# Mini-M Iwagumi Feedback Please



## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

I just got this Mini-M and some Ryuoh stone with aquasoil. They sent exactly what i was looking for, the centerpice rock is amazing. Just looking to see how you guys feel this scape is, it's a bad picture but you can still tell. I thought that one kinda "pointing" at the center piece is cool, i'm gonna add more slope before i fill it though, i was just to anxious.


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## BJRuttenberg (Apr 27, 2006)

Can't see the layout very well but IMO the rocks all sit on the same linear plane which denies the tank any depth of field. The rocks are great complements to one another though. Your Fukuishi and Soeishi stones are nicely sized in comparison to the Oyaishi, but again, I would move the Fukuishi (middle largest stone) toward the front right of the Oyaishi (largest stone), and move the Shoishi (smallest) just to the middle/back right of the Oyaishi...to create a kind of triangle. 

By putting the smallest stone in back you also create the appearance of distance, thus getting your depth of field. The Oyaishi and the Shoishi can sit on the same horizontal plane, but the Fukuishi should sit lower than those two. 

Head on view & view from above:
O S
F

A great Iwagumi resource:
http://www.aquajournal.net/na/iwagumi/index.html

My other advice is ignore anything I said and do what looks good to you. 

Hope this helps.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

Thanks! I actually have five stones in there, i rearranged it with that link and your input though which i actually like better! Thoughts anyone?


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Got any smaller stones? I'd remove the back left and back right stones and add a few smaller stones. Then slide everything back. Just my opinion, do what you like and what looks good to you. 

What plants are you planning on adding?


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## WonderKeeper (May 26, 2011)

or make a view look bigger by adding white sand in the middle tank run to a small gap between rocks( like a river or lake )


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

No those are all the ones I have. Planning on an HC carpet I think.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Personally, I like to have a limit of only three stones for a Mini-M. Any more than that and the tank looks too "full". I'd remove the front left and rear left stones. Also, you should try to make the stones as tall as you can. Have them just resting on the substrate (but covered enough that they're stable).


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Don't forget that you could take a stone or two out and smash them. Then use those smaller stones however you want.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

think this will be my final layout. Thoughts anyone?


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## vespers_ (May 6, 2011)

i liked all of them


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i would still tweak it a little bit. its better than the others, but is off balance or something. it lacks that flow and resistance. i think maybe beacuse all of the pieces are facing the same direction. 

read these, they might help you. they helped me http://www.aquajournal.net/na/iwagumi/index.html


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## Ben. (Mar 29, 2011)

I would move the small middle stone.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

the leftmost stone is too pointed strait up as well


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## Fuzz (Mar 13, 2011)

Nice tank and rocks. Just my input is that it seems like it'd be very difficult to work with rock layout in wet soil. My room mate did that in his mini-m and re-arranged it so much that it turned all the soil into mud and made his rocks very dirty. He ended up having to scrap everything and redo it with dry soil until he found the layout he liked best. In my (little) experience with soil it's much easier to do the layout with the soil dry so that you don't smash it up into mud while moving everything around finding what you like. Aqua soil is great the way it is made like pebbles and is very easy to get your layout and slope while it's still dry so that you can also lay out your rocks and fill in the soil around it easily without it getting mushy. Once you find your favorite layout then you can begin planting and then fill it carefully to not mess up your soil and everything. 

You can check out the link to my new tank that I just started with aqua soil and sand to see my steps. I did it dry first to find my rock layout and then when I planted it I filled it with water a bit and misted the plants (water is no higher than the lowest point of slope to prevent algae while I'm dry starting). This lets each pebble absorb a bit of water so that the plants can start rooting. Eventually when I flood it the layout should sink a bit as it settles but it'll still keep its form nicely.

That's just my two cents though. If you're not changing the rocks too drastically then it shouldn't mud up as much and dirty your rocks in any significant way. Either way you have a nice tank and awesome rocks so it should still turn out great. Good luck, can't wait to see the progress


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

http://www.aquajournal.net/na/iwagumi/index.html

Check out this link before you do anything else.....


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## Fuzz (Mar 13, 2011)

Oh and as for the layout, I definitely like the 3 stones better than the 5, way too crowded with the ones you have unless you break some up. Also, usually for Iwagumi you don't do even number of rocks unless in the higher numbers to prevent it from being too symmetrical, I'm assuming you figured that out. Also 4 is considered unlucky, there was a link (sorry couldn't find it again) someone posted about the whole Iwagumi styling that stated that the word four in japanese was also the word for death. It also gave some general examples for rock layouts so you might want to look into that.

For me with your most recent layout I would probably slant that biggest rock to the right to match the direction of the other rocks so it's not as vertical and so layout doesn't look as symmetrical. It would probably fill that empty gap in the middle a bit more and look nicer but that's just me.

Edit: +1 to xmas_one, good reference for anyone wanting to do Iwagumi


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

i'll take a pic after my water clears. i like it now roud:


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

I don't understand what you mean by flow and resistance, but this is what i have.

FTS









Left side









right side









awesome middle stone









the surrounding area, my desk, excuse the mess.









feedback appreciated!:icon_smil


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Try to make the slope more vertical to get the illusion of depth. If you're planning on iwagumi-related plants for a tank that size (like hc and glosso for example), they don't have deep root systems so it would be fine if you brought down the substrate to slightly over an inch in height. Also, try moving the small center rock slightly to the left or right. Among the key elements in an iwagumi layout, it is usually to preserve odd numbers of rocks and maintain only a small degree of symmetry (if any). Among future recommendations for plants, you should have staurogyne in the back corners for a slightly different leaf texture. . .

Hope that helps


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Not sure why your substrate is so deep. It looks like you have around 2.5-3" deep. You only need around 1.5" for a tank this size. Once the carpet fills in it'll add another 1.5" to this height. When this happens the scale of the tank will be all off.

Also, that small rock in the center will also disappear once the carpet fills in. I suggest you stand it up vertically to make it as tall as possible.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

i don't really know why it is either. i made it way too deep, but it already has the layers down. so just cut the layer of aquasoil/powder type down?


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

I'd pull some of the substrate out if I were you. As far as the scape, I really like it. I wasn't sure before but now that I see it further out I really think it looks good. Its more unique than most iwagumi tanks. All this advice is good, but do what looks good to you. I'd like to see it how it is now. 

I'd say pull some soil out and redo what you already have.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

finally got it filled! I was waiting on the light and lily pipes. it's pretty much an all ADA tank. sweetness.









cloudiness from filling.:icon_conf

thoughts on the tank?


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

it shall not go into te depths!


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

hey what light are you using?


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

solar mini-m

re-did it, my aquasoil was defective (GASP!)

I really like it now, it looks super clean and elegant in person.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

no thoughts at all people?


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

looks good. but i think with a few minor adjustments it could look all the more better


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

what adjustments?


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

*left rock-*. i think it needs to be a little bit deeper into the sand and it needs to be angles left more, but leave it in the same general location. i woulde move the whole rock to the right some. so its behind the right rock, just a little bit

*right rock-* i would keep the orientation it has, looks good.i would keep it the way it is and move things around it. 

*small rock* move it to the very left and low in the substrate. point it left.


il do a paint of what i mean later.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

Sweet i would appreciate the paint mucho, I'm very confused at the moment by what you mean.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

here ya go. jsut remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so even if i say i think something, doesnt mean its the only or "right" way. if you like it go with it










with arrows showing the direction of the flow










overhead view


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