Alvin Koh's Journal: 90x45x45cm Planted

[vinz]

To clear any confusion, Adrian (NOT Adrain :-p ) is right. Don't get stuck with the golden ratio. However, I do find that it is a good place to start... then adjust, change, tweak, etc until it feels right.

By the way, the Golden Ratio is not a hard and fast mathematical rule that men (i.e. humans) invented. It is merely a mathematical representation of what men have observed of what men naturally find the most pleasing to the eye.

Ultimately, at the end of the day, the most important opinion (or feeling) is your own. You'll be the one staring at it when you're at home.

[Shadow]

If you are headache will all those rules... you can always google the word "iwagumi" and you will get plenty of pictures to choose from. Just copy one of the Amano work . Alternatively if you are adventurous, you can create from your own idea.

Aquascaping is an art, there is no right or wrong. Just do as your hearth tell you, as Vincent said "You'll be the one staring at it when you're at home."

[Alvin Koh]

Without the soil sometime you cant tilt the angle of the rock to get the correct angle and show the ugliest part(ugliest means the most outstanding), try to forget about golden ratio thing, most people are tie down by this and cannot advance further. The most orthodox position will show the best result. Currently you lack of 2nd supporting rocks beside the main rocks and some supporting rocks, your current right rock can only be supporting rocks(child). These are the rocks you need, Daddy rock(main rock), Mommy rock(2nd support rock), and child rock(supporting rock, about 2-3).

One must be bold to attempt (with a tad of ingenuity) and that's how the exceptional come about. Hats off to you on that!

I think we all instinctively recognize the golden ratio, but it's seldom rigidly used. It does give aquascapers a common term to describe a specific 'fault' though, which is convenient. (Amano: "Golden Ratio", everyone: "Ahhh..... yes")

After adjusting the rocks, take some photo and view it on the computer, human eye can fool us into looking nice but not the computer screen, cos is 3D flatten into 21/2 or 2D.

Adrian, I agree in part but would also offer a different view, that is, the eye may not have fooled us, but it's the computer which does. To take a good accurate photo capturing the essence of what we see at specific moments is really tough! Sometimes it exaggerates the beauty, more often than not, it looks worse off.

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I happened to be home during lunch time and took some quick elevated shots as an update and hope it may be of interest to anyone.

There are some outside-tank considerations which I have not highlighted and may need to adhere to, and they are mostly due to walk-in presentation (I hope you bear with me on this!):

- The back/left faces of the main rock are 'cut-off' from the origin thus lacking detail and flat. The back is partially supported by a wedge rock. Thus positioning it on the right exposes the wedge and back.

- The sheer size of it also overshadows the other tank elements if placed on the right side, when viewed diagonally from the living room area.



p.s.: This thread was submitted several hours late as I rushed off to fetch my feverish son from the childcare.

[blue33]

i would advice you to stop everything and go and attend your son, hobby is hobby, your son is more important than anything. take good care of your son. cheers.

[Alvin Koh]

To clear any confusion, Adrian (NOT Adrain :-p ) is right. Don't get stuck with the golden ratio. However, I do find that it is a good place to start... then adjust, change, tweak, etc until it feels right.
Ultimately, at the end of the day, the most important opinion (or feeling) is your own. You'll be the one staring at it when you're at home.

Vincent - I replied on this just 1 post before this - I was late in submitting it and your reply came in before that. I agree wholeheartedly. As for Adrian's name, I don't think I will get it wrong - my childhood crush and her brother were named Adriana and Adrian respectively. :P

If you are headache will all those rules... you can always google the word "iwagumi" and you will get plenty of pictures to choose from. Just copy one of the Amano work . Alternatively if you are adventurous, you can create from your own idea.

Aquascaping is an art, there is no right or wrong. Just do as your hearth tell you, as Vincent said "You'll be the one staring at it when you're at home."

Shadow/blue33/Vinz, no worries, I understand and I hope I don't come across as otherwise. I really value all the opinions given but if I feel strongly about a certain aspect, I wouldn't yield!

[Alvin Koh]

i would advice you to stop everything and go and attend your son, hobby is hobby, your son is more important than anything. take good care of your son. cheers.

I'm relieved to report that my son's doing fine, flash fever subsided and sleeping soundly. Thanks Adrian for the concern.

[vinz]

As for Adrian's name, I don't think I will get it wrong - my childhood crush and her brother were named Adriana and Adrian respectively. :P

...

Hahaha... I was just teasing Adrian.

[Navanod]

Wow, coming along very nicely...now I look at my tank, feels abit empty!

I'm not sure if this would be considered enticing you to "copy", but I found that looking at the evolution of iwagumi styles gave me some ideas and directions.

http://www.aquajournal.net/na/iwagumi/styles.html

At this point, your style is in line with style II and that massive rock will lend itself very well to it

[Alvin Koh]

Week 1 (19 Jan 2011)

My tank was due to arrive today and the anticipation almost killed me. Just as I was on the way home to get ready, problematic issues cropped up at work that required me back at the office. My tank was delivered without me (*yikes*). Fortunately, the tank arrived in great condition and with some aid, I managed to get it on the cabinet in one piece. With the tank in place, today marks the beginning of week 1.

With not much energy to spare, I decided to setup the hardscape I'd previously planned, with slight revisions.


Soil base work & fillers

I'd previously bought 2 sheets of cork and cut them to just fit the tank base, leaving a small gap all around. This is to protect the inner glass base (and marginally fills up some space).

For height and stability, eviltrain suggested using plastic 'egg crates', which are thick plastic meshes that can be stacked and cable-tied together. I followed his suggestion and approximated the positions of these platforms which will support the rocks. About half the soil went into the tank to anchor the platforms.

Cautiously, I placed the main rocks within the tank and filled the tank with the remaining soil. Total soil used was three 9L bags of ADA Amazonia II. I've decided not to use the lava rock gravel I had purchased previously because plant roots may attach to the filter bag I intended to contain the gravel.

The placement of heavy rocks aggrevated my already bad back (slipped/herniated disc) and I decided to take it slow today. No 'back-breaking' planting for me. :P

Taking some of the suggestions given, I've pulled the rocks closer for a tighter scape and used more small rocks for hopefully a bit more variation. I will sleep on this tonight and will determine if I'm satisfied tomorrow.


Plant selection & Dry start method

My emersed culture nursery currently consists of mostly small plants:
1) UG - Utricularia graminifolia
2) HC - Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'
3) Downoi - Pogostemon helferi
4) Staurogyne repens
5) Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
6) Riccia fluitans

There is a serious lack of color contrast. Almost every single plant is mid to light green. I may need to work harder on my plant selection.

My main difficulty I reckon is getting the UG to carpet (considering the limited amount I have). After scouring the internet for UG experiences, I realised it grows like a weed for some and yet dies off for others. The emersed UG I have is showing signs of growth and developing beautiful deep green leaves but not substantial enough - probably 20% growth at this point. The loose submersed UG I have, hardly grew and even turned pale yellow.

I may need to get more before planting so as to fill up the spaces. The tank will undergo DSM (Dry Start Method), thus we will not be seeing much water in the tank anytime soon.

Thank you for reading & I hope to update with more next time.

[Alvin Koh]

Wow, coming along very nicely...now I look at my tank, feels abit empty!
I'm not sure if this would be considered enticing you to "copy", but I found that looking at the evolution of iwagumi styles gave me some ideas and directions.
http://www.aquajournal.net/na/iwagumi/styles.html
At this point, your style is in line with style II and that massive rock will lend itself very well to it

Navanod, thanks for the link, I didn't know that there were distinct evolutionary phases in Amano's style of Iwagumi!
I think I may have intended to do Style II, but am ending up with Style I or IV. I really like the vastness of space that a 4 or 5 footer can provide, but I have to settled for a 3 footer and hope to make the best of it.

[eviltrain]

Wow. I like this scape alot. Well done bro. Another 1/2 cent, if you going for HC instead of UG, you might need a thin layer of ada power soil. The roots of HC will root better with the powder soil. Maybe a 3 litre bag will be enough.

Do not use the powder soil until you really finalize the scape you wants.

Great job! camping here.

[blue33]

now it look nice but those small rocks will be disappear when the plant filled up, so its pointless to put there. you only get to see 1 big and 1 small rock only when your tank get mature.

[Shadow]

don't worry you can either trim or lift the rocks up when the time come

[blue33]

a silly act that often people do or ignore only.

[Alvin Koh]

if you going for HC instead of UG, you might need a thin layer of ada power soil. The roots of HC will root better with the powder soil. Maybe a 3 litre bag will be enough.
Do not use the powder soil until you really finalize the scape you wants.
Great job! camping here.

I have planted most of the emersed UG I have on hand last evening.

I do have a packet of Amazonia II (Powder) on standby for this purpose , but due to dry start method, I have not used it yet. I'm uncertain whether the fine roots of UG will penetrate the substrate enough to get a firm grip - if not I may spread some of the powder on top of the UG to also weigh it down once I start seeing some growth.

The Utricularia Graminifolia is really limp and tends to clump together so I did not plant them too deep so as not to cover the new leaflets that just sprouted.

I sort of realised why they call the UG a potentially fast grower. For every strand of UG, it can sprout a dozen or more leaflets along the entire strand (instead of 1 stalk of runner).

now it look nice but those small rocks will be disappear when the plant filled up, so its pointless to put there. you only get to see 1 big and 1 small rock only when your tank get mature.

don't worry you can either trim or lift the rocks up when the time come

The rocks are indeed small. I still have some larger pieces that I may use instead so that I can achieve small 'peaks that peek' out of the carpet. Like the larger scape in the image below.

I like Shadow's suggestion of re-doing the placement of rocks if the cover is too tall. It never occured to me at this beginning phase, that the hardscape need not be rigid even after the plants have grown in. It's afterall common to see changes in flora types even after the scape is mature.

Both your suggestions got me thinking and I try to prop up the small rocks with either flatish rocks or mesh base after the cover has filled in somewhat so I have a reference height to consider. Thanks guys!

[barmby]

Yeah. But don't make my mistake like the scape seem that the rock just dropped from the sky.

[Alvin Koh]

Yeah. But don't make my mistake like the scape seem that the rock just dropped from the sky.

barmby, hahaha, you mean the rock looks like it's deliberately floating? I understand what you mean!

[Shadow]

Basically you have few options:
1) you can either replace the small rocks with bigger one
2) You can trim your foreground in front of the rocks so that the rocks still visible
3) You can leave it as it is and let it hidden by foreground plant. The stone role now become Suteishi (sacrificial stone)
4) You can lift it up by putting small stone underneath or even soil. It is nothing new, Amano said if your rock too big put it deeper into the soil and if your rock too small put something underneath to lift it up.

Again no right or wrong, you can choose whatever option. You can either do it now or wait later when your foreground ready.

[Alvin Koh]

Week 1 (23 Jan 2011)

It's been 4 days since the last update and some plants have gone into the tank which I'm starting with DSM (Dry Start method). For the emersed start, I am only using half the available tubes of my light set which means only 2x39w at about 12 hours daily. The average lit temperature hovers around 31-32 degC within the tank when it's covered with a large plastic sheet.

I open the clear plastic sheet every night for a few minutes to let fresh air in and to allow the temperature to go down a bit and I mist the tank occasionally with a highly diluted solution containing potassium (K).

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Water level

I learnt from my experience with emersed HC, that I should not let the water cover the leaves of the plant or the HC will melt and die, which makes the are susceptible to mold/fungus. A bit of air is probably good for the root system as well. Due to the slope and undulating surface of the soil, there is a pool of water near the front and I try to avoid planting anything there for the time being. There is a balance between the higher soil drying out versus the flooding at the lower parts.

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Flora in tank (emersed)

1) Utricularia graminifolia
2) Downoi - Pogostemon helferi
3) Staurogyne repens
4) Anubias barteri v. 'nana golden'

The Golden nana was planted directly in the soil exposing the rhizome after searching and confirming that many have done the same. The roots can extend quite deep and take a good hold within the soil. I did this so that the plant can be placed in tighter spots.

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End of Week 1

I thought the dry start method (DSM) would be as boring as watching paint dry since it's fogged up all the time and there is lack of fish activity. I was proven quite wrong as the view from all angles is quite unique and gives me time to re-think my flora selection and placement. It is also almost effortless to maintain and tweak. I think I will miss this part of the tank when it finally gets filled with water.

I captured some shots that show some of the progress of planting as well as the different perspectives I get watching the tank. I will refrain from showing full front tank shots in the meantime because the progress is slow and I will present a progress montage at a later date. Cheers!

[eviltrain]

Hee hee. If your tank is small like 2 feet, You can try to rise the front so that the water won't be stagnent at the front portion when the slope is at the lowest point. Nice progress.