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NeilW's 30cm Iwagumi - 'Mono'

Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono"

Decided to go for it and scape my tank today :D. Went down to the garden centre and got hold of some osmocote (although I could only find the 6 month release). So heres the setup. Sorry its a bit image heavy

Bags of goodies
substrate.jpg


I took an age sieving the Flora Base into finer and larger grains but definitely worth it for a nano
substrate001.jpg


One tidy silicon Aqua Essentials 12 x 10 x 8" opti-white
001khk.jpg


Critical stone positioning. In the end I was very limited in where I could place it without completely killing flow and was also stuck with having lilypipes to the right.
002ii.jpg


I decided I needed a 'beach' area in this tank as it makes it a lot easier to feed the shrimp
003suv.jpg


Making use of graded gravels to 'plug' any gaps below the soil surface. Was also very careful to position rocks in such a way as to create a proper barrier. Hopefully this will be OK, hard lessons learnt there :(
004on.jpg


005ia.jpg


Sprinkling of Osmocote
006rg.jpg


Larger grains of Flora Base added
007xbi.jpg


Topped with finer 'powder'
008xk.jpg


Detailing added
009ce.jpg


Final hardscaping
010dv.jpg


When I plant it up it will also have some larger moss covered gravels around the base of the big stone.

Always good showing you guys stuff, any comments always welcome :)

Cheers
-Neil
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

:thumbup: absolutely love it! the rock looks great especially with the other smaller rocks and beach area, it makes the tank look a lot bigger than it actually is great work mate! :thumbup:
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

It looks really good, the rock is beautiful.

I like the egg crate material keeping the rock up, good trick. :)

Why moss? I would have just hairgrass, with a open area on the front..
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

NeilW said:
any comments always welcome :)

erm....Thats a bit good!

You've managed to work in the other stones in a brilliant manner.

The gravel could of worked all the way along the front, but still has potential to be viewed from 2 sides this way.

Top stuff :thumbup:
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

chump54 said:
that does look great. The gravel section is brilliant but there isn't enough of it. what about if it ran the length of the front.

Chris
Cheers :D. I was thinking about the sand running the length of the front but it was a bit of a compromise as I wasn't up for any soil vs. sand headaches. This way theres only a tiny amount of sand that can easily be cleaned or replaced. I always wonder how people keep those 'island' layouts nice and clean o_O

B7fec said:
:thumbup: absolutely love it! the rock looks great especially with the other smaller rocks and beach area, it makes the tank look a lot bigger than it actually is great work mate! :thumbup:
Thanks a lot. Hopefully I don't blow the scale completely with the planting.

Vito said:
its the nuts, Im going to have to get some of this rock for my next scape
Really tasty rock Vito, definitely worth it. Have a word with JamesM and he'll sort you out. I was amazed by the colour how it changes under different lighting and when its wet. The detailing goes on forever too, the amount of clay this stone is full off its like unearthing a fossil! Thanks for the feedback too :thumbup:

ghostsword said:
It looks really good, the rock is beautiful.

I like the egg crate material keeping the rock up, good trick. :)

Why moss? I would have just hairgrass, with a open area on the front..
Cheers Luis.

Got the idea of using egg crate a while back, I said it as a passing comment chatting away in Aquajardin and the helpful reef bloke just gave me a chunk for free! I attached it using blobs of Milliput so it doesn't slip. I had to be careful to cut it as small as possible too as its meant to stop the movement of nutrients in the substrate.

I would have liked to have gone for a nice low carpeting plant but I'm going low-tech (ish) as my shrimp aren't a fan of liquid carbon so theres not many choices. I'm going for a bit of a compromise using moss tied to small gravel with accents of dwarf hairgrass (I'm not sure how well this will do) and Marsilea Hirsuta (I havn't used this before but I've seen it in a couple of Oliver Knott 'scapes and seems to do well low-tech - not a fan of the emersed '4 leaf clover' though so hopefully the transition will be quick)

saintly said:
erm....Thats a bit good!

You've managed to work in the other stones in a brilliant manner.

The gravel could of worked all the way along the front, but still has potential to be viewed from 2 sides this way.

Top stuff :thumbup:
Thanks for such incredible feedback Saintly! Can you come and plant it up for me?! :wideyed: :D

Dan Crawford said:
That's looking great! :thumbup:
Thanks Dan :thumbup:

Hopefully I don't break it with the planting! :lol:

Dan Walter said:
That's awesome, Neil! I NEED a nano in my life ;)
Cheers Dan. Get one, everyone can always fit in that extra tank ;)
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

Marsilea Hirsuta (I havn't used this before but I've seen it in a couple of Oliver Knott 'scapes and seems to do well low-tech - not a fan of the emersed '4 leaf clover' though so hopefully the transition will be quick)

I have some already transitioned, so I can send you some runners. they are about 20cm in lenght, and it is time I trimmed them..

The plant grows fast, although I have a CO2 and nutrient rich water column.

Let me know if you want to try them out.
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

ghostsword said:
I have some already transitioned, so I can send you some runners. they are about 20cm in lenght, and it is time I trimmed them..

The plant grows fast, although I have a CO2 and nutrient rich water column.

Let me know if you want to try them out.

Thanks I'll keep that in mind :thumbup:. Trouble is I'm dry starting so it may not do them any good going back to emersed? 20cm tall?! All the stuff I'd seen is a lot shorter, I may need to reconsider my choice?
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

Realised I hadn't put a side view yesterday so I took one today;
img1618c.jpg


Also removed some of the soil towards the back and right sides of the tank.
img1620f.jpg


More 'beach' detailing.
img1621.jpg


Close-up of the 'shrimp cave' :lol:
img1625b.jpg


Possible planting plan
img1627f.jpg


Sorry to inflict yet more pictures.

Cheers,
Neil
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

NeilW said:
ghostsword said:
I have some already transitioned, so I can send you some runners. they are about 20cm in lenght, and it is time I trimmed them..

The plant grows fast, although I have a CO2 and nutrient rich water column.

Let me know if you want to try them out.

Thanks I'll keep that in mind :thumbup:. Trouble is I'm dry starting so it may not do them any good going back to emersed? 20cm tall?! All the stuff I'd seen is a lot shorter, I may need to reconsider my choice?

In length..:) the runners are going from the mother plant 20cm away. :)

It is very short, about 1cm.
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

ghostsword said:
In length..:) the runners are going from the mother plant 20cm away. :)

It is very short, about 1cm.

That looks the part, like an imitation glosso :thumbup:. That would be great if I could take some off your hands for a few of my finest pounds? When were you planning the big trim? Would be great if I could coincide it with ordering all my other plants. Do you think it will stay in its submerged form for a few weeks?

chump54 said:
the more pictures the better...for me anyway

nice plant choices.

Chris

I'll try and keep it updated with more pictures then! I don't have experience with any crypts so I thought I would try something new. I got the Parva in my current setup ready to go and it seems to be doing alright.
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

Neil, no issue. I am not planning any trim, but got lots.. :) can easily take half out, they are all connected on a single stem, so easy to pluck it out.

Let me know when you want them, I can pop a couple on a envelope and send it to you.
 
Re: NeilW's 30cm nano - "Mono" [Hardscaped 29/04/10]

Man, this is a brilliant hardscape..... I just had to say it again 8)
 
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