Beginnings of a 55 gal. Iwagumi RCS farm (56k warning!)

[Williak]

Ok, so the time has finally arrived

After a large bottle of a deep red Merlot wine, I've decided it is officially time to begin the 55 gallon iwagumi attempt.

Following months of trial and error with my first 55 gallon planted tank, I've moved onto my second. For this tank I am aiming for a iwagumi style. My first tank has been a long and tedious process (which I've not documented on here) with battling hair algae and every other problem under the sun. I've slowly overcome these issues, and felt it was time for me to begin my second 55 gal.

In my first 55 gal tank, I went with a wide selection of traditional hardy plants ranging from Amazon Swords, Rotala Indica, Water Sprites, Anubias, Anarcharis, Java Fern, Dwarf Sag, etc. I will post a pic of this tank later on.

Thus began my second 55 gallon (with the Petco dollar per gallon sale ).

First off, I built a stand for this tank, as did I for my first 55 gallon. I followed an excellent guide by uarujoey from Youtube and DIYfishkeepers.com. I built his stand design with a few extra cross supports for my personal comfort. The design he shows can support up to a 150 gallon.... but I beefed it up even more.... for a 55 gallon The build is very easy and straight forward, cost roughly under $50 every time around. I use the more fine selection "white board" 1x6's or 1x8's for the top cover boards, and these wind up costing more than all of the 2x4s involved in the primary build. I cut, build, then power sand, and paint the aquarium stand a semi-gloss black.

Doing a test fill as I type this.... Cross my fingers for no blow outs

______________________________________________


So to list the typical specs of a tank:


Tank:

55 gallon AGA tank (48" W, 13" D, and 20" H)


Light:

2 54w T5HO set up
Roughly 8 hours a day


Substrate:

Miracle Gro Organic Soil (bottom layer)
Safe-T-Sorb (top layer)


Filtration/Circulation:

Powerhead with prefilter (for CO2 distribution)

Marineland Penguin 350 HOB filter (Possibly getting a 2nd)
Canister filter


CO2:

DIY CO2
4 2L bottles via powerhead distribution when tank is eventually flooded
Planning/Saving for eventual injected setup.

Saving during DSM to buy a legit CO2 setup.


Fertilization:

EI method via GLA dry ferts [with extra random supplementation from Seachem Flourish Excel and Aquavitro Propel (iron)]


Rocks:

Random local rocks from state park (tested)


Plants:

HC carpet


Fauna:

No idea - Def alot of shrimp and a large school of small fish

In my other 55 planted, I have albino corys, oto cats, neon and cardinal tetras, a clown pleco, amano shrimp, and RCS.

Don't want to go with the same tetra school for this one... but I do want a large school. Considering some rasboras..... Open for any suggestions

Red Cherry Shrimp (hopefully 100s)
Amano Shrimp (~10-20)

______________________________________________


Now draining from the successful test fill, will post pics in a min of laying down substrates!

[Williak]

So some pics of the tank and the stand

Also, I've added 1/2" construction insulation beneath the tank to help with any discrepancies in the stand leveling. It appeared completely level, but I always want to be on the cautious side

This insulation foam will be cut to fit around the tank once it is filled, or weighed down with rocks and substrate, and colored black to match the tank.

Not sure why the stand appears to have white dots on it with the camera... these aren't visible in person... I will still probably touch it up again with another coat tomorrow though

[InannaMoon]

Subscribed! Good luck! Can't wait to watch your progress! Wine is such an amazing motivator, isn't it?

[Williak]

Originally Posted by InannaMoon

Subscribed! Good luck! Can't wait to watch your progress! Wine is such an amazing motivator, isn't it?

Wow so happy to hear someone agree I just got the strangest urge to begin and stop all the planning

Got the soil layer down, Safe-T-Sorb going down now. As a forewarning, I'd read this everywhere before.... but this stuff is dusty as a mofo. Rinse it repeatedly. I'm already planning on doing probably 5 fill-drain-repeats to clear up the water once I flood the tank.

Planning on doing a dry start with the HC. I've never handled HC before, so I'm sure it could go either way One way or another, we'll get down some sort of carpet!

Also, got down my aquascaping. This was done at 3:30am so I'm sure it may change a bit tomorrow... and for the next week or so. I will be receiving my 4 pots of HC from a LFS around Wed/Thu so the tank will have a few days to sit as just the soil.

Here are some pics of the MG Organic and Safe-T-Sorb for those who want to know!

Oh, got to get the background set up

[sam86]

Subscribed! I'm still in the "learning" phase for my iwagumi. Good luck!

[Williak]

Originally Posted by sam86

Subscribed! I'm still in the "learning" phase for my iwagumi. Good luck!

Yea... I believe I'm still in that phase as well

Looking at the rocks, I like the initial arrangement, but believe I could tighten it up a bit. Any input is greatly appreciated!

[Williak]

Got word today that the HC pots will be in for sure this week, can't wait to get those planted in! Been watching youtube videos on preparation nonstop

Going to go for a DSM on this tank. Never done this before, but really want to give it a go with the HC, as I've heard it does well with dry start. I've read to fill the water to just below the substrate line, and mist 2x daily..... Any other input would be greatly appreciated from those who've done a dry start method

Another thing... I've got to figure out how I'm doing the background for my tank. My last 55 gallon, I spray painted the back of it with a very dark blue.... loved the look of it, but I don't think that's appropriate for an iwagumi.

Considering a white board behind it? To give that glowing look? Any input on THIS would be greatly appreciated as well!

New pics coming soon!

[Williak]

Alright, so haven't gotten much feedback on the tank set up... maybe these new pics will spark some ideas/feedback

Played around with the substrate slopes and rock layout a bit more, and tried to take some proper photos

Still wondering about stocking ideas, DSM start up tips, and background color ..... Those are in bold for a reason

[Williak]

Quick close up of the substrate, an inside shot of the tank, and one of the rock lay outs

[InannaMoon]

I like the arrangement, just make sure to leave enough room between for ample growth! I love the simplicity of Iwagumis. I wanted to do one myself but my tank is so tall it would just look silly.

[Williak]

Well... no HC today. Disappointed to say the least. I'm atleast relieved that my LFS owner opted to look out for me and not pick them up today because he said they looked pretty melted. Should be getting in a new stock on Monday. I'll hold out for these

Still went ahead and took some photos of newly arranged hardscape.

Oh, and ignore the random frosted piece of acrylic behind the tank ha, a trial and error piece for frosting it.

[Williak]

So the more thought I've put into it... I'd like to go simplistic on this tank.

I have another 55 gallon with a large school of corys and neon tetras, and alot of stemmed plants, so I'd like to go with something really opposite on this one.

Going for HC carpet and a boatload of Red Cherry Shrimps... maybe even do some breeding... although I'm not sure they'll allow me to choose

With a delay on the HC shipment, I've started prepping the substrate a bit by misting 2x a day to keep it slightly moist. The HC should be in on Tuesday. Can't wait to plant this out. Upped my order to 6 pots of HC... hoping I will be able to reasonably distribute my 6 pots across the tank. If I need to order another 6... so be it.

Also, made some serious decisions regarding my equipment...

Decided to not go with 2 HOB filters, but go with an adequate canister filter for the tank.

Additionally, decided to go with a legitimate injected CO2 system. Thought about building my own regulator, but I just half way think I would rather spend the bit of extra money and get one built by a professional. Thinking I'm going to go with a GLA set up. Any other recommendations would be awesome for a full CO2 set up.

Considering these pretty extreme updates from my prior choices... I may be doing a bit of an extended DSM to save some more money. I think it will be worth it in the end.

[DBridges]

GLA, in my opinion, is definitely the way to go when looking for CO2 set-ups. All of their stuff is good, you get great product support, and they have a variety of stuff to choose from. I got one of their Primo CO2 systems back in 2009 and it's been great. I wouldn't bother to buy a 5lb. tank, though, as it's plenty easy to rent one from a welding supply store.

I think going with a canister filter is a great idea, too. Eheim gets my vote, if you haven't purchased one yet.

Looking forward to seeing your tank come together. Iwagumi stuff is fascinating; so much thought goes into getting the layout just right.

David

[Williak]

Originally Posted by DBridges

GLA, in my opinion, is definitely the way to go when looking for CO2 set-ups. All of their stuff is good, you get great product support, and they have a variety of stuff to choose from. I got one of their Primo CO2 systems back in 2009 and it's been great. I wouldn't bother to buy a 5lb. tank, though, as it's plenty easy to rent one from a welding supply store.

I think going with a canister filter is a great idea, too. Eheim gets my vote, if you haven't purchased one yet.

Looking forward to seeing your tank come together. Iwagumi stuff is fascinating; so much thought goes into getting the layout just right.

David

Thanks for the reply David.

Hmm, I haven't considered renting a CO2 tank. I was actually planning on buying a 10lb tank... which isn't cheap. I may have to find out where I could locally rent a tank... even more so, I just need to verify where I can get it refilled

I've considered Eheims. They have some great equipment. If I'm planning on purchasing a $300-400 CO2 system, then I may have to skimp *slightly* on the canister system. I've heard so many great reviews on the Sunsun/Aquatop filters, I think I'm going to take the plunge and try one... It's the difference of $100 compared to almost $200 for an Eheim/Fluval/Marineland.

[DBridges]

When I got my CO2 system, I got it with the 5lb. cylinder, thinking I'd be able to get it refilled anywhere. Unfortunately, paintball supply places wouldn't touch it, and welding supply places only do exchanges. If you have a beer brewing supply place near you, they might do refills without much hassle.

But the $20-something cost of renting a tank for 2 or 3 months before needing to be replaced outweighed the hassle of trying to find someone to refill it.

David

EDIT: Most nearly any welding supply store (Air Liquide, Hollux, AirGas, etc.) will rent many different sizes, 5lb. and up!