1st try at iwagumi, hopefully

fishbguy1 · 11-11-2008, 01:51 AM

Hello all..

I am going to re-scape my 29 during Christmas break. I'm not going out of town this year, so 2 weeks off of school with nothing to do=lots of tank time.

Anyways, I"ve always wanted to try an iwagumi, and I think that's what I'm gonna plan on doing.

It's a 29 gallon tank, standered. Is this an okay size for an iwagumi? I know it's tall, so I would need pretty big rocks and something to go behind them to make the tank look less empty. Any suggestions? Something grassy prolly.

Also, Here are my options for my ground cover.

Dwarf Hairgrass, glosso, or HC. I use pure RO/DI water, DIY Co2, but my substrate is gravel. I can have up to 72 watts of light, T-5. Will this support HC or glosso? Will it support Hairgrass? I would like to use either glosso or HC, then use some Hairgrass in the back, and taller grassy plants either in the corners or behind rocks.

I do use ferts daily, but will prolly cut back on some dosing because of the so few plants. Right now, I have a bajillion fast growing stems, so I need to fertalize every day...haha

Also, I'm thinking about turning this into a shrimp tank. Moving some of my cherries (maybe) into it, or possibly getting some yellow/snowball shrimps.

Do you think it's feasable? Any of you with 29 gallon iwagumis, care to share some pics for ideas?

Thanks!

~Andrew

**chase127** · 11-11-2008, 02:14 AM

im sure you could do hairgrass, dwarf hairgrass, and glosso with that light. hc might get taller and less compact. also, look into aquasoil eco or flourite. better iwagumi tanks usually tend to have a good plant substrate. and as far as RO/DI water goes, dont use it unless you combine it half RO/DI half tap. there are essential nutrients in tap water that arent present in RO/DI water that plants need.

fishbguy1 · 11-11-2008, 10:45 AM

I have well water.

My phosphates test off the charts, literally, and my Ph is 8.0.

That's why I don't use tap water. RO/DI seems to be working well enough so far.

jasa73 · 11-11-2008, 12:46 PM

I second the vote for aquasoil,e co or flourtie. It is difficult to plant HC and hairgrass IMHO and get it to stay down. Im thinking is that with gravel, the granules may be too big to keep them down. Also, have you considered trying to grow your Iwugami out immersed? I just did that with my first Iwugami using HC and it worked wonders. I need to post pics. But the HC formed a nice carpet with very little work..short of keeping the soil moist, and with no algae, or headaches.

11-11-2008, 01:51 AM	#1
fishbguy1 Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (40/98%) Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: S.E Michigan Posts: 1,203	1st try at iwagumi, hopefully Hello all.. I am going to re-scape my 29 during Christmas break. I'm not going out of town this year, so 2 weeks off of school with nothing to do=lots of tank time. Anyways, I"ve always wanted to try an iwagumi, and I think that's what I'm gonna plan on doing. It's a 29 gallon tank, standered. Is this an okay size for an iwagumi? I know it's tall, so I would need pretty big rocks and something to go behind them to make the tank look less empty. Any suggestions? Something grassy prolly. Also, Here are my options for my ground cover. Dwarf Hairgrass, glosso, or HC. I use pure RO/DI water, DIY Co2, but my substrate is gravel. I can have up to 72 watts of light, T-5. Will this support HC or glosso? Will it support Hairgrass? I would like to use either glosso or HC, then use some Hairgrass in the back, and taller grassy plants either in the corners or behind rocks. I do use ferts daily, but will prolly cut back on some dosing because of the so few plants. Right now, I have a bajillion fast growing stems, so I need to fertalize every day...haha Also, I'm thinking about turning this into a shrimp tank. Moving some of my cherries (maybe) into it, or possibly getting some yellow/snowball shrimps. Do you think it's feasable? Any of you with 29 gallon iwagumis, care to share some pics for ideas? Thanks! ~Andrew __________________ 65 gallon low tech planted

11-11-2008, 10:45 AM	#3
fishbguy1 Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (40/98%) Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: S.E Michigan Posts: 1,203	I have well water. My phosphates test off the charts, literally, and my Ph is 8.0. That's why I don't use tap water. RO/DI seems to be working well enough so far. __________________ 65 gallon low tech planted

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11-11-2008, 02:14 AM	#2
chase127 Anti iwagumi (View User Tanks) PTrader: (112/99%) Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Gainesville, Florida Posts: 4,807	im sure you could do hairgrass, dwarf hairgrass, and glosso with that light. hc might get taller and less compact. also, look into aquasoil eco or flourite. better iwagumi tanks usually tend to have a good plant substrate. and as far as RO/DI water goes, dont use it unless you combine it half RO/DI half tap. there are essential nutrients in tap water that arent present in RO/DI water that plants need.

11-11-2008, 12:46 PM	#4
jasa73 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (17/100%) Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 246	I second the vote for aquasoil,e co or flourtie. It is difficult to plant HC and hairgrass IMHO and get it to stay down. Im thinking is that with gravel, the granules may be too big to keep them down. Also, have you considered trying to grow your Iwugami out immersed? I just did that with my first Iwugami using HC and it worked wonders. I need to post pics. But the HC formed a nice carpet with very little work..short of keeping the soil moist, and with no algae, or headaches.