2hc.jpg


Now it is just a waiting game, can't wait for that carpet to spread ;)
 
That looks great :).Too soon for fish though.
Yea i know .. I got impatient yesterday.. But they seem to thrive so far, eating well and have great colors :)
Hope it isn't considered animal cruelty :grumpy:
 
You can set up a Seachem Ammonia Alert - do a water change as soon as needed, also monitor fish behavior & color carefully
(it's worth reading the FAQ )
Feed alternate days - fish manage low food intake much better than ammonia/nitrite - & be very careful with amounts, you only want to feed the fish with no food hitting substrate etc, in this way you'll also notice slight changes in feeding behavior (immediate water change if fish are slow on food response)

Nice scape :D

& cabinet looks well done :thumbup:

(note you might confirm with TMC that substrate releases minimal ammonia)
 
Alright, so here's a little update. Pictures are usually taken a few days apart.
11th of Jan.
2z57qqh.jpg


15th of Jan.
w87q13.jpg


16th of Jan.
2sb2u53.jpg


And last picture is taken tonight after a good cleaning. Still a little cloudy, but look at the progress from last picture! They have really gotten dense over the past week.
I planted a row of Rotala Macrandra behind the main stone. A few more days and it will start peeking up!
A few bundles of Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini' in front of the two stones in the back. Just for a little color
A little pogostemon erectus to the left of the main stone. And a few behind the stone in the back to the right with some heteranthera zosterifolia. Not sure about those though.. They are are bit too big in my oppinion, but ill give them a week or two.
2ijdoo.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 2sb2u53.jpg
    2sb2u53.jpg
    215.9 KB · Views: 146
Good looking tank. I'm not sure about Alternanthera on the right though. It grows to about 15cm high and it may completely cover the rock behind. Also the strong point of your scape is the big rock on the left so catching eye with red plants on the right may not work well. This are only my thoughts though. In reality it may work perfectly fine especially when Rotala comes out a bit. Keep us updated.
 
Good looking tank. I'm not sure about Alternanthera on the right though. It grows to about 15cm high and it may completely cover the rock behind. Also the strong point of your scape is the big rock on the left so catching eye with red plants on the right may not work well. This are only my thoughts though. In reality it may work perfectly fine especially when Rotala comes out a bit. Keep us updated.
I agree with you. I even moved them a bit to the right for the same reason. You can see it in between the last two pictures ;)
Maybe ill move the greens behind the right rock, and place them there. They will get high enough to be properly seen, without taking away too much attention
 
Just be carefull with digging in substrate. You have got nice and clean tank and definitely don't want any algae there.
Does it do that? I've gotten some brown spots on my hardscape the last few days after planting the new plats.. Even a few on my glass ...
Well damn ..
 
Disturbing substrate will release ammonia, which then may lead to algae bloom. Don't forget to do a big water change after planting or removing plants. Your tank is still maturing so you can get some algae outbreak anyway. Just be carefull. So far it all looks great.
 
Disturbing substrate will release ammonia, which then may lead to algae bloom. Don't forget to do a big water change after planting or removing plants. Your tank is still maturing so you can get some algae outbreak anyway. Just be carefull. So far it all looks great.
Starting to get an alge outbreak.. Even my cubas are getting brown :( I can manage the hardscape and glass, but in not sure how to keep them nice and green ..
Are there any good articles or posts about this? Can't find any
 
Last edited:
More likely it will go away on it's own when your tank mature but you can type diatoms or brown algae in google or in the search box on the forum and find more details about it.
 
I don't get any hits here, ill se where google takes me :)
I just spotted some green hair alge as well :'(
 
Go to Algae section. Then type diatoms in the search box. There are loads of info on the forum. Or start new thread in Algae section with pictures and full description of the problem and someone will definitely help you.
 
Go to Algae section. Then type diatoms in the search box. There are loads of info on the forum. Or start new thread in Algae section with pictures and full description of the problem and someone will definitely help you.
Aah ofc! Didn't realize it searches the specific sub I am in.
 
When do people generally trim their cubas? It is starting to cluster up a bit near the glass, and certain spots in the tank.
I am still not satisfied with the right side of the tank .. Gonna let it run a week or so and see how it turns out.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top