45 cm Iwagumi-ish aquascape

[ShawnMac]

This is the second setup in my 45 cm high light tank. I've never done a true Iwagumi and usually find myself bored with it and start adding more plants...that has happened with this one, but so far I have managed to stick with low growers.

Specs:

Chihiros led (runs about 180-200 PAR) running 8 hours/day

Chihiros ES 300 running biomedia and some filter floss

ADA aqua soil

EI daily; low range

Pressurized CO2 through ADA pollen glass at 1.4 ml/minute (this is how we should all start talking CO2 rates)

After planting

Flooding after 4 week DSM

Progress photos

sent from tapatalk on my phone so auto correct and other errors are bound to happen

 

[ShawnMac]

From today

sent from tapatalk on my phone so auto correct and other errors are bound to happen

 

[salava8]

Beautiful Congratulations!

Wysłane z mojego HTC Desire 820 przy użyciu Tapatalka

 

[Tim Harrison]

Looking great Shawn

 

[cookie.dou]

Pressurized CO2 through ADA pollen glass at 1.4 ml/minute (this is how we should all start talking CO2 rates)

Is there a place where you've read the explanation as to how to calculate this? Or do you happen to have time to explain how to get this calculation? I'm still pretty new with pressurized CO2 and have just been relying on plant growth and bubble checker.

 

[ShawnMac]

Is there a place where you've read the explanation as to how to calculate this? Or do you happen to have time to explain how to get this calculation? I'm still pretty new with pressurized CO2 and have just been relying on plant growth and bubble checker.

I cannot take credit for the idea, it is one Tom Barr has proposed. I haven't seen it catch on just yet however. One caveat to the idea, this will be the amount of CO2 entering the water or reactor in a given time...so the amount dissolved or available to the plants will vary by system. Also, the demand for systems will vary widely primarily driven by light levels, types of plants, and CO2 system efficiency...comparing dissimilar systems may not be helpful, but this gets us closer to a comparable value than bubble per second. This won't replace using other methods to estimate determine if you have enough CO2. Watching plant growth and using some method of estimating like a drop checker or ph/kh chart are still good ideas.

If you have a small graduated cylinder you can place it inverted into the aquarium. Be sure that there is no air left in the cylinder. Then place over the diffuser so that you capture all the bubbles and set a timer for one minute. The CO2 will displace the water and give you a volume of gas to be measured. My larger graduated cylinder did not work since the volume was too low to read. The smaller one had too small of an opening to catch the bubbles, so I had to improvise. I used a small plastic funnel to capture the bubbles and funnel them into the cylinder. At the end of one minute I removed the cylinder from the bubbles and looked at the amount of gas in the small 10 ml graduated cylinder to get the 1.4 ml. To make things easier I turned off the filter while I captured the bubbles. This can be adapted for all methods of Co2 injection. It may not be terribly helpful right now because no one tracts their CO2 this way, so there isn't really anything to compare. I think I am going to start a thread and request people post up their injection rates and diffusion methods.

 

[cookie.dou]

I cannot take credit for the idea, it is one Tom Barr has proposed. I haven't seen it catch on just yet however. One caveat to the idea, this will be the amount of CO2 entering the water or reactor in a given time...so the amount dissolved or available to the plants will vary by system. Also, the demand for systems will vary widely primarily driven by light levels, types of plants, and CO2 system efficiency...comparing dissimilar systems may not be helpful, but this gets us closer to a comparable value than bubble per second. This won't replace using other methods to estimate determine if you have enough CO2. Watching plant growth and using some method of estimating like a drop checker or ph/kh chart are still good ideas.

If you have a small graduated cylinder you can place it inverted into the aquarium. Be sure that there is no air left in the cylinder. Then place over the diffuser so that you capture all the bubbles and set a timer for one minute. The CO2 will displace the water and give you a volume of gas to be measured. My larger graduated cylinder did not work since the volume was too low to read. The smaller one had too small of an opening to catch the bubbles, so I had to improvise. I used a small plastic funnel to capture the bubbles and funnel them into the cylinder. At the end of one minute I removed the cylinder from the bubbles and looked at the amount of gas in the small 10 ml graduated cylinder to get the 1.4 ml. To make things easier I turned off the filter while I captured the bubbles. This can be adapted for all methods of Co2 injection. It may not be terribly helpful right now because no one tracts their CO2 this way, so there isn't really anything to compare. I think I am going to start a thread and request people post up their injection rates and diffusion methods.

Wow thanks for the succinct explanation. I'll try that later - I'm curious now too haha. The only issue with this is that it doesn't really take into account how well the bubbles diffuse into the water right - so it might not be super accurate? For example I might have like 3mL/minute but they are all huge bubbles that are coming out and being caught. From a logical point of view, the bigger the bubbles that come out the more it escapes from the water (and is less effective? Or is this not true?). Would this then be an accurate or inaccurate reading?

 

[ShawnMac]

Wow thanks for the succinct explanation. I'll try that later - I'm curious now too haha. The only issue with this is that it doesn't really take into account how well the bubbles diffuse into the water right - so it might not be super accurate? For example I might have like 3mL/minute but they are all huge bubbles that are coming out and being caught. From a logical point of view, the bigger the bubbles that come out the more it escapes from the water (and is less effective? Or is this not true?). Would this then be an accurate or inaccurate reading?

That is correct. Where this may be helpful is in comparing diffusion methods, say similar or same model/brand glass diffuser and expected injection rates for a given volume of water and similar plant density. Many things would have to be similar to make it ultra comparable. This is better the bubbles per second however. Another point where it could be helpful is in recognizing inefficiency. So if you and I have similar volume tanks and one of us has trouble getting Co2 right we can compare injection rates...if you have better growth and I'm struggling and you have a lower injection rate...it may show that instead of increasing my bubble rate I should look at improving efficiency as you noted. Co2 is complex and takes practice and instinct in my experience, however, this could be another tool to help guide our practices. For example the next time I setup a scape in this tank instead of guessing at the bubble rate I used last time I could set it at the 1.4 ml/min and adjust from there based upon my observations. Nothing will get us away from observing and making adjustments based upon those observations.

 

[JackMartins]

@ShawnMac what an amazing scape.

Let me ask you two things:
1.) What is the hardscape? Green dragon?
2.) The Pipes and CO2 difusor, are aluminum? Stainless steel? Where did you get it? I saw some really similar into Aliexpress/Ebay. How are the results? I'm in doubt between those and the glass items!

Thanks,
Jack.

 

[ShawnMac]

@ShawnMac what an amazing scape.

Let me ask you two things:
1.) What is the hardscape? Green dragon?
2.) The Pipes and CO2 difusor, are aluminum? Stainless steel? Where did you get it? I saw some really similar into Aliexpress/Ebay. How are the results? I'm in doubt between those and the glass items!

Thanks,
Jack.

Thank you!

1) hardscape is seiryu stone. It has a nice color compared to many pieces. I think it may have been treated with muriatic acid before I bought it. I plan to treat my other stones that do not have the same color.

2) I purchased the stainless steal on alieexpress. It works well. Durable and does not require frequent cleaning. I am still partial to ADA glass however. Cheap glassware breaks easily. VIV is of similar quality as ADA. The steel diffuser worked well and had replaceable discs, however I cannot unscrew the top now so cannot use it anymore and got an ADA pollen glass. I'm a sucker for nice glassware and have enough experience with it that I'm not concerned about breaking it.

One note about glass diffuses, they are not as efficient as atomizers or reactors. What I like is the inefficiency compared to atomizers. They don't make your water look like club soda.

sent from tapatalk on my phone so auto correct and other errors are bound to happen

 

[ShawnMac]

With CO2 diffusion methods it's mostly about learning how to make whatever you choose work.

sent from tapatalk on my phone so auto correct and other errors are bound to happen

 

[JackMartins]

Got your point!
Maybe I will go with this stainless steal as well. Afraid of breaking the glass and as the shipment from Aliexpress to Brazil take about 1.5 to 2 months to arrive, the "unbreakable" may be better!

Thanks,
Jack.

 

[Greenfinger2]

Hi Shawn , Fab looking little scape