My first attempt at aquascaping

[Disciple]

Hi all,

 

Just wanted to share a pick of my first attempt at an Iwagumi aquascape. Now to get the plants.

 

Edited August 27, 2014 by Disciple

[slin1977]

Hey mate, good start. Looks like you have a decent amount of substrate .

Just a comment try to cluster the rocks a bit to give it more dramatic look.

Also I might not be able to see them properly but in this configuration you need five rocks to make it aesthetic to the eye.

Good luck - can't wait for planting out :-)

[newbreed]

Very nice base! Will look great with the plants in!

[petfish]

Hey mate, good start. Looks like you have a decent amount of substrate .

Just a comment try to cluster the rocks a bit to give it more dramatic look.

Also I might not be able to see them properly but in this configuration you need five rocks to make it aesthetic to the eye.

Good luck - can't wait for planting out :-)

as above, allways an odd number of rocks for iwagumi scapes, and off centre for the main feature, (the largest rock) what is the substrate, what plant's are you going to use, what lighting, co2 or not?? tell's us more about what your going to do, please.

[Disciple]

Thanks Slin,

 

I should have checked before I planted and flooded the tank.

 

Now you mentioned it I should have put the them closer together.

[Disciple]

Hi Petfish,

 

I actually do have 5 stones that one in the middle looks like one big stone but it is actually two haha.

 

The Subtrate is ADA amazonia. I have two Pro LED Light Z's. I just picked up a CO2 unit from aquotix today. I have planted HC and dwarf hair grass. And a bunch of cuttings off my brother which I have no Idea what the names are. Its not quite finished I need to find a bit more hc before I have the foreground covered as much as I would like.

 

I also want to tie some moss to the rocks. I will put a couple more pic once I get the rest of the plants in.

[Disciple]

Very nice base! Will look great with the plants in!

Thanks Newbreed

 

I really feel like I should have clustered the rocks more like slin and petfish have mentioned but I will try make do cause I am not confident to move everything around without making a bigger mess for now haha.

[FishBeast]

Dave sells HC very cheap, hit him up at www.aquagreen.com.au sometimes if it is not listed as available you can hit him up to send you some anyway. Good time of year to grow HC. Good luck!

 

You going to do a dry start (no water)? I would recommend it.

 

There is a guy from UKAPS who divides the HC into tiny stems and drops them on top of the substrate very close together. You get maximum bang for your buck with the HC as it spreads faster when it is very small plantlets and starting the tank without water with just high humidity for the plant it gets established very quickly.

 

If your HC came from a emersed tank then it would not have to undergo any adaption to a dry tank.

[Disciple]

Dave sells HC very cheap, hit him up at www.aquagreen.com.au sometimes if it is not listed as available you can hit him up to send you some anyway. Good time of year to grow HC. Good luck!

 

You going to do a dry start (no water)? I would recommend it.

 

There is a guy from UKAPS who divides the HC into tiny stems and drops them on top of the substrate very close together. You get maximum bang for your buck with the HC as it spreads faster when it is very small plantlets and starting the tank without water with just high humidity for the plant it gets established very quickly.

 

If your HC came from a emersed tank then it would not have to undergo any adaption to a dry tank.

 

I was quite lucky in regards to plants cause my sister in law is friend with a guy that is a wholesaler in Perth and I was able to pop down to his green house I got a couple of handfuls of the hc and hair grass.

 

I have was very impatient to get the tank flooded and to start it cycling. So i did not try the dry start cause the real aim is to get the tank ready for shrimp.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Disciple

[petfish]

can't wait to see more pic's of it , PLANTED and with the SHRIMP in it.

[FishBeast]

The amazonia should give you the ammonia you need to get it cycled quick

[slin1977]

Easy , un flood the tank. Move the rocks around and plant , then flood.

:-)

[Disciple]

[Disciple]

Yeah cant wait for it to be completely cycled.

 

Once that is done I will look for a nice starter shrimp. From what I have seen I will probably go with some cherry shrimp.

[jayc]

From what I have seen I will probably go with some cherry shrimp.

 

What rocks are they?

Ying Shi or Seiryu? 

Looks more like Ying Shi, as it's too smooth for Seiryu. And real Seiryu is too rare nowadays.

 

Did you know they are limestone based? Which means they will alter your water parameters like KH, TDS, and possibly pH.

Even if cherries are capable of tolerating higher pH and KH, TDS will eventually climb too high and your cherries will not look their best. They might not die, but their colours will be washed out.

 

Before it's too late, test your water before it goes in the tank. And test the tank water to see what parameters are impacted.

[Disciple]

What rocks are they?

Ying Shi or Seiryu? 

Looks more like Ying Shi, as it's too smooth for Seiryu. And real Seiryu is too rare nowadays.

 

Did you know they are limestone based? Which means they will alter your water parameters like KH, TDS, and possibly pH.

Even if cherries are capable of tolerating higher pH and KH, TDS will eventually climb too high and your cherries will not look their best. They might not die, but their colours will be washed out.

 

Before it's too late, test your water before it goes in the tank. And test the tank water to see what parameters are impacted.

 

Hi Jayc,

 

To tell you the truth I am not sure what stone they are. They just looked like the stones used in Iwagumi style aquascapes.

 

I did tell the guy at the aquarium I was going to try have shrimp in the tank. I asked him whether they would cause the ph and tds to rise and he assured that they wont. They do a lot of aquascaping so I believe him.

 

The plan is to cycle the tank for a few weeks once the WP settle I will keep an eye on the ph kh and tds for another week. I plan to get a tds pen in the next couple of weeks so fingers crossed. I will do a water change this weekend and I will check the ph before it goes in and after.

 

If there is a issue with the stone I will have to take it out and get some drift wood instead.

[jayc]

They do a lot of aquascaping so I believe him.

 

 

Don't believe anyone. Always test it yourself, since we don't know what the rock is.

[Disciple]

Will do, Thanks for the advise.

[Squiggle]

Fantastic job for your first go dude, very well done!

[Disciple]

Thanks Squiggle,

 

The tank has been planted and is being cycled. Hopefully in a few weeks it will be ready for some shrimp.
 
Feel free to give me some planting pointers. Cheers.

[sez0607]

I like :)

[slin1977]

Looks better than my current aquascape, well done.

[Disciple]

Thanks guys

 

Everything is growing well but I am getting worried about the amount of algae growing but the ground cover is spreading nicely.

[Disciple]

Just a few new pictures

 

One of the new residents.

 

They are all digging up the substrate in the grass.

 

I am trying to decide whether I should get a airstone, sponge filter or oxydator for the tank.

 

need a camera to take pic the iphone just cant get a clear pic of the shrimp.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Disciple

[Squiggle]

Very nice dude, love your work!