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75 rescape .. the rockscape

23K views 94 replies 26 participants last post by  hendy8888 
#1 ·
Hey guys, as most of you know from buying plants from me, I have sold all my plants to start over.

I started this scape with a core selection of local rocks. Its a modified Iwagumi scape, with the one dominate rock on the right. However, plant selection will not be limited as in a true Iwagumi style. I am currently growing HC cuba emersed, hope that goes well.

Specs

Tank size: 75 gallons
substrate: nicco aquasoil with fertilizer pellets
lights: 2x150mh at 8000k
CO2: pressurized, but not currently on, but about to make inlet to my external dyi heater.
filtration: looking for eheim pro 2... trying to sell eheim 2215
currently misting with NPK solution every day

Feedback on rock formation of advice on emerssion is def welcomed









 
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#54 ·
im big on lights =) if you look at all he ADA winner and Aga winners, they all have 6x t5, and since I know the fixture is not the greatest, it will compensate for the crapier ballast and reflector.

I will run it 9 hours to start.. if its too much then ill put 2 on mid day blasts for only 4 hours.
 
#58 ·
what kind of t5's? 4 bulbs is ok for hc on a 90.. not great as hc is a high light plant. The co2 is fine, so its gotta be the light or lack of nitrate. It also loves nitrate.

how are the rest of the plants doing in the tank? If other high light plants are not doing great then u know its the lighting. If ok, then up the nitrate.
 
#59 · (Edited)
what kind of t5's? 4 bulbs is ok for hc on a 90.. not great as hc is a high light plant. The co2 is fine, so its gotta be the light or lack of nitrate. It also loves nitrate.

how are the rest of the plants doing in the tank? If other high light plants are not doing great then u know its the lighting. If ok, then up the nitrate.
Cool thanks for the tips :)

Rest of the plants are doing very well; hygro, rotala, and crypts are the only other plants. And in the other tank there is l. aromatica, blyxa japonica and java fern with it. All growing great. Nitrates are up around 10 ppm.
 
#61 ·
note to self.. do not try to grow hc 5 cm below 6x54 watt t5s.. I totally baked half of my hc.. lol at least I have one bowl left of them.. god that was stupid.

The one growing under the 13 watt is doing great!
 
#63 · (Edited)
Dude I just realized (by looking through the entire thread) that I've been to your house lmao... I bougt limno, HC, blyxa and moss off you in the summer at some point LMAO. Tall white dude with thick rim glasses ring a bell? Didn't realize until I looked carefully at the metal halide pics; I was like 'ive only seen halides on one plant tank recently...and....yeah this is that same room....somewhere in Markham...hey I've met this dude!'

Sorry, just a funny realization :)

Business is good...sort of...could be busier. When my new restaurant project is done in a few months, I'll post on the forum and invite people to come see it.... its uhh...interesting anyway lol. 4 saltwater tanks :D

Also, figured out my HC problem; micronutrient defficiency. Learning, learning... came to me a few days ago. Was thinking 'why would it pearl for 4 weeks, growing like a weed, and then stop...' Because it ran out of something thats why, and macro's are in order... So its micros :) I just figured I could add 'some' Tropica Master Grow, but it looks like I'll have to manage micronutrient additions with more care if I want to keep HC.

Also, did I ever ask where your rocks came from?
 
#64 ·
ahhhh. yes I vaguely remember our encounter, but Im sure it was a pleasant one =p Yeah im def down to check our your resto tanks.

Yeah micros might be in order, but its not a common problem for hc. let me know how it goes.

The rocks I have are found locally along streams and small wilderness trails.. I went hunting for rocks one day last fall in a trail and came out with 150 lbs of rocks in a huge duffel bag on my back.. I thought I was gonna pop a hernia .. good thing I can fix myself =p They are all non water hardening rocks (tested with vinegar. And a bit of water hardening wont be that detrimental. Did you know the common rocks Amano uses increase ph? I just read a article on that, and that is one of the reasons why he lowers ph with his soil.
 
#65 · (Edited)
ahhhh. yes I vaguely remember our encounter, but Im sure it was a pleasant one =p Yeah im def down to check our your resto tanks.

Yeah micros might be in order, but its not a common problem for hc. let me know how it goes.

The rocks I have are found locally along streams and small wilderness trails.. I went hunting for rocks one day last fall in a trail and came out with 150 lbs of rocks in a huge duffel bag on my back.. I thought I was gonna pop a hernia .. good thing I can fix myself =p They are all non water hardening rocks (tested with vinegar. And a bit of water hardening wont be that detrimental. Did you know the common rocks Amano uses increase ph? I just read a article on that, and that is one of the reasons why he lowers ph with his soil.
Were talking seriously deficient; like leaf curling in hygro's. Plus I've already seen HC iron deficiency (leaves browning). It happened a few weeks before the actual balding/patches started floating up. I was able to stop that using an iron liquid, but then this started happening. All I can say for sure is that the HC in both these tanks has not pearled since about week 3 of being submersed. I'm doubling the micro dosage then we'll see what happens. I know there is enough light, because the HC did pearl for about 3 weeks. That only leaves something that is being used up.

Amano uses three types of rock, Fujishi, Sieryruski and Mantenseki. I have no idea which one would be for pH; obviously one that is calcium or limestone based, but I only know the japanese names, and have no idea what they mean in english!
 
#66 ·
Here is a quick update.

I have not managed to sink the log fully, so I decided to trill a big rock to it to keep it down. This rock will also help me create a bit more height fort the tree stump in order to emerse the top of it. I also picked up some juvi peruvian altums from frank, they are f4s and they look great at this age, I hope they look as nice when they get bigger. As soon as they finish painting my clinic rooms, Im gonna started on the tank.







 
#69 ·
no dude, this driftwood was found in unionville creek. Hope it wont kill everything in sight. The bluffs one is sitting inmy backyard, Im gonna use it for another scape, its too big for me tank. And the last one was a mistake.. thought it was of the angels.


Anyone know of a good source for white and not silica or play sand? Well natural colour is good too.
 
#71 ·
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Anyone know of a good source for white and not silica or play sand? Well natural colour is good too.
I would go for the natural. I tired white for a few months, and it was just too much hassle - just like a white carpet, everything shows. I found I was constantly brushing it off with a paint brush to move the plant substrate back in place or vacuuming it off and replacing it as it started to discolor.

If you do use it, make sure it is used in an island type scape, with just a thin layer around the scape itself. That way you can remove and replace it as need be and with minimal hassle.
 
#72 ·
Dont make the mistake I did with play sand (my 1st time ever using gravel + sand). Have a look at the pics in this topic.

I remember I got a whole sack for like a dollar from Walmart when they were clearing out their garden center, obviously its too late now.

http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4052&page=2
 
#73 ·
Yeah I know , I am using it right now with my shrimp tank and its a bitchh.. But I really want to create a sanded area.. its only going to be a small space at the far left side. I want that beach look with the root of the trunk going over into the sand. I am however going to line the sand with a clear plastic sheet and rocks. I hope it works..
 
#74 ·
Ahh, okay, so your looking to do something along these lines?

http://www.adana-usa.com/images/gallery0/25.jpg
http://www.adana-usa.com/images/gallery0/18.jpg

This style is really nice, one that i admire quite a bit myself. I wouldn't worry about the plastic. Just try to block out the edges with rocks and then plant something with good roots to hold the rest back. None the less, you can see that the first tank has a bit of spillage, however, it is nothing extreme. What is really important here is making sure that the plant substrate is lighter then the sand... that way you have the option of brushing it off. I tired using the super fine Carib Sea white sand once, and it is much lighter then Eco-complete - nearly impossible to keep the two separate.
 
#75 · (Edited)
BTW: I would make a suggestion, but I have mostly given up using bought sand. I really can't stand how homogeneous it is. Over the last year, i started collecting on trips - sand from Georgian Bay, the Kawarthas and so forth. The sand I'm using in my current tank is from a beach in the Kawarthas. If you want some, let me know, I still have a pile left and easy access to more come spring.
 
#76 ·
Thats a great idea man.. but I got antsy and went and bought some geo brand sand from pet smart.. 20 bucks a 10 kg bag.. not bad, and its mildly tanned like the first pic. Im def getting some good rocks for the edges, and using DHG to line the back of the sandy part. Im using ADA 2 so i should be ok with the brushing part, but it is still a pain. I have a shrimp tank with nisso over heavy black sand, and it still poses a proble. I just gotta make sure to be careful. The dudes are the site is almost done painting, im going to put the tank in tom or early next wk.

I also want to align some of the edges with moss, si im going to start tying some omss to small rocks (maybe the flat ones from the dollar store ).

Do you or anyone else have weeping moss? I thought i bought some from magic but they sent me taiwan. stupid bums.
 
#78 ·
I think i have xmas moss in my tank too, but im getting confused with that and taiwan.. I think they are all mixed in now. I also have this unknown moss i got from AI, its reallly nice, but dont know the name. The peacock moss is my fav so far.. its very furry and pushy.. nice stuff. I also got a lot of flame moss.. perhaps flame for xmas?
 
#82 ·
Just got back from the Dominican and after a little over a week of outside care the tank has been decimated by hair algae. Turns out she left out the pre-portioned frozen food to melt, re-froze it and then started feeding large chunks... nitrates out the roof. So in short, i would love to trade, but i may need a couple of weeks to grow out the moss again, i gave it a pretty aggressive trim.
 
#80 ·
Here is the updated image of the hc.. man did it every grow fast.. What I started doing last week was putting it under direct sunlight inside of my house furing the day, then running the 13 watt over it at night.. its doing great. Just some ideas for all u hc lovers =p

 
#83 ·
Just saw this thread, and I have to say....

Wow! This tank is like a work of art! The rocks are the frames and they support the plants and give an effect of just... wow!

This is a real eye-opener for me, because it takes the beauty of planted tanks onto a whole new level!
 
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