my first lwagumi tank

[Ryan Thang To]

hi every one
this is my first time here so excuse me if I sound a little bit confused.
I just like to share this with you guys letting you know what I been up to.
last couple weeks I been making a diy stand for my rimless 90x45x45 tank
I finally finished it in time ready for first attempt in iwagumi layout.
Custom made rimless opti white glass, front and side. other panel are normal float glass
diy stand made from plywood finished off with grey vinyl and grey paint inside

arcadia bracket (cut shorter and spray grey)
all pond solution 4x39w t5
all pond solution filter 2000 l/h
2kg co2 regulator solenoid
glass co2 drop checker
Lily Pipes 16mm
TGM light diffusing aquarium backing
Ei Fertilisers
Hydor ETH 300 16mm Hose
Hydor koralia 1600 l/h
eco complete fine 9kg x3
dragon rocks 10-15kg
Plants, hemianthus callitrichoides, staurogyne repens from aqua essentials

please let me know what you guys think

 

[DanMac]

Very nice setup, I have never seen a homemade cabinet in that style, it looks just as good as the real ones (apart from the doors being SLIGHTLY off down the center).

Sorry for pointing that out,but when a cabinet is made at that standard I am sure you are aware of it also.

Looking forward to it

 

[Lee Sweeting]

Nice set up! The stand looks great. Ill look forward to the updates

 

[Anthony89]

Good start!. Looks alot talller than 45cm's. Are the lighting brackets part of the aps kit?

 

[Ryan Thang To]

thanks guys.
haha i know the door are a little bent. the problem was i spray paint it which i think is not good on mdf so when i decided to wrap it with vinyl and i couldn't get it straight enough.
no big deal.

thanks lee i just spent 4 hours putting the rock in and planting. too tired to post right now with do soon.

hey Anthony. the tank in inchs are 36x18x18. the brackets are second hand i got from aquarium classifieds. arcadia brackets which i had to mod to suit my tank. the light did come with suspension system which attaches to the glass but its make the tank looks so ugly lol. for sale if anyone is interesting!!!!

 

[DanMac]

Yeah i wouldnt worry about it being slightly off, as far as i know those style of cabinets cost a lot of money and your looks just as good.

 

[Ryan Thang To]

thanks man i did have it perfect at one point lol. anyways dude i be back on 2morrow with updates. going sleep now

 

[Henry]

Beautifully done! If I could make anything that looked half as good, I'd be a very proud man. Iwagumi isn't my thing, but I'm certain that this setup will look good, if your scaping skills are anything like your DIY.

 

[fish fodder]

Look forward to seeing more of this

 

[Ryan Thang To]

hello again just a update on the project.
i mange to add the substrate rocks and plant after 5 hours of hard work, kind of killed my back in
please let me know what you guys think and if there any bits you might think of changing let me know. cheers

3 bags of eco complete fine was use

15 pots of hc and still not enough, i need 3 more for the back. 2 pot of staurogyne repens more than enough

wicked dragon rocks from aqua essentials

iwaguni layout

a closer look

finally!!! after planting

a closer look

view from the side

 

[terry82517]

Hello mate, good job, really like the layout!
Im no expert but the only thing I would say is be careful with that much light (
4xt5 is it?) if u haven't got your co2, fertz and flow perfect you might be asking for trouble! Might be worth only using one or two bulbs for now, gives you more margin for error! But correct me if I'm wrong cheers

 

[Ryan Thang To]

hi terry
I'm not to sure my self. I did read a article saying I should have two bulbs come on for 6 hours; 4 hours in have the other two come on and then have them go off 6 hours afterwards. This will give you a 10 hour ‘day’ with a two hour blast at midday but the problem is the luminaire lights I got has only 1 plug so its either 4 bulbs come on or 2 so if I do what the article say then I have to turn the light on manually. any ideals guys? thanks

 

[sa80mark]

I would definitely start off with just 2 bulbs on for 6 hours and see how things go, one thing ive learned around here co2, ferts and co2 distribution / flow are the most important things, plants can grow and thrive in much lower light levels than we think, also a 10 hour day on a freshly planted tank is asking for trouble start lower and let the roots establish and the plants start growing before considering a longer day,

Mark

 

[terry82517]

That sounds like a hell of a lot if light to me, for a new set up. But others will be able to advise better than me, as I say I might be wrong! You could try taking the bulbs out of the unit?

 

[Lee Sweeting]

Leg! Try this link out. This set up method seems to work for a lot of people.

Setting up a 'higher' tech planted tank | UK Aquatic Plant Society

 

[Deano3]

Wow cabinet and tank looks great I want to a cabinet at some point so more detail would be great and keep the updates coming,

Dean

 

[Samjpikey]

Really nice work . Nice layout and gear .
I'm sure a lot will be envious of it
How are you getting on with that intense bazooka for co2 ??
I have 2 of those but torn between them and an up inline .
Cheers

 

[Ryan Thang To]

Ok today I left 2lights on for 8 hours and decided to take away the fluval 305 and get a all pond solutions 2000ef for a better flow.

Hi sam. the bazooka make tiny small bubbles which I think it work great and its good so far. I might get a Rhinox 5000 and test them both. what do you think?

 

[terry82517]

Ird leave both filters in mate, for now anyway, the more flow the better! As long as they are not fighting against each other, even with both filters would you be getting x10 the volume of water a hour?

 

[Lee Sweeting]

Looking good