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Iwagumi 6.6 gallon

128K views 160 replies 22 participants last post by  Milkman 
#1 · (Edited)
Welcome to my first aquascape journal! Got inspired by pictures on the internet and decided to make an Iwagumi. Placing the stones wasn't easy. Order enough if you are going to make an Iwagumi

Have a look at my Youtube channel :)
>> www.youtube.com/nigelaquascaping
<<

Specs
Tank
Superfish home 25: 25 litre / 6,6 gallon
42 x 25 x 22,5 cm WxDxH
Lighting
[STRIKE]5 watt build in LED + desk lamp with 9 watt (870 Lumens)[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Desk lamp 15 watt 900 lumens[/STRIKE]
Desk lamp 20 watt 1200 lumens
Stones
5 Seiryu stones
Substrate
ADA Aqua Soil
Shrimp
10+ Red cherry
3 Amano
Fish
5 microrasbora kubotai
Plants
Micranthemum 'Monte carlo' in the front
Dwarf hair grass 'Eleocharis acicularis mini' in the back and between the stones.
Co2
Pressurized CO2 with a diffusor
Co2 checker edge 20mg/l
Heater
25 watt dennerle nano heater temperature 24
Filter
Eheim classic 150 external filter with lily pipes
Background
Black vinyl ADA screen


If a Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words, What Is a Video Worth?



Recent pictures



Golden ratio
1 focal point because it's a nano aquarium. The above 1/3 looks filled but if you go lower only the main stone reaches it a little.


Dry start
Day 1



Day 6 extra dwarf hair grass


Day 14



Day 21
Rescape


Day 26 with water


Day 51


Day 64

 
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1 13
#2 ·
Hallo and welcome to the forum and to aquascaping :)

2 pots should be enough for this tank. You can separate the plant clumps even more. But if you want to do things fast you can also add another pot of hair grass.

I would say 3-4 amanos should be enough to deal with any rogue algae.

As a side note, the rock on the left side does not really fit as currently positioned. It seems to have a more porous texture on this side and detracts from the main rock. How does the other side look like ?
 
#3 · (Edited)
Thanks for your feedback! I was limited with the stones that I received, because they only had 1 side that was okay. The other side has a strange white coat. This was probably the best setup I could make :frown2:. I liked the stone because of it's complex texture. Altough it is different than the main stone. The idea is that the flow is being placed left; meaning that the stone was their for a longer period of time and has his complex texture. The stone will be covered a little over time by plants so the contrast of distraction will be less I hope. I still agree with your points ;)
 
#5 ·
you can break up the plants into even more smaller portions and spread it out. Just my opinion if you want to get your hands dirty again.

The growth will speed up later in the next weeks. The plants need a moment to get "settled in" or "get cozy" in the new environment. Once it sits there for 1-2 weeks and gets used to the new stable and consistent environment, it will then SWITCH GEARS into growing mode. week 3-4 you should see growth for sure.

I could remember how excited I was checking my dry start everyday. You have to give it time and patience. It will grow. The growth speed will ramp up.
 
#6 · (Edited)
That's some good news to hear! I had to order my lily pipes so got an extra dwarf hair grass package :p. I made the clumps this big because of the advice tropica says (6-9 clumps per package). Yeah it's excited af lol! @IntotheWRX
 

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#22 ·
Some new roots popping off, but they are flying in the sky because of my big bushes. What should I do put them in the soil, cut them off and replant, just let it go?

You see like 3-4 small roots if you can see it with my bad camera lol

 
#23 ·
My first Aquascape 6.6 gallon - Iwagumi journal

Blue backgrounds tend to look artifical and not very good IMO; black, frosted or white are better options.
That is perfectly fine how the roots are growing, just leave the plant alone it will grow closer to the substrate by itself.
Just another thing the reason why you can't make the tank too wet in a dry start is because it leads to fungus, mold, blue-green algae etc. I've done it a few times so be careful with how moist you make it. Just make it wet enough that the substrate appears, well, wet...

EDIT:
Also, smaller clumps of plants are better because you get more coverage from less pots of plants (bang for your buck basically), because they will spread and cover the area eventually. Additionally they grow better since the plant isn't in a huge clump so every part of the plant has access to light etc.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#24 ·
Blue backgrounds tend to look artifical and not very good IMO; black, frosted or white are better options.
That is perfectly fine how the roots are growing, just leave the plant alone it will grow closer to the substrate by itself.
Just another thing the reason why you can't make the tank too wet in a dry start is because it leads to fungus, mold, blue-green algae etc. I've done it a few times so be careful with how moist you make it. Just make it wet enough that the substrate appears, well, wet...

EDIT:
Also, smaller clumps of plants are better because you get more coverage from less pots of plants (bang for your buck basically), because they will spread and cover the area eventually. Additionally they grow better since the plant isn't in a huge clump so every part of the plant has access to light etc.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for your reply. '

Yeah I tried a few colors with fabric and it's going to be black to create some more depth.

I have a little opening for some more air exchange to avoid fungus/mold etc.

I bought already the pots but definetly will split more in future tanks. I have a feeling if I'm going to split them now they will get stressed or so, they are rooting nicely now.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Lol I wish I had a full carpet. It is still in dry start with the monte carlo growing a bit and some DHG runners. CO2 system still didn't arrive because 1 item I ordered has a month delivery time... I expect it in like 2 weeks. Monte carlo has still a way to go so not a problem at all. Will post tomorrow a 3 week update (don't expect anything big).
 
#34 ·
Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of aquascaping! I would switch the 2 larger stones. I think the focus is too centered. If you had the largest stone on the far left to achieve the golden ratio, you'd focus on that first and the "wave" or angle of the stone would suggest movement or flow across to the right, creating a circular movement. It's all a matter of personal opinion, and fiddling around w/ our tanks is what makes this hobby so much fun!
 
#35 · (Edited)
Rescaped it lol what a pain. Had to remove some plants and decided to just split them more now. Will the plants need to get used again or is it fine? Planting the small monte carlo was really a pain, I hope they wont float when flooding. Pics on front page.
 
#38 ·
Firstly I thought I would get away w/o pressurized CO2, so I bought some liquid co2. Now I will soon have both so my question is
1. Should I use the liquid CO2 also after flooding? It helps against algae and I need to crank that CO2 till drop checker says yellow to avoid some melting of the plants anyway.

2. I have an all-in-one fertilizer is this good like EI?

Also got a bottle VIMI accelerator which should help the plants with stress and stimulates new growth after trimming etc.
3. How long should I use the VIMI accelerator at the start? Just until the bottle is empty or save some for after trimmings later.
 
#39 ·
1. Only use it if you have algae to treat, if not I wouldn't. I just use it as an algaecide, spot dosing with a syringe exactly where the algae is to burn it to hell. For now hold off on it, and only use it on certain types of algae, the harder ones to get rid of basically (BGA, BBA and staghorn).
2. What all-in-one fertiliser is it exactly? There are a few on the market and each one is different.
3. No idea what VIMI Accelerator is, could you get a photo?


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#41 ·
My first Aquascape 6.6 gallon - Iwagumi journal

Just follow the instructions for the fertiliser, you don't have super needy plants so they should be fine even if the fertiliser is lean. I can't load the webpage of the company so I don't know what exactly is in it, but it should be fine. For Iwagumis because of the plants generally used (carpeting plants) EI levels of dosing are not really required.
The stimulator is probably some sort of phytohormone solution like Seachem Advance, just dose as the instructions say for the first month (maybe every other day IDK?) after flooding maybe, and then after every trim. I would just use it up till it's empty and then you can buy some more if you like it I guess.


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#42 ·
Just follow the instructions for the fertiliser, you don't have super needy plants so they should be fine even if the fertiliser is lean. I can't load the webpage of the company so I don't know what exactly is in it, but it should be fine. For Iwagumis because of the plants generally used (carpeting plants) EI levels of dosing are not really required.
The stimulator is probably some sort of phytohormone solution like Seachem Advance, just dose as the instructions say for the first month (maybe every other day IDK?) after flooding maybe, and then after every trim. I would just use it up till it's empty and then you can buy some more if you like it I guess.

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Thanks alot Mr Opare!
 
#43 ·
This is a great looking scape. You need more light tho.

Personally i am not a fan of the dry start method. My advice would be to flood it and get it cycled as quickly as possible. While its cycling, run the co2 as hard as you want, I would say 2bps, while its cycling with no fish. After its cycled and you get the first set of algae eaters ( Ottos, shrimp and a Netrite snail ) back down the Co2 to 1 bubble every 2 seconds. Try to get the tank cycled in less than a week with a 6 hour photo period.

As for a light I would suggest the Finnex fugeray planted + clip on light.
 
#44 · (Edited)
Thanks for your compliment and feedback it means a lot to me!

I really can't wait to flood it but I have to wait till my CO2 system arrives. Going to put the CO2 up till the drop checker colours yellow. Personally was thinking about 3-5 bps but might be to high then? Would red cherry shrimp be enough as algae eaters like 10? The netrite snail come by 5 and that is way to much for my tank. Plan was to light for 6 hours first two weeks then 8 hours.I thought adding livestock was going to take like a month or so.

About the lighting do you really think it's to low? The total lumens are 570 (desklamp) and 300 (build in LED) total 870. Tropica recommends about 500-1000 for med plants in my tank.
 
#45 ·
Nigel95, I have been following your journal. It seem to be coming along nicely.

I would use the bottle of VIMI stimulator you have and don't buy another one. Many people have pretty good plants with good roots without it. It might have the right ingredients (like auxin etc.) but I generally have a brain allergy for bottles that have as their table of contents "eye of the salamander". What is trace elements ? what conc. would a drop add 20L ? Plant hormones - which ones, most of them are known to the scientific community and hardly a secret worth keeping. It is not as if you could synthesize "plant hormones" in your kitchen. Sodium salicylate is a plant hormone, it stops plant growth and induces controlled cell death. Does VIMI contain it among its "plant hormones"? Who knows. //end rant;

While cherry shrimp do graze around they are not the best algae eaters.2 amanos will easily out eat 10 cherries as far as algae is concerned. No reason why you cannot have a mix of the 2sp. 3 amanos should be enough and they are hardier than RCS ( they do tend to crawl or jump out so keep the aquarium covered). IF the amanos are okay you can add 10 RCS and stard a good size colony. A gang of Boraras brigittae would be a nice fit for this setup (also jump so keep a lid).

I would keep the light at 6 for longer and then slowly increase until you see algae. Generally longer light means faster growth and not necessarily better growth. Otherwise the time line seems suitable.

All the best
duky
 
#46 ·
Thanks for your reply. I guess that will save me some money that I don't really need that stimulator! Might be a good idea to get both shrimps. As for the boraras britgittae; I really like them. Maybe even more than the microrasbora kubotai. but they grow up to 3,8cm, while the microrasbora kubotai doesn't get bigger than 2cm. Wouldn't be 3,8cm per fish way to big for my nano? Yeah a lid would be necessary although it cuts my light by 15% :(.
 
#48 ·
3,8cm is a little bit of a large estimate. For me they were more like 2,5cm. I had some in a 30L Dennerle Cube and they were perfect of the dimensions. Definitely had enough place to swim. Microrasbora kubotai are neat and a little more subtle.

30min-1h should be fine. Try some H2O2 instead of bleach. I don't know the exact reason but the biofilm seems easier to remove when using H202, perhaps some interaction with the polysaccharides in the biofilm. Not to mention it is cleaner afterwards.
 
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