BettaVishVish Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 I've been thinking and dreaming about this for sometimes...I secretly admire the Iwagumi aquascape but don't know how and don't have time to start it. All I know is ... I'll do this someday. Well..this month, it'll be a year I have the Fluval Edge set up, and it's time to convert it to Iwagumi tank :smokey: . Hah..sounds very ambitious doesn't it? considering I'm just a new kid in the tank Has anyone try this before? Any advices, warning, suggestion.. etc that I should know before I start? One of the plant I am interested in is : Hemianthus callitrichoides (HC). Any leads where I should find them (the good one)? thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 (edited) i'd start with your hardscape, then plant around it. i've got some iguami style rocks if you are interested. i believe there are 5 of them. medium grey. nice rocks. would look great in the edge. lemme know. edit - oops! just noticed you are in cowtown. well, if you're planning a trip up to deadmonton any time soon, lol. Edited February 13, 2011 by BettaFishMommy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted February 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 I have the rocks..but I think they're too small..so I haven't found the rocks that I want yet. Do you have pics of the rocks? thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gBOYsc2 Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 THey carry a really nice Iwagumi type rock at Big Al's. I'm not 100% sure but I think it's the Ryouh stone. If you do a google search you will see what they look like. Very nice. They also carry HC from time to time, but I would personally go with the HC from Pj's that you will find in the aqua flora nurseries tub. Last time I bought 2 pots of HC from Big Al's they simply melted away into nothing and it was a waste of 32 dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted February 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 THey carry a really nice Iwagumi type rock at Big Al's. I'm not 100% sure but I think it's the Ryouh stone. If you do a google search you will see what they look like. Very nice. They also carry HC from time to time, but I would personally go with the HC from Pj's that you will find in the aqua flora nurseries tub. Last time I bought 2 pots of HC from Big Al's they simply melted away into nothing and it was a waste of 32 dollars. I haven't checked the Big Al's lately... so I guess I should check it again. Sorry.. what is Pj's and where ? about the HC ... how did you plant it? Any ideas why they 'melted'? thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 from what i can tell, there isn't a PJ's Pets in Calgary. only in Edmonton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Petsmart in the NE has one pot. IMHO, you will probably have to upgrade your lights to keep the HC going.. My suggestion would be to go with "easier" plants and then look at better lighting, CO2, substrate, ferts. etc. Even Lance Armstrong rode a tricycle at first... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubr0ke Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 betavish...your goal is very achievable...but co2 is very important with cuba (hc).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted February 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 @bfm: why everything is in Edmonton?? .. maybe I should drive to Edmonton @fcg: thank you for your advice. I'm open in any suggestion. I also had upgraded the lights. @ubr0ke: thanks for the encouragement. I'm excited! My main concern right now is where I should place the 2 bettas & 2 ottos I currently have in Edge. I only have 1 5gal fluval Chi that already has 1 male betta in it. If I'm doing the Iwagumi, it'll take months probably until the tank is ready. I was thinking to put the female bettas in Chi and put more plants where at least they can hide from each other. I'm hoping now that i can find someone willing to 'adopt' my fishes soon. In the mean time, I am hunting for the rocks and substrate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 you could use a rubbermaid to house the fish temporarily. just plop a filter on it, put a heater in if need be (be sure the hot part doesn't touch the side of the rubbermaid), and toss a bunch of fake plants in for cover. tada! lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gBOYsc2 Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 THey carry a really nice Iwagumi type rock at Big Al's. I'm not 100% sure but I think it's the Ryouh stone. If you do a google search you will see what they look like. Very nice. They also carry HC from time to time, but I would personally go with the HC from Pj's that you will find in the aqua flora nurseries tub. Last time I bought 2 pots of HC from Big Al's they simply melted away into nothing and it was a waste of 32 dollars. I haven't checked the Big Al's lately... so I guess I should check it again. Sorry.. what is Pj's and where ? about the HC ... how did you plant it? Any ideas why they 'melted'? thx. Pj's is a pet supply chain store in Edmonton. I assumed they have them in Calgary but maybe not? The HC is a PITA to plant. You can either do it in little clumps or you can literally pull each little stem apart and plant them seperately with a pair of long tweezers. If you do the 2nd option it will spread much much much much much much much faster but will take a few hours to plant. The reason they melted is because most aquatic plants are grown in emersed state(above water) with just the roots submerged and they did not transition well into a submerged state. Have you thought about your light spread in the edge or possibly upgrading your lighting? Might want to look into a Boost LED or Rapid LED and get one with a wide angle spread and retrofit it into your edge. If you search around on the web you should be able to find lots of resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted February 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 thank gBoysc2. What kind of substrate you're using? Where did you get it? I haven't thought about the light yet, I'm taking a baby step here . Do you have to wait or you can plant the HC as soon as the substrate is settled? How long the HC will start growing? I assume i shouldn't fill the tank with water until couple weeks or until the HC spreads...correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gBOYsc2 Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 I use flourite black in my 20g tank, but I am going to be trying out the Fluval Plant Stratum in my 3.5g tank. I can't tell you how the Fluval substrate is yet though because the tank is in idle stage and not planted yet. I think you can plant as soon as the substrate is in. I guess the HC should start growing immediately as long as it is provided with good lighting. And it's up to you, the HC will grow fine either submerged or emersed but many people on TPT and APC like to do the 'dry start' method as it seems to spread a little quicker. It's really up to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted February 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 I use flourite black in my 20g tank, but I am going to be trying out the Fluval Plant Stratum in my 3.5g tank. I can't tell you how the Fluval substrate is yet though because the tank is in idle stage and not planted yet. I think you can plant as soon as the substrate is in. I guess the HC should start growing immediately as long as it is provided with good lighting. And it's up to you, the HC will grow fine either submerged or emersed but many people on TPT and APC like to do the 'dry start' method as it seems to spread a little quicker. It's really up to you. Ok that's good to know. I'm actually planning to do it using the dry start method cause that's what I read so far. I just need to start shopping now.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted February 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Well..it's my break so I draw this as a start . Hopefully my set up turned out much better than what it's in this picture -roll- Btw..I hope you guys can guess where the fish are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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