# Added more light



## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

I like the rocks. What do you plan on planting?

Were it my tank, I would rotate the large rock slightly counter-clockwise so as to not be so parallel to the glass. (It looks like there's little room to rotate, however, but I'd shift it as much as I could without hitting glass.)

Or, I'd flip the big one 180º as it seems to have more character on the other side.


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

I am planning a foreground of HC and some dwarf hairgrass in the back. Very generic I know. Will try rotating the rock. Do you think it looks too crowded and should I use the three rocks or maybe just the big one?


----------



## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

I'd use a much smaller "large rock".

In the bottom three pictures, the front-most rock, as well as the back-left rock appear to have sharper edges. I'd follow through with that style and find a large rock that has sharper edges. You can probably take a hammer and chisel to the rock and cleave it to have some sharper edges. Then you can just chip off (or slightly sand down) the sharpest parts do you don't cut yourself.

But the main thing is the largest rock is too big compared to the other two.

Even with a smaller dominant rock, there's not much space in between the existing rocks and the flow might be thrown off.

For example, look at this scape. Original image found at ASW; http://www.aquascapingworld.com/magazine/Magazine/Iwagumi-Style.html









The rocks are lying a bit lower and help the scape "flow" across the horizon.

And refer to this image from the Aquatic Eden Blog. I had to host it oh my PhotoBucket because Blogspot does not allow hotlinking, but the image has been unaltered from the original website.
http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2007/02/aquascape-analysis-6-gallery-22-iwagumi.html









The line shows how the scape flows.

An except from the Blog:


> The profile of an iwagumi tank is almost always flat. This is due to the use of carpeting and grassy plants. If anything there are gentle, natural slopes to emulate nature, but no major profile-defining shapes. This helps to concentrate the viewer's attention on the rocks and convey a sense of openness and airyness.


----------



## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

I've found that rocks get smaller looking once the plants take hold. Meaning, what looks too crowded now will not seem all that crowded once the HC and Hairgrass grow in.

Does it look too crowded now? Yes. Will it once the plants grow in? In my opinion, no. I think it'll look awesome. The HC'll fill in the crevices and it'll look like a river of green running through the mountains with the splash of Hairgrass in the back.


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

OK so I tried with some smaller rocks and I am not liking it much. We are having thunderstorms right now so I cant go out rock hunting. Anyway heres a pic with the big rock rotated and one with some smaller rocks.


----------



## Myka (Jan 22, 2008)

I don't like how big the big rock is. Tough to do an Iwugami in such a tall, skinny tank though.


----------



## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

I like the rocks in the last one. Pull them out of the substrate and have them exposed a bit more. With nicely trimmed DHG, I think it'll look nice.


----------



## Myka (Jan 22, 2008)

Personally, I would go with flatter rocks (like your smaller two), and then add depth by sloping the substrate more. If you can find a "hotdog" shaped rock you could make a sort of bench/tier. With the tank being so tall and skinny I would play on the substrate...it could even be 6" thick on a shelf/bench/tier. Give it depth since you can't give it length.


----------



## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

I think your hardscape look fine, but I do agree with Ugly Genius and epicfish.
The larger rock is a little to rounded for my taste. A chisel and hammer would do the trick though.
Be sure to keep us updated. I always love to see a nice Iwagumi


----------



## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

I personally like the big rock. I don't care for the smaller one. Perhaps a happy-medium between the two would be best, but of the two, the bigger is nicer to me.

I would rotate it in the opposite direction, but the way you have it now looks nice, too.

I'd imagine since this will be a breeding tank, you'll need some moss so you'll have to consider to which rock you'll attach it. Growing up the side of a large rock would look cool as heck. It'd be like a moss wall.

I'm all for taking risks in a layout -- trusting your artistic eye and going with it. If you're like me, you'll spend a lot of mental energy getting the rocks right, but once the plants grow in, you barely notice them.


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

This is kinda something like I am thinking. The rock is very large in proportion to the tank. 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/61894-mini-s-rock.html#post559501


----------



## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

This is just me, but if that's the look you're going for, go for it. In the end, it's always about self-expression and interpretation.

I think it'll look cool as heck. A large rock like that with a carpet plant and shrimp crawling all over it would be awesome.


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I am going to keep it with the big rock. If I dont like it in a couple of months I can alway rescape. The only thing is that I am a little worried that the rock is so big it will shade the plants.


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

Ok, this is the initial planting. I hope I did it right... Does it look ok?


----------



## kittytango (May 7, 2008)

I think it looks fine.  Will look even better once it starts to grow!


----------



## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Looks great!:thumbsup:


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

are you gonna start it immersed for a while?


----------



## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Looks good. You're going to want to lower (emmersed) or raise (fill the tank) the water level though. If the former, then cover the tank to keep it moist.


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

I was thinking about keeping it immersed for a while to let the roots get a hold. I am afraid everything may float if I fill it and that would be really depressing being it took me so long to do. 
I know I have a bit too much water toward the front but I tried to get it out and I couldn't without disturbing the plants. I figured if I leave it uncovered for a while it should dry out pretty quickly. Do you think thats ok?


----------



## bolivianram123 (Jun 5, 2008)

i'm no pro, but i've seen people pour water into frisbies, or something like that, to prevent the substrate and/or plants from being disturbed.

also to remove the excess water you could use airline tubing. stick one end in the tank and suck on the other to get the water siphoning. just watch the water as it goes down.


----------



## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

I don't know if you want it to dry out.. maybe just take some water out?
Since there is a little too much water I would suggest using something like a turkey baster to take out the excess water. It really allows you to control how much you take out. 
As for filling it, you could use a cup or even the top of a tupperware to keep it form disturbing your plants. Just make sure the flow of water isn't to strong, and I think you'll be fine.

Can't wait until this fills in!


----------



## Augus (Apr 7, 2008)

I start emersed HC as well. Initially I also have a bit of water on the surface at the front, I use paper tower to suck up water and squiz it out.


----------



## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Looks great. I'll be keeping my eye on this one for sure.

You might want to consider raising up the center front flat rock as it'll probably get buried by the HC in no time. Perhaps angling it up from the back would help.


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

I was thinking that about the front stone too but part of it is already under the substrate with plants growing on top. There is kinda like a shelf at the back of the stone. Maybe I'll go play with it and see what happens.


----------



## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

I do like the setup. One thing to remember when building an aquascape, it is your personal enjoyment and expression that you are attempting to present. When it comes to having suggestions that is fine as long as you like the changes. After all it is your scape and nobody else. 

If you like what you see then keep it that way. When have you gone into an art house and see displays that you did not like?? Have you contacted the artist and give your comments and tell them that they should change their work???


----------



## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Jen, that's a cool lamp. Where'd ya get it?


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

Its the lamp that comes with the 4 gallon finnex. 13watt cf, I hope it is enough light. So when I am spritzing these plants in the tank should I put some fertilizer in the water? I dont really fertilize my other tank but I have some of the kents fertilizer. I know this is gonna be a stupid question but how about miracle grow?


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

The fertilizer is kent freshwater pro plant. Could I put say a drop in my spray bottle? Or should I leave well enough alone?
~~Jen


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

Anybody?


----------



## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

goddessjen said:


> Its the lamp that comes with the 4 gallon finnex. 13watt cf, I hope it is enough light. So when I am spritzing these plants in the tank should I put some fertilizer in the water? I dont really fertilize my other tank but I have some of the kents fertilizer. I know this is gonna be a stupid question but how about miracle grow?


i believe mircale gro is generally a NO because of the ammonia and high phosphate content typically used for potted plant, it will kill your livestock if you have any, and the P might cause algae

If the Kent Pro PLant is made specifically for aquarium, I don't see why not.


----------



## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Don't use the house plant stuff. The freshwater stuff'll be okay, though.

That said, your HC and Dwarf Hairgrass should get a lot of nutrients from your (what looks like) Aqua Soil. Meaning, you might not have to fertilize right away if your plants grow well enough without additional fertilizers.

So your answer either way is yes. Yes, you can avoid fertilizing if you want and, yes, you can fertilize if you want.

Just not the house plant stuff.


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

Yes, it is aqua soil. So far without fertilizer everything is looking good. I expected everything to be dead and wilted by now to tell you the truth. There was no noticeable root system once I had removed the plants from the rock wool so I figured they were going to die. But already the hc is looking ok to me and the hair grass isn't dead so I am happy.


----------



## goddessjen (Mar 9, 2008)

Ok, so today I looked in the tank and noticed that the big rock shades what is behind it if I put the light too far forward and whats in front of it if I put to too far back and if I leave it in the middle they both get shaded. And the hc in the front corner looks a little brown whereas the rest looks bright green. So I decided to add some more light. I went to home depot and bought the 27 watt desk lamp people on here have used. So now I have two lights on the tank for a total of 40 watts. Do you think this is too much? Will I get alot of algae once I add water?
~~Jen


----------



## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

Just use the home depot lamp. It is all you'll need, and it should light the entire footprint nicely.


----------

