Immersed iwagumi

[atolylica]

Hi guys,

So, i was inspired by this guy at UKAPS doing immersed planted tanks, and I wanted to try out for myself.
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/s...s.18138/page-2
Refer to post #31.

Alot of troubles avoided simply by going immersed. No algae, no worries of CO2 shortage etc. Its simply doing DSM, but with no intentions to flood the tank.

Now I have a question for anyone out there who have tried this before. How do you trim the carpet plants once the HC starts to grow tall?
I can imagine trimming will be a headache. The guy in the forum claims he flood the tank so the trimmings float to the top, and drain the water back down once done.

This is my current low profile (36x22x17cm) setup for about 3 weeks now.

Any useful advice will be appreciated. Thanks!

[Urban Aquaria]

If its emersed (not flooded), then just trim the taller HC stalks and manually remove the cut bits with tweezers.

It'll basically be like normal indoor gardening, except on a smaller scale in a glass tank.

EDIT: I re-read your post and realized the tank is going to be a permanent emersed setup, so my original link and tips on DSM/flooded tanks wouldn't be applicable.

[atolylica]

Thanks for the reply.
But I can imagine trimming stalk by stalk and manually removing the bits with tweezers is going to be back-breaking. Moreover, when the carpet grows to be thick, I'll need to trim the entire layer at the top.
Surely there will be some bits that are too small that my eyes can't spot. Any problems if I just leave the smaller bits to decompose?

I love the convenience of not having to water change, setup a CO2 system, not worry about algae, leave lights on for 12-14 hours etc.

If all else fails, I'll have to flood the tank eventually

[Urban Aquaria]

Just thought of another solution... the HC leaves are light and small, maybe it could be possible to just vacuum them up with a handheld portable vacuum cleaner? It might work.

It'll be okay to leave some bits of small leaves to decay and compost in the soil substrate, if you have earthworms living in the soil (like in my tank) they will help consume dead plant matter and provide additional nutrients with their castings too, like in a garden environment.

[atolylica]

haha yes I was thinking of the same thing!
Like they said, great minds think alike.

Thanks!

[Vernonplim]

Immersed iwagumi sounds cool, I'm inspired to start my own too. Thanks.

[fireblade]

if you want a emersed setup, I will think that if you leave a corner sectioned out for drainage purpose will be good.. so that you won't siphon out the soil if you are doing water change...

[rachel]

Is this like a wabi kusa thingy? Always wanted to try something like this. What soil did u use?

[atolylica]

Leaving a corner will spoil the scape. Haha. But I've thought of using syringe to drain the water out.

I'm using HELP soil for plants, since I had some leftover. I added some small lava rocks under the soil for bacteria to thrive. You can refer to the link in my first post which I was inspired by. Wabi kusa has some level of water, but my idea is not to have water at all, except the daily misting. It's like a DSM, but with no intentions to flood the tank at all.

[Vernonplim]

if you want a emersed setup, I will think that if you leave a corner sectioned out for drainage purpose will be good.. so that you won't siphon out the soil if you are doing water change...

Thanks for the heads up. that's a very good idea. Might probably find a way to hide it from view.


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[atolylica]

Its been a month now since that start of this tank.
An update here. Removed hairgrass at the rear because they yellowed off at the tips. Only a minority sighted new growth. I suspect it was the soil slope at the back and the roots couldn't draw water from the roots compared to the plants in the front.

Anyway, got some plants to fill the rear! Not sure how it would turn out, but fingers crossed that they can be grown immersed since I got them immersed at the LFS.
HC is growing nicely.
Attachment 43179Attachment 43180Attachment 43181

Still learning about rules of contrasting dark green/lighter green/red plants in the fore/background. Watching professional aquascapes online always reminds me how much more I need to learn. But I'm reminding myself this is a hobby, not something I would want to stress myself over.
Thanks for reading. Cheers!

[AQMS]

Hi, any new pics to share.

[cephelix]

I actually tried the vacuum thing, it worked for the most part. just make sure that the cut area isn't moist/wet so the trimmings won't stick to the base

[atolylica]

I succumbed Attachment 43872

[cephelix]

welcome to the dark side!!

did you just flood it?

[atolylica]

Flooded it last night. Hands itchy. Actually I started buying CO2 equipments and filter for flooding many weeks back. Didn't know why I was so "inclined" to flood it although I purpose not to flood it.

Some force is at work here. lol

[cephelix]

Well, now you can test out the CO2 equipment.just blast it if you don't have any livestock in the tank