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Mark Evans-120 x 55 x 55cm.... 'Convalescence' The joy of shrimp

Its those huge rocks perched on top of that gravel bank that would scare me :nailbiting: , id have to have them bedded right in, with smaller wedge rocks underneath to feel safe incase of substrate movement. In fact i added my rocks first, before substrate in my current scape as they are quite large too.....however that does limit positioning somewhat :artist:
Looks great though, those large rocks wont get lost with the plant choices.
Cheerio,
 
Those stones are in there good mate. They are slightly buried, and don't tip, even with a bit of 'pushing'

I was going to prepare for planting, but I ate something nasty last night,(I cooked it...says a lot about my cooking) and I'm suffering today! :sick:
 
Those stones are in there good mate. They are slightly buried, and don't tip, even with a bit of 'pushing'

I was going to prepare for planting, but I ate something nasty last night,(I cooked it...says a lot about my cooking) and I'm suffering today! :sick:

well thats a good thing really, bad luck comes in threes, i was hoping a falling rock wouldnt be the third after the light and previous rock incidents, but you got ill so that counts as number three so your safe :)
Get well soon.
 
love them tall rocks looking forward to seeing planted never usually see rocks at the top of aquarium usually wood so will be very interesting, love it so far , keep us updated mark :)

Dean
 
You need to get the correct wheels. I researched, and approached a company here in the UK, gave them the total weight, and they told me which wheels to get. They use a chart to choose what wheels are needed for any given weight.

Combined, these castor wheels will take over 2 tonnes. They're industry standard and quality. I think (cant remember) they were about £130 for the 4. A hard wood floor helps to. It's had at least 3 scapes in it, and no issues to date.

The first time I put water in it, I was scared. I can even move it when completely full of water! It does make life so much easier.


I will have to research it properly next time. The cabinet maker said it was impossible. Even if there were wheels strong enough, which I was sure there is, I mean there are factory machines weighing several hundred kilos that can be wheeled around, he said the cabinet itself would have to be really strong in order to support weight on only 4 wheels. Like the chassis of a car.
 
I will have to research it properly next time. The cabinet maker said it was impossible. Even if there were wheels strong enough, which I was sure there is, I mean there are factory machines weighing several hundred kilos that can be wheeled around, he said the cabinet itself would have to be really strong in order to support weight on only 4 wheels. Like the chassis of a car.

Nothing is impossible my friend. You know that already. You're clever, I know! Indeed, research it.

So, after tirelessly preparing plants, I'm finally done. Here's a snap after filling.

It of course needs time to develop, and become 'natural' looking. There's plenty of slow growing plants, so this will take some time to get to the finish line.

It's good to have a tank up and running in the house again.

It's not a full tank shot as the blue background didn't stretch to the right. Videos and images were all done with a white background.

10083502383_363f376716_b.jpg
day-1 by saintly's pics, on Flickr
 
how do I edit the title of the thread guys?

First page of the thread mate, there's a thread tools option on the right. Click that and you can change the title and add tags etc

Looks awesome by the way. Great to see your journals going again mark
 
Yeah, I was wondering about the Echinodorus as well - and whether it might get too tall? The stones are beautifully arranged and I fear that a tall plant in the middle might disturb the great dynamic created by the center space between the two large rocks. But you probably considered that :).

Kind of refreshing to see the use of natural gravel. Are you planning to leave this area free of plants?

Thomas
 
Very nice Mark, and great photography. It'll be interesting to see the sword when it gets it's proper leaves.
 
Thank you chaps.

George, the Echinodorus is 'red diamond' If it gets too big, I'll just trim the leaves off. This is a multi purpose layout. The first being, a layout for myself, but secondly, a layout for acquiring images for my work.

I had to find middle ground.

So, an image with blue, and the last for while. I left the glass cleaner in there like a dumb a*s!

Thanks to Ian for the second set of glassware. :)

@ Too...I intend to keep the foreground clear. I did think about planting it, but decided against.:)

10087877865_d398a15b0b_b.jpg
day-1-blue by saintly's pics, on Flickr
 
Hi mate

When we've chatted recently you've alluded to using some different methodologies in your future works.

Are you implementing any of these changes in this layout? If so, can you share them, please?

I'm sure we're all fascinated to know how one of the pros goes about looking after their plants and aquascape. :)

Really looking forward to following the progress of this refreshingly different iwagumi. I know it can be a challenge to maintain one's passion in the hobby when it's their job, but hopefully by sharing your brilliant work to guys like us on here, the inspiration you're providing others can help to keep up your motivation levels. I know journals on UKAPS certainly help me this way. :)
 
Hi George,

A few things have changed, in so many ways. When a hobby becomes a job, it changes the mind set. A change which shocked me a little, but with time, and new routines, things slowly change for the better.

In terms of aquascaping, there are no massive changes. Oh, actually there is. No more aquasoil.

I've been impressed so much by layouts done by Michael over in Denmark, that I thought I should adopt this method. It's not really a new method; an old one in fact, but it works just great.

I was the biggest aquasoil user going, and I don't condone the stuff, far from it. I still may use it in the future, but there are cheaper alternatives.

Methods in plant handling and maintenance have been thrust upon me, and again, Michael has been like a mentor to me. I have, and still am, learning tremendous amounts in how to manage plants. Information that will be shared here and on the web as a whole.

I think also for the future of my own artistic take on layouts, that may well change, as mentioned before, I have to consider showing certain species at their best. If that means placing a plant in random position just to get a good photo, then so be it. But actually, this forces me to think outside the box a little.

This layout for example...I'd of never chosen these plants to go in an Iwagumi, but with certain criteria that needed to be met, I reconsidered what's actually possible, and hopefully, I've achieved my goal.

By no stretch of the imagination am I saying this is ground breaking, but it is slightly left of middle.

The use of Cladophora as a foreground plant (flattened out), is not new, but its 'forgotten' It's kind of going back to basics, with the aim, to help and educate newcomers and advanced hobbyists alike.
 
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