# Yes, another Iwagumi attempt! Journal (pics)



## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

Hey everyone,

almost 1 week in to my HC DSM. Hoping I don't run into too many problems.

Tank- 6gal Fluval Edge 
Lighting- Finnex FugeRay Planted+ 16 and Stock Fluval Edge 21 LED system/ 8 hour photo period
Co2- AQUATEK CO2 Regulator / Mini Paintball Co2 tank 
Substrate- ADA Aquasoil Amazonia Powder
Stone- Ebay Seiryu Stone 
Fertilization- N/A (I do have a few root tabs, may or may not use excel/Flourish.)
Plants- Micro Sword "Narrow Leaf" (LilaeopsisMauritius)
Baby Tears, Dwarf (Hemianthus callitrichoides) 

I will keep posting pictures, any input is appreciated. 

Kept moving the hardscape around for about a week until I settled. HC came in plastic culture cups with that horrible gel, tried to remove as much as I could before planting. 

HC is misted and aired out every other day for 30-60 mins. 
any questions let me know!

-Chris


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

I don't have any input, but I would really like to know where you got those rocks. Those are awesome! Where can I find some rocks like those?


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

dcutl002 said:


> I don't have any input, but I would really like to know where you got those rocks. Those are awesome! Where can I find some rocks like those?


Search Seiryu Stone on ebay it will give you a few results. the rocks you get are random but the seller did a decent job giving me a variety of sizes.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

You're going to have some challenges (as we discussed in the Edge thread), but I look forward to seeing how it all comes together.  Off to a great start!


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## shadowplant (Jan 14, 2015)

Hey, love the setup!

Where did you end up finding HC to buy? I can't seem to find it anywhere


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## Lux89 (Jan 18, 2015)

Lovely setup! Can't wait to see how it grows. 

Shadow, I recently ordered some from Peabody's Paradise. Beautiful plants great customer service


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

shadowplant said:


> Hey, love the setup!
> 
> Where did you end up finding HC to buy? I can't seem to find it anywhere


hey shadow,

Its hard to find out here in Vegas, I have never seen it local. I got these pots from [Ebay Link Removed] I have also ordered from aquariumplants.com and was happy.


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## Tiamat86 (Aug 20, 2013)

It looks great so far. I really want to try something like this in my 5 gal. I'm bored with it and want to try something different. I love your choice of plants. I think your hardscape looks awesome. I especially like the little pockets created by the 3 stones around the big one.
\


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## shadowplant (Jan 14, 2015)

AquaMan25 said:


> Hey everyone,
> 
> almost 1 week in to my HC DSM. Hoping I don't run into too many problems.
> 
> ...


How many pounds of Seiryu stone is that? I'm wondering so I know the right amount to buy


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

shadowplant said:


> How many pounds of Seiryu stone is that? I'm wondering so I know the right amount to buy


I got 10 pounds and wish I got a little more. Two of the stones I didn't like so my options were pretty limited for my hardscape.


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

*week 2*

Hey everyone, 

2 weeks in, everything is still looking good. Starting to see some deep roots. No melting or discoloration, nice and bright!


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## dru (Mar 9, 2013)

Off to a good start!

I am about to attempt my first dry start using seiryu in a 8" cube with HC and stauro


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

*week 3*

still going strong


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## dru (Mar 9, 2013)

Are you noticing any growth?

Any tips?


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

dru said:


> Are you noticing any growth?
> 
> Any tips?


Yeah definitely! I didn't see much the first week but it seems like once it got rooted it started to take off. The HC in the back left isn't getting much light and barely moving compared to the rest of the tank tho. 

Tips? I feel like its more the products I am using then my skill lol. 
I am trying not to over think the process, just a simple misting every other day with some time to air out. I have no standing water in my gravel its all only moist. I wipe water off the glass to avoid excess humidity. 1 or 2 more weeks and I will flood the tank.


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

*5 week update*

Tomorrow will be 5 weeks! Getting everything ready to flood the tank, still happy with progress. Started to get a small amount of browning on a few leafs. I think it was too moist, I cut back on misting and let it air out a bit more. It seems to have helped. I have an interesting slime mold in the tank somewhere also, moves pretty quick.


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## Lowe (Nov 11, 2011)

Man that's a beauty. Filled in nicely. Thumps up!


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

*6 Week Flood!*

All filled =)

Co2 injection setup, 3-4 bps will slowly reduce. Co2 and air bubbles trapped under the top glass is going to be a problem! Thinking of lowering water just enough to avoid this issue.


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## 808style (Sep 28, 2012)

great start! looking good!


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

*Week 8*

HC did not have a hard time adjusting, it has exploded! :icon_smil


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## hinow41 (Feb 13, 2015)

beautiful set up.


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## natebuchholz (Sep 28, 2013)

That really filled in nicely!


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

Beautiful setup, and excellent growth. I can't imagine how you would trim in these tanks


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

fish_fasinated said:


> Beautiful setup, and excellent growth. I can't imagine how you would trim in these tanks


It can be done, but it's a PITA, for sure.


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## Technik (Feb 14, 2015)

do all igawumis have the gravel sloping from front to back?


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

Technik said:


> do all igawumis have the gravel sloping from front to back?


Commonly, because it adds the appearance of extra depth, but there's no strict rule about it.


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## dru (Mar 9, 2013)

Wow that really took off

Hoping my DSM follows suit


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## katemarie (Mar 10, 2015)

Lovely tank! You certainly had good luck with DSM  I tried it once and didn't see much growth, but I hope to try it again one of these days. Any idea what you are going to stock it with?


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## lksdrinker (Feb 12, 2014)

Wow. looks great! I've still got a couple of empty tanks that need to be set up and was thinking of trying something similar to this....may use this thread as inspiration sooner or later!

How many pots of the HC did you start with, and did you just plant the bunches or did you separate everything and plant very close together?

How many pounds of that substrate would you say you used?


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

katemarie said:


> Lovely tank! You certainly had good luck with DSM  I tried it once and didn't see much growth, but I hope to try it again one of these days. Any idea what you are going to stock it with?


Yeah I was so surprised at the rate of growth after I filled the tank, so much faster! If I knew it was going to thrive I would have filled it sooner =). I have no clue what I am going to stock it with. I was sure I wanted to do CRS but I have moved away from that the more I read how sensitive they are (and Pricey!). Probably just going to do some Amano and cherry red shrimp. No clue for fish, Small schooling fish I think. Any recommendations?


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

lksdrinker said:


> Wow. looks great! I've still got a couple of empty tanks that need to be set up and was thinking of trying something similar to this....may use this thread as inspiration sooner or later!
> 
> How many pots of the HC did you start with, and did you just plant the bunches or did you separate everything and plant very close together?
> 
> How many pounds of that substrate would you say you used?



Thanks! Hope this thread helps in the future! 
I started with 5 plastic culture cups of HC, I am almost positive they are smaller than a standard pot. 5 was a bit short, 6 would have been perfect. I wanted to limit damage to the plants so I kept each bunch pretty large. 3 maybe 4 bunches per culture cup. 
It was 9L bag of ADA which is somewhere around 20LBS. I used a lot, I would say almost half. It is 5-6 inches in the back


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

*It begins!*

Thank you everybody for the comments on the tank =)

I have a pair of scissors on order! Going to need a trim! The algae is beginning, Hair/Thead Algae! Any tips on helping to reduce/rid? I will introduce a cleaning team soon. Going to keep WC @ 20% weekly, for now.


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## reefcorgi (Mar 2, 2014)

I nuke my tank with h202, but there is no livestock in it. Many plants were damage but they did recovered nicely. Since then, I see no algae except for green spot algae on my glass and some dusk algae.


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## AquaMan25 (Dec 23, 2014)

*Long! Long! awaited update! 5 months in!*

Hey everybody here is a long awaited update!

Sooooooo 5 months in and it has been a constant battle with ALL types of algae and weird things that grow when you add water, light and plants. These pictures are after a cleaning. I didn't even think to take a picture of the mess before( i will get one, the algae will return lol). I have been tying to try different things to eliminate algae, its tough. My Co2 seems to be the main source of the algae (i think mostly BGA). Turning off co2 completely slows algae soooo much! I have tried to reduce the light intensity, algea goes away but my plants start to turn white i destroyed the initial root system this way. I refuse to add livestock until I can get a stable environment, with my co2 in a fluval edge the PH changes to much! It is still empty...anyway am still at it everybody!!

(the pictures make it look WAY better then in person lol)


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