Two Frogs

[Aqua360]

Thought I'd document my evolving iwagumi build!

Tank is 45cm, not sure of the width and height, will need to measure them to clarify!

Lighting is Chihiros A451, with an APS external and DIY Co2 generator.

Right now the planting is solely Monte Carlo, however I'll be adding pygmy chain sword shortly.

The hardscape is landscaping rock.

 

[Aqua360]

Early iterations, embarrassing in hindsight, but all trial and error.

 

[Aqua360]

Eventually settling on the below hardscape, with banked substrate, and something more aesthetically pleasing, for me anyway!

I tried to obey some 'rules' of iwagumi, but also decided to go with what appealed to me the most

 

[Aqua360]

Next was the dry start, I'd considered dwarf hairgrass, and still kind of wish I had, but Monte Carlo is a firm favourite, and sometimes it's difficult to get out of comfort zones!

 

[Aqua360]

With the dry start complete (approx 3 weeks though I should have waited longer), i've filled and equipped with external filter and co2, at a light period of 6.5 hrs.

The next step is the addition of helanthium tenellum, which I hope will add a further dimension to the rockwork.

I'm also considering adding a background plant to add height, but don't want to overburden things either.

As of today:

In situ:

 

[PARAGUAY]

Medium size hairgrass behind the rocks ?

 

[Aqua360]

We have...algae!

Not too worried, part and parcel while things settle in; though the one thing I am noticing is bits of the layout I wish I could change, some room between the big rocks, that sort of thing.

Ah well, next time, for now if I can clear the algae and get strong plant growth I'll be happy.

I ended up planting staurogyne around the back and right hand side, purely because it's another favourite. Probably won't be tall enough, but will tackle that later on.

 

[Aqua360]

Still virtually unchanged, I did however swap out the tenellus for staurogyne, and I've added stems of heminathus Micranthemoides behind the rock, hopefully see them sprout in the next week or so.

I've noticed an abundance of snails despite not feeding the tank much, so I'll cut things right down and see if I can pinpoint anything suspect, possibly the external.

 

[Aqua360]

Not much change, struggling with staghorn and the ramshorn population still, but I just changed to sodastream co2, so things should be a bit more stable.

Running 2bps to maintain lime green, the shrimps are berried so happy enough with the progress.

Starting to see the Micranthemoides bed in, though not quite taken full hold.

I'd like to get some nice glassware, but not at the expense of the shrimp, so whether I move them to another tank or just live with the ugly inlet, we'll see.

 

[Aqua360]

Current progress pic!

Some notes:

First iwagumi really, and I have to say while I like how bright and striking it is, it can be very boring with the lack of activity. I wouldn't put fish in here with the lack of cover, brightness and upper plants, and the shrimp are more timid.

Also, the Micranthemoides has taken an absolute age to get going, it's actually still not even reached to visibility behind the rocks! I think this could be due to higher light encouraging compact growth, or perhaps something else, but I'd quite hoped to have it grown in by now, to showcase a finished scape/achievement.

As it stands, it's plodding along fine, minimal algae at points where the flow struggles; but may be due a change soon, perhaps into a nature style Scape, or adding more stem plants to create a busier, denser planted tank.

Opinions welcomed as always!

 

[Aqua360]

Hi all,

Potentially the last post on this, I've drained the tank back to currently maintain it emersed, I was experiencing hair and staghorn algae which seemed to be getting progressively worse!

Will hopefully have a better idea soon of which direction to go, haven't uprooted any plants etc yet, to avoid any hasty decisions!

 

[Wolf6]

I think what you said hits the nail on the head. Iwagumi's have a tendency (for me) to be like 'Wow that looks amazing!' followed by 'nothing is happening, there is no mystery because you can just see it all, bored now'. It isnt hard to make this into a scape suitable for fish though. I'm thinking some anubias or buce between the rocks, some tall plants behind the frogs, eleocharis montevidensis along the back, some floaters and its all set for fish. And easier to keep algae from getting a hold too due to more plant mass. I hope you figure out what you want with this scape, and good luck on whatever you decide

 

[Garuf]

I personally would use this as a tank to learn with. Keep the scapes bones, change the planting, use what you learn to make the next choices etc.
Try stems- see how colour punches the scape between multiple attention grabbers. Try different colour combinations and see the difference between tight and loose groups of planting.

Try grasses like plants and see how they read as wild. Try bigger leaves in the for and very narrow in the back to force perspective.

Change the basic composition by turning it into a triangular scape or into a convex/concave layout.

I like the scape, I think it’s a great starting point to try some fun things with it.

 

[Garuf]

Ps. Hm crawls when it has space and bolts when it’s planted densely, it likely wasn’t dense enough so it’s still in the crawling habit.

 

[Aqua360]

Thanks for the feedback as always guys, I'd like to upgrade the filter for this tank to an eheim classic, but not sure whether the 250 or 350 is advisable, any thoughts?

The APS filter I think just about isn't cutting it, contributing to lower flow than I'd like and subsequent algae. It's rated at 400lph but find that dubious!

I'm guessing the 350 is probs most logical choice, rated at 620lph.