# 37gal shallow iwagumi journal



## coseal (Jul 31, 2008)

well.. this will be a first attempt at planted aquaria. i have a few years saltwater exp and have kept freshwater tanks on and off most of my life. the purpose of this post is to keep track of progression with this tank, and to learn from others and from my mistakes..lol

most of the equipment is from a frag tank setup i had gathering dust. the tank dim's are 48"x18"x10" very shallow which should not require too much light. i am mostly interested foreground plants and this seemed like a good idea since they tend to stay pretty short. i also really enjoy looking at my reef tank from the top down so hopefully this will yeild similar results.

tank-diy 48x18x10 glass
lights-diy 2x39w t5 10,000k
filter-eheim 2217
substrate-ada amazonia
co2-pressurized thru diffuser

this is a pic of the initial layout, the rocks are from the blue ridge area in va not sure what they are. 








and a different angle to give a better sense of scale..








i have a few plants on the way but want to enjoy this process so updates may be infrequent. questions comments welcomed!


----------



## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I think it's gonna be nice. I like your rocks. Any idea on plants yet?


----------



## cpark188 (Jul 25, 2008)

It's a very nice rocks layout, can't wait to see your complete setup.
Have you decided on the plants for this iwagumi tank. Con't to keep us update, well done.


----------



## windfish (Dec 5, 2007)

Wow great set-up. I've always wanted to do a shallow tank... I will definitely be following this one.


----------



## coseal (Jul 31, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> I think it's gonna be nice. I like your rocks. Any idea on plants yet?


since its my first go at this im gonna stick with some easy stuff like dwarf hairgrass,b japonica and some moss's eventually id like to do some hc carpet and maybe glosso?


----------



## LordSul (Mar 17, 2006)

Very neat tank, I really like the idea of it being very shallow. 
HC and dwarf hairgrass would look so good with this tank. I say, consider *pogostemon hefleri* too.

Since the tank is very shallow, to make CO2 diffuse more efficiently, inline CO2 reactor would be more beneficial.

Just one thing; IMO lighting could be closer to the water surface.

Good work, please update us, Im subscribing...


----------



## Mark1 (Feb 5, 2008)

That looks like your off to a great start, reminds me of my shallow/deep tanks in garage...I wouldn´t plant too many different species...make some slopes in ADA Soil and plant maybe two species like dwarf hair grass and H.c.Cuba.

Regards,
Mark.


----------



## coseal (Jul 31, 2008)

here are some updated pics of the tank. these are right after planting. i already think the hairgrass will over power the blyxia? im thinking of pulling that out and replacing it with H.C., but i probally will let it cycle like this...










top down of blyxia around rocks


----------



## Mark1 (Feb 5, 2008)

Looks already very nice!

Regards,
Mark.


----------



## bamse2008 (Mar 24, 2008)

I like the ideea,Keep it up.
Regards,Nick.


----------



## dirrtybirdy (May 22, 2007)

that is an awesome idea! very nice layout too! i would like to see the evolution of this tank! keep up posted!


----------



## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

i like it a lot


----------



## Ravenous (Aug 18, 2008)

Subscribed, I envision great things for this tank. I think your are on the right path. Are you going to keep the spraybar setup or are you going to go lily pipes in the future?


----------



## Garuf (Mar 23, 2008)

This tank is brilliant the dimensions really suit the iwagumi format, Should you ever rescape I'd love to see this take on an almost paladium format, with wood breaking the surface and ferns growing on it.


----------



## coseal (Jul 31, 2008)

i would like to go lily pipes! can you make some suggestions for a 10" tall tank? the only ones i have found are the ada and cal aqua that will fit a 10" tall tank...

garuf, i looked at alot of wabi-kusa? set ups and really like them - maybe in the future!

almost forgot... the tank is a ammonia factory atm!! i have been doin 50% water changes every other day due to the tea coloration of the water, which i am assuming/hopeing this is normal for ada aquasoil 1?


----------



## tomheo (May 20, 2008)

coseal said:


> i would like to go lily pipes! can you make some suggestions for a 10" tall tank? the only ones i have found are the ada and cal aqua that will fit a 10" tall tank...
> 
> garuf, i looked at alot of wabi-kusa? set ups and really like them - maybe in the future!
> 
> almost forgot... the tank is a ammonia factory atm!! i have been doin 50% water changes every other day due to the tea coloration of the water, which i am assuming/hopeing this is normal for ada aquasoil 1?


Hi coseal,

I just recently set up my tank also (on 8/8) with ADA Aqua Soil and I've been getting the tea colored water too -- you can read about my tank in the journals section. It seems like the discoloration is a normal thing with the ADA soil. BTW, my Ammonia finally went to 0 when I last tested on Monday (according to an Elos test kit).

I love the dimensions of your tank!

Thomas


----------



## coseal (Jul 31, 2008)

update- no new pics, but my ammonia is undetectable atm! and im starting to see some nitrates- so the cycle is pretty much done! still having a huge issue with the discoloration; so i have changed the water i am using with 50/50 tap/rodi to get the kh and ph down a bit. got some diatom algae growing but assume thats expected with new tank. ordered some ferts from http://www.pfertz.com/ while they were having a 20%off sale! i know im lazy lol! probally add a few oto's and some shrimps this weekend for the algae..


----------



## elmagico82 (Dec 15, 2007)

this is very nice


----------



## dosj (Jan 27, 2008)

nice tank !!! any idea for carpet ??? HC ? Glosso ? hair grass is not recommended i guess


----------



## thief (Feb 20, 2008)

Wow I can see a lot with this tank. I'm considering going wabi Kusi next time. Also do you pour the water in directly at the soil and turn it up? You really should try adding water more slowly and have a plate so it doesn't churn up everything and cause a mess.


----------



## foofooree (Mar 11, 2007)

Thats great. That field of hg will look intense


----------



## coseal (Jul 31, 2008)

foofooree said:


> Thats great. That field of hg will look intense


if i can keep it alive lol! im battling algae and some of my hg is dead but i see new shoots every day so hopefully it will bounce back.. started dosing excel and have some more stem plants otw to help with the algae..


----------



## deMastro (Mar 21, 2008)

This tank will kick ASS.


----------



## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

Where did you get those nice rocks?

I LOVE the tank set up so far!

I posted this question but no replies. I have NO idea where people get their rocks from. Some online web site? Finding them? They are so nice and yet I don't know where to get them.


----------



## coseal (Jul 31, 2008)

MonopolyBag said:


> Where did you get those nice rocks?
> 
> I LOVE the tank set up so far!
> 
> I posted this question but no replies. I have NO idea where people get their rocks from. Some online web site? Finding them? They are so nice and yet I don't know where to get them.


i got them at a local landscape supply company! the container said "blue ridge" stone.. the guy that worked at the yard said they get them from the mountains in va. they were about 6$ ....alot cheaper than driving 100mi to get them myself


----------



## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

Thanks, any updates on this tank? Pics? Well I think I will look at local landscape places for rocks.


----------



## aquaquang (Jul 2, 2007)

It will need some times to get mature. 
This tank will be great! 

Where did you get this tank size?


----------



## gravy9 (Aug 28, 2008)

Hi,

Awesome tank and love the setup. 

Can you please share the details as to how you constructed the light? It is awesome. The light stand is neat.

regards,
Ravi


----------



## coseal (Jul 31, 2008)

aquaquang said:


> It will need some times to get mature.
> This tank will be great!
> 
> Where did you get this tank size?


the tank is a d.i.y using 3/8" glass....


----------



## coseal (Jul 31, 2008)

gravy9 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Awesome tank and love the setup.
> 
> ...


i used some aluminum tubing i got from a local metal distributer. and a tek2 retrofit kit i had from another project. drilled a couple holes in the tubing put grommets in the holes for the wires.the hanger is just conduit(got the idea off this site). here are some construction pics. its not pretty but it works...








the ballast is slid inside the tube and secured with screws through the holes i drilled for the endcap wiring..










a top down view


----------



## dosj (Jan 27, 2008)

cool .. plant the HC or any carpet plant already !


----------



## gravy9 (Aug 28, 2008)

Thank you very much for sharing the details. I'm gonna give it a shot at making it.

regards,
Ravi


----------



## gravy9 (Aug 28, 2008)

Any updates?


----------



## coseal (Jul 31, 2008)

this tank has been taken down. i needed it for a propagation project i am working on.it was replaced with this tank http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?p=436571#post436571


----------

