My first ever aquarium (Iwagumi) Fluval edge 23L

[Ben Gibson]

Hello all, my names Ben, I live in Stoke on Trent, and I'd like to show you all what I've recently been working on. This is my first post in these forums so go easy as i'm a NOOB I've always since been a child admired aquariums of all kinds but after seeing a close friend create his own aquascape and seeing many hours worth of videos online, especially by the Green Machine and reading here in these forums and many other places online I have been inspired to try my hand at creating my own. 2 months ago I had not one shred of knowledge about any of this so bare with me if i miss some obvious things i might forget to mention.

So dont judge me, I bought the Fluval Edge 23l because it's small and looks great as a little stand alone and wanted to start small to begin with. (Unbeknown to myself the smaller aquariums can be harder to start with apparantley due to water volume) picked up a new one for like £60 so was a steal anway. However from here on in I didn't want to be cheap with anything else I was going to do. I very quickly decided to go with ADA substrates and additives after reading lots of glowing reviews online and of course been marketed to after watching the green machine journals which btw I found fantastic and inspiring. Visited a few pets shops locally and found them to stock what I considered sub par stuff (might just be where I live) so made a trip to Wrexham to visit the Green Machine. Obviously i spent a few bob on the basics. I guess as i learn more about aquascaping and fish keeping in general i can cut some corners and save some dough but i honestly thought their setups were gorgeous. At this point I'd now decided to create an Iwagumi layout. Although I really liked having more wood and roots and wanted something more overgrown lush and green like a riverbank or something i thought that would be more appropriate in a much larger aquarium maybe later down the line. I also thought this would be simpler and less work with having to prepare wood and wash our toxins and soak it to get it to stay down. Basically i didn't want to wait another 3 weeks to get started at this point. I was itching to get going by now! I picked up some rocks from the green machine which were what I felt overly expensive but it was easier than scouring the countryside. Sorry i dont remeber the type specifically. I drew myself a layout and tried a few configurations with the rocks before starting and had a picture in my head of the finished thing. I wanted lush green carpets of grass around the rocks but also wanted the planting to be as green and full at the rear with higher background plants even though this is slightly against Iwagumi tradition.

Heres what i started with after my trip to the green machine. I spent a few hours there, but felt i got the wrong sales guy that day as he seemed to just spend every other sentence slagging off the tank i'd bought. Hey who doesnt want a challenge, and it does look cool!

I used ADA power sand special to line the tank before putting in the AQA soil and I layered about 7 small spoons of ADA tourmaline on top of this before adding the Aqua soil, as the power Sand already includes bacter 100 and Clear super so was going for a good mix of additives as ADA recommend to help my planting in the long term.

Tourmaline spinkled on top of powersand.

Plata sand at the front.

Me applying the water. I really took my time with this as not to disturb the substrate and create cloudiness. The aquarium has never been cloudy once during the whole time i've had it. Even after the planting stage.

I'm using tap water that's treated using Fluval AquaPlus. Water Ph is 7 out of the tap. I let the water sit in a clean really useful tub for 24 hours with the treatment applied. I do this for water changes. Here is is below once filled.

One thing I didn't realise was how long the ADA aqua soil would leech ammonia but I was happy to wait it out. Then started a fishless cycle which took approx 3 weeks with one 50% water change per week. At first I was using a standard whisky glass like an idiot to do this but after the first time I quickly bought the Fluval gravel cleaner for £8 of Amazon and used it as a siphon. Works a dream btw! So was worried at first as it seemed the ammonia was going nowhere but then one day 3 weeks in I hit 0.5 and got excited. Was well over 6.0 beforehand which is all my amoni test kit reads to. API Ammonia test kit was what I used. I plan to buy their master testing range soon unless anyone can recommend something better? The test strips just don't seem accurate enough or easy enough to read to me. Water Ph is a steady 6.5 -7.0 with no real change from before i started. Was 7.5 originally but believe the ADA lowers it a little and like I said appears steady now. I also bout some ADA plata sand for the front as a nice bright contrast against the Dark Amazonia soil. Also made sure to buy the fine granule as this is better for planting grasses like Pavula which is decided on due to its low light needs and minimal Co2.


On the Co2 front I've decided to go low tech and see if I can get by without it and instead I'm going to dose weekly with EasyCarbo. Was going to go for Seachem Excel but it's a lot more expensive. Hopefully the ADA substrate and this should be enough give the tank a good kickstart and keep it going for atleast a year. If needs be I might DIY some Co2 at a later point ( advice would be greatly appreciated in this if anyone has any)

For lighting I purchased the larger Led rig from the 42l Fluval off of eBay which has doubled my Leds for my plants. Makes such a visible difference and was 2 minute job to swap out. Have been tempted buy some Separate leds to add to this but going see how it plays out with what I've got. Hope it's enough. Read that you can overpower with lighting.

So a week after the ammonia dropped I started planting. Bought online via eBay. Have to say the company I bought from "K2aqua" got them to me incredibly quickly and had great prices and came in big quantities. Bought far too much in the end for what I needed but wanted to have a dense plant from the beginning. Also they gave me 4 free plants with my order.

My plants are :

-Eleocharis Pavula ( my main grass )
-Echinodorus tenellus ( softer grass for a few places around the rocks, hopefully to soften scale where needed )
-Bacopa Monnieri ( background plant for the corners )
- 1x Java Fern ( wanted some longer leaves in front of the bacopa and to attach to my large rock to the left ) I would of had a sword of the tank wasn't so short in height as I love them
- 1x Anubia Nana ( attached to the rear of the other rock on the right hand side)

Also 3 moss balls because they were free also received Cuba among others for free but I know these would probably suffer in low light.

Anyway.. Planting in this tank is a bitch due to the access but I'm good with fiddly things like this but wouldn't recommend it to anyone without patience. I did know this beforehand and had seen other people's finished tank and hey who doesn't love a challenge and proving people at the few shops I visited wrong! Took me 5 hours get the desired effect though

So it's been 5 days since planting now. Nothing's dead but I can't see any real visible growth, How long do you think before i see any real change? I appreciate its non Co2 so will be slow. My Easy Carbo arrives in two days so will start my dosing and see how it goes.

Honestly doing this has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done and I think I'm hooked. Already thinking about the next one. I've kept a few different species of reptiles the last few years and would love to create my own paludarium layout so this I'm hoping is great practice for mixing the two hobbies. But want what I've done to settle and make sure I've done this right first ☺️ Right now I'd say I've made maybe one or two minor mistakes which was more to do with layout and probably could of leeched the aqua soil first I guess.

So.. You'll notice I haven't mentioned the inhabitants of the tank. This is simply because it's small and it's one of my least concerns really as I figured it would be easier to see my water parameters once the tank is settled. Ive been dosing with 5ml of Fluval Biological Enhancer once a week and after each water change. I believe with the ADA power sand the Beneficial Bacteria is great in that alone. I need to test for nitrates and Nitrite before i bring in the fish and shrimp but its just getting the right testing kit (again recommendations would be greatly appreciated) Roughly speaking I'd love some cherry shrimp or maybe another species of shrimp anyone could recommend. Would be nice mix a couple of species although I'm aware a few species won't work together. Was thinking an Oto maybe but not sure if the the volume of the tank is really sufficient and a few bright coloured tetra like fish. The aquarium will stay around room temperature. Can't imagine it ever exceeding 80f.

Would love to know everyone's thoughts and I know over the next few weeks as I get closer to the fish keeping side of things I'd require advice from the forum.

Thanks for reading

 

[CooKieS]

Welcome! Nice tank but a real nightmare...it was my first tank too, here's a pic when it was still running;



It was upgraded with an arcadia stretch led, and jbl u201 CO2 kit.

The original filter is great!

About your setup; eleocharis is a CO2 demanding plant and will not be very healthy with liquid CO2 only

The lightning of the 46l edge is ok but still not enough in the corners if you want good growth. (For moss it's ok)

Good luck!

 

[J Art]

You've certainly done your homework and what a great way to start in the hobby by visiting The Green Machine in person. From my experience so far, it takes at least a week or 2 before you start seeing positive growth. Your plants are pretty much working on stored energy at this point until they establish themselves.

As far as DIY CO2, I did the citric acid method for about a month or so. It certainly works and is better than no CO2, but you'll have to tinker with it a bit. The good news is that you can turn it off at night and start back up in the morning with a simple needle valve. Expect to replace materials every 2 weeks or so, 3 if you're lucky. But if you don't mind the hassle, it will do the job.

You have more than enough space for an Otto or two.

You may want to think about getting a little more flow in there at some point, but see how it goes. I like your setup. Will look even better once grown in a bit. If you can completely cover those rocks with moss I think it would look pretty cool.

 

[Lindy]

This is an amazing start, well done! As far as inhabitants go please do not get ottos! These are a very social fish who enjoy very touchy feely relationships with other ottos. They are also excellent, fast, swimmers so to confine one or a group in 23l would be unfair. You could put a few galaxy rasbora or chili rasbora but bare in mind they can be skittish in small numbers and males can fight so need room to get away. I would stick to shrimp in a tank this size. You will find it hard though to maintain stable parameters in a body of water this small if dosing ferts and shrimp can dislike liquid co2 greatly. I look forward to seeing what you decide and how it progresses.

 

[Aqua360]

very nice start! If you don't mind some feedback, for the anubias I find the smaller varieties like nana mini are really good at maintaining scale; the larger leaf varieties tend to spoil the immersion for me.

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

Really good start and welcome to the forum. Looking forward to seeing this grow in. I would say the TGM guy was probably just warning you about the tank because with it being systemised you're sort of limited to what you can do if you need to make any changes. I started off with an Aqua one systemised tank which wasn't really fit for purpose with plants. I had no control over the water flow and the filter gassed out co2 but a lot comes down to what you personally are trying to achieve.

I plan to buy their master testing range soon unless anyone can recommend something better?

I would recommend getting a TDS meter around a tenner on ebay and possibly a KH test kit. That's all I ever use, like you say they are just not accurate enough and a waste of time and money. Don't get bogged down with testing for this and that. Once cycled it's highly unlikely you will have ammonia or nitrite issues and as for nitrate you don't need to know and the test kit won't tell you anyway. All it will tell you is how you are feeling about your tank that day and confirm whatever you want to believe

Bit of confusion here, when you say "dosing easy carbo weekly" you mean every day of the week right rather than once a week? Easy Carbo degrades and gets used up within 24 hours of being put in the tank so that needs added daily, forgive me if I've misunderstood.

Another point is you think you're going low tech because you’re not adding co2 but then you talk about adding more lighting. Low tech is slightly different and should really simply be called low lighting or low energy. Adding more lighting will make it high tech whether you dose co2 or not. The more lighting you add the more the demand on co2 and nutrients so if you’re going down the road of adding more lighting by default it will become "high tech" you're also adding co2 in the way of easy carbo. Easy carbo is a source of carbon in liquid form, some say you can get away with it only but in a high lighting situation gas co2 is the preferred method. Also apparently some plants don't like it although I personally haven't experienced it.

Other than that I would just stick with the lighting you have and dosing the easycarbo daily and see how you get on which is the least problematic. If you feel the need to add in a bit more lighting later on you may need to look into your co2 situation.

 

[Ben Gibson]

About your setup; eleocharis is a CO2 demanding plant and will not be very healthy with liquid CO2 only

The lightning of the 46l edge is ok but still not enough in the corners if you want good growth. (For moss it's ok)

Totally see what your on about here with this. I think maybe in hindsight my layout could of been better to accommodate for this

Thanks for the advice CooKieS. I'm hoping it takes. Like I said will move to Co2 if it ends up looking like a require it. Hope I don't have to so I can keep the cost down!

From my experience so far, it takes at least a week or 2 before you start seeing positive growth.

Still not noticing anything as of yet, but have got what looks like some whispy Algae forming on on the of the leaves of my java fern. I dont know about the citric method for Co2 so will look into that cheers. Why would you recommend more flow? And getting the moss to grow over the rocks is totally what im going for. Thinking that i probably chose the wrong moss actually for this (spiky moss)

for the anubias I find the smaller varieties like nana mini are really good at maintaining scale

The anubia i put in is an anubia nana bacteri. I believe this is the nano version, thats what i ordered anyway. I bigger than i expected when it arrived with the other plants.

I would recommend getting a TDS meter around a tenner on ebay and possibly a KH test kit.

Thanks for the advice, Ive had a look on ebay at these, but just purchased a thermometer and my Ph kit seems pretty precise. Totally get what you mean about not worrying with the testing, ive been keeping a a diary of all the tests and water changes ive made so far though just in case i need them. And yes sorry will be dosing daily and from what ive read will be leaving it once a week periodically to allow the water column to eat up anything not been used. Does that make sense? I hope wiht the combination of everything this will be enough keep my plants healthy and speed up growth as best as i can do. And yes im going to keep it low energy for the time being and hopefully i will get the desired effect over time. If not ill increase lighting and add a Co2 system to compensate for that increase. Again thanks for the advice there.

And ..

As far as inhabitants go please do not get ottos!

Yes i think ill pass on the otos if thats the case. I dont want to stress the fish or create the wrong enviroment for any inhabitants.

And u mentioned the galaxy rasbora or chili rasbora. Ive read the caresheet for both today and my only concern is if my 23L Fluval is maybe too small for these guys. How many do u think the tank could handle from your experience? Both are great looking fish and would very happily have them in there. Would make a beautiful contrast i think.

Thanks for the advice everyone

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

from what ive read will be leaving it once a week periodically to allow the water column to eat up anything not been used.

I think that only applies to fertilisers where you generally have a rest day when dosing ei. Easycarbo is a carbon supplement which should be dosed every day, it degrades after 24 hours so you don't really get a build up.
TDS meter measures the total dissolved solids or hardness of the water which can also give you an indication of build up of pollution as it measures everything that is dissolved in the water column. The KH test can be combined with the ph to check your co2 levels but as you are not dosing co2 yet it's not that important.

 

[Ben Gibson]

Yes sorry, your right. Totally getting mixed up with all the stuff I've read. Almost forgetting why I ordered it in the first place, to dose for Co2 and to keep algae down. Should have the easy Carbo sometime tomorrow or Friday. Heard many good things about it and Seachem Excel.

Could u reccomend a good KH test kit please?

I think that only applies to fertilisers where you generally have a rest day when dosing ei. Easycarbo is a carbon supplement which should be dosed every day, it degrades after 24 hours so you don't really get a build up.
TDS meter measures the total dissolved solids or hardness of the water which can also give you an indication of build up of pollution as it measures everything that is dissolved in the water column. The KH test can be combined with the ph to check your co2 levels but as you are not dosing co2 yet it's not that important.

 

[alto]

Fabulous journey to date
& welcome to ukaps



"Serenity Peak" is an Iwagumi done with EasyCarbo & ADA system
(I've seen another fantastic "liquid carbon" tank here somewhere but just cant find it again )

Seriously Fish is a great resource for fish species information
B brigittae
C margaritatus
I'd wait for growth to establish before adding either fish as both can be quite shy in the absence of good cover/plant thicket

Ember tetra
Ruby tetra - note the increased tank size recommendation for similar sized fish

As for water, check with your local water supplier for parameters (depending on location it's possible to have quite different parameters if water is drawn from more than one reservoir system) & what chemicals are routinely added for sanitation & pH balance.
If 1-2 weekly water changes of ~50%, it's unlikely that tank will drift much off tap water parameters.

If you hope to do monthly water changes, then it's more important to know tap vs tank parameters & those 5 or 6in1 test strips are fast & convenient - and generally provide reasonably accurate/precise information (yes, the technology exists )
If you want to do 50% water changes, these are best done at least weakly, if you miss a week or two, then begin with small daily (or alternate day) water changes of 15 - 20% - you need ~ 5 of these to match a single 50% water change, thereafter you can go back to your regular schedule ... much depends on the sensitivity of your chosen livestock & your water supply.

There are lots of interesting shrimp to be had these days so you might get these settled before thinking fish - stay with smaller species on this size of tank (if you must get Amano, try for the boys) - also they'll work hard at cleanup

Nerite snails remain small & rarely breed (successfully) in freshwater tanks (though they can begin laying eggs, so you might try to get males only - there are some terrific snail sites ... if only I'd remember to bookmark ) & are very dedicated wall & rock cleaners

 

[Aqua360]

The anubia i put in is an anubia nana bacteri. I believe this is the nano version, thats what i ordered anyway. I bigger than i expected when it arrived with the other plants

Have you ever looked at aquarium gardens online? they do a mini nana that looks superb, link below:

http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/anubias-nana-mini-408-p.asp

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

Regarding KH if you feel necessary to check that they are all pretty much the same chemical used, I personally prefer liquid test as oppose to dips as you just go off the colour change rather than guess the colour and adding twice a water mean you can work to half a degree.
Having your ada soil should provide some stabilising buffer any way I think.

 

[rebel]

What a great start and journal!

I would change nothing. You are going to learn heaps from this tank. Stick at it and you will get really good; in time.

Please keep the updates coming.

 

[hrishi007]

Nice..

 

[Ben Gibson]

Just a quick picture and video update if it works.

Fish in with no fatalities. Been 6 days now. Monitoring everyday. Doing water changes once every other day at the moment. Gone for a mix of dwarf rasbora and otos juveniles. Cherry shrimp, blue dream shrimp and Amano shrimp males.

More to come when I get chance and some of the links you have posted and advice has been greatly appreciated and made me think on some things I will try get chance respond to. Here photos wet your appetite

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[Lindy]

Nice tank but really far too small for ottos.

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[Ben Gibson]

Nice tank but really far too small for ottos.

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Thanks Idcgroomer. It's not going to be their permanent home as already made a start on a larger longer aquarium they seem pretty comfortable to me atm though.


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[Lindy]

Fair enough although ottos are enthusiastic swimmers and are one of the most active fish in my tank, loving larger numbers and space.

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[Ben Gibson]

So I've been dosing 0.5ml of EasyCarbo every day and still haven't added Co2 to the setup yet. Been researching and going to get it next pay day. 88g Fluval Co2 kit and going to try their canisters at first and prob switch to paintball canisters once I'm confident. Going to get a glass diffuser off of eBay too.


As CooKieS mentioned I think the lack of Co2 is stunting the hair grass. The Echindorus Tenellus seems to be growing in quickly and looks very lush. Am thinking of maybe replacing all the hair grass with It. My main concern is the hairgrass at the moment it seems be struggling towards the front of the tank so I bought a new LED light which is 11w. Picture below. Currently got this running for 8 hours and the normal 42 LEDs are running for 10, coming on 1 hour before and going off 2 hour later. No light at night but do have another original 3W LED light that came with the tank, so should I run this with the blues at night you think? Do any of you think this lighting time frame is ok? Or too long?

You can see the hair grass in this picture

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[Ben Gibson]

So just done a 50% water change and I wondered if I would see signs of spawning. Just noticed my 1 female Amano shrimp (who is the tank boss btw) well she's been berried since I got her and is releasing her young in the tank. Heard they wouldn't spawn in fresh water and only in salt so don't know what to expect. Micro shrimp fry are moving. Got lots of moss for them to hide in so I guess some may survive? Fish are loving it too of course. Done some aquascaping. Hair grass showing signs of improvement after 48 hours with new light Got the flow on a medium at the moment. Finally got used to doing big water changes Will fine tune i'm sure over the coming months, years

Really finding it rewarding so far


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