# Critique my Iwagumi layout



## smokaah (Nov 30, 2011)

I vote #2


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## JMex (Apr 8, 2012)

I really like #2. #3 is a close second


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## mcqueenesq (Aug 29, 2011)

Great rocks. #1


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## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

#4 looks the best in terms of both sides linking together in the scape.

What ever scape you use, im sure it will look great roud:


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## Bunfoo (Jan 14, 2012)

#4. 

#3 is almost the same I think? But that smooth sided stone doesn't look right. 
#1 is too symmetrical IMO. 
#2 is nice but the left makeup looks too man-made.


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

smokaah said:


> I vote #2





JMex said:


> I really like #2. #3 is a close second





mcqueenesq said:


> Great rocks. #1


Thanks for your replies. :thumbsup:



[email protected] said:


> #4 looks the best in terms of both sides linking together in the scape.
> 
> What ever scape you use, im sure it will look great roud:


Thanks, I purchased some 30 pounds of stone from a member here. I plan on doing a hardscape only shrimp tank sometime this summer, I need to get the hardscape set before going any further.



Bunfoo said:


> #4.
> 
> #3 is almost the same I think? But that smooth sided stone doesn't look right.
> #1 is too symmetrical IMO.
> #2 is nice but the left makeup looks too man-made.


Thanks for your opinions, this is extremely helpful.

I like #4 too. 3 is the same except for the smooth stone, 
#1 the stones on the right are too big and seem to take your attention away from the center.


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## Bunfoo (Jan 14, 2012)

On second thought, try switchling the left-most rock on #4 to face the other way. Looking at it hard #4 resembles a smaller of the first, looks a bit strange. flipping the rock may also help add more directional tension and bring the piece to attract the eyes to overall.


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

Do you mean the one on the front or the one that is pictured in red or green.? I would think green.


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## Em85 (Apr 16, 2009)

#4. I agree with Bunfoo, #1 is too symmetrical.


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## babyboyblue (Dec 12, 2011)

Number 3 or 4.


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## neueklare_ein (Jan 25, 2012)

No. 4 looks like the right one!


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## salmon (Apr 14, 2011)

id say #3 or #4. good hardscaping either way!

two pointers to mention. mock-scapes tend look way different prior to adding substrate so try to keep that in mind. also, make sure you wet or spray those rocks before settling on a scape (if you havn't already), quite surprising what a bit of water can do to change the appearance/color/texture of them, i forgot this step in my recent layout and i ended up with an very unwanted white patch on one stone.


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## Bunfoo (Jan 14, 2012)

Yup, the green one.


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

babyboyblue said:


> Number 3 or 4.





Em85 said:


> #4. I agree with Bunfoo, #1 is too symmetrical.





neueklare_ein said:


> No. 4 looks like the right one!


roud: 

Thanks for the opinion guys, I will go home and make some changes and post more up.



salmon said:


> id say #3 or #4. good hardscaping either way!
> 
> two pointers to mention. mock-scapes tend look way different prior to adding substrate so try to keep that in mind. also, make sure you wet or spray those rocks before settling on a scape (if you havn't already), quite surprising what a bit of water can do to change the appearance/color/texture of them, i forgot this step in my recent layout and i ended up with an very unwanted white patch on one stone.


Thanks for the tip, Once I have the hardscape nailed down. I am going to be trying 3 different substrates, not sure how I am going to do that, but the idea will be to simulate the textures and color contrasts.

I washed all the stones and didnt find odd patches as such, but I will mist them and take a look before i finalize it.



Bunfoo said:


> Yup, the green one.


Cool, I'll post a pic up of the flipped one once I get home. Thanks for your help, it is greatly appreciated.


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

Alright flipped pictures : 

I am going to bury the rock in the front to show just above the substrate, so it wont block the scape in the background
I also moved some rocks in the main layout to fill the gap between the Oyaishi and the Fukuishi

#5



























This one is a slightly more subtle left hand side.. if you look closely the rocks on the extreme left arent pointed upwards. 

#6


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## carolinyens (May 18, 2009)

I like 3. would look neat if you took the smooth rock and covered it in that algae thats used for moss balls, the name eludes me at the moment and give it the look of a small green pond.


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## Bunfoo (Jan 14, 2012)

Hmm...no, I think #4 is still best. The contrast makes it a bit awkward now. 

I think #4 is a good bet.


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

Sounds good, Thanks for your opinions everyone. #4 it is. Next I need to try out different substrates to determine the best viewing experience.


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

How does this look ? I created a hardscape for my Mini M, The foreground is going to be UG and the back right corner will have some Didiplis Diandra.


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## TheFoleys (Jul 30, 2012)

4 then 3. Nice rocks


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## Colorful (May 14, 2012)

What kind of rocks are those? They're really cool looking


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## aweeby (Oct 1, 2011)

for the mini M, i'd move the small rock in the middle a bit to the left to create two distinct focal points, then rotate the farthest left of the right group so that you don't get all the lines going in the exat same direction.


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

TheFoleys said:


> 4 then 3. Nice rocks


:thumbsup:



Colorful said:


> What kind of rocks are those? They're really cool looking


Thanks, These are Seiryu Stones.



aweeby said:


> for the mini M, i'd move the small rock in the middle a bit to the left to create two distinct focal points, then rotate the farthest left of the right group so that you don't get all the lines going in the exat same direction.


Thanks for the input. I'll try that out tonight and post an updated picture.
The idea behind the small stone in the middle facing the opposite side was to create tension in the layout.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Nice tanks/rocks Vijay! Love the Mini M.


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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

#4, the original. The stone facing the other way as you had it picks up on the tension from the opposite facing rock on the right side. Turning it shifted the emphasis to the gap which seems odd considering the mass of rock is on the right side & the lighter left side doesn't balance the gap being the focal point.

Hope that makes sense!


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Nice tanks/rocks Vijay! Love the Mini M.


Thanks Kiran, Your mini M inspired me to do my own.



bluestems said:


> #4, the original. The stone facing the other way as you had it picks up on the tension from the opposite facing rock on the right side. Turning it shifted the emphasis to the gap which seems odd considering the mass of rock is on the right side & the lighter left side doesn't balance the gap being the focal point.
> 
> Hope that makes sense!


Thanks bluestems, I went with this layout for the Mini-M let me know how it looks. I'll get some better pictures today.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

wastedtime said:


> Thanks Kiran, Your mini M inspired me to do my own.


Thanks, you're the second or third person to tell me that! Glad to see it's in inspiration to others, just as many others' tanks did myself.

Looks awesome. You'll get much faster results and a better overall root system if you split your HC up more, though. Like, as in, just 1-4 stems per bunch and plant those. It'll spread much much faster.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

One and 5


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## jordan.55 (Jun 14, 2012)

Were do all you guys find such amazing rocks!?!


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## ADJAquariums (Jul 5, 2012)

Number 3


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

dudebro said:


> One and 5





ADJAquariums said:


> Number 3


Thanks, I updated the pictures on the first post.




Geniusdudekiran said:


> Looks awesome. You'll get much faster results and a better overall root system if you split your HC up more, though. Like, as in, just 1-4 stems per bunch and plant those. It'll spread much much faster.


I tried uprooting some , but it looks like the roots are tied together, I am going to leave them in as is. 



jordan.55 said:


> Were do all you guys find such amazing rocks!?!


They are Seiryu Stones. I bought them here on the Swap and Shop.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Is the tank filled yet?m


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

Yes the tank is filled, but it is not iwagumi anymore. I ended up taking out the HC to use in my 60-P, So here is how it looked a month ago.... I took the heater and filter out and replaced it with a canister and inline heater, So it looks much cleaner now.


































Some more recent pictures



















I am still fighting some algae that was introduced when the CO2 ran out. I am slowly getting it back under control.


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

Nice man!


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## wetbizquit (Jul 9, 2006)

siiiiiiiiick tank bro, looking good, hey is that some of the NJF i got?? ha ha  i really like the feel on the Seiryu Stones you have, where did you get them?


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Looks great! I like it better this way, actually!


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## beedee (Jul 1, 2010)

^ Agreed. Very natural flow to it, well done, well done.


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

h4n said:


> Nice man!


Thanks Han.



wetbizquit said:


> siiiiiiiiick tank bro, looking good, hey is that some of the NJF i got?? ha ha  i really like the feel on the Seiryu Stones you have, where did you get them?


Thanks, the Seriyu stones were purchased from a member here a couple of months ago. 



Geniusdudekiran said:


> Looks great! I like it better this way, actually!


:smile: Thank you Kiran, the only problem I have now is algae X( .. the light is too bright for the NLJF, I havent been able to narrow down a dosing regimen that keeps the algae at bay and also provide enough nutrients for the plants. 



beedee said:


> ^ Agreed. Very natural flow to it, well done, well done.


Thanks, I really appreciate the feedback, I'll get some updated pictures posted soon.


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Nice Job!


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

wastedtime said:


> :smile: Thank you Kiran, the only problem I have now is algae X( .. the light is too bright for the NLJF, I havent been able to narrow down a dosing regimen that keeps the algae at bay and also provide enough nutrients for the plants.


Are you dosing the tank with Excel? How long is the tank's photoperiod? What kind of algae?

About 1.5 months ago I was having some pretty major algae issues in my Mini S, but after adding more plant mass and dosing excel steadily it had subsided.


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Are you dosing the tank with Excel? How long is the tank's photoperiod? What kind of algae?
> 
> About 1.5 months ago I was having some pretty major algae issues in my Mini S, but after adding more plant mass and dosing excel steadily it had subsided.



The photoperiod on the tank is set to 6 hours, with the co2 turning on an hour before the lights come on. I dose N and K only using Pfertz no P or Micros. I havent dosed any excel so far. Everytime I dose either P or Micros the algae starts growing exponentially.

BGA showed up 2 weeks ago.. this was expected because the damn timer wouldnt turn the co2 on correctly, it took me a couple of days to fix it. 

I have some green thread algae (looks similar to spirogyra) also have some fuzz algae showing up now. 

I did some spot treatments with excel and that seems to have kept the algae under control, Do you recommend just dosing the tank directly everytime ? or should I keep doing spot treatments ?

Also when do you recommend dosing excel, should I dose at night ? when the co2 has been turned off ? or should I be dosing when the co2 is on ? .. I just dont want a scenario where there is too little oxygen in the water because of co2 and excel.


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## wastedtime (Oct 27, 2011)

Here are some updated pictures :


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