# Newbie With a TON of IWAGUMI Questions!!



## Spam Musabi (Apr 14, 2011)

Hey guys, I have had a reef tank for awhile now and I want another tank but i don't want all the maintenance of a reef!! So I've been looking into doing a sweet Iwugami planted tank. However I'm kinda lost because it is hard to find good info on this style of aqua scape and I don't know too much about freshwater tanks!!!
This is my sort of inspiration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXDPx...eature=related

1.) I want to use either the Mr. Aqua 12 gallon long or the Mr.aqua 10 gallon or a GLA 17 gallon. However if you can suggest a better rimless tank under 20 I'd love to hear it!!
2.)I have no idea about lighting for a tank. I plan on getting a fishneedit t5HO fixture I was thinking this one with one white and one pink: http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-3ft--...ium-light.html
3.) If that fixture doesn't work, what will for under 150?? Don't want metal Halide!! What color temp should I get for the white bulb? Why do plants like pink light?? If my above fisture would not be enough light would this fixture be enough light:
http://www.fishneedit.com/3ft4bulbs-with-l34.html
4.) Where are all the stones?? they are all sold out!! Where is the best place to buy them? Is there American stones that will work??
6.) I was planning on buying substrate from ADG's website. Does any other substrate work? I was reading something and it said you have to make a layer in the substrate with all kins of chemicals to help the plants grow! Is this necessary or just a waste?
7.) For CO2 I was planning on making a DIY one!! Is a diffuser necessary?
8.) Anything else i should know?? What other equipment should i get?
7.) I was going to use an aquaclear 70 for filtration. Is there a good canister filter for under 60 bucks, that would work?
8.) Any cool fish ideas?? If i go with the 17 gallon tank is there any aggressive fish that would fit?? Like cichlid or something?


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## onefang (Apr 10, 2011)

Ok.. I'll try to answer as many of these as I can, but as always, I am sure that someone else more versed in iwagumi layouts will chime in too.

*1.) I want to use either the Mr. Aqua 12 gallon long or the Mr.aqua 10 gallon or a GLA 17 gallon. However if you can suggest a better rimless tank under 20 I'd love to hear it!!*

All of these tanks are great choices. In my personal opinion, the Greenleaf 91-b / Mr. Aqua 12 gallon long is especially well suited for those dreamy iwagumi landscapes, as it gives you a lot of room for placement of your hardscape. Beyond that, it's kind of up to you, depending on what sort of iwagumi layout you want to go for. I would say that if you are going to be doing your first iwagumi, check out this site to get a general understanding of what the general iwagumi layout is:

http://www.aquajournal.net/na/iwagumi/introduction.html

*2.)I have no idea about lighting for a tank. I plan on getting a fishneedit t5HO fixture I was thinking this one with one white and one pink: http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-3ft--...ium-light.html
*
Lighting choice will be highly dependent on what plants you want to grow. Are you going to be following a fertilizer dosing regimen? ( See PPS, Pfertz,RootMedic, Also seek out information on EI, and various other fert dosing routines around the forums). Also you would need to consider if you are going to be running a CO2 system(DIY or Pressurized).

Generally though, you are going to want the bulbs to be all white on freshwater planted tanks. Specifically 6500K seems to be the sweet spectrum for the widest variety of plants.

*3.) If that fixture doesn't work, what will for under 150?? Don't want metal Halide!! What color temp should I get for the white bulb? Why do plants like pink light?? If my above fisture would not be enough light would this fixture be enough light:
http://www.fishneedit.com/3ft4bulbs-with-l34.html*

Again, this is depends on what sort of setup you are going for - high tech(CO2, Generally High Light, Regular Fert Dosing), or Low tech(low light plants, no CO2, minimal or no fert dosing).

*4.) Where are all the stones?? they are all sold out!! Where is the best place to buy them? Is there American stones that will work??*

If you have a landscaping supply nearby, you can usually get rocks there. Test them with vinegar or a mild acid (put a drop on, and watch for fizz) to make sure they are inert. Inert rocks won't react.

It looks like AFA has some stuff in: http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?main_page=afa_product&cPath=7_14

*6.) I was planning on buying substrate from ADG's website. Does any other substrate work? I was reading something and it said you have to make a layer in the substrate with all kins of chemicals to help the plants grow! Is this necessary or just a waste?
*
If you plan on dosing ferts, then a nutritive substrate isn't entirely necessary, as most plants will pull the nutrients they need from the water column. If you do plan on keeping heavy root feeding plants, you can go the nutritive substrate route, or you can just use a cheaper substrate, and use "root tabs" sold by several aquarium fert suppliers.

Other substrate choices would be Pool filter sand, 
Flourite in it's various shapes and colors: Link to product
RedSea Flora Base: 
Link to product
Azoo plant grower bed:
Link to product
Fluval Plant Stratum: Link to product (BTW.. Look around, you can find a free shipping coupon for this one)
There are a lot more, all work well for good plant growth.

*7.) For CO2 I was planning on making a DIY one!! Is a diffuser necessary?
*
Something to diffuse the CO2 into the water is necessary. Otherwise, the CO2 would just bubble up to the surface and escape with out any CO2 actually dissolving. You could use a diffusion bell, an inline diffuser, or just go get a Lee's Wood airstone.

*8.) Anything else i should know?? What other equipment should i get?
*
Wow.. that's broad.. there is so much "stuff" that is really great, and other stuff that's really superfluous. It's really up to you, and depends on the setup you are going for.

*9.) I was going to use an aquaclear 70 for filtration. Is there a good canister filter for under 60 bucks, that would work?
*
Under 60 is going to be tough.. You could probably run two Tom's rapids canisters, or two zoomed 501's for about that price. Otherwise, you are probably going to have to shop around.

*10.) Any cool fish ideas?? If i go with the 17 gallon tank is there any aggressive fish that would fit?? Like cichlid or something?
*
Not sure about this one either, fish selection is a very personal thing. Generally people tend to use small schooling fish in an iwagumi layout, but this is not mandatory, just the general trend.


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