First large iwagumi scape

Hi Giorgio,

I am at work for the next week and doesn't have the tools to do any picture alterations, but I have a couple of suggestions that might be possible (mind you that I have been doing aquascaping less than a year).

I think that the best of the two setup is the last one, so my suggestion is for that setup.
Depending on how the two stones next to the main stone in the aquarium looks from different angles, I would consider interchanging them, as it is now I get the feeling that the central feature is to close to the center of the aquarium and not at the golden ratio. The main stone looks like it is located just where it needs to be. I would also move the smaller stone on the far right a bit back towards the main stone (move back and across 2-3 cm each way).

I must say that it is not easy to know what works best, unless I also know what plants go where, but my suggestion is as above.

Have fun, and really looking forward to seeing the end result.

Tommy

 

@gio14

I like it, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it grow to it's final form with all the plants. I have never used any of the plants you have used in yours, so I can't really say how best to care for them.

I'm glad you are posting this, because I have been looking for a plant to use in an aquascape I'll make in the new year (probably May) and the eleocharis mini looks perfect, so thanks .

Are you planning on using CO2 in the aquarium, and how will you keep the hardness down? Frequent water changes or by adding chemicals?

 

Hello,

A surface skimmer and floating plants will most likely work against each other.

Either the floating plants will block either the surface flow to the skimmer by forming a barrier, or if they are small enough the will go in and fill it up the skimmer. I have no personal experience with either of the two surface plants you have ordered, but I know some that uses them all the time. They are very nice looking plants, and from what they say, the plants are good for removing nutrients from the water (they grow, multiply, and you remove some of them). The downside to them is that they dim the light for the plants under them, so if you want a healthy carpet they might not be the best plants to add. But quite a few people who are into shrimps use them.

It all depends on what you want to build, but I am not a fan of floating plants, they make controlling the light harder, and I'm Lazy :-D.

 

I have never used a surface skimmer either, but have twice experienced that we had a film on the surface. The reason why we had films on the surface turned out to be us not having cleaned the filter material as per schedule. I am not saying that it is just caused by a dirty filter, it could be your substrate that is failing as well, or overfeeding. I have a gut feeling that aquariums with bottom filters are more prone to surface films, as we are very focused on getting the bacteria in the system right, but who eats the bacteria, and who eat those that eat the bacteria, and so on? It is an artificial ecosystem (at best it looks that way) that needs all the help we can give it to be a healthy one.

When I was a child, I spend most of my free time outside fishing in the streams and ponds/lakes, and it was easy to spot the unhealthy ones, because they had the oily film on them more often than not.

So I would say that if you have a film in your aquarium it is because you are doing something wrong, and it should be easy to fix. Putting a skimmer in the tank is not the right solution long term, you need to fix the root cause instead.


Regards

 

I like ADA, but I would rather use the VUPPA-I as a small filter in a small all planted aquarium than for removing a surface film. We have been contemplating getting one to use in an all planted aquascape, and then being able to remove a surface film in other aquariums while fixing the real problem.