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The Rock Fortress - Iwagumi - Plants are in! (Sort of)

Keithoms

Member
Joined
24 Jan 2009
Messages
47
Hi guys, new here but anyway..

Decided that i loved the look of Iwagumi, and when i saw some stones which were perfect for the task i jumped on the idea for my new tank.

Tank is 65l with 24w of lighting. Homemade CO2 will be built and i'll dose with Plantamin.

My 12th formation has turned out like this: (Ignore the blue, its a mixed actinic and white lamp, but it looks whiter in real life) Its not perfect, but for my budget it looks nice enough for what i want to do.

100_0707.jpg


Ive ordered:
Glossostigma Elatinoides
Quantity - 10 (10 whats, i dont know :S)
Will use the glosso for carpeting
Eleocharis Vivipara
Quantity - 2 Pots
Will use the hairgrass to define the rockery.

What i cant decide on though, is where to plant the plants. Yes, the glosso just goes in the foreground and around, but where exactly should i place the hairgrass?
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Hi Keith,

the scape looks very nice, and i think you'll have enough glosso too, if there pots. :D For the Eleocharis Vivipara, i'd probably plant them along the rear of the tank just behind the rocks.

Btw, what kind of rocks and substrate do you have?

Regards,

Dan.
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

TDI-line said:
Hi Keith,

the scape looks very nice, and i think you'll have enough glosso too, if there pots. :D For the Eleocharis Vivipara, i'd probably plant them along the rear of the tank just behind the rocks.

Btw, what kind of rocks and substrate do you have?

Regards,

Dan.

Wow... was not expecting anyone to say it looked nice :D. Anyway, i paid £5 for the glosso so i dont think my luck is good enough to get me 10 pots for a fiver... i will also kick myself if its 10 stems xD.

The rocks im unsure of. When dry they look like they are cheap plastic and seem to have diamonds on the outer surface, but when they are wet, they good a solid greyish black and look top notch! They were just from Pets at Home's rock bucket beside the limestone. Gravel is a 9kg bag of Roman Black gravel. Was going to go for some onyx but it was 22£ a bag and i didnt feel like paying that just for a substrate!
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

I would get some dwarf hairgrass for the midground, to create a smotther transition between the Vivipara & glosso.

Also, your rock layout is ok, one thing i would change is try to make the main ston raised slightly higher than the sub stones to create a more defined focal point :thumbup:
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Hi Keith,

First, congratulations on a new setup. The look of the rocks are very nice.

I am no expert in Iwagumi, but from what I've read, isn't there supposed to be one bigger rock and two or so smaller ones? And something about priests praying to buddha or something like that. :lol: It is something about the angle of the two subordinate rocks, they should be angled towards the larger "buddha" rock, or away, can't remember, and Mr. Buddha should be placed at the golden ratio of the tank which is very roughly 1/3 away from a tank end. The rocks all look the same size to me and are all kind of equi-distant from each other. At least that is the basic scape. There are variations dealing with creating a mountain vally that is again on this golden ratio separated by two "mountain" ranges, with again, one being the dominant mountain. Those are usually angled toward the mountain vally. Again, from what I've read and seen. If you like what you are doing, then great. Who am I to judge you? I have not done this type of scape. :thumbup: I've just seen my fair share of Iwagumi threads and can kind of predict how they go after a while. ;) It is a popular scape here.

You know that you'll be arranging your rocks for like 10 pages, right? :lol: It is the nature of the beast. I feel for you. I'll wait for cryptocorynes to grow in less than 1wpg, but I have no patience to arrange rocks for 10 pages. I greatly respect those who have that type of patience. :lol:

Good luck.

llj
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Here is an HD youtube to show you viewpoints etc..

Thanks for the suggestion Aaron, but im not going to mess around with the structure any more, it took me 12 attempts to get it to a position i actually like and if i attempt to try new things i know ill get it wrong and ruin it! Ill try and pick up some dwarf hairgrass later. Can i not just use the cuttings of the normal hairgrass to act as dwarf?
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

lljdma06 said:
Hi Keith,

First, congratulations on a new setup. The look of the rocks are very nice.

I am no expert in Iwagumi, but from what I've read, isn't there supposed to be one bigger rock and two or so smaller ones? And something about priests praying to buddha or something like that. :lol: It is something about the angle of the two subordinate rocks, they should be angled towards the larger "buddha" rock, or away, can't remember, and Mr. Buddha should be placed at the golden ratio of the tank which is very roughly 1/3 away from a tank end. The rocks all look the same size to me and are all kind of equi-distant from each other. At least that is the basic scape. There are variations dealing with creating a mountain vally that is again on this golden ratio separated by two "mountain" ranges, with again, one being the dominant mountain. Those are usually angled toward the mountain vally. Again, from what I've read and seen. If you like what you are doing, then great. Who am I to judge you? I have not done this type of scape. :thumbup: I've just seen my fair share of Iwagumi threads and can kind of predict how they go after a while. ;) It is a popular scape here.

You know that you'll be arranging your rocks for like 10 pages, right? :lol: It is the nature of the beast. I feel for you. I'll wait for cryptocorynes to grow in less than 1wpg, but I have no patience to arrange rocks for 10 pages. I greatly respect those who have that type of patience. :lol:

Good luck.

llj

Oops, forgot to attach the video.. Its still uploading so will come soon!


Thanks ll, unfortunately, all rocks for sale were of the same size. This isnt going to be anywhere near a true iwagumi, probably just iwagumi-esque. But that isnt really my intention. Im just in a way wanting to for once create a tank that is simple and i enjoy looking at! For me, i think this looks great and will give me a sense of accomplishment for finally making something nice! And ofcourse it is all experience for when i make one that is actually properly done!
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Keithoms said:
Here is an HD youtube to show you viewpoints etc..

Thanks for the suggestion Aaron, but im not going to mess around with the structure any more, it took me 12 attempts to get it to a position i actually like and if i attempt to try new things i know ill get it wrong and ruin it! Ill try and pick up some dwarf hairgrass later. Can i not just use the cuttings of the normal hairgrass to act as dwarf?


it is messier than dwarf (tangles a lot easier) and it would be a lot more maintenance, and constant upkeep, at least with dwarf it will reach 4-6" and stop :D
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

aaronnorth said:
Keithoms said:
Here is an HD youtube to show you viewpoints etc..

Thanks for the suggestion Aaron, but im not going to mess around with the structure any more, it took me 12 attempts to get it to a position i actually like and if i attempt to try new things i know ill get it wrong and ruin it! Ill try and pick up some dwarf hairgrass later. Can i not just use the cuttings of the normal hairgrass to act as dwarf?


it is messier than dwarf (tangles a lot easier) and it would be a lot more maintenance, and constant upkeep, at least with dwarf it will reach 4-6" and stop :D

Lol, i was planning to get dwarf but plants alive didn't have any and i didn't feel like paying postage twice just to get it somewhere else.
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Keithoms said:
aaronnorth said:
Keithoms said:
Here is an HD youtube to show you viewpoints etc..

Thanks for the suggestion Aaron, but im not going to mess around with the structure any more, it took me 12 attempts to get it to a position i actually like and if i attempt to try new things i know ill get it wrong and ruin it! Ill try and pick up some dwarf hairgrass later. Can i not just use the cuttings of the normal hairgrass to act as dwarf?


it is messier than dwarf (tangles a lot easier) and it would be a lot more maintenance, and constant upkeep, at least with dwarf it will reach 4-6" and stop :D

Lol, i was planning to get dwarf but plants alive didn't have any and i didn't feel like paying postage twice just to get it somewhere else.

any local Maidenheads or P@H?

MA do aquafleur & P@H do tropica. Both good quality & cheap :thumbup:
If not, try on here, someone may have some spare for a lower price ;)
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

P@H for me, although that had the standard vallis, cambomba, amazon sword etc.. No tropica for me!

Here is the video, watch in [HD] if you can!
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Glosso grows like a weed so you will have plenty of it in a month or two, but be prepared for weekly trims to keep on top of it. The tanks looks very blue from the photos and video, you have marine tubes in there?
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

LondonDragon said:
Glosso grows like a weed so you will have plenty of it in a month or two, but be prepared for weekly trims to keep on top of it. The tanks looks very blue from the photos and video, you have marine tubes in there?

Keithoms said:
My 12th formation has turned out like this: (Ignore the blue, its a mixed actinic and white lamp, but it looks whiter in real life) Its not perfect, but for my budget it looks nice enough for what i want to do

:)
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Here is the tube, any ideas where to get a high watt, all white replacement?
100_0717.jpg
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Well done Keith, I really like the positioning of the stones and at the end of the day you have to stare at it on a daily basis so make sure your happy with the final layout. Eleocharis Vivipara Is a nightmare so try to keep on top of it I would suggest planting in single strands, new grow sprouts on the tip of the leave, snip them off as soon as you see them otherwise it will become a tingly and unsightly mess. Im not sure what you trying to achieve with the Vivapara but if its tall grass you want Dwarf hairgrass gets upto 6-7" i know mine has and its much easier to maintain. anyway mate good luck and keep us posted.
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Should i go for white, or daylight? Which will look better?
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Just found this:
les-kelvin-scale.jpg

Very informative chart, ill go daylight!
 
Re: Keith's First Iwagumi

Love it dragon, but P&P is a tenner. Will a 6000k still be as good? I can get one for 7 inc deliv
 
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