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Mini M Iwagumi - New final (again) photo

Love the rocks in this. Great scape.
 
@igirisujin I really like the rockwork in this, any updates?
 
@igirisujin I really like the rockwork in this, any updates?
Thank you - It's really not good, I'm afraid. I've been having problems again. The plants went wild after filling with water, and I trimmed them the next week. After that, they turned brown and began disintegrating.

I assumed that the CO2 was too low, so doubled it. I'm injecting about 1.5b/s into the filter inlet now from 3 hours before lights on, and it seems to be dissolving for the most part. I've also increased the EI powders (KH2PO4, KNO3 and Trace) to a little more than the dose rate stated on the packs.

I've been fighting this for a while now, and 3 weeks or so ago I trimmed very harshly right back to the substrate. Some areas (actually those that get more natural light) are growing back. Other areas are still struggling badly, even with higher CO2 and ferts. Initial growth after trimming is fine, but anything below the tips soon turn brown and start withering.

The filter doesn't seem to be clogging or getting particularly dirty each week, and I'm doing 2x 50% water changes per week (was every day for the first few weeks).

Thoughts on problems:
CO2 - but I've already increased it.
Lighting(??) - I have an ONF Nano+ running at 70-80% for 6 hours. Plants with sunlight seem to do better, but I can't imagine I have a light shortage...
Ferts - powders don't go bad, right? I've had them (dry) for maybe 4 years.
Water - I can't get RO, but I could buy filtered water from the supermarket 5 litres at a time fairly inexpensively.
Distribution - Looks good to me, there seems to be a consistent flow around the tank - although the areas where the plants are doing better are possible lower-flow areas. High-flow areas are by no means extreme.

Any thoughts would be really appreciated. I've struggled with every setup since coming to Japan.
 

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UPDATE TIME

Having been at a total loss as to what to do and almost giving in, I visited the local/closest (30km away) fish shop to get some more CO2 bottles. While I was there, I saw that they had a nice ADA 30cm cube set up, with the new DOOA light. Plant health was pretty good (although colour was a little washed out), which I was shocked at as their CO2 seemed incredibly low to me (1 bubble every 3 seconds, 2 mostly lost to the air), and they said they didn't dose fertilisers. It got me thinking.

When I got home, I thought I'd try one last thing before giving up. I threw out my EI salts that I had been dosing since the start as per CO2 Supermarket's directions on the label. Instead, I bought ADA Brighty K and Mineral and am dosing 1 push of each per day. The difference in 2 weeks is actually shocking. Complete restoration. I can only assume that either something was wrong with the EI salts I was using, or somehow I had messed up the dosage and was waaaay overdosing. I now have no diatoms, no BBA, very low green algae growing on the glass, crystal clear water and no surface scum. Amazing. Long may it continue.

I've been using these EI ferts since coming to Japan, and have never been able to keep anything alive. It never occurred to me that they could be wrong - I always assumed that as long as ferts aren't deficient, all is good. Therefore it must be CO2, poor maintenance etc. I know many people love EI and know it can work when done well, but from now on, I'll be lean dosing.

Attached pictures show the tank 2 weeks ago vs. yesterday.
 

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Just reading through this thread for the first time and I'm really happy for you that you found your problem. As far as I'm aware the EI dosing method is designed for tanks with high plant mass. I believe the general consensus is that the ADA-style dosing regime (mostly just K and trace) is sufficient for an iwagumi which inherently has quite low plant mass. Thankfully you figured it out before it was too late. Awesome scape, love the rocks.
 
Just reading through this thread for the first time and I'm really happy for you that you found your problem. As far as I'm aware the EI dosing method is designed for tanks with high plant mass. I believe the general consensus is that the ADA-style dosing regime (mostly just K and trace) is sufficient for an iwagumi which inherently has quite low plant mass. Thankfully you figured it out before it was too late. Awesome scape, love the rocks.
I agree, well done. :)
 
Thank you for the comments. It's a real relief, although I'm nervous that the current good growth is a lucky accident and will at some point be reversed!!

I took a couple of pictures of the fish this afternoon, after going over the rocks with a toothbrush.

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I also picked up some bits of driftwood at the weekend, although it's still a bit early to be thinking about the next scape. I'd like to re-use this Monte Carlo at the front and down the centre, but also use moss on the wood achieve a more typical Nature Aquarium style.

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really nice scape and glad it's all coming together and looking really healthy, you certainly have an eye for it with the rock layout as well as the new wood :thumbup:
 
Had a go at a final (?) photo this morning. I don't have any additional lighting for the background etc, so I had to take it with a fairly slow shutter speed and the fish are blurred. Would be nice to have a flash, but I left most of my gear in England when I came.

Might have another go at a photo in a week or so, but I'm also keen to get on with the next scape now I've found a balance!

Iwagumi.jpg
 
Took some final final photos again yesterday, one week later. Surprising how much growth can happen in just a week once it gets going!

I'm not sure whether I prefer the wide or narrow angle shot for this tank, but I think I'm leaning towards the narrow.
70+ Final.jpg

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Hi,
Superb scape! I liked it very much..

One quick question though...are you using RO water or straight from tap?

Took some final final photos again yesterday, one week later. Surprising how much growth can happen in just a week once it gets going!

I'm not sure whether I prefer the wide or narrow angle shot for this tank, but I think I'm leaning towards the narrow. View attachment 162852
View attachment 162853
 
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