ADA Mini M: Iwagumi (56K)

[AUvet14]

I'm interested to see how the stargrass looks in an Iwagumi setup. It's one of the plants I'm considering for an iwagumi tank for my new GLA 36-L (same size as yours). It might require frequent trimming, but I think it could look pretty good.

[ad3hybrid]

The tank is now planted!




Is this Ludwigia arcuata emersed form?



The not so healthy HM:






The water is still a bit cloudy even after a couple water change. Some plants also float up after I turned on the filter. I just removed them. Too lazy to plant again and I don't want to disturb the soil too much.haha And it looks really messy right now...


I did some adjustments with the rocks arrangement. I don't know if it looks better right now but since the tank is already planted, I won't do any adjustment again. Too much work. However, I really do appreciate your comments and opinions. Let me know what you think..

[ad3hybrid]

Originally Posted by AUvet14

I'm interested to see how the stargrass looks in an Iwagumi setup. It's one of the plants I'm considering for an iwagumi tank for my new GLA 36-L (same size as yours). It might require frequent trimming, but I think it could look pretty good.

This is my first time growing the stargrass. I really hope it will grow nicely because it was heavily infected with hair algae when I received it. Most of them end up in the bin. I only selected the healthy shoots with least hair algae on it and plant them.

I'm not good dealing with algae. Before this, I just redo all over again if there is too much algae growing. And I don't want redo this tank all over again. haha

[AUvet14]

Originally Posted by ad3hybrid

This is my first time growing the stargrass. I really hope it will grow nicely because it was heavily infected with hair algae when I received it. Most of them end up in the bin. I only selected the healthy shoots with least hair algae on it and plant them.

I'm not good dealing with algae. Before this, I just redo all over again if there is too much algae growing. And I don't want redo this tank all over again. haha

Yes, that looks like l. arcuata emersed form.

Also, stargrass will grow like a weed once it gets used to your setup. Idk so much about what to do about the algae though. It's definitely one of my favorite plants though. This photo was from a couple months ago, before I did a little bit of rearranging, thinning out, and trying to control an algae outbreak as well, but this is probably the best I have gotten it to look, I just haven't gotten it back to that level yet. I just had to have the genius idea to move it to a different spot just at the time all the other problems hit. Lol. It's the one on the left behind the blyxa japonica.

[freph]

I absolutely loooooooooooooooooooooove this tank. Especially the rock work. It's spectacular! Also, what filter are you using (name anything in-line that might be reducing the flow) and is it on full blast? I never had luck using the ADA Mini outflow on max...it would always blow the living crap out of my soil lines on the opposite side. Craters within a minute or so.

[ad3hybrid]

Originally Posted by AUvet14

Yes, that looks like l. arcuata emersed form.

Also, stargrass will grow like a weed once it gets used to your setup. Idk so much about what to do about the algae though. It's definitely one of my favorite plants though. This photo was from a couple months ago, before I did a little bit of rearranging, thinning out, and trying to control an algae outbreak as well, but this is probably the best I have gotten it to look, I just haven't gotten it back to that level yet. I just had to have the genius idea to move it to a different spot just at the time all the other problems hit. Lol. It's the one on the left behind the blyxa japonica.

That is nice to hear Can't wait to see my stargrass growing. If it survives, and grows too fast, maybe I will have to replace it with other stems plant. LOL. I just don't like the leaves size. Too big for nano tank. But still, lets wait until it fully grown then we will decide. BTW,your tank is very lush and beautiful! I like it!

[AUvet14]

I'm sure it will survive. It's probably one of the most resilient plants I've kept. I've seen it come back to life from stems I was sure were dead. It tolerates heavy trimming, so you could always trim it back a lot every few weeks. If your light is strong enough, it will even stay shorter and just get bushier. Without my glass top on, mine didn't want to grow above 8 inches but it got super bushy. I'll definitely follow it rinse how it does. I'm still undecided on it for my iwagumi.

Sent from my HTC One S

[ad3hybrid]

Originally Posted by freph

I absolutely loooooooooooooooooooooove this tank. Especially the rock work. It's spectacular! Also, what filter are you using (name anything in-line that might be reducing the flow) and is it on full blast? I never had luck using the ADA Mini outflow on max...it would always blow the living crap out of my soil lines on the opposite side. Craters within a minute or so.

Thank you so much I'm using Finnex px-360 rated as 95gPH. Yes it is on full blast but I can see reduced flow rate compared to my previous setup using same filter but different configuration. This is what I did for current setup:



There are two elbow connected for both inlet and outlet so that should probably one of the factors reducing the flow rate.



Then the filter is placed lower than the tank which is not recommended by the manufacturer. This is also reduces flow rate.

Now the reduced flow rate is actually a benefit because there is no more craters formed and my slope still looks intact. The plants float up before this probably because I did not plant them properly. At the moment, the flow rate is very nice (I can see debris circling around in the tank quite fast). However, it might change when the stem plants grow tall at the back.

[ad3hybrid]

Just some updates:

The water now has become crystal clear. (I love Purigen) Did 80% WC and will repeat it everyday for the whole week. No chemical dosing at the moment. I will start dosing after a week with K and then Iron and Flourish after 2 weeks. That depends on plants growth. I also begin the CO2 injection at 1bps using pressurized CO2.

Before this I said no craters formed with my filter flow rate. Well, I take it back because when I woke up this morning I saw small crater formed. It was not big enough to cause serious problems but just for precaution I put the empty drop checker on the opposite side of the filter outlet in hoping it will help to reduce flow rate at that particular area.









Thank you for looking. I will update again after a week or so.

[Green_Flash]

Looks fantastic, well done.

[ad3hybrid]

UPDATE:

After a week there not much things to say. There were some hair algae growing on the HC probably from the stargrass. Then I put 4 hungry cherry shrimps and now no algae growth observed. Maybe I will add more cherries after this to take care some decaying plants. But now the HC looks healthy and starts propagating.




Lileopsis growth rate is very slow...haha maybe I got used to hairgrass growth rate that is why I find Lileopsis is very slow although it is rated as medium growth rate. Anyway, new shoot and runner!



Other plants:









What annoys me the most right now is the small stone at the right front which has contrasting color compared to other stones. Actually it is a Seiryu stone. I'm thinking to remove it and just leave that area without stone and let the HC fills in. Any ideas?



FTS:

[AUvet14]

It looks like you should take it out. It looks out of place. Any chance you could get another stone like the others?

[Fat Guy]

I like it. that rock on the right does look out of place, but I think you can get rid of it and things will still look great. star grass does grow like a weed. so does HM. get ready

[bluestems]

It's looking great! I agree on removing the odd colored stone, but would suggest replacing it to keep the odd number of stones and balance in the tank.

[ad3hybrid]

Time for some updates:



After 4 weeks, growths in this tank is slower than I expected. The foreground is still not fully covered by the HC. Compared to my previous layout, the HC successfully covered my foreground in just 3weeks. At first I thought the problem is my lighting because the bulb I'm using is already more than 1year old so I added extra 20W 6500K screw bulb.



But still the HC did not show any improved growth rate. Then I observed that many new shoots emerged from the soil but not many visible new runners growing on top of the soil.



After I looked carefully, I realized that the shrimps actually moved the soil pellets around and the HC become buried beneath the soil that is why less visible HC growth. I sucked up the soil covering the HC every day and now more growth is observed. So hopefully in 2 weeks the foreground is fully covered by HC.

I'm planning to switch the stargrass at the back using plants with smaller leaves. Maybe Rotala rotundifolia or Didiplis diandra. I don't really like the stargrass because the leaves size is to big for this small iwagumi. Ludwigia arcuata looks good currently but man, this plant is also a slow grower. haha (I want everything fast!).

Other updates:
-added 5 juvenile guppies from my other tank. 1 already died. jumper.
-no longer using the lily pipes because of difficulties during maintenance. Much easier to use current set up.
-the odd colored stone has been removed. Thank you for your advices. but I can't find suitable stones to replace it..hmm..
-Started dosing 1ml Seachem Potassium, 0.5ml Seachem Iron, 0.5ml Seachem Fluorish for every 2days and 1ml Excel daily.
-CO2 set up at 2bps.
-Lighting period for 8hours.

Other photos:













Thank you for looking! Comments and suggestions are welcomed!

Regards.