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60cm Iwagumi Mountain

A

andeekaii

Member
Joined
29 Jun 2009
Messages
202
Tank
60cm x 38cm x 38cm Opti-White from ND Aquatics

Hasn't been delivered yet - is due to be delivered this Wednesday. Fingers crossed :shifty:

Filtration
CristalProfi E700 rated at 700L/H.
Flo Glass Lily Pipes (Inlet & Outflow)

I'm hoping that this will give plenty of flow (10x)

Heating
Unheated, I don't heat any of my tanks any more and they all hover around 22-24 degrees. I suppose that's a benefit of having a tank in a warm bedroom.

Lighting
UP Pro-L 58cm (72W in total)

CO2
3KG Pressurised CO2 Bottle
UP Inline CO2 Atomizer 12/16mm
UP Bubble Counter with Double Check Valve

Fertilisation
Undecided yet; will probably start off with the same routine I used on my last tank.
TPN+ daily, with a weekly water change.

Flora
Completely undecided yet. I would like to try and incorporate Blyxa Japonica - I've never used this plant but I really like it.

Fauna
Will decide after the scape is complete.

Substrate
2 x 7KG Colombo Flora-Base Black

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I expected to use about 1 and 1/2 bags but it turns out I'll probably only need 1 bag :thumbdown:

Hardscape
20KG Mini Landscape Rock - Ebay (£39.90)

Wasn't really happy with the variety of rocks, most of them were quite small. Also, they were flat and boring in shape. I've picked the best ones for the scape but I still have loads left.

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Looking for comments on the hardscape, just practising for now - as you may tell from the cardboard box. Great idea that I've seen other people do before :thumbup: I just hope I don't have too much trouble transferring it into the tank.
 
That hardscape is beautiful i have to say. I was considering buying rocks from ebay, would you not reccommend them then?
 
Thanks :clap:

In regards to the rocks - I don't know if my expectations were too high, or the quality of rocks too low. I had purchased them from AE in the past and they send a nice variety of sizes with nice texture and shapes. The ones from ebay were mainly small (the biggest ones were 6-8 inches) and the rest were pretty small. And I found a lot of them were flat and shapeless, and some had no texture either.

I guess you get what you pay for, 20kg from AE would have cost £70 and I only paid £40. I did contact them through ebay though and they agreed to send out another 10kg of bigger rocks, because I wasn't happy :thumbup:
 
Looking good so far. To transfer, you already have a pic but pull the rock out into a spare box and lay it out the same way, then rebuild in reverse :) I like that design. Looks similar to one I saw planted and I liked that too. Think it was one of The Green Machine's scapes. I especially like the rock on the right tilting back in towards the major structure, though I think you could get away with that stone being a little large as its a tad lost (IMHO) :)

One thing worth noting though. The 700lph rating on the JBL is "at best". You probably wont get that in total, but they are great filters nevertheless. I had a e1500 and found it too powerful for my 175L !!!
 
I think the JBL will just cut it, good filters IMO. Good layout though Andy, plant it well and you'll be on a winner.
 
Thanks for the comments guys :thumbup:

Any ideas on which plants to use? I think I'm going to go for a HC carpet again, probably with some hairgrass. I would like to try and incorporate a bit of blyxa japonica though, but I don't think it really goes with Iwagumi style :bored:
 
Blyxa at the back right hand corner and maybe some near the slope on the right as well. Why not try some Glosso?
 
Nice rock layout. :thumbup:

Your aquarium is relatively tall at 38cm so consider this too.

If you can't get much height from the rocks then tall plants may be required in the background. Vallisneria nana, Cyperus helferi, Eleocharis vivipara are classic choices in a 60cm due to their fine textures not ruining the sense of scale.

Stems are another option in the background. Rotala sp. "Green" is lovely and easy. A nice V-shaped composition would go well.

Foreground plants - HC, and hairgrass are the obvious choice. More hairgrass concentration around the rocks. Go for 'parvula' over acicularis. E. tennelus is another option, or L. brasiliensis. The latter is slow-growing compared with the rest.

I look forward to following this one. Here's hoping the tank arrives on time for you. Out of interest how much did you pay?
 
Rotala sp. "Green" is lovely and easy. how easy would you say ? i upgraded my vision 260 with an extra 58w of t5 and still struggle with stem plants... EDIT... but also i am still poncing with my co2 configuration etc.
 
George Farmer said:
Nice rock layout. :thumbup:

Your aquarium is relatively tall at 38cm so consider this too.

If you can't get much height from the rocks then tall plants may be required in the background. Vallisneria nana, Cyperus helferi, Eleocharis vivipara are classic choices in a 60cm due to their fine textures not ruining the sense of scale.

Stems are another option in the background. Rotala sp. "Green" is lovely and easy. A nice V-shaped composition would go well.

Foreground plants - HC, and hairgrass are the obvious choice. More hairgrass concentration around the rocks. Go for 'parvula' over acicularis. E. tennelus is another option, or L. brasiliensis. The latter is slow-growing compared with the rest.

I look forward to following this one. Here's hoping the tank arrives on time for you. Out of interest how much did you pay?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice George, I'll definitely look into those plants.

The tank was £120 + £30 delivery. I can't comment as to whether that was good value really, until the tank arrives and I can inspect the quality.
 
A nice layout mate.

I'd also consider Tropica's 1-2 grow range. Especially their stems.

I'm using rotala rotundifolia 1-2 grow, and the amount of growing points/nodes for out ways the potted alternative.

On first looking it does not appear to be more, but it really is. Another advantage is that you get underwater growth much quicker. It also starts to bush much lower.

My single 1-2 grow cup is the equivalent to maybe 4 pots.
 
George Farmer said:
Good price. ND are a reputable company with plenty of experience. I'm sure it will be fine.

All the best with the set-up. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Tank arrived today. The back panel was normal glass instead of opti-white :bored: Contacted them and they refunded the cost of the opti-white back but that's not the point. I wanted opti-white all round in case I scratch the front :thumbdown:

Anyway, here is the next part of the journal.

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Turns out that one bag wasn't enough and I ended up using almost 2 bags. But I do have the substrate quite high at the back - 5 inches.

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I numbered the hardscape to allow me to transfer it easily to the tank. I took a front and top photograph of the layout so matching it was relatively easy.

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Filling was done using a pump, hose pipe and a filled bath. Unfortunately had a little accident. I put the pump in the bath and led the hose to the room, I left the pump unplugged. Someone helping me decided to plug it in and when I went back into the room, my floor was covered in water. Spent about an hour cleaning that up before I could carry on :clap:

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Water was pretty clear right after filling.

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Sorry for the bad pics - couldn't really be bothered to spend time taking them, plus my light hasn't arrived yet so I've been using a photography light instead. Plastic inlet/outlet are temporary until my lily pipes arrive.

Andy
 
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