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Do!aqua Mini-M: riverrun

63K views 267 replies 93 participants last post by  benon 
#1 · (Edited)
This tank exists because I found kick-butt rocks for eight dollars at a bonsai store in Japantown. I also wanted to do another 'scape with UG.

I've used UG in the past to varying degrees of success, but I never created a hardscape that did the plant justice as I feel that a carpet of UG looks best on slopes.

So, with my eight dollars worth of rocks and a bag and a quarter of Amazonia Powder, I created my hardscape and slope.


Initially, I filled the whole tank to help me remove some Duckweed that snuck in during planting,
and to fully saturate the substrate.





Here's what it looks like now, drained.




There's too much water in the front, I know, but I'm leaving it there initially until I gauge how quickly the top portions dry out.

This tank will dry-start for the first two months. After that, I may or may not fill it. (I probably will.)

If the UG takes to the dry-start, I will probably not add CO2. This means I'll use a HOB filter and about twenty-eight watts of CF from a fixture that is dim-able -- I got it years ago from Sharper Image -- and turn the light down to the equivalent of twenty-two watts. A reasonable light level for a tank this size without CO2, I'm thinking.

Speaking of HOBs, anyone have a recommendation for a Mini-M? I like the idea of a HOB as they allow for more oxygen exchange than a canister, resulting in, presumably, a more robust bio-filter. (I'm currently on a bio-filter-kick as I feel they are the unsung heros of a fish tank.) However, I've fallen in love with the Eheim 2211s and may get one of those if you guys think the benefit of a HOB is minimal.

Also, any tips you have for keeping the upper portion of a slope saturated is much appreciated. I've got a spray bottle, but if you got better ideas, I'm all ears.

Anyway, welcome to my fifth journal in less than a year.
 
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#2 ·
honestly I would just go with the 2211, if you want more oxygen exchange, raise the spray bar up. otherwise, an aquaclear 20 is a good go-to.

you could look into automatic misters, but really if you seal it well enough, and spray it occasionally, it should be good to go.
 
#7 ·
Damn UG I disappear for a few days and you ahve another tank up and running. I love the rocks and hate you CA guys as you can get nice hardscape stuff and cheap.... j/k on the hate part but damn.

Great looking addition to your collectoritis of tanks...

Now to finish updating myself on your threads.

Craig

P.S. I'm back to stay!
 
#8 ·
I would kill for rocks with that kind of texture and detail.

Personally, I would actually prefer the main rock to be bigger, you could also try to tilt the main rock so that it exerts a bigger personality over its smaller counterparts. This would also create a tension when the scape is viewed, something like, "the rock is gonna fall!" kind of feeling. This tension is essential to Iwagumi scapes.

You would also properly need to keep your foreground plants low, especially on your awesome right foreground. That empty space there between the two rock formations is going to look so good when filled. And to contrast this space further, plants that are taller behind your extreme right rock is gonna frame that entire area nicely.

I do not think you want this tank to be a strict Iwagumi tank, but if you do (it will be a little boring! haha.) then I suggest getting another sharper, taller rock to be placed behind the current big rock. That will add depth to your focal point, which is the main rock. The current big rock which would be then in front of your main rock will add a powerful base to tie your main rock to the entire scape.

I would also highly recommend Eheim 2213 to be your filter. I run this on my Mini M and its simply awesome. You can use Eheim's double tap to control the flow rate if you need to, and when the flow rate slows down because the media is slightly clogged, just open it full throttle! That means longer filter cleaning intervals which I think will appeal to you. *wink*

Okay, sorry for this long post, I had no idea how I rambled on....
Looking forward to this scape!
 
#15 ·
I'm really leaning towards the 2211, Dollface. You're right about raising the spray bar. I've only found one source for the 2211 online, though. Hopefully, they'll become more available in the next two months when I fill this thing up. (I've decided I'm going to fill it up for sure.)

ch3f, it's about a block away from AFA. Katsura Gardens, as Martin pointed out.

cl, I'll put it in my sig once a name is found. Gotta observe this little guy for a while so I can get a feel for it's character before naming it.

Thanks, Craig. I'm hella happy you're still in this game. We'd be at a loss without you.

That's all really good advice, Jade. Judging from what you observed, you have a pretty good idea of the look I'm going for. My main concern is keeping the UG low so as to minimize the "shrinking effect" plant growth has on a hardscape.
This tank will not be a iwagumi in the strict sense of it all. My main intent is to showcase UG. (The plant.)
So far I have a couple of favorite plants: Mini Microsword, Mini Pellia, and Special Fern. I have a feeling UG can be added to this list, but I've yet to fall in love with it as I've yet to create a 'scape in which I'm proud of how it turned out.
As for the rocks, I absolutely agree. However, given the shape of the rocks, and my goal to have a rockscape that is solid (i.e. won't tip when I'm trimming), the placement you see is the only one that worked given my stubborn insistence on having the rocks stable and fit in the grooves of each other. It's a case of function winning out slightly over aesthetics.



You never know, bro.

lego, you friggin' read my mind. I thought the same exact thing! I thought that if I do introduce DHG, I'll add it after the UG's had a month and a half head start. I'd then slowly introduce other plants as the 'scape matured. It would make me feel like a conductor of a symphony guiding the tempo of the tank.

Thanks, big

danakin and lego, don't it? Why do all of my recent 'scapes look like animals?

I'm feeling a lot more confident of the success of the dry-start method because of bro's "tip the tank" advice. That said, I have a feeling that this tank will take the full two months to fill in. I'm growing UG emersed in a bowl in my bathroom and after about three weeks, only now is it starting to throw out new growth.
We'll see.
 
#11 ·
Man is that hardscape wicked. When that UG fills in this'll look incredible. Maybe try a couple tufts of a shorter hairgrass behind the center rock? That'd look pretty sweet blended in with the Utricularia
 
#18 ·
UG, I'm pretty sure the old way of iwagumi thinking in all the limitations is being slowly out-moded. Even Amano's new Iwagumi's don't strictly adhere to the classic standard. Which brings up my theory that the only thing that matters in an Iwagumi is the rock layout and how the plants are used in conjunction with the composition to emphasize it. I should write a book or something on this...I have just about all the rough draft data for something like that just sitting around.

This is a little bit of a far-reaching critique, but I'd bear in mind with a shorter composition it's easy to overshadow the layout, so any tall growing plants would have to be carefully applied. My problem with UG right now is it's shade of green, blade shape and growth pattern. It makes it a little difficult to properly choose taller plants that go well cohesively with it. But for some really really strange reason I want to think that 'special fern' -might- go well with it. Although I don't think I'd ever see myself using a primarily UG foreground in conjunction with Mini Pellia in an Iwagumi. The only easy way i'd see it working if it was a UG carpet with a driftwood layout and the mini pellia was growing on the driftwood. That way the layout composition and texture cohesivity can be solved simply by the texture and composition of the driftwood, in which case the mosses on the driftwood are accentuating the driftwood as opposed to being used to accentuate the layout as a whole.

Oops, my mind wandered.
 
#20 ·
Hey, X. Good points. I'm not sure myself if I would categorize this layout as iwagumi. On the surface, it has many of the characteristics of iwagumi, but when setting it up, I followed not the iwagumi principles, but rather an image of coastal rocks being ravaged by ocean waves.
Also, because the 'scape was inspired by and created for the eight dollars worth of rocks I found, I felt a moral obligation to use only those stones. (This is opposite of how I usually work, where I have an image in my mind and try to create what I see as closely as possible.)
I think it will work in my favor long-term in that it will hone my skills with maintaining a hardscape after the plants have grown in. Ideally, I, like many of you, would prefer that the main stone (which is actually two stones placed side-by-side) was larger. However, because of the aforementioned "moral obligation", I could not use a larger stone as I had to use part of the eight dollar bunch.
Like you alluded to, stems would be difficult to add to this and I probably won't. However, because the rockscape is so short and looks like a landscape, I am considering tying Riccia in small bunches to fishing like across the upper section of the tank to look like clouds. I think that would be rad.

garuf, thanks. Yeah, I agree with you about the rock, but like I said, I had a moral obligation to cheap rocks to use what I had.
It's too soon for me to tell if UG likes the dry-start method. I'll know more in a few weeks. If I see any indication that it doesn't, I'll fill it.
Filtering will probably be a 2211. I have a 2213 on Elements and I think that the flow from that would be too much in a tank as sparsely planted as this one. Lighting will probably be two OttLite Plant lights placed a fair distance from the water's surface. I don't plan on using CO2, but you know me, I usually do end up going the CO2-route regardless of what I plan.
 
#21 ·
The only solution I can think of is to pile the rocks higher (usually it does not work as you will know that AquaSoil somehow loves to flatten itself even when we create such nice slopes, *sigh*) or get bigger rocks.

I bet you know these two solutions anyway.. I guess since its not a strict Iwagumi, cut yourself some slack and just go ahead with what you feel. From your talents, I know you won't waste such splendid rocks and even if the tank is all stem plants (now I've done it), it will still look great.

Somehow, you always make it happen. ;)
Think less, Scape more, Let your innermost feelings guide you!
 
#22 ·
That's just it UG! that's exactly what iwagumi is supposed to be. modeling a rock-only layout after nature, shorelines, mountains, hills, they're all fair game. That's the one and only rule that matters. It's a good hardscape, it actually looks like it harkens back to Riven's original setup.
 
#23 ·
Okay, after reading here and there about the Eheim 2211, I've decided that I'll probably go with the 2213.
The 2211 is cute and is by all accounts a great filter.
However, I know my weaknesses.
One of them is cleaning the filter.
Simply put: I procrastinate doing so like you would not believe. A 2213 would afford me more time before cleanings, allow for a larger surface area inside the canister on which bacteria can grow, and allow for more flow inside the tank.
It's also a lot more readily available.

Nothing new to report with the tank. It's still sitting at an angle in my kitchen.
There's been no drying out or UG die off as of yet. It's only been two days, but I'm kind of impatient. (Which is a magnificently-ridiculous characteristic to have when you're absolutely in love with the hobby of planted tanks.)

To make myself look even more wishy-washy, in two months I probably will inject CO2 into this tank. The reason being is that I'm afraid of the UG dying off when it goes to submersed growth with the more CO2-restricted state-of-things underwater. It'll probably be pressurized. Probably a regulator from GLA. Those things rock.

(Here's another unfortunate characteristic that I have that does not jive with this hobby: I'm vain.
Not conceited or anything like that, but I do care what other people think of me.
However, all of my extra cash goes to this hobby and not the things you'd think a vain person would care about. Things like shoes, pants, and shirts. Haircuts, even! [I cut my own hair. Clippers. Number three. Number five if I'm feeling wild like a hippie.] I don't think I've bought a new pair of shoes in a year! And I love video games, but I haven't bought a new one in months. So the thought of dropping one and a half Benjamins on a regulator is super-duper exciting. The thought of dropping even one Benjamin on a pair of shoes seems frivolous.)

Anyway, my point in all of my parenthetical comments is that my love for this hobby goes against almost every single characteristic that I have, yet I still love it.

(And my tanks are very clean, but you'd need vaccinations to enter my house.)
 
#27 · (Edited)
The best thing about Eheim 2213 is that it comes with a filter basket and is the only classic series filter to have it.

It really makes cleaning a breeze! You are going to enjoy your filter. =)

EDIT: I forgot to ask, do you see any difference between the ADA Mini M and the DoAqua! Mini M? Besides the sticker of course. ;)
 
#28 ·
Hey, ddtran. Sorry about your lack of rocks. I've seen your hardscapes, though. They look awesome.

Jade, the only difference between the two is so slight, you'd have to really inspect the Do!aqua one to see any flaws in the silicone work. The clarity of the glass is the same as the last generation of ADA tanks, and that was already pretty darned good. I'll snap some photos when I fill the tank to show the differences.

Work's got me exhausted. Too tired to work on my tanks. Too tired to do much of anything once I'm in sweats and done for the day.
So emersed growth is working perfectly in this regard. Nothing to do. Just sit and watch the grass grow...
...or not.






I've added two Special Ferns just for kicks. I also added Japanese Hairgrass.

The UG's still getting settled. As of now I have twenty-eight watts poured onto this tank. Tomorrow, I'll be kicking up to forty-one as it looks to me like the UG's ready to start spreading. (Source has had thirty-nine watts for the past three and a half weeks and growth has been great. Hoping for the same here.)
 
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