My First Iwagumi Aquascape Journal

[josephogk]

Hi everyone, I am about to setup my first iwagumi tank after being poisoned by all the wonderful aquascapes here. Would like to get some advice on the layout of my stones before I start planting.

Firstly here are some of the specs:

Tank: 3FT, 45gallon, (90cm x 45cm x 42cm)
Lighting: Aquazonic Superbright T5HO 4 x 39W
CO2: DIY using sugar yeast & water
Filter: Eheim 2217
Substrate: ADA Amazonia Soil II
Plants: I intend to plant HC covering the whole area, and probably some java ferns on the left and right background in both corners. I intend to drystart the HC by planting emmersed for the roots to grab on the soil before flooding the tank. Will it work if I keep the lights on for 6hrs daily? I saw some people planting 'strand by strand', can I plant it by small portions of approx 2cm? Suggestions welcomed.

This is the initial layout. Appreciate any kind advice,thanks!
photo 1.jpgphoto 2.jpgphoto 3.jpgphoto 4.jpg

[Shadow]

for 3ft tank you better buy pressurize CO2 rather than sugar and yeast. You can plant HC whatever you want stand by strant or small portion, both can work. As for the scape, your rocks are too small for the tank size

[josephogk]

thanks shadow for the advice. I am back with more scapes, larger ones which I got from Neo Kim Suey Aquarium. Meanwhile I gotten HC from C328 and started planting. Now just sit back and wait for the HC to grow.

2-1.jpg

[Shadow]

if you want to plant emerge, remove those water, you should not see water at the soil surface.

[josephogk]

yea I accidentally added too much water. but what difference will it make if I were to leave it this way as compared to no water at soil surface at all? Thanks for advise

[josephogk]

Btw, can anyone advice on the cheapest setup (price, retailer location, usage duration etc) I can get for a pressurized CO2?

[Shadow]

You miss the point why planting emerge in the first place. Its CO2, emerge you do not need to inject CO2 but submerge you need to inject CO2 if you want them to survive, otherwise it will rot.

CO2 setup I would recommend NA, they do 1 to 1 exchange when top up. Meaning you will get different CO2 tank every time you top up. Some people don't like it.
3L CO2 tank is around $80-$90
Taiwan brand solenoid regulator is around $70-$80
German brand solenoid regulator is around $150-$160
Diffuser, bubble counter and check valve price can vary from $5 to $100+ depending on the brand and model

[josephogk]

You miss the point why planting emerge in the first place. Its CO2, emerge you do not need to inject CO2 but submerge you need to inject CO2 if you want them to survive, otherwise it will rot.

oh yea.. got it! will remove the excess water asap as I have not get any pressurized CO2 yet.

[tongyang]

Some meticulous planting! Hats off

[bluebubbles]

Already look very nice just by looking at the immatured scape.

[josephogk]

Updates (1 week after planting)

While I removed excess water which is above soil level, I find that the HC dries our pretty fast especially some leaves are noticed to be dried and dark brown. Most probably it is due to insufficient moist (which I already spray water twice a day) and hot temperature especially when my 4x39W T5HO is on.

As a remedy, I decided to flood my tank and inject pressurized CO2 at 2-3 bps. Im using a CO2's atomizer and inserted it underneath a power head to let the propeller make it into even smaller bubbles (which i think is more effective than normal diffusing. 2 hours after flooding I can see most HC are starting to pearl as shown in pics below . Hopefully this works

[Jay91]

I'm also doing a so called Iwagumi setup. Using some HG & Glosso. But is not doing so well. Mind upload a few more photo on the current state of your tank? And how long does it takes to carpet?

[josephogk]

btw, any suggestions for background plants? I intend to place it on the right back corner.

[josephogk]

I'm also doing a so called Iwagumi setup. Using some HG & Glosso. But is not doing so well. Mind upload a few more photo on the current state of your tank? And how long does it takes to carpet?

Mine hasn't carpet yet. what you see in the pic is what I planted in small portions.

[Jay91]

Wow! You sure is good! Looks as though they are already carpeted!

[josephogk]

Added Blyxa Japonica as mid/background plant and Rotala Rotundifolia as background. Hoping the rotala will have a nice red colour to bring out the contrast in the tank. Comments are welcomed.

[markvtec2]

Added Blyxa Japonica as mid/background plant and Rotala Rotundifolia as background. Hoping the rotala will have a nice red colour to bring out the contrast in the tank. Comments are welcomed.

Nice looking tank. Should place your power head at coner will look better

[josephogk]

thanks markvtec2. the powerhead placement is just temporary measure to better diffuse the co2 while Im working on an external co2 reactor.

[markvtec2]

I see. Is your HC growing? Tried twice never success. What is your tank temperature

[josephogk]

There are new growth but at the same time noticed some withering away. I guess it's still in the transition from emerge to submerge stage. My temperature is arnd 29~31 deg. let me observe for some time before deciding whether a chiller is needed.