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ADA Cube Garden 45-F Iwagumi (NEW PHOTOS ADDED! 5/21)

14K views 60 replies 22 participants last post by  neueklare_ein 
#1 · (Edited)
Size:
45x24x16cm; around 4.6 gallon

Plants:
Rotala Nanjenshan
Rotala Singapore
Dwarf Baby Tears (HC)
Dwarf Hair Grass
One unknown plant on the left middle ground Between the two stones on the left. (ID)

Inhabitants:
5 Oto. Cat (I know that's a lot for a 4.6 gallon but don't blame me because I figure that they do much much better in a group of three or above, especially when there are "horrible" looking (to them) inhabitants like shrimps. My water passes all kinds of water test but they were still so stressed that they suffered form inch when there were only two of them. They are the most gentle and timid fish I have ever seen)
9 Taiwan Red Fire Shrimps
9 Amano Shrimps
A bunch of Malaysian Trumpet Snails.

Substrate:
ADA Amazonia

*CO2 when the light is on.
*Archaea 36W power compact light fixture (clamp on type)
*25W Marina Internal Heater
*Seiryu stones.

Let me know what you guys think!







 
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#41 ·
I think that would be fine. Anything that won't grow to bush and full would be ideal. I think that the bushiness of the stems on the left is what is dragging your eye away from the stones
 
#43 ·
Nice, looks bigger than it actually is. If it were me though, I would've picked slightly smaller rocks to exaggerate the scale even more. Plus I'd use a little less substrate; you need all the real estate you can get and you don't have any heavy stem plants that need that much, technically.
 
#46 ·
Just an update.
All the little creatures are doing quite well.
Algae problem solved by just lifting the lamp a little bit higher above the tank.
Hair algae attacks DHG, a common experience to all those who have DHG.

Hmm...still haven't got the desired lush HC carpet...wondering why...

It looks to me like the tank is actually self-sustainable: did a little experiment by not feeding any of them for five days. Found that the fish fed on the bugs that were there naturally, shrimps and otos feeding on algae (the otos always have round bellies).

They weren't even that interested in the fish/shrimp food and algae wafers afterwards.

I am pretty happy about the result! :red_mouth



 
#50 · (Edited)
Just a little update:
Did a partial rescape; Added a little piece of stone on the right and replaced the huge piece on left corner of the tank with a much smaller stone.
What do you guys think about the changes?

And...umm...does my HC carpet looks fine? I feel like it can be more "lush"...I have CO2 running (of coz) and I dose Excel regularly. There are also some root tabs. Should I add any other supplement for better outcomes?

 
#51 ·
I would try dosing Potassium and Micros - Worked great for me in my 60-p when I was growing a dense HC carpet. The aquasoil seemed to take care of Nitrogen and Phosphorus, but I think long term you need to supplement with NPK + Micros anyway.
 
#54 ·
Thanks! God knows how much time I spent on choosing them at my LFS...It took me over an hour...! If I could spend more money on those stones I would have bough a bunch of them home. But I just couldn't...those are Seiryu stones--we all know how awfully expensive they are==

They look lovely though!
 
#57 · (Edited)
These are photos taken before I leave for my long trip. I will transport the whole tank to my friend's house and have in look after everything for a little bit more than two months. He is really experienced in keeping fish (any kind of fish) but not quite in aquascaping...anywayz, just keep fingers crossed.

I always lack the skills of taking nice pictures of my tank. It might look like I am bragging but the tank actually looks really nice. In photos, though, it looks like a mess...

I don't know if anyone of you notice that or not but after sticking with just two plants, HC and DHG, for around four months (am I right?), I added glosso and some staurogyne r....I plan on adding micro sword at the back too.








Photos taken right after the last trimming session before I leave...the DHG will not be trimmed in quite a while.





I really hope that everything survives.
I have never had any major algae problem (touch wood), neither have I ever had any major die offs of livestock.

Wish all my fish, shrimps, and plants good luck. I will see them soon!
 
#59 ·
Very stunning stunning tank! Really love the rock placement. Are you sure this is a 4.8 gallon tank? lol

I dont know maybe its just me, but I would fill the hc all through the front and bit on the right side.. then towards the back i'd place the DHG.. would look a bit more natural then combining and mixing towards the front
 
#60 ·
Thanks for your compliments and comments!

I doubt if having one plant at the back and the other in front is really a NATURAL placement. It is, however, a conventional Iwagumi placement.
My idea, though, is to have the DHG growing out from around the rocks because they are plants that are less demanding (less light, easier to grow etc.). HC, on the other hand, needs more space, light etc.. That is what I would call natural! :p

It's just my second scape...So any kind of comments are very much welcome!
 
#61 ·
Just got my tank back from my friend. That guy, as I said, isn't that familiar with keeping plants in a tank. But he is absolutely an expert in keeping fish! ALL OF MY LIVESTOCKS SURVIVED! No loss in three months time. That's pretty amazing to me.

My HC though is totally taken over by the glosso that I added right before I left...That was surprising...

Thinking of rescaping the tank.
 
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