mahko's Ohko Stone Journal

[mahko]

Full tank shot as of 2012-06-21



I lurked on here for a few months and thought I should start a journal for an iwagumi aquascape that I've had in my mind for a while.

Lets get right into it:

Tank: Mr. Aqua MA-720 (60x30x36cm)
Light: 2x24w T5HO Hagen Glo (2xLife Glo 6700k) 10" above tank 1x24w T5HO Sun Blaster 6400k
Filter: Eheim 2215
Glassware: Aquatic Magic lily pipes, NAG thermometer, ceramic diffuser
Hard scape: 20lbs Ohko stone / Dragon stone
CO2: Concoa 212 w/5lb tank, Clippard Mouse, AS1200 NV
Substrate: ADA Aquasoil New Amazonia 9L bag
Fertilizer: EI w/Plantex CSM+B (after dry start)
Stand: DIY 3/4" maple plywood ADA style w/bent 1/2" EMT conduit
Aquarium Mat: Everlast yoga mat cut-to-fit
Flora: Still deciding... HC carpet with maybe hairgrass backround
Fauna: Thinking of cardinal tetras with otos and amano shimp - open to suggestions

No pics of the build, but I followed several guides throughout this and other sites. I used Kregs pocket holes/screws and I would definitely use them again, highly recommended.

Here's the stand assembled unstained.


Stained with Minwax quick drying polyurethane clear satin. I put on 3 coats and sanded in between with 220 grit. Also rough measuring of the conduit. Way to tall.


Much better.


Got the lights to a height which I think should be high enough to avoid algae soup. Looking at the stickies I believe this puts me in the med-high area.


Close up shot of the hanging kit included with the light. Same loop on the top of the light. The Hagen has built-in, adjustable tabs to loop the wire though on the top of the fixture.


I could not find proper collars for the conduit which would give me some clearance from the tank so I improvised and used some left over plywood and made some spacers. Used some foam to add some support.


Inside shot showing the pocket screws.


Here's where I need some help... I tried a few layouts with the ohko stone and I'm not sure where I stand. I'll show a few just to get an idea.

1

2

3

4

5. Leaning towards this one.


Let me know what you guys think! I'm thick skinned, so criticisms are good too

[ChadRamsey]

i like the last one as well

looking good

[orchidman]

great build!!

i like the last layout way better than the other ones! i would just push that second largest rock down in the substrate more, maybe like 3".

[GDP]

I personally think

http://i.imgur.com/pxCNEl.jpg

is the best. It best displays true iwagumi style. You never want even number of rocks for iwagumi. Plus you have the main stone, and supporting stones in good places.

[mahko]

Thanks for the kind words and suggestions!

I modified the last one slightly. Lowered the large stone on the left into the substrate.


Still working on placement.

Just thought I would add that there are a total of 7 stones in the latest pic. I'll have to double check the literature on Iwagumi, but I was under the impression that odd numbers were fine (1,3,5,7)

[orchidman]

looks a lot better! is the rock right in front of the second largest touching the second largest?

[mahko]

The 2 largest stones are touching, and they are resting on top of the flat ones. The smaller 3 stones are not touching anything.

[GDP]

Originally Posted by mahko

Thanks for the kind words and suggestions!

I modified the last one slightly. Lowered the large stone on the left into the substrate.


Still working on placement.

Just thought I would add that there are a total of 7 stones in the latest pic. I'll have to double check the literature on Iwagumi, but I was under the impression that odd numbers were fine (1,3,5,7)

Yep didnt see the 7th stone. But in my opinion I think there are too many stones for that size tank. But thats just MY opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.

[mahko]

I'm starting to agree with that. I think it would do better with fewer large stones.

Back to the sand box to play around. Stay tuned!

[mahko]

I tried many different layouts, but I started to realize there are only so many with the stones I have (mainly flat), so I ended up settling on one and wet the substrate. I had an order on plants coming so I needed to decide quick.

Used about 2L of treated water to moisten the aquasoil and prepare it for planting. No turning back now.



I ordered 2 tubs of Aquaflora HC and spent about 30 min separating it. I had a huge tupperware lid filled with it, then moved it over in batches to a smaller one lined with wet paper towel.



This was an absolutely gorgeous batch. It's from Aquaflora nurseries in BC, Canada. It's cell cultured, free of disease and snails. I contemplated ordering pincettes from ebay, but found these in my tool box. I had these from school from my electronics fabrication class. Just basic fine-tipped tweezers.



In the soil you go. After watching youtube videos on setting up different aquascapes, this was a lot of fun to experience first hand.



Here's how it sits now. The back left corner was left empty as I was intending on adding a background plant, something like DHG or rotalla. I ended up filling it with left over HC for the time being.



Let me know what you think. I'll be dry starting this for at least 2-3 weeks. There was a LOT of HC from the tubs and I was able to cover 90% of the substrate, so the length of time to form a carpet shouldn't be that long.

[Li@m]

Sweet Scape! This is going to Look Amazing when the plants have filled in.

[orchidman]

Looks great

[mahko]

Thanks guys. I've been putting this together for a few months and it's nice to sit back and enjoy it.

[sapphoqueen]

looks good subscribed !

[madness]

Nice to see someone do a tank and not screw around.

Nice stand build, nice light hanger, nice rimless tanks and nice set-up in general.