Rusty's GLA 36-L First Iwagumi Build

[scbrooks87]

Can't wait to see this full of water and planted! Looks awesome! Did you get all that stone locally or order online? If online, where from?

Thanks!
-Scott

[Rbp917]

I'm curious about the stone as well, also, is that a Whippet?

[ad3hybrid]

I always love this kind of layout for small tanks. Nice and simple.

[AUvet14]

Originally Posted by scbrooks87

Can't wait to see this full of water and planted! Looks awesome! Did you get all that stone locally or order online? If online, where from?

Thanks!
-Scott

I got the stone on ebay from the seller "sea77777779"

Originally Posted by Rbp917

I'm curious about the stone as well, also, is that a Whippet?

Nope, Not a whippet. He's a greyhound My 75lb couch potato/lap dog. Lol.

[Tcal01]

Nope, Not a whippet. He's a greyhound My 75lb couch potato/lap dog. Lol.

i just joined my local greyhound rescue looking to find the right one . i call them 40 mile an hour couch potatoes lol

[AUvet14]

Originally Posted by Tcal01

i just joined my local greyhound rescue looking to find the right one . i call them 40 mile an hour couch potatoes lol

That's pretty much what they are He sleeps 18hrs a day at least. I really only have to walk him for 20 minutes a day and that's enough exercise for him. I take him out to the dog park every now and then to let him run around off leash, but that's just a treat for him. Lol. It's fun to watch them learn how to just be a dog after living usually 2-4 years as a trained athlete. It's like watching them grow up

[AUvet14]

I'm considering doing a DSM with this tank. I'm still trying to get my CO2 situation for this tank situated, but in the mean time, if I did DSM, I could go ahead and start growing my HC. Any thoughts, suggestions, personal experience with DSM?

[AUvet14]

Well here's the beginning of my dry start. I got more HC than I needed, so that was helpful. Rather than planting stems individually into the substrate, I broke the HC apart into small bunches and placed them on the substrate and then pressed them down a little with my fingers, just to make sure they were set down closely to the substrate.

Before I started planting, I used a piece of CO2 tubing to siphon some water from my 30 gallon high tech tank to moisten the substrate in this tank. I used just enough water to get everything damp. There is no standing water anywhere in the tank right now. Then I placed the HC down carefully to try to get as much cover as I could. My thoughts are that the more I place down initially, the faster a full carpet will form. Once I was done planting, I used a spray bottle containing dechlorinated water to dampen everything once again. I wiped off the front glass to take the pic. Finally, I covered the top with Cling plastic wrap. Occasionally I will spray everything once or twice and I peel back the plastic wrap every few hours to allow fresh air to enter. Hopefully in a week or two, the HC will have grown roots sufficient enough that I can plant my blyxa japonica and flood the tank.

[Couesfanatic]

looks good, make sure you have enough water in there. It should be enough that the water line should be just below the substrate line in the front. Will be following this.

[AUvet14]

New regulator Now I can run CO2 on my 30 gallon and my nano at the same time One downside though... These bubble counters are much larger than my GLA Atomic bubble counter was and the bubbles are larger, so now I have to figure out the proper bubble rate on these bubble counters. Lol. I think I can manage that though

[Couesfanatic]

nice work, good equipment is a must.

[AUvet14]

well, after examining the HC very carefully, I determined I think I would be able to flood it, so... here it is so far...

[AUvet14]

Filled, planted, plumbing set up.

[Brian_Cali77]

Excellent work! Looks sleek and well thought out in terms of the scape and all. I really like the placement of those stones and how it already looks all tied in well with the flora. I need to learn from this and start looking at my future scapes with the "less is more" attitude. As it stands, I have too many species of plants in my tanks

[AUvet14]

Originally Posted by Brian_Cali77

Excellent work! Looks sleek and well thought out in terms of the scape and all. I really like the placement of those stones and how it already looks all tied in well with the flora. I need to learn from this and start looking at my future scapes with the "less is more" attitude. As it stands, I have too many species of plants in my tanks

Haha. I know how that goes. You've seen my 30 gallon, right? Lol. Way too many species in there, but I don't want to get rid of any.

It was a long process putting it all together, but I think it was definitely worth it. I'm gonna go with some boraras urophthalmoides for stocking. I'll probably put around 3 Amano shrimp in there too. I'll add a couple otos later on if I end up needing any.

I can't wait for the HC to fill in completely and the blyxa to mature.