[talontsiawd]

Lastest Picture:

START OF JOURNAL:I have loved Iwagumi since I before I bought my first tank. However, I feel Iwagumi is either done right or wrong, very rarely done OK, or pretty good. I started this tank with the intention of doing a 3 rock traditional Iwagumi but just didn't get it right. Iwagumi is beauty in simplicity, I have in all my artistic outlets, used some complexity to make beauty and decided to use principles of Iwagumi and put my own twist on it. I did a 7 stone layout instead.

So...This leads me to my first rock scape/first natural style tank. It is 5 rocks and i hope it to look like a mountain scape. It will be fairly basic, no large assortment of plants like my 29 gallon. It may just be HC and that is it.

I am doing the dry start, mostly just to make my life easier. I don't like planting HC under water. I had enough from my tank before the redo to get a decent start. I am growing some other which I will add as it grows. I don't plan to let it spread all the way before I fill, I just want to get as much as I can rooted. I am thinking just shrimp but am undecided about what will go in the tank. It will be fishless for a bit.

Anyway, this is basically a trial tank to see how well I like it and where I can improve. Then I will go with a higher tech setup and better equipment.

The "specs"
[strike]Generic 10 gallon tank[/strike]
Marina Style 10 Rimless Tank
Incandesent hood with 6500k GE bulbs, 13 watts X2
Zoo Med 501 Filter
AC Heater (will probably be replaced as it is big and unhideable)

Plants
HC

Fish
None for now

Stand
Book Case in my room


Pics:

Sorry, it is hard for me to get good pics without water....

 

[hydrophyte]

Looks great so far. The stone layout is expressive. Where did you get those stones?

 

[talontsiawd]

Looks great so far. The stone layout is expressive. Where did you get those stones?

Thank you.

The stones are from a bonsai store Ugly Genious recommend, across the street from AFA in SF. The selection wasn't great for a tank even this size but the price was much easier to swallow than the ADA stones at AFA. I could probably find some more locally but I am in SF all the time (my GF lives there), it was just a bit of back pain getting them to my house in my back pack.

 

[talontsiawd]

Well, just as I set up, I tear down and start to rebuild. I bought one of the Marina 10 gallon rimless kits. It sucks because you have to buy the whole setup. I now have 4 HOB filters I don't need and an extra incondesnet hood. Hopefully I can sell some of this stuff.

Here is the new tank:



I also bought a Zoo Med 501. I just looked at the tank size and figured 3x was enough. It looks like this may or may not work, depending on who you ask. Anyone have oppinions? I don't plan to set this up anytime soon. I was hoping to have a nice clean addition to the tank but I don't know that it will work on my 10 gallon. Let me know. I have an AC 50 I was using before.

I will probably have the redo done and pics later tonight.

 

[talontsiawd]

Sooo...I worked pretty quick. It is hard to take pics without water so they don't look great. The side shot shows you a better idea. I tried to mimic my last setup as best I could. It is a bit shallower and wider, I didn't mean to but think it looks better

Bad Pics

 

[talontsiawd]

Ok, I know I keep posting with no responses but I have been working on this tank. You know my GF is out of town when I have enough time to do all this stuff lol.

I made a DIY fixture for this. Basically I took everything out of the stock hood that came with my new Marina kit. I have the incandecent version btw. I didn't even cut a cord, I just dremeled everything out the top.

I think took the stock light from my 29 gallon, took everything from inside. I cut the middle out to the right length then plastic welded it back together. I stuck the lights from my Marina kit in the new housing. It is nice because now I can fit up to 25 watt bulbs with no fitment issues.

I then made an allumimum clip. The front side is straight, the back has two 90 degree bends. Looks like this... l[ I used a threaded rod bent at a 90 degree angle. This goes through the back of the clip. This allows for about 7 inches of height adjustablity. I can move the light forward or backward if I ever needed to. It cost me less than $3 and about 3 hours of time. I still need to paint everything.

New light:
Front

Top

 

[talontsiawd]

So I finally filled her up. I know it is going to take months for it to grow in completely but I am hoping that in the next month or so it will atleast be quite a bit less bare. I should have just done the dry start but I would rather fill. At this light it will be tough as I will most likely have to trim the HC and train it to carpet atleast once, probably a few times.

I don't know why but I just can't even start to get my pictures right.

Flash off.

Flash on.

I adjusted the white balance, which shows the plant color better but my tank is not blue lol. It is somewhere inbetween the two sets of pictures.

 

[s10blaza]

Just let it grow, HC looks sweet when it covers the entire bottom of a tank

 

[JennaH]

nice start!- just curious why did you buy a new one? just a sucker for the black silicone??

 

[talontsiawd]

nice start!- just curious why did you buy a new one? just a sucker for the black silicone??

I wanted something rimless for awhile. This was a cheapish rimless option. I just didn't want to grow something out I loved but hated the tank, that is how my 29 gallon is.


As for the HC, I have grown it in this tank under the same conditions. It will take a LONG time to carpet but it will. I will have to trim it as it will start to grow up after awhile. Trim it and it will spread, then start growing up again.

I checked my water parameters and I am good for fish (half the substrate was old). I may stock sooner than I was planning.

Thanks for looking everyone.

 

[talontsiawd]

Update Time...I added 5 low grade RCS. It is pretty hard around here to find higher grade than this, one place sells them but they are really unhealthy.

The tank is only 15 days old now, 10 days filled. It is hard to tell in the pictures but the HC is much greener and growing well. It will be a SLOW process to fill in.

Algae is non-existant which is great. I really have had no issues. I had a very short bacterial bloom that lasted a day an a half.

I still have trouble taking pictures but I did figure out how to take decent macro photos finally.

 

[chris.rivera3]

I like the layout a lot!!! i'm starting a 10 gallon and i'm really interested in how you set up your light...can you take pictures of the light fixture??? and how did you get it to clip on??? you mentioned that you have an extra laying around...are you selling it??? and how much shipped to Glendale, CA 91203?

 

[talontsiawd]

I like the layout a lot!!! i'm starting a 10 gallon and i'm really interested in how you set up your light...can you take pictures of the light fixture??? and how did you get it to clip on??? you mentioned that you have an extra laying around...are you selling it??? and how much shipped to Glendale, CA 91203?

I will try to take pictures later. But I don't have an extra light, I have an extra 10 gallon with a hood. I made it out of an extra light fixture. I am glad you like it.

It was pretty easy to make but the clamp was the hardest part (and could have been made cleaner, I didn't have the proper tools). For this you need a vice, a hammer, and something to cut aluminum as well as the threaded rod with. I use a grinder.

Again, I will take some pictures later.

 

[hydrophyte]

Nice work. I am having a lot of trouble with white balance too. I am considering trying to do the manual adjustments, but it looks complicated. I get the best color with "auto", but it's still a bit off.

 

[Strick]

Nice tank! Are you using anything for CO2?

 

[Strick]

Nice work. I am having a lot of trouble with white balance too. I am considering trying to do the manual adjustments, but it looks complicated. I get the best color with "auto", but it's still a bit off.

Does your camera have a "landscape" mode? I find that works best with my little Kodak digital...

 

[talontsiawd]

Nice tank! Are you using anything for CO2?

No CO2 on this tank. That is atleast the plan.

 

[chris.rivera3]

so i got the vice, hammer and I found someone who can cut aluminum for me...and I actually got a light from a local club member...what are the actual pieces though??? what were the clamp parts?? i took a stroll around home depot and they didn't really have any things to make a clamp =(

I will try to take pictures later. But I don't have an extra light, I have an extra 10 gallon with a hood. I made it out of an extra light fixture. I am glad you like it.

It was pretty easy to make but the clamp was the hardest part (and could have been made cleaner, I didn't have the proper tools). For this you need a vice, a hammer, and something to cut aluminum as well as the threaded rod with. I use a grinder.

Again, I will take some pictures later.

 

[talontsiawd]

Pictures of the light/clamp

Basically, the front of the clamp is just a flat peice of alluminum. The back has two bends and is drilled for the threaded rod. It has 4 bolts going threw it. The two on top are tightened to where they create a gap thinner than the glass. Then you tighten the two on bottom to hold it in place. Put some rubber or whatever you have behind it. I used some thin pads used for furnature.

The other part is just a threaded rod. That goes threw the back of the clamp. You put a nut on each side (I would use a wing nut, I just used what I had). You can make this longer than you want so you can adjust it higher than you want. My light has over a foot of adjustabilty.

Then screw the light to the threaded rod. Pretty simple.

 

[Regloh]

The light fixture looks pretty nifty...

I would be a bit concerned about breaking the rear glas pane. If you whack the lamp by accident you are exerting an enormous amount of stress there, because of the long lever arm. I would probably try to attach it to the stand instead...