My 12L: An Iwagumi style Nature Aquarium

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fort384

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I am starting a new scape very soon. It will be an iwagumi style 12L (this tank)

It will be a mix of a type II and type III Iwagumi if what I have in my mind comes to fruition. I may break from iwagumi a bit for part of the tank... but won't know until the layout starts I guess. It will have traditional rock hardscape (manten and ohko stone), black aquasoil, and several types of flora and fauna.

This tank will be high light and CO2 injected. I haven't decided yet if I will put autodosers on it. The tank will sit on a glass and stone open style stand, so the less equipment the better. That might mean manual dosing. I am going to put a 74-YA CO2 system on it, with glass inflow/outflow and glass/ceramic CO2 diffuser. It will have an inline heater. So... visible equipment in the tank will be pretty minimal in keeping with the nature aquarium theme.

Currently, my potential plant list is:
Rotala macrandra mini 'type 2'
blyxa japonica
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Sagittaria subulata
Utricularia graminifolia

though I will probably narrow that down some as I move forward. Availability of some of it is going to be an issue. I am open to any ideas on sources for these plants, so if anyone has any leads, by all means, please pass them on. I think I can get them all individually, but the less shipping I have to pay the better ;). Also open to suggestions of other compact growth interesting plants - would love to get my hands on some more eriocaulon species, but it would have to a domestic source. My experience with having it shipped around the world didn't end well.

The tank will have either CRS or RCS. I haven't decided which yet.

For fish, I am open to ideas. It is a 12L so I think that leaves me a lot of options I am not used to (this is BIG tank for me after all) - but the idea here will be to have the largest school of fish I can keep in the tank to compliment the iwagumi layout. I am thinking boraras brigittae or something similar could be cool - I could probably get 20 of them in the tank fairly safely I think, especially since it will be heavily planted, it's long, and the filter will be rated for 60 gallons :). My experience with these fish has been great - really neat nanos. Again, if anyone has ideas here, I am open to it... but schooling is the key.

The tank should be here by early next week... so I will update on progress as the build comes together.
 
Sounds awesome! Can't wait to see the finished product. Subscribed :)

I am no help with plants, sorry :(


But

There are some really cool nano fish out there. Sparkling gouramis, chilli, espei and pork chop rasboras, ember tetras, celestial pearl danios, Pygmy cories, boras boras, endler's livebearers, and a lot more! These are just some suggestions.

Good luck! :)
 
Thanks Bruins. I think I will stay away from the livebearers. They are cool looking fish but a little too prolific :).

Do you have any good sources for some of the guys you listed? A few are out there on aquabid right now, but it is so hard to come by good sources for nano fish.
 
This should be an exciting ride for anyone following along. Have you decided against the hairgrass? There's just something about it that looks awesome. But, I will say, UG... when done correctly... looks fantastic. With your ability as a professional aquascaper (from your apparent internship with Mr. Amano), this tank should be one of the nicest tanks available for viewing on the interwebz.
 
Sounds pretty cool, although I have to admit that most of what I read was over my head ;). I'll be tagging along to see how this nano comes together.
 
Thanks for the link Bruins. I will check it out.

yeah, I think my last hairgrass layout looked really nice... but I want to try something different for awhile. Plus, trimming it was such a chore (well SCOOPING out the trimmings was the chore) I think the UG grows slower and more compact (as does the HC) so it might be easier to maintain the scape. It also looks a little more "wild". I am hoping I can get by with weekly trimmings with my plant selections instead of every few days.
 
If you're against tank liter, I would recommend on inline diffuser. I personally like GLA's atomic one.

If I might pose an idea. Maybe combine your HC with some staurogyne repens. Its leaf design is wider and more open, serving to contrast the HC. It will also stay short and manageable. There are some nice pics on google using this technique.

Fish wise.... you have a good amount of green planned, maybe go for something stark. Cardinals, rasbora hets, ember tetras, and lemon tetras might do that for you. The rasboras and lemon tetras are both proven reliable schoolers too.
 
That GLA inline diffuser looks interesting. Thanks for the plant suggestions. I will check it out.
 
The PAR rating at 12" is excellent. The profile of the light will look great with the rest of the tank. And it is 36" long.
 
check out P_volitan on aquabid
I've bought plants from him before. Awesome plants, super nice guy, very knowledgeable and from what I can tell, keeps some pretty high tech tanks. He might not have some of those plants listed but knowing some of the stuff he keeps, it might not hurt to ask.
 
Chambers and p voiltan are both great plant sellers on aquabid you can trust them bought many a plant from them both. I have all green leaf products never had a problem great company. Try them out.
 
Thanks for the lead discus. I will keep them in mind as well. Tank/new lights will be here on Wednesday. Should be buying plants by the end of the week.

I always rush the initial layout... going to try to take my time and really get this right.
 
fort384 said:
Thanks for the lead discus. I will keep them in mind as well. Tank/new lights will be here on Wednesday. Should be buying plants by the end of the week.

I always rush the initial layout... going to try to take my time and really get this right.

I love setting up tanks it's my favorite part, just the thought that you put into it can reflect a masterpiece take your time if you get frustrated take a step back relax and dive back in. Look at Amano's tanks careful planning and planting go a long way. I bet it will look great!
 
From all I've read on them, the LEDs should be pretty intense. Lazy so I didn't check the specs, is it all white lights, or are there some blues thrown in?
 
check out P_volitan on aquabid
I've bought plants from him before. Awesome plants, super nice guy, very knowledgeable and from what I can tell, keeps some pretty high tech tanks. He might not have some of those plants listed but knowing some of the stuff he keeps, it might not hurt to ask.

Thanks for the lead FF! He has almost all of what I am looking for.

This tank will have:
Blyxa Japonica
Echinodorus tenellus
Hemianthus callitrichoides
and he actually had some Eriocaulon cinereum. I had all but given up finding it domestically, but he has it. Awesome.

Only 1 more plant I am really looking for and I think my layout will be complete:
Utricularia graminifolia

If anyone has a lead on that let me know.

Also, decided I am going with CRS. I have 20 of them reserved that will ship out when I am ready for them.

Still looking for boraras brigittae.
 
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