Primordial - The beginning of the end.

[Rob P]

Really nice! You have planted this up perfect to show the excellent hardscape off - how do you keep those rocks looking so fresh and new?

Read up a few posts, a toothbrush, couple of hours and lots of elbow grease! lol Well worth it though 🙂

 

[Andy D]

Looks really good. Loving the rock layout!

 

[Guest]

Thanks Rob, James, and Andy, your kind comments are really appreciated🙂

Really nice! You have planted this up perfect to show the excellent hardscape off - how do you keep those rocks looking so fresh and new?

Thanks Gary, that's praise indeed - As for the rocks, it's like rob said, but the key ingredient is Excel. Tom Barr mentioned I'd need to give it a good going over from time to time, and boy was he right, it's like some of my old girlfriends...very high maintenance🙄

Twinstar? 🙂

Excellent idea...I'd be willing to put my principles aside if it cut down on maintenace, especially scrubbing rocks with a toothbrush...it's almost like an army beasting, except I volunteered to do it

 

[Curvball]

Any updates Troi?

 

[Rob P]

Any updates Troi?

Think it's been taken down due to BBA issues? 🙁

 

[Curvball]

Think it's been taken down due to BBA issues? 🙁

Bummer.

 

[Guest]

Hi guys, thanks for the interest, I tore it down last Saturday. You're right, it got smothered in BBA, or some such nasty - I'm not entirely sure really. But ultimately lack of enthusiasm and inattention did for it in the end.
The BBA, or whatever it was, started off innocuously enough and then became decidedly Machiavellian; insidiously invading, whilst I wasn't looking.
The beginning of the end - foreground...

 

[Curvball]

That is a real shame. Will you try this type of layout again?

 

[Guest]

Hi Curvball, that's a good question and I considered it a while ago. The short answer is no. I must admit that Iwagumi has a certain immediate visual impact but you have to work hard to maintain it, but that's ok. Beyond that though there isn't really that much to it and I kinda lost interest after a month or so.
Also, my critters behaved unnaturally skittish, especially my shrimp which found a greater affinity for the parquet flooring. If I did try another Iwagumi I think it'd have to be in a larger tank, and it'd be a variation on a theme with taller overhanging plants at the back to provide more cover for the critters.

 

[Paks]

is that grass a dwarf hairgrass ? Sorry for asking but since im new to this hobby and im planning to use dwarf hairgrass for my iwagumi set-up

 

[Guest]

Sorry missed this somehow. If you're still in need of an answer...it's Eleocharis acicularis 'Mini'.

 

[jack-rythm]

Hey Troi,

I have just read through this thread and sorry to hear it went the wrong way. It was looking extremely impressive. I remember when I had my small triptychs and I suffered the same thing. I found my rocks turning green and I could not seem to get rid of this.. I then moved to jungle and felt less attention was needed. How did you go about keeping your rocks so clean? how long into the scape did you decide to tear it down?

 

[Guest]

Thanks Jack, that's nice of you to say so. I think it only lasted about 4 months, and it was about 1 month before I had to clean the rocks...excel, a toothbrush, and good old fashioned elbow grease, with the water level as low as I dared to make it easier. I had to do this twice, and in between it soon deteriorated to an algae covered mess despite regular maintenance, excel overdosing and high flow - about 15x volume/hr.
I think that perhaps we'd have both benefited from a Twinstar, but the jury was still out on them at the time. If I did this type of scape again I'd definitely invest in one (or build a DIY version), it'd cut the work involved down considerably.