Couple of iwagami questions- Journal start?

[Iain Sutherland]

Hi all, so i have got my new 13g iwagami, ordered lights, bought a HOB filter, got some nice stone, smashed it up, think i somehow managed to get the hardscape right first time (maybe not right but so im happy with it), so as soon as my lights and glass co2 diffuser arrive im ready to plant and managed it for £80 all in. Will be a total HC carpet with a splash of dwarf hairgrass.

Or so i thought..... just realized that i will probably need a small nano powerhead.. any suggestions of makes/ brands/ models etc? cheap
I just want soft movement and more to move co2 round and EI dosing around than anything...

As you might have guessed I am trying to do it all for under a tonne. Bank account still bleeding from my 55g

Also wondered if the sharp edges on the rocks will cause problems to the fishes.. just planning tetra's and amano shrimp.
Any suggestions on an interesting tetra??, was just thinking cardinals but open to ideas.

So i guess i might as well make this the start of my journal...
Please, all comments, criticism welcome and appreciated.
LOL now looking at these pics i have pointed a few of the rocks up slightly more.

 

[BigTom]

Have a look at the koralia powerheads, they give quite broad flow and should be just on the edge of your budget. Sharp edges on the rocks should be OK if its just midwater fish and shrimp. Lots of tetra species out there, also consider rasboras maybe (espei's come to mind).

 

[Sentral]

What lights did you order? Looks like a nice sized tank. Personally I would take out a few rocks, seems a little cluttered at the moment but may be ok once you ave the plants in!

 

[Iain Sutherland]

thanks for the posts, ill will have a look at the koralia powerheads now...
i did look at rasporas and there really are some nice ones but they just dont do anything for me. Tetras just school soo well.... i have 7 rummynose in my 55g and they are the most active fish in the tank. I was thinking about columbian or maybe congo??
Lighting was a mission... no forum could offer me any useable advise, was told to look at Metal Halide, hydroponic etc... all great lights but mostly too bright, too expensive to run and too HOT!!
I ordered an ebay bargain over tank unit 2 x 24w T5HO they had buy it now at £75.00 so i messaged and said my budget was £45 and they said they could do that..??!! RESULT!! never expected that response.. i had been taking to the guy for over a week about planted tanks and his lights, we even swopped photos etc so feel like i got mates rates.

Sentral, the tank was 99p on ebay, de rimmed in 5 minutes and bish bosh.. nice tank!! (if you dont look too close )My thinking with the rock is that i will lose 20% visible rock to HC and maybe dwarf hairgrass (undecided) coverage so a lot will just be slight penetration through a heavy carpet... but to be honest i'm just guessing, it's my first iwagami and my last attempt at HC in my 55 was a disaster!! Also bare in mind that there is a 2" elevation between base level and top level substrate that disapears in photos...

Away for a week now so will be planting a week monday and will update then.....

thanks all, lovin the uk forum... was getting bored of US....

 

[Iain Sutherland]

So this tank has been running for 6 weeks now, the HC has grown in nicely after a total melt. I thought i would have to replant but stuck it out, 3-4 days later little green shoots appeared and now it grows just fine.
So i have populated with 4 Amano and 5 cardinals for now to see how it all goes and will then add another 10 cardinals and 10-15 sakura shrimp.
So my only concern at the moment is the HOB filter i have... im not convinced it will hold much of a bioload. If i was to upgrade what would people recommend for a 35l tank.
I have considered Fluval 105, eheim liberty HOB, small eheim external???
Any suggestions greatly appreciated and will post fairly recent pics when i get home tonight.

Trying a little experiment at a sandblast Amano look :/ ..... watch this space.....