# 60x30x30: Riccia Iwagumi



## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

the riccia iwagumi is something ive thought about doing for a long time, i think i got the idea from one of george the farmers nanos. the idea is to have a classic iwagumi hardscape with riccia filling in the gaps to make the rocks look like they are one large rock/mountain with lawns of riccia growing over the top of it. there is no foreground yet, its either going to be white sand, or more riccia tied to pieces of a smashed bathroom tile. this tank is basically going to be used for holding my inferior fish and shrimp that are ready to be sold.

tank specs:
60cmX30cmX30cm
eheim 2222 with fake ebay lilly pipes
2ft double 24w t5ho 10000k
diy yeast co2
nano diffuser

hardscape/flora:
sandstone? - found at the beach, will probably raise ph
riccia stones

fauna:
"junk" male endlers from my breeding tank that are ready to sell
"junk" cherry shrimp that are ready to sell

pics:


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Nice, very clean look.


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

Looks like a great start. Now why do they have to be "junk"? 

Do you have a secret yeast co2 mix? Never seen it dark brown.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Different kind of yeast or "sugar in the raw" would be my bet for the c02 mix.

Looks good, I want to see it grow


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

This could end up being a very cool tank. I like all the riccia stones Maybe you could mix it up by placing some Weeping Moss stones in between the rocks and get them to "weep" down to the riccia.


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## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

maybe the term "junk" fish & shrimp is a harsh, its more like.......less red cherry shrimp and not so colorful endlers to be sold off 

yeah its brown unrefined sugar, its kind of moist and really fine. ive found it lasts a lot longer than normal sugar, usually up to 3 or 4 weeks.

weeping moss difficult to get a hold of here in australia, i have java moss but i dont think it would have the same effect. also i loath "weeding" out moss from other plants when it inevitably creeps through.


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## Sarkazmo (Jun 22, 2009)

Is Weeping Moss illegal down under? If not there's several sources online for it.

Why the 10000K lamps over say 6500K-6700K?

Sark


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## Damian (Jun 17, 2009)

Thats alot of riccia '


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Cool idea. I was actually thinking about replacing my eleocharis belem foreground with that weed called riccia. 
I am very interested in future updates


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Really nice scape so simple and awesome, hopefully it grows out well. 

Amano's book 2 did a lot of work with riccia scapes, neat stuff, but can become a pain.

-Andrew


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

that looks great and im sure it will when it grows in as well, but dear god trimming is gunna kill your soul.


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## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

thanks everyone,
weeping moss is illegal to ship in from other countries but isnt illegal to keep. you can sometimes find it in australia but its rare to find and when it is available its expensive, usually $25 for a golf ball size, too much $$ for me.

i didnt choose 10000k, theyre just the stock bulbs that came with the fixture.

yes i am aware, trimming will be a bitch.......


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Cool idea, make sure you keep that Riccia trimmed pretty short. I've found that once it gets too high, the base (parts that are fastened to the rock) will die out and the patch will lift off of the rock.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

Sarkazmo said:


> Is Weeping Moss illegal down under? If not there's several sources online for it.
> 
> Why the 10000K lamps over say 6500K-6700K?
> 
> Sark


6500k lamps are fugly. They are yellow and don't grow plants any better than a 10000k bulb. I personally find 8000-10000k bulbs are the most appealing to my eyes. 


This is an awesome start to a tank... Can't wait till it fills in.


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## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

its been about a week, the riccia has grown a little, i also added some male endlers and 3 random barbs. i havnt had any algae issues other than a little brown algae on the glass, no biggie tho. heres some pics, i dont now why they turned out yellow, mabey because the kitchen lights were on this time.


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## jczernia (Apr 16, 2010)

Your tank is starting to look!!!
Can you tell me where did you get your Endlers????


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## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

thanks, ive been breeding my endlers for a couple moths now i cant remember exactly where i bought the original pairs, i think some local breeder here in australia. they breed to fast to sell i have hundreds of them in my other tanks


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## tuffgong (Apr 13, 2010)

That looks great. I've got to try riccia on rocks now. Very inspiring!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

One week? That's some pretty great growth for one week. Things are shaping up nicely!


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Note to self. Riccia stones = insta-scape. 

Looks awesome!


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

sandstone should be fine with no ph probs i use it in my tanks and have never had a prob with it. what kind of stones are the riccia ones? and how many gal is your tank i really like it. can you tell how you did your stones, netting fishing line thread? thanks for the info


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## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

im not sure what stone i used for the riccia, i found them in the creek near my house. the tank is 15 US gallons (2ftx1ftx1ft). i used an unraveled net luffa and fishing line to secure the riccia.


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## divy (Mar 21, 2008)

Thats going to look pretty cool in another week or two if it keeps growing the way it does

i really like it, please keep us updated on how it goes

Oh im from melb too!


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## globali (May 29, 2010)

So lovely
So simple
So creative
So interesting


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## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

thanks, i saw your thread divy and it looks awesome. nice to see another melbourner here where did you get your substrate and rocks i cant find any like that here.


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## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

ugh......things that make me sad


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

I've had a couple of suicidal CPDs in my tank too. One of the perils of having an open top, I guess.

If it were me, I'd have an endler-only tank.


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## niptek (Nov 9, 2008)

where did u get ur light?


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## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

i got it from http://www.guppysaquariumproducts.com.au/ its an australian based company, im not sure if they ship overseas.
heres a pic from one of my other tanks:


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## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

moved everything into a 60x45x45 in my room because my parents didnt like the tank in the kitchen. will get beter pics when i get back from uni.


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## shoteh (Nov 13, 2007)

Any update on this tank? I'm assuming it's a complete mess?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I will never touch riccia again. It's impossible to get rid of in a tank with conditions it likes. For your application though... it's BEAUTIFUL!


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## icepotato89 (Apr 3, 2009)

i went away for a week and didnt trim...so all the riccia came up. so i removed all the riccia stones and planted Lilaeopsis brasiliensis. pictures:









discus i got for freeeeee:









my next project, 15 nano tanks in 1, (meant for bettas):


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## Heartnet (Sep 13, 2009)

icepotato89 said:


> my next project, 15 nano tanks in 1, (meant for bettas):


This looks really interesting. Are you going to make a thread for this or maybe I just missed it.


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## shoteh (Nov 13, 2007)

wow, guess you didn't take pics of the Riccia mess then huh? Good luck to your betta project. Looks neat so far.


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