# New 90p iwagumi madness...Just added New Pics and need your opinion(updated 5/4)



## VNCNT (Nov 16, 2009)

do you mind giving details on the DIY stand?


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## Green024 (Sep 19, 2009)

Nice stones you have there, also nice work on the stand, it looks great! I am also just starting my first Iwagumi, so my advise is not that credible.

Quick question: If you want to hide the light switch behind the tank, why not add a background? If you like the white colored background your wall has, just throw a white sheet of cardboard or something on the back of your tank. Thus letting you shift your largest stone to the place the Golden Rule suggests your focal point should be. I was told you divide the length of your tank by 2.618, giving you that sweet spot to assign your center piece.

In the eyes of a aquascaping noob (myself), your formation of rocks seems very clustered. The three rocks that make up peaks to the left of your largest rock, seem to be very level across the top of them. Maybe try tilting and lowering/raising a one or two of them.

Good luck sir, given the nice stand, stones, and tank you have, I feel however you scape this it will turn out really good. Can't wait to see how she evolves!


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

here are some examples of good iwagumis. google is your best friend:

http://www.adana.co.jp/_e_products_top/image/Ryuokaisetsu.jpg

http://www.aquajournal.net/na/layout/004/images/index_03.jpg

hopefully these are helpfull.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

I personally think its quite clustered, i saw spread some of the rocks out just a bit, maybe not as much as the ones posted above, but maybe just a bit more and angle them different, i love the one smaller one on the right side angled toward the camera almost. Very cool, i wish i could find cool rocks like this around here.


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## sapphoqueen (Feb 9, 2010)

spread more these rocks in there


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## zeek21 (Mar 13, 2009)

I actually like it,yeah it needs to be tweeked a bit but I still like it. Maybe stick to your name and be defiant,set it up the way it looks right to you. Best part is you can always move it later which is what happens anyway.I'm always making little adjustments in my hardscape as the plants grow in and change the look of the tank


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## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

I like the rocks. I think its an attractive formation and looks natural. Check out these pics of Totem Pole and Three Sisters. reminds me of them.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...mage_result&resnum=4&ct=image&ved=0CBkQ9QEwAw


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## zeek21 (Mar 13, 2009)

Thank you NJaquabarren, thats what I was thinking of.There are lots of natural rock formations that don't always look-natural or real-.I think this layout is different and has lots of potential


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

NJAquaBarren said:


> I like the rocks. I think its an attractive formation and looks natural. Check out these pics of Totem Pole and Three Sisters. reminds me of them.
> 
> http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...mage_result&resnum=4&ct=image&ved=0CBkQ9QEwAw


 
ok here is another different layout.. thanks for the link i got some inspiration. i think that this looks more natural.

any comments or suggestions on this layout? or does the first one look better?


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## zeek21 (Mar 13, 2009)

I liked the first one,I like the second one more. This is a tank that will be very interesting to watch develop


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

I also like the second one more, but I find that the two large rocks standing vertically a bit distracting.


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## Riverboa (Mar 18, 2009)

Nice equipment and excellent rocks. 

I like the potential here. Personally, I think the positioning of the main stone (the tallest one in your scape) could be more to the right - I am sure you've read about the golden ratio, etc etc, but I think it also serve a more practical purpose in your particular scape. As it is currently positioned (too close to the corner), I imagine that cleaning the glass around that corner would be tricky without accidentally knocking the rock over. 

Good luck. 

-Riverboa


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

ok here are some new pictures of my recently planted 90p. I just put in some HC for the foreground..it was grown emersed so should i start dosing with fertz or what?
I also put some mini pellia and will be adding some flame moss tmorrow.

I made me an acrylic spray bar and intake tube and i also installed all the pressurized co2 stuff running at 2bbls/sec for now.

My stand is fully stocked with ferts tools and filter and misc supplies so im ready to rock and roll hope you like it. 

I will be updating it as the tank fills in. Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Darkblade48 said:


> I also like the second one more, but I find that the two large rocks standing vertically a bit distracting.


+1 l'm not trying to be harsh or anything but if you want a iwagumi layout to stand out l would suggest looking at how rock formations look in nature and try applying it to your aquarium. ask yourself this...Would my layout look like this in nature? You got a good selection of stone now take advantage of this and show us what you got


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Sorry for the double post but l wanted to give you some ideas. maybe this edit helps a bit. Just mess with it a bit and make it original so you make something you're actually proud of not because someone else told you to do it that way. Whatever you do l wish you luck and i know this is going to be one hell of a iwagumi. Just make sure the rocks don't tilt too much that they accidentally break the bottom of the tank.


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## JennaH (Sep 28, 2009)

http://www.donegalthatchcottages.com/images/Rock_formation.jpg
http://www.fatpacking.com/images/RockFormation.jpg

i like the rocks how they are, i think it does look natural, reminds me of these two pictures


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I agree with the slight changing of position. Just a bit more "movement" will make alot of difference. I like what you have though right now and I love the rock you choose, as well as having a very high "mountain line". Look forward to this.


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

thank you all for your suggestions. ill look in to possibly chaning the rocks around but as for right now im really digging it. i like the open-ness of the tank on the right side. 

now comes to my first question...do i need to start dosing my tank now or wait a little while. and what would be the best regimine to do. I purchased some Pfertz n,p,k, and micro but don't really know what regimine to do.

does this sound like a good regimine
MON=n,k
Tues=micro
Wed=n,k
Thurs=micro
Friday=p
Saturday=n,k
Sunday=micro


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

l would wait a while before dozing anything, you wouldn't want algae to grow. One of the reasons algae starts in a new aquarium rather than a established one is because you have a lot of fast growing plants to consume the excess nutrients so that leaves very little to the algae.


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

!shadow! said:


> l would wait a while before dozing anything, you wouldn't want algae to grow. One of the reasons algae starts in a new aquarium rather than a established one is because you have a lot of fast growing plants to consume the excess nutrients so that leaves very little to the algae.


ok thanks shadow for you help with my tank. i hope you don't mind but i copied your iwagumi sig the other day an put it in my sig. lol gotta support the movement.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

np anything to help out, and don't worry it's actually not "mines" lol Eventually everybody copies it from someone else except the creator.


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

sorry its been a while since i updated this journal. there has been a lot of things going on with this tank and now ive finally gotten it under control. 

a few weeks ago the tank was hit suddenly with an onslought of brown stuff. so prematurely i had to add a bunch of ottos and a few sae's to combat the problem. but to no avail, the algae was too much for the algae eaters. i decided to verdose with excel.. i did 6 capfulls once a day for 1 week. the algae started dying on the second day and the sae's made short work of them. 

here is a picture of what it looked like.



















It almost looks like a ghost town layout..kinda scarry looking huh.

Now here are some pictures that i took today. beleive it or not there is HC under all that brown stuff. when it all cleared up the HC was melting away with the algae. I had to pick up another half tray of HC to fill in the holes so that it would grow faster..




























at the same time i added a few blue pearl shrimp , cherry red shrim, and a few low grade crs. i just noticed that a few of the cherries are already berried and about to hatch.:icon_lol:










i planted some HM in the background to help with the nutrient consumption and spread around some of the mini pelia which to my surprise was thriving. The HC is starting to fill in more now and hopefully in 2 weeks i should have a nice carpet. 

Lmk what you guys think of it so far.

Pardon that wire mesh pad on top of one of the pillars. Im growing some flame moss for one of my friends.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

WOW that algae was serious! This is going to be a beautiful tank when it fills in! Nice choice in plants!


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## Retzius (Jul 25, 2009)

Agreed, that some crazy looking algae. 

However, glad you bounced back and I really like your scape along with the stones. Good job on scaping it will look great once it fills in. Just be sure to blast your CO2 to get the HC going.


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## boon (Mar 29, 2006)

I really liked layout #1 but thats me. Damn I thought my brown algae was bad but yours was CRAZY!!!!!. If I'm not mistaken Blue Pearl and RCS interbreeds so you'll end up with a bunch of wild type shrimp(brown color). Someone correct me on this please.


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

boon said:


> I really liked layout #1 but thats me. Damn I thought my brown algae was bad but yours was CRAZY!!!!!. If I'm not mistaken Blue Pearl and RCS interbreeds so you'll end up with a bunch of wild type shrimp(brown color). Someone correct me on this please.


 
right they do interbreed...my friend needed to sell them so i just picked all of them up. anyone want to buy some?:hihi: lol i got like 50 pearls in the tank now with about 30 cherries and 10 crs. they are my clean up and mantainance crew


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## kcirtappatrick (Mar 16, 2009)

boon said:


> I really liked layout #1 but thats me. Damn I thought my brown algae was bad but yours was CRAZY!!!!!. If I'm not mistaken Blue Pearl and RCS interbreeds so you'll end up with a bunch of wild type shrimp(brown color). Someone correct me on this please.


+1 i really liked your first layout! i kinda like all the algae on the soil. looked pretty cool. haha. 
is your spraybar glass? where'd you get it from? 
anyway, the tank looks good! can't wait to see this one grow!


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

kcirtappatrick said:


> +1 i really liked your first layout! i kinda like all the algae on the soil. looked pretty cool. haha.
> is your spraybar glass? where'd you get it from?
> anyway, the tank looks good! can't wait to see this one grow!


 
it did look kinda cool cause they would all sway with the current.

the spray bars are acrylic that i made. lmk if you want one


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Dude that hair algae shot is awesome! Its like a wild west tank! 

I always get that type of algae at some points in new setups even when the tank is packed with plants. Usually goes away by itself after a few weeks when the tank starts balancing out. You definitely needed to go on the offensive with it though given your plant mass.


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## Takedakai (Jan 4, 2010)

Hahaha I'm with everyone else, the algae was kinda cool looking :hihi:

I had some pretty cool green algae that covered some of my wood for a while before the amano shrimp ate it all :icon_frow Sometimes it looks like less of a plague and more of a decoration.


Looking forward to your carpet filling in though and seeing the tank grow in the way you intend. It is always exciting seeing someones creation slowly take shape. Good luck and keep the updates comeing :icon_smil


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

thanks guys ill post up once everything fills in.


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

ok now here is an update to the tank
the HC is growing but slowly im not sure what im doing wrong. 
I got my co2 ramped up a lot and about 8 hours photo time
i dose every day brightly k and step 1 ada fierts

but the HC seems to be crawling...but at least i see growth.
i changed up my plants..i removed the HM in the background and added come green cabomba. lmk if this looks better..Im also planning on replacing the HM on the left hand side with red Cabomba

lmk what youre inputs are.

thanks.

please pardon the misplaced flame moss im in the process of shipping it out.


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## Green024 (Sep 19, 2009)

When i first saw the pictures of your tank with brown algae, i thought it was photoshopped. Glad you got it under control. 

Nice looking tank and stones you have there =]

I was also going to mention that the HM seems to draw my attention away from the scape. I re-read your post and saw that you are all over it all ready. :icon_smil Looking forward to seeing the difference!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

It's really coming together nicely.

Those rocks are fabulous.

The brown algae carpet was pretty spectacular, too! Actually, I liked it :hihi:


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

Hello again the tank is really starting to fill in ill try and post up new pictures tomorrow.

I was just looking at my layout and wanted to get your input on the rocks to the far right corner. Should i remove those rocks totally or maybe move them a little more forward to the left.

they look as though they cause the eye to end there at the corner of the tank instead of allowing the layout to flow outside the confines of the tank. 

i really wanted to get some of your opinions.

i removed all the HM and replaced them with some rotala butterfly in that same spot surrounded by more green cobomba. I also cut some stems of of my rotala pearls and transplanted them elsewhere. lmk what your thoughts are on this.

thanks.


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

ok here are the updated pictures that i just took. sorry for the picture quality. for some reason my water has been cloudy and a lot of my crs and rcs died.

I went and removed all the HM and trimmed and replanted the cabomba where the HM was. I also added more rotala Pearls in that same area. Now im just waiting for all the plants to fill in.

I went and moved the cluster of rocks on the right and side more forward to the left and also removed all the cabomba around it but left the mini pelia to grow on the rocks. 

I felt that the landscape with the rocks against the right corner made the tank look small and made the eye stop right at the rocks. so i moved it so that the vision continues on. or at least i hope it does. 

Please let me know what your input is on this movement. or should i revert back to what it was previous.


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## stevieo (Mar 16, 2010)

I like it, it does help with depth. i really like your tank!!


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## Lance Uppercut (Aug 22, 2009)

Your lights look like they're pretty close to the water. You may want to consider raising them up a little bit, at least until you get the algae under control.


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

how do you get rid of the algae on the rocks? it looks like its growing only on the faces that get a lot of light. i tried scrubbing them off but the green doesn't come off/


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

l got the same thing on my iwagumi and l don't mind it, actually l like the look of it, more natural imo. l think it might be due to your photoperiod being either too long or you have a dirty filter or some other reason l can't think of at the moment.


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## phoenix44 (Feb 7, 2009)

I think your tank looks positively wonderful!


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*asdf*

That is beautiful... What kind of rocks are those?


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## Digital (Apr 4, 2008)

Looks great!


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

benon said:


> That is beautiful... What kind of rocks are those?


thanks everyone 

the stones are called SHOU STONES i think. 

hopefully my water clears up


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## lasutaku (Jun 15, 2007)

Hi, nice tank! Are you still using the Pfertz? I just purchased the line myself, and was told to dose one pump of everything (i have a 24 gallon cube) once a day, but is that what you do?

Thanks!


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

lasutaku said:


> Hi, nice tank! Are you still using the Pfertz? I just purchased the line myself, and was told to dose one pump of everything (i have a 24 gallon cube) once a day, but is that what you do?
> 
> Thanks!


I was using Pfertz but it got confusing because i don't think you use all of it every day. you must find the perfect combination and dose regimines. i think it becomes more like ei dosing

thats why i use ada products brighty k and step 1

1 squirt per 10gal every day and it seems to be doing fine.


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## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

As it was mentioned above, the lighting is much to close. Raise them up at least 6"-10" from the water surface and run a shorter duration of lighting for about a week and see if that helps clear up your water. I had the same thing and I actually did a partial blackout for about 3 days and just left it alone for about 2 weeks and it cleared up on its own. Your lights being that close is what is causing your algae issue, plus not having many plants to compete with the algae.

I do love the layout and rocks!


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

so do you think the cloudiness is that green algae cloud?


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## funkyfish (Mar 16, 2009)

Nice looking tank! Love the stones. I actually like that they turned green from algae looks very natural 

Do these stones alter pH? I know some rocks alter the pH and I really like these but I want to stay away from any changes in my water parameters.


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

funkyfish said:


> Nice looking tank! Love the stones. I actually like that they turned green from algae looks very natural
> 
> Do these stones alter pH? I know some rocks alter the pH and I really like these but I want to stay away from any changes in my water parameters.


yes the guy at my lfs told me that it will lower it a little but not to drastic.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

*asdf*

Are you keeping your aquarium by the sunlight? Does any sunlight hit it at all? The light spectrum of the sun will cause a micro algae. It's ok if a little hits the tank, but if peak sunlight is hitting the tank, that will definitely give you some problems.


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## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

defiant said:


> so do you think the cloudiness is that green algae cloud?


Yes....that is what mine looked like and was even worse then that. I really think that by raising your light and shorting the duration of light down for a little while will help. Also, try and keep your hands out of it for a couple weeks and just let it go. It will clear up. Also, if you don't already use some, get a bag of Purigen to put in your filter.


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## funkyfish (Mar 16, 2009)

defiant said:


> yes the guy at my lfs told me that it will lower it a little but not to drastic.


Ok Thanks!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

How is it that I've missed this thread until now? Pretty good scape, and good job fighting the algae off so much. The stems definitely look nice in the back.

The vertical alignment of the rocks goes really well with their shape and texture :thumbsup:


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

2 major water changes, and a split 3x3x3 photoperiod, just saying.... I'm tellin you it WORKS!!!!


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## Quesenek (Sep 26, 2008)

rountreesj said:


> 2 major water changes, and a split 3x3x3 photoperiod, just saying.... I'm tellin you it WORKS!!!!


Are you saying to split up the time the lights are on? 
The cloudyness could possibly be green water my tank got cloudy about a week or so before my green water hit and the water wasn't really green until about a week and a half after it was full fledge green water. That doesn't explain the shrimp dying though.


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## lasutaku (Jun 15, 2007)

Can someone ID that stemmy looking plant towards the center for me?

Thanks!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Looks like rotala (macrandra) mini type I to me


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

CL said:


> Looks like rotala (macrandra) mini type I to me


yes it is mini rotala pearl .... aquascapes dont have it anymore they only have rotala butterfly version. the leaves underneath becomes a nice hot pink purple color when it is healthy. its beautiful but takes a while to grow.


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## lasutaku (Jun 15, 2007)

Yea, I remember seeing that at Aquascapes before, but when I went yesterday, they never had it, so I didnt know what to ask for lol. 

Thanks!


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

i am saying to split the photoperiod 3 hour segment wityh lights out between

cloudy water sounds like a bacterial bloom, then the green water is the algae thriving off the dead excess bacteria. The water changes help a lot here. I've had green water before, and got a uv sterilizer. but persistent water changes help too. shrimp death i'd attribute to a spike in ammonia, or incorrect temp/ph.


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## Dan the Man (Sep 8, 2009)

Any update?


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