[Bobsidd]

Hi all,

I've decided to have a crack at an Iwagumi 'scape in my 22 long. Been working on the rock layout and would love some feedback. This is where I am at so far...



Thanks for looking! Appreciate any advice.

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Bien Lim]

looking good Rob! Which plant are you using for this set up?

 

[Bobsidd]

I've got UG for the main carpet, Dwarf Hairgrass Mini (the Tropica one) for in between the rocks on either side and the taller hairgrass for behind the rocks on either side. Pretty simple. Planted the UG and some of the dwarf hairgrass yesterday. Wow, one pot goes a long way. Will post pictures in a day or two. Going to dry start for the next week or so, then flood.

I ordered a Current USA Satellite Plus Pro and have a paintball setup with an Aquatek reg and solenoid.

As far as fauna goes, I'm thinking cardinal tetras, Pygmy cories and maybe some shrimp.

 

[Bobsidd]

OK! UG is in. Just one pot. Could probably add more, but will see how the week of dry start goes before deciding. Have added a fraction of the DHG mini and will get to the rest later in the week or early next week.

LHS: UG and DHG mini.


LHS: DHG mini and rock detail.


Full tank shot:


The Current USA Satellite Plus Pro arrived today. Very excited to unbox this and set it all up. I went for this light as it has the ability to lower the intensity as well as to adjust the colour of the light. This means I have another variable other than ferts and CO2 to play with. As this tank will be running on a paintball CO2 setup, I really don't want to have to jack the CO2 right up and be refilling paintball tanks every other week. This way I can get 'just enough' light to keep the carpet plants happy and not have to build up the CO2 and ferts to match the high light. I'm not sure if this is totally false logic or not, but I'm running with it.

As always, feedback and advice is very welcome.

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Hammer]

I am running an aquatic regulator for a 20 oz paintball, about one bubble per second, medium level (fixture made by beamswork). I have pool filter sand with play sand mix which sits on top of a layer of seachem flourite with a sprinkle of stratum. I am getting good growth, with some reds coming out, but nothing out of hand. It about exactly what I want. So...the "just enough" approach seems to be working for me

 

[Jousters]

Rob I am doing a 12 gallon Mr Aqua long Iwagumi with dwarf baby tears.I am doing the dry start.After 2 weeks some of them started to turn brown.It is now 3 weeks and new growth is growing up through the dead ones.Not sure if this is the plant adjusting or from over misting.i believe they are rooted but the growth is super slow,I am using Ada soil covered with Saran wrap.I am using the same light but not the pro as well as the sun grow T5.Not sure what filter to use but thinking on the Eheim 2215.looking to get the Aquateck mini for paintball if I can find it.Best regards

 

[JTang]

Setup looks great! Now I feel like pulling out all the stem plants in my Biocube. . I'm also growing out the carpet (Monte Carlo) but could not use the dry start method as there were fish in the tank.

 

[Bobsidd]

Yes fish and DSM definitely don't go together.

Bit of an update:

DHG mini planted:



Some definite growth of the UG. Small amounts of white fuzz but not too worried. FTS:



Not in a mad rush to flood so will probably give it another few weeks to thicken up the carpet. Enjoy the look a bit before trying to juggle the light and co2 and risk some serious melt.

Thanks for the interest,
Rob

 

[Bobsidd]

So, I already have runners from the DHG popping up in the UG.



The writing is on the wall as far as the UG goes as I don't want a big tangled mess come flood time. I grabbed a couple of extra pots of DHG and will be switching out the UG.



Cheers,
Rob

 

[Bobsidd]

UG out. More Dwarf Hairgrass in.



Thanks for looking,
Rob

 

[JTang]

Any updates on your tank? Have u flooded it yet?

 

[Bobsidd]

Any updates on your tank? Have u flooded it yet?

Thanks for asking and sorry it has taken so long to get back.

Yes, I flooded this tank and made two massive mistakes.

Mistake 1. I went away for a week right after flooding.

I set up the light (Satellite Plus Pro) in a hurry, programmed it in a hurry and then went on vacation. Upon my return, I realized very quickly that I didn't program the light properly and what I had hoped would be a gentle 60% light intensity for 8 hours a day was actually 100% intensity for 24 hours a day. I did not take any pictures (couldn't see through my tears), but the result was the most amazing collection of hair algae I have ever seen. Cut the light down and in a couple of weeks most of the algae had disappeared.

Mistake 2. I planted two types of carpeting plant.

Even though I thought better of this and tried to remove all the UG before I flooded, I must have left some scraps. The result is truly a bit of a mess.



I don't have the energy to try to pull it again, so I am just going to leave it and let it run it's course; see if one of the carpets chokes out the other. I don't mind the look, to be honest, but I know I would prefer just the UG or just the DHG.

Anyway, it's all a learning experience.

Thanks for looking,
Rob

P.S. Apologies for the poor iPhone photo.

 

[JTang]

Well at least you now have a decent looking carpet. My DHG hasn't grown much since I planted them months ago. Lol