First Iwagumi - 60P

[Mikeba]

Hi!

I have been in the hobby for almost 2 years now and thought it was time for a new scape. My first (real) aquascape was more of a nature style aquarium and it took me a lot of time to maintain it.
As I am becoming a father in a few weeks I need something a bit more simple.

A shot of the scape I'm breaking down this week:

I have been hardscaping for a few days now and came up with the following:

#1: Complete HC carpet with some staurogyne around the rocks

#2: HC carpet with a small sand road in the middle (still not sure if I want a road or not due to maintenance)

So what do you guys think? Which one do you like best and do you think it needs some improvement? I'm open for suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

Michael

 

[G H Nelson]

Hi Michael
Are you re-cycling plants from your Nature style aquascape?
If not....here is my suggestions!
Nice first natural style tank Michael.

I like the first hardscape! Shifting it to the right will give it a more decentred look.....add a few smaller stone fragments to the bottom of the rocks at the front of the aquarium to help the over all look!
I'm not sure on your choice of plants though, if you want to do less maintanace!
HC is prone to lifting after a period of time.....that could cause you a major headache in the future!
Monte Carlo would be a better choice.
hoggie

 

[rebel]

Belem hair grass for the win! Have CO2 at the beginning and slowly wean off. You will never need to maintain it..... Not even water changes. Just top up.

 

[Mikeba]

Thanks for the reactions guys!

Are you re-cycling plants from your Nature style aquascape?

I'm only re-cycling the Staurogyn Repens from my current aquascape.

HC is prone to lifting after a period of time.....that could cause you a major headache in the future!

Yeah, I have experienced that first hand The Monte Carlo in my current scape grew so thick on the right side and that whole area uplifted ... that was a PITA. But I'm thinking if I keep on top of it and trim it periodically it will not be a problem. And I like the clean look of an Iwagumi with a nice HC carpet very much, so I'm going for that style. Just HC, Staurogyne and maybe some Hairgrass on the top corner sides for some more detail. Nice and clean

Belem hair grass for the win! Have CO2 at the beginning and slowly wean off. You will never need to maintain it..... Not even water changes. Just top up.

Thanks for the tip, I wil look into that plant!

 

[alto]

Both rock scapes are grand - I like the second more as it's a bit more of a rock "jumble"

You can always start with the sand road & let it grow in if becomes annoying - or vice versa (I'll try to find the journal I'm thinking of ... maybe one from Dantrasy)

Both HC & MC benefit from "pressing" down & regular trims.

Though if you run MC lean, it doesn't stack so much & can still look good - I've an MC carpet that is being slowly invaded by M crenata, Tropica substrate & soil, no CO2, natural light, rare water change, rare fertilizer ... single stems developed into decent ground cover in a few weeks, at ~3months it's a dense, small leaf carpet that I've yet to trim: the M crenata adds nice texture to the MC, it's still putting out those "umbrella" leafs seen in the emerse culture - my favorite carpet ever

Congrats on impending fatherhood

 

[Alexander Belchenko]

+1 on hairgrass sp. Mini or belem instead of hc as rebel said. It grows much slower and much simpler to maintain. And it looks great with stauro.

 

[Andy Thurston]

hc grows like a rampant weed when its healthy! my mate had to trim it every couple of weeks to keep it looking tip top
Not as low maintenance as you might think

 

[Mikeba]

Thanks for the awesome tips! I'm reconsidering HC for the moment as so many of you recommend Hairgrass instead. Still have a few days to figure it out.

What about the sand road? Do it or not?? I really love that look though ... gives the scape something extra.

 

[Andy Thurston]

most carpets have a lifespan once they have been there a while they get beyond their best. for best results with hc you need to cut it within an inch of its life and often to prolong its life. As you will know from the montecarlo scooping the bits out once you've cut it takes longer than cutting it.
Dwarf hairgrass is a good option because it requires much less trimming than hc. however it is easier to see dirt in dhg so you may find you spend more time hoovering than cutting.
The tank is not that large so maintenance shouldn't be too much of a chore and you can always reduce the lighting to slow things down and make it easier to manage

 

[Mikeba]

Did some small adjustments to the hardscape as I was not pleased with the rock on the right side. Also shifted everything a bit more to the left.

What do you think?

 

[Alexander Belchenko]

Very nice arrangement, like it. Hard to see small changes 'cause I need to move page up and down to compare 2 images. I think this is great, after planting the image will change a bit, then plants will grow and eat some hardscape, and image again will change a bit. IMHO.

 

[Tim Harrison]

Nice hardscape.

 

[Mikeba]

Hi guys,

Little update on my tank. This was taken just before planting.

I will take a picture tonight of the plants because it was all clouded up yesterday evening.

Went for HC after all (stuborn me ) and Dwarf Hairgrass in the back.

Cheers!

 

[alto]

Looking great

though I did rather like that sand & chip mix

I will take a picture tonight of the plants because it was all clouded up yesterday evening.

there is no such thing as a tank too cloudy for a picture here

 

[Mikeba]

Alright!

Finished planting an guess what, decided to do the path after all

Got a little bit too much plants so it's really packed ... but yeah ... it can't hurt I guess ...

 

[Mikeba]

Time for a small update on my scape!

I had some issues, and the tank is still not fully recoverd, but I thought I would share my progress anyway.

I had some CO2 issues which caused my HC to start melting and algae to occur. Out of frustration I ripped the HC out and replaced it with Monte Carlo .. the hairgrass in the back is still recovering.

Hope you like!

All feedback is welcome!

 

[Alexander Belchenko]

I think the tank is great.

Just one small bit: if you plan in the future to send this tank to some contest then it's better to cover small patch of sand between big stone and left side glass with small stones or some carpet plant/moss to avoid reflection in side glass,IMO. But even untouched it looks great.

 

[alto]

Which sand is in the hardscape photos? - it has amazing texture!

 

[Mikeba]

Which sand is in the hardscape photos? - it has amazing texture!

It's cheap sand (Riversand) from the local DIY store. Not suitable for aquariums I think because the structure you see are little pieces of seashells. I bought it just to play around when coming up with hardscape.