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AGA 2011 3rd Place 60-120L!! 60cm iwagumi scape

icepotato89

Member
Joined
8 Jul 2011
Messages
109
Location
Melbourne, Australia
hello everyone, this is my first post on UKAPS. i'm not from the UK but i was compelled to join because 2 of my favorite aquascapers are regular contributors on this site and the snippets i get of their tanks from other sites are just not enough for me.

This is my first time going "high tech" with ferts and pressurized CO2 so a i had to do heaps of research but the hardscape was defiantly the most time consuming part of the setup. it took me a few weeks to get it how i wanted but it was much more fun than i expected i almost didn't want to plant it. this is also the first time i'll be using plastic dividers to keep the lilaeopsis from getting into the foreground, i've had trouble controlling plants in the past.

equipment:
60x30x36cm rimless starphire tank
eheim 2213 with glass lily pipes & clear tubing
hanging dual 24w t5ho
200w Hydor ETH inline heater
2.6kg pressurized co2 with glass nano diffuser

hardscape:
20kg fine gravel
10kg seiryu stone

plants:
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Hydrocotyle sp. tripartita??
Blyxa japonica

inhabitants:
ember tetras - Hyphessobrycon amandae
red cherry shrimp - Neocaridina heteropoda var. red

tank in place
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seiryu stone
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figuring out rock placement and substrate in an old tank so i don't scratch the new one
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visualizing plant selection with paint
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rocks and substrate in
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plastic divider
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planted and filled
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the next day after settling and purigen
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fish and shrimp introduced
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Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

Nice, I love the rock formation. Looking forward to seeing this progress.

Does Purigen remove suspended matter as well?
 
Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

Fantastic rock placement there, not generally a fan of iwagumi but that looks great. The sand visible behind the left hand 'shoulder' of rock is a slight distraction but will disappear once the plants grow in. Looking forward to seeing more of this one!
 
Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

Love the layout - especially the little cove at the front! Looking forward to seeing it grown in!
 
Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

thats excellent mate :thumbup: .

but who are your 2 favourite aquascapers ?. :D .
 
Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

Welcome to UKAPS!

That's the nicest rock placement I've seen in a long time. It's very natural - you have a great eye.

What I'm particularly impressed with is that you've used lots of smaller stones in conjunction with the sloped substrate to create enough impact and height. Most Iwagumi layouts rely on large stones, so there's a good lesson for us all there.

This will be one to watch I think. Stunning potential.

Thanks for sharing. I look forward to the updates.
 
Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

George Farmer said:
Welcome to UKAPS!

That's the nicest rock placement I've seen in a long time. It's very natural - you have a great eye.

What I'm particularly impressed with is that you've used lots of smaller stones in conjunction with the sloped substrate to create enough impact and height. Most Iwagumi layouts rely on large stones, so there's a good lesson for us all there.

This will be one to watch I think. Stunning potential.

Thanks for sharing. I look forward to the updates.

wow, thanks george. i used smaller rocks out of necessity, there was only one place in melbourne where i could find the seiryu stone (labeled as bonsai rock) and the biggest they had were around 15cm. so with these small stones, the only way i could give the scape enough height was to make a huge slope and kind of "jig saw puzzle" the rocks.
 
Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

Oh man, where do I start.
Firstly, I LOVE the rocks themselves, and the placement.
I think your planting will look really good once it's grown in.
I also think that the space you are leaving alone and not planting, looks really cool.
 
Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

after about 1 and a half weeks there's been noticeable growth in all the plants. this is the first time i have been able to grow HC submersed, at this rate i'll have a full carpet in about a month or 2. also some of the blyxa is starting to turn a reddish colour. EI is awesome. i finally got round to making some 4dkh solution for my drop checker as well.


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Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

I'm jealous, really. Nice work, the hardscape is amazing!
I wish Seiryu stone was more readily available in Belgium ...
 
Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

Beautiful rock arrangement there mate. Much prefer that style of smaller stones as it tends to create a better perspective with the usual iwagumi plant choices. Love the sand/cove area on the right. Well done! Can't wait for this to grow. Nice fish choice too!
 
Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

i got some bottles from ebay to dose EI ferts. i really like them, they look a bit like the ADA bottles they're 500ml and each pump puts out 2ml. the bottle that says organic carbon is excel, this bottle looks better than the seachem one :D

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here's a pic of HC growth, i'm starting to get some algae growing on the rocks and glass but its nothing i can't handle.

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Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

Great looking scape again mate, im starting mine in a few weeks and hope it looks just as good as yours :) can i ask where you got the bottles from? Could do with some of these myself.

Thanks
 
Re: 60cm iwagumi scape

Wow it looks so good. Have been thinking about rescaping my jungle for a while now and after seeing this beaut Im gonna take the plunge. 10 pots of hc arriving next week along with 10kgs TGM Bluestone.
 
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