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My first journal - Juwel Rekord 600

Wallace

Wallace

Member
Joined
7 Mar 2012
Messages
308
Location
Bramley, Surrey
So this is to be my first journal, please go easy on me. 

This is a pic of my tank as it stands now:

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Inside of the cabinet :

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In situ : 

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Below is the spec of what it will become:

Tank : Juwel Rekord 600 sat on a DIY ADA rip off stand

Lighting : Standard fitment with 15w day light T8 (Hopefully to be replaced with a luminaire in the not to distant future)

Filtration : Tetratec EX700

Co2 : DD 500g pressurised with UP bubble counter/double check valve and UP inline super atomiser @ 1BPS currently

Ferts : Ei and aqua carbon 5ml daily

Substrate :Columbo Florabase 

Hardscape : Mini landscape rock from AE

Flora : TBC

Fauna : 6 x Zebra Danios, 14 x Red Cherry Shrimp, 1 x Female Guppy (stray when transferring Danios from another tank) although I will more than likely move the Danios and Guppy into one of my other tanks and move my Harlequins from another tank into this one.


Now the plan is to do some sort of Iwagumi, this will be my first attempt and I'm not sure if I will include any wood at the moment. I'm gonna have a play around with the rocks and substrate later on today so will post some pics later of possible proposed layouts. I won't be playing around in the tank just yet so the layouts will be done in a box lol until I am happy with what I've got. 

I'm not sure about flora yet either, the Java fern that's currently in the tank will probably be moved to one of my other tanks, although I would like to include the crypts I have somehow. I would like a carpet plant of some kind, either HC or Stauro but I don't know how they will fare under the fairly low 15w T8. There is only 50l of water in the tank currently, so I think I have about 1.36wpg. When I do this rescape there will probably be less water in the tank due to using more substrate than at present so the wpg will go up I think.

I think that's about it for now, any advise you guys can give will be much appreciated and gladly received. 

Thanks

Adam
 
Looks nice as it is but Iwagumi can look spectacular. My guess is that you know about the rule of thirds and the golden ratio but if not do a quick search. That will help you find a layout that really works.

I like your stand. Is that a DIY job? Looks neat!

HC will make a lovely carpet with the right mix of light, CO2 and ferts. So would glosso. They are probably a better option for a tank of that size. Stauro might be a bit big and make your tank look smaller than it really is. If you plant a carpet don't be too alarmed if it melts away at first. My glosso did and now is coming back with a vengeance.

Good luck, I'm going to enjoy watching this.

Rob
 
darren636 said:
it is good :) vibrant
Click to expand...

Thanks, I love it how it is at the moment. The problem is that after seeing all the lovely tanks and 'scapes on here has given me the urge to try it for myself.

pariahrob said:
Looks nice as it is but Iwagumi can look spectacular. My guess is that you know about the rule of thirds and the golden ratio but if not do a quick search. That will help you find a layout that really works.

I like your stand. Is that a DIY job? Looks neat!

HC will make a lovely carpet with the right mix of light, CO2 and ferts. So would glosso. They are probably a better option for a tank of that size. Stauro might be a bit big and make your tank look smaller than it really is. If you plant a carpet don't be too alarmed if it melts away at first. My glosso did and now is coming back with a vengeance.

Good luck, I'm going to enjoy watching this.

Rob
Click to expand...

Yeah I know of the golden ratio etc, whether I stick to it is another matter lol

Stand is DIY, one sheet of 8x4 18mm mdf cut to size by the nice folk at B&Q. Armed with some glue,corner braces, pins and screws I set about building it. 2 hours later and that's what I'd built. It's solid as a rock and I'm very pleased with it. The door isn't actually fixed in place yet, it's just leaning lol I can't quite decide how to affix it yet. Also I am undecided on a colour for it, I've been told I can't paint it grey and it has to be the same colour as the kitchen. I may just leave it plain as I rather like it.

I'll probably try HC, I know it can be done with my lighting levels etc it's just a matter of whether I can grow it.
 
Okay so I've had a little play about with a box and a bin liner, please excuse the quality of the pics as I only have my iPhone to take them with.

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Substrate added

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The mini landscape rocks from AE

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Layout 1

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Layout 2

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Layout 3

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Regarding the layouts, the only box I have is a little bit smaller than the tank so the rocks will have a little bit more space between them than pictured. For me, I'm leaning towards layout 2 at the moment but I'm going to play about a bit more and see if I can come up with something different.

I've had a think about my plant list and am thinking:

Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green ( already in the tank )
Hemianthus Callitrichoides
Micranthemum Micranthemoides ( have in another tank )
Eleocharis Acicularis
Bacopa Amplexicaulis ( have in another tank )

I figure the Crypt will go on the left hand side of the tank, towards the back corner. This will also hide the filter intake a little bit. HC will come from the front of the tank at an angle towards the Crypt in the rear corner, but will start behind the rock in the left corner. The MM will then come from behind the HC and up the middle of the 2 rocks towards the middle of the top rock, with EA coming from the middle of the top rock sprouting out behind the furthest rock back. The Bacopa will then be behind the top rock in the corner to add some height.

I'm sorry if you are completely lost, I know what I mean but I have no way of showing it as I can't edit pics on my iPad.
 
Assuming the box is the same size as the target tank, I'd say you have some issues with size of hardscape v. size of the tank. Especially with Iwagumi, if you don't have a large enough stone to take the position of "main stone," or at least hold a strong presence, you'll end up with a weak layout.

To summarize, your rocks are two small. I'd suggest taking one of two plans:

1) Don't do iwagumi-- do a stem layout where you can use the rocks as midground skeleton that fit into a more complex planting.

2) Use multiple rocks to give the illusion of having a bigger one. You've got more than 4 rocks, so this should be a possible route. See if you can stack/fit some of the smaller ones together to make them look like a bigger one.

Also, remember that if you go with route 2, the highest point should be off-center, but not up against the glass. The layout attempts you've shown are weak because the highest point is pressed up against one edge of the layout.
 
Steven Chong said:
Assuming the box is the same size as the target tank, I'd say you have some issues with size of hardscape v. size of the tank. Especially with Iwagumi, if you don't have a large enough stone to take the position of "main stone," or at least hold a strong presence, you'll end up with a weak layout.

To summarize, your rocks are two small. I'd suggest taking one of two plans:

1) Don't do iwagumi-- do a stem layout where you can use the rocks as midground skeleton that fit into a more complex planting.

2) Use multiple rocks to give the illusion of having a bigger one. You've got more than 4 rocks, so this should be a possible route. See if you can stack/fit some of the smaller ones together to make them look like a bigger one.

Also, remember that if you go with route 2, the highest point should be off-center, but not up against the glass. The layout attempts you've shown are weak because the highest point is pressed up against one edge of the layout.
Click to expand...

Hi Steven, thanks for your reply.

I can fully understand and appreciate what you have said and I've taken it on board. As I said in my first post this will be some sort of Iwagumi, this will be my first attempt at one and I'm not expecting to get it right first time round. I'm still not sure if I'm going to include any wood, and I'm not 100% on my plant list. As long as I can have something nice to look at, and grow the plants in there with it well then I'm happy. If I can achieve this then the next time I try, I'll try and make it more spectacular.

Pictured above is what I have to work with, so for this first attempt that will have to do.
 
This was put on hold due to a death in the family, but I've decided it's now time to try and resurrect it.

I've now got an APS 2x24w T5HO luminaire ( thanks Jenclibee ), and have some more rock to play with and some Redmoor in soak.

Here is a quick pic of the tank as it stands now ( complete with Planaria too !!! ), I added 6 Ottos last week and removed a small Java fern plantlet and one of the Crypts for my newly set up shrimp tank. Also removed the 1 Bacopa stem that was to the right of the tank, other than that nothing has changed.

th_38cb610d.jpg

I plan to get started on it in the next day or so.
 
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