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Primordial - The beginning of the end.

Tim Harrison

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UKAPS Team
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pri·mor·di·al(pr
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adj.
1. Being or happening first in sequence of time; original.
2. Primary or fundamental: play a primordial role.
3. Biology Belonging to or characteristic of the earliest stage of development of an organism or a part: primordial cells.
n.
A basic principle.

My first Iwagumi...
...so far a rough sketch...
Thought I'd start with a definition it seemed appropriate - like George did with Scree. My main inspiration is perhaps limestone pavement at Malham Cove with its clints and grikes - one of my favourite places...ancient and visceral.

Any ideas for planting would be gratefully received. I like the idea of Eleocharis sp. 'mini' foreground or Hc "Cuba", something a bit taller for the mid-ground like E. parvula and/or perhaps Echinodorus tenellus, and maybe something like Cyperus helferi for the background along with a clump of bright red stems somewhere behind the Oyaishi rock.

9541072390_4b2022025c_h.jpg
 
Looks great and the plant list sounds perfect the red stems are an interesting idea I cant picture how it will look but it will definitely add an interesting focal point,
What size tank and lights are you using ?
 
That is a killer layout. Very much looking forward to this one

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great rock layout love it ,looking forward to seeing planted

Dean
 
Looks great and the plant list sounds perfect the red stems are an interesting idea I cant picture how it will look but it will definitely add an interesting focal point,
What size tank and lights are you using ?

Thanks Mark, I'm not sure if the stems will work, but then I'm not sure the entire scape will work:eek: Strictly speaking I don't think it's really that conventional - I've already bent a few rules:confused: For instance, the Oyaishi stone is positioned so it's a lot more than 2/3 the tank height, I want its pinnacle to be just below the waterline, and I've used an even number of rocks; I read somewhere that traditional Iwagumi use an odd numbero_O

The tank is George's old custom optiwhite shallow H25x40x60cm, it hasn't had an outing since High-energy soil-substrate layout - updated | UK Aquatic Plant Society As for my lighting, it's my own DIY LED rig, details here...The Dark Side or What Lurks Beneath | Page 3 | UK Aquatic Plant Society

Malham cove is about 17 miles from me and is stunning. One day im going to make a scape of it but i need to hone my skills to do it justice first.
Looking forward to this been planted.

17 miles from the Cove:p ...I can only wish, stuck in the middle of suburban nowhere with concrete cows...as I am. I think you should get right on and hone your skills with a scape of Malham Cove immediately, I couldn't think of a better way to hone anyone's skills. I'm sure whatever you come up with will do it justice, and besides it's all part of the fun:D I'm not sure how I'm going to proceed with the planting yet I may even give DSM a go.

Love it Troi, really good hardscape!

Thanks Ian that's much appreciated. I could only get hold of largish rocks so they were a bit of a git to place - most are like icebergs - a lot of the mass is hidden in the sand. I ended up using the angle grinder to get the two smaller stones in the foreground. The LFS called the stone grey pillar rock, looks like ryuoh or some such - any ideas?. Overall I'm pleased with it but it still needs a bit of tweaking and more sand...I feel another trip to LFS coming on...:)

Looking real good.

That is a killer layout. Very much looking forward to this one
great rock layout love it ,looking forward to seeing planted Dean

Thanks mlgt, ali, and Deano, I hope it lives up to expectation, there's still plenty of room for it all to go completley Pete Tong...:D
 
Thanks for asking Paulo, but no, not really - I've fiddled with the rocks a bit and pushed the sand around with a paint brush, but that's about it. I've been waiting for the man at the LFS to order me some more Unipac maui. Meanwhile, I've got to thinking it's all a bit predictable, so, other than the learning curve, I'm not sure where I'm going with it:confused: I guess I'm waiting for divine inspiration or summit equally esoteric, like small to medium sized seiryu stone that matches the existing:rolleyes: And I'm kinda enjoying watching the slow progress of Cryptic Haven at the mo' so I'm in no great rush. Manyana:)
 
It looks great and should go for it, so what if its predictable, just do something you will enjoy ;) get a final photo and start a new venture ;) gives you time to think about what next ;) Just plant it!
 
OK hands up I loved the first layout but this will look stunning! Do you have any thoughts on inhabitants??

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Thanks Alastair, I've tweaked it a little more and I'm actually impatient to get it up and running now.
And thanks also Ali...as for inhabitants, I'm not sure, aside from the usual clean up crew - Amano shrimp and ottos. I like the idea of neon and cardinal tetras but I already have loads in Cryptic Haven. I also like Harlequins but they are jumpers extraodinaire. Galaxy Rasboras would be cool, but expensive. Dwarf Golden Barbs, are another option I've considered - very amusing and inquisitive little fish, and a good schooler -some of the time, but very difficult to get hold of. The other popular choice would be Ember Tetras, I think a shoal of around 20 would look amazing. Either way I think I'm going to buy some decent shrimp this time too. Another thought that just occurred to me would be a swarm of Chilly Rasbora, but I would definitely need a lid of some sort as they are excellent jumpers too.
 
Hi troi,
I prefer waaayyyy more the second attempt !!
Congrats that a good scape. I like how stone are place and how all the veins have the same direction.
Plus it will be easier to manage flow and distribution in that type of scape ! The first one with the vertical stones was having too much tension in it, and distribution would be a bit harder in this configuration.
Looking forward for it to be planted.

Cheers mate
 
Thanks both
The first one with the vertical stones was having too much tension in it,
You're right about that, it was way too contrived and I changed it soon after the image was taken to this...

9815576516_a5729bc679_b.jpg


It's better, but it's still not what I wanted to achieve. I was trying to get the more naturalistic feel of a rock outcrop, like the ones I'd seen on the beaches of Devon and Cornwall, which I hope I have done now...
 
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