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[IWAGUMI] Project Scree - New plants and lights

Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

This has turned out really beautifully. Clinical but soft. Hard to explain but I'm sure everyone understands.
Throw in a couple of Riccia stones and I can imagine Amano going all giddy and saying how it reminds him of a Japanese waterway.

Don't do it though :D
Tank is great with just the hairgrass. Really shows you don't need to go mad with buying pot after pot of plants to make a great 'scape.
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

A few updates but no recent pics at the moment, but here's before and after images to highlight the progress over the last 3 months or so.

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I have some glassware (inlet and outlet) but the diameter is about 1mm smaller than my hose, resulting in leaking.

Firstly I tried cable ties - no joy.

Then jubilee clips - still leaking. When I think about it there's no surprise, as the hose is being pinched.

So finally I have used some heat shrink. It's usually used for insulating electric cables. You simply slide it over the cable (glassware in this case) then use a heat gun (a powerful 'hair dryer'), and it shrinks to form a tight jacket. This has effectively increased the diameter of the glassware so the hose will now hopefully fit without any leaks.

I will try it out this weekend and post some update pics.

I also have a new gloss white cabinet and 17mm Cal Aqua lily pipes on their way from Aquajardin. So I'll replace the ill-fitting lily pipes.

I am also scrubbing the rocks every week with a steel-wire brush to keep the rock looking clean and in-keeping with the clinical nature of the whole design. The new glassware and gloss white cabinet should further add a sense of minimalism. I am also considering suspending a 150w MH above the tank in the longer-term.
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

George,

I might have missed this one in 23 pages of this thread, but have you put anything below the stones? I mean according to your first post, there are around 20kg of stones in the tank. I have a similar amount to be used in my scape and I'm a bit worried about the bottom glass of the tank. I'll be using Amazonia as substrat and on top of it the stones.
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

schraptor said:
George,

I might have missed this one in 23 pages of this thread, but have you put anything below the stones? I mean according to your first post, there are around 20kg of stones in the tank. I have a similar amount to be used in my scape and I'm a bit worried about the bottom glass of the tank. I'll be using Amazonia as substrat and on top of it the stones.
Click to expand...
I sloped the sand first, then positioned the rocks on top. Simple as that! :)
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

Tank still looking excellent!

You may be able to help my ignorance - by making the choice of sand instead of the usual soil as a substrate in an iwagumi do you have issues with pockets of gas/other nasties building up at the deepest part of the slope at the back? Is it sand all the way through or gravel as a base layer? Do you make use of a gravel cleaner in your maintenance? I've only really seen gravel and sand used flat or as capping for a soil based substrate. Sorry for the bombardment of questions.

Cheers,
Neil
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

NeilW said:
Tank still looking excellent!

You may be able to help my ignorance - by making the choice of sand instead of the usual soil as a substrate in an iwagumi do you have issues with pockets of gas/other nasties building up at the deepest part of the slope at the back? Is it sand all the way through or gravel as a base layer? Do you make use of a gravel cleaner in your maintenance? I've only really seen gravel and sand used flat or as capping for a soil based substrate. Sorry for the bombardment of questions.

Cheers,
Neil
Click to expand...
Thanks, Neil. Questions are more than welcome!

I've had no issues with the sand substrate. It is not too fine - about 1-2mm grain size and I am using no other substrate, just Unipac Maui Sand.

It's been set up for 4 months now and is still going strong and I've never used a gravel cleaner.

I can only assume that a combination of regular large water changes, healthy plant/root growth, large shrimp stock, overfiltration and low fish load helps to ensure that there are no issues.

I'm borrowing a friend's 10-24mm Tokina lens this weekend so will try to post some funky wide angle shots soon! :D

I've also just added 20 cherry shrimp (thanks, Sam!), and re-homed the Amano shrimp into my nano.
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

Interesting stuff, cheers George. I'd mistakenly got the impression that deep banks of sand was a bad thing but obviously your tank proves otherwise and certainly looks great! I think the larger grains are the key then, so it won't compact but are still small enough so it wont trap waste like gravel can.

One of my reasons for asking was taking a look into a good substrate for my new nano. I'm liking the more sand based layouts with 'islands' (like style V in the AquaJournals :geek: ). I am now thinking of using sand, but with the addition of wabi kusa balls of HC/moss/hairgrass of varying sizes in key areas to build the 'islands' so I get the benefits of both without having to worry about dividing both sand and soil. In a similar way to this link but with the balls more bedded into the sand and more complex with hardscape. Could be quite a nice way to build a layout.

Looking forward to the new photos.

Cheers again,
Neil
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

Here's a quick video. This aquascape is almost 5 months old now and I'm still not bored of it!



Nothing much to update really. It's a real pleasure to maintain this and relax afterwards by sitting there with a cup of tea and simply watching.

More photos to follow soon.
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

I love the simplicity, beautiful, very serene.
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

its a stunning scape.i feel lucky that i got to see it in the "flesh" :D .
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

Wonderful video. I could happily sit and watch that all day too!

May I ask another stupid question? How do you guys heat your tanks, as I never see any ugly heaters in any of the them.....do you have special 'ninja' thermostats? :wideyed:
 
Re: [IWAGUMI] Project Scree

Mirf said:
Wonderful video. I could happily sit and watch that all day too!

May I ask another stupid question? How do you guys heat your tanks, as I never see any ugly heaters in any of the them.....do you have special 'ninja' thermostats? :wideyed:
Click to expand...
Thanks, Miranda. :)

That's a good question. Some of us don't heat our tanks i.e. those with warm houses and tolerant fish/inverts. Others, me included, use external inline heaters that fit inline with the external filter outlet hose. The same goes for CO2 injection. I am using an inline diffuser. I think there's a photo of the inside of my cabinet somewhere in this thread if you can be bothered to look through!
 
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