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March 24th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| 10 Gallon Planted Tank
This is my first "real" tank. That is, one in which I actually put some thought into it. I'm currently trying to cycle fishless at the moment.
Here is what it looks like now. Iwagumi inspired. No soil substrate; just river rocks. 10gallon_iwagumi.jpg
And here is what it will look like fully planted. All the plants are ones that do not need a soil substrate. This was the best way I could get some experience with live plants but not have to deal with all the substrate decisions. This will be a low-tech tank. 10gallon_iwagumi_full.jpg
The occupants will be 5 rasboras and a mystery snail.
Comments and feedback appreciated. Thanks! | 
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March 24th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Sounds interesting.
By low-tech, what precisely do you mean? What pieces of equipment are you going to be eschewing, and what will still be used?
It's an interesting concept. I'm pretty close to pulling off an extremely low-tech tank with my betta's 10g.
Good luck with everything.  | |
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| You will be able to get more then 5 rasboras in there if that is the only type of fish(besides your snail) you will have in your tank. | |
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Master Of Fish Poo!
| Very nice!  | |
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Hi!
Sounds good - but from what I gathered you need at least 'Middle-tek' for an Iwagumi. A cheap way of upgrading the lighting if you decide to is to use Reflectors. What kind of Rasbora where you thinking? This will be interesting! Keep us posted.
http://www.aquatic-eden.com/search/label/iwagumi
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| sirdarksol,
My understanding of low-tech is 1-2 WPG with no CO2.
HatchetHaven,
My design is not truly Iwagumi but simply inspired by it. I wanted the look but not the maintenace. I will not be attempting any carpet plants and all the species of plants I'll be using are all attachable (meaning, no soil substrate). Background plant will be java or water fern, middle ground plant will consist of an anubia type, and I'll be using some java moss to the small rock.
travie,
This is not what I heard. My understanding is the snail my be equivalent to 3-5 inches of fish due to its bio-load. Besides, everything I have read says it's better to be on the conservative size. Believe me, it's killing me to only go with 5 rasboras (not sure on type yet; the smaller the better).
I don't know if this will work or not but it's a simple and inexpensive way to try my hand at live plants.
Last edited by harold; March 25th, 2008 at 07:50 AM.
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by harold  sirdarksol,
My understanding of low-tech is 1-2 wpg with no CO2.
I don't know if this will work or not but it's a simple and inexpensive way to try my hand at live plants. | Ah, okay. I was thinking "low tech" with regards to aquariums in general, not specifically planted aquariums.
For soil-free plants, 1-2 wpg should be plenty. They are generally slow-growing plants, which is why they need so little light, nutrients, and CO2. Of course, check with plantgeek.net to verify the plants. I'm guessing, of course, that you already know all of this as it seems that you have done your homework.
I would not change the rock setup at all. If "better" inspiration ever strikes you, perhaps you will decide to change one of the rocks out or something, but the setup is, right now, gorgeous.
Last edited by sirdarksol; March 25th, 2008 at 09:23 AM.
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| I very much like the rocks. | |
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
|
I'm not really concerned about the planted tank enthusiast's criticizing my design as non Iwagumi. I know this is not Iwagumi just simply inspired by it. For the most part, I just like the simplicity of Iwagumi and wanted something similar while being able to start learning about planted tanks. I think I'm accomplishing both here.
As for the java/water fern in the background I was planning on using medium sized river rocks that hopefully will be hidden in the back. I haven't done this before so I'm not sure what to expect. I just know you're not suppose to bury it. | |
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| To expand upon my last post (I was in a hurry), while it may not be Iwagumi, it is still very much Zen landscaping, with an uneven balance of the tank and plenty of negative space.
What I meant by the "better inspiration" comment was that, if at any point you looked at your tank (even if this is months after it has been set up) and said "I think I'd like to put another rock in there," or "I think I'd like to move the smaller stone a little toward the back" or whatever, you could do so. A simple tank like what you are setting up is very easy to change around if the inspiration strikes you to do so. | |
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by harold I'm not really concerned about the planted tank enthusiast's criticizing my design as non Iwagumi. I know this is not Iwagumi just simply inspired by it. For the most part, I just like the simplicity of Iwagumi and wanted something similar while being able to start learning about planted tanks. I think I'm accomplishing both here.
As for the java/water fern in the background I was planning on using medium sized river rocks that hopefully will be hidden in the back. I haven't done this before so I'm not sure what to expect. I just know you're not suppose to bury it. | Hi!
No worrys. Looks pretty cool though - I have an 11gal right now and you've just given me an idea... Apple snails are supposed to pac ka ton of personality, have you seen any colours other than the buttercup yellow sort round you? I have access to purples, pinks, blues, you name it - any apple snail that hails on earth!
Sir's right about that. I know if I want to change around my big planted tank, it means you have to be a strongman to get the Cabomba out of the gravel!
 Oh, and yay I got some Ambulia today. And the echindorus flower stalk finnally grew out of the top of the tank!
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| If you do get it heavily planted, go more then 5 rasboras. Heavily planted tanks usually allow you bump up a school a little. | |
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by travie If you do get it heavily planted, go more then 5 rasboras. Heavily planted tanks usually allow you bump up a school a little. | Good point. I wonder how many plants are needed to increase that number to 7? | |
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by harold Good point. I wonder how many plants are needed to increase that number to 7? | Hi!
I'd say before you start using the plants to go over (I do it to!) I think it's important you have lots and lots of plants, at least most of the tank covered by plants. I'd say, in a 10gal tank you'd want about 5 varietys of plants if you want to get away with overstocking. I know you don't want any rooted plants, but you could ask at your local aquarium club if anyone has a little bit of plant substrate, and you can create little areas of Plant substrate where you can keep rooters? Just a thought - as it wouldn't mean that much hassle and it would be much easier to keep some varietys. TBH - I have kept many plants in regular gravel with no problem! Not quite as good as plant substrate, but some hardy plants would probably be fine in that. Crypts would work fine.
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| I would disagree iwth the statement that plants allow you to bump up a school, particularly if the fish are energetic. While the plants do help remove nitrates from the water, they don't provide extra swimming space. In fact, they take it away. There are some cases (like neon tetras in a 20g tank, perhaps) that this would work, but I wouldn't count on it in a 10g tank.
(My opinion, of course. With such small fish, it's unlikely to have a huge impact on them) | |
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Ok. You guys have scared me enough to keep it conservative. I'll stick with 5 rasboras. | |
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March 25th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Another bonus of being conservative, it sticks more with the traditions of Japanese aquascaping. A small number of fish in a well-designed tank are extremely beautiful. | |
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March 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| I know I have too much time on my hands but there's not much I can do while waiting for my tank to cycle. Can't even buy plants until maybe this weekend when I can visit a LFS.
Anyway, I photoshoped in some fish just to see what it might look like with 5/7 rasboras. I have to say 7 definitely "looks" better. Hopefully I'll be satisfied with 5 though. 10gallon_iwagumi_stocked.jpg | |
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March 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| Thats one good looking tank that isn't even setup that way yet. It will look amazing I'm sure once you get the plants and fish in it. | |
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April 1st, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Update and Snail Question
An update on my 10 gallon tank...
A week after adding live plants I found a bunch of very small snails. Since my tank is still cycling I'm guessing this will only help with the ammonia.
My question is since these snails are doing fine in the tank can I go ahead and put my mystery snail in there as well? Also, will these added snails affect my stocking plans? | |
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April 1st, 2008
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| | Master Of Fish Poo!
| Those are pond snails. They are a rapidly multiplying plague and don't necessarily mean the tank is cycled. | |
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April 2nd, 2008
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| | Moderator
| I have never been successful in purposefully ridding a tank of pond snails. I just live with them. As long as I keep the water clean and don't overfeed the fish, they can't reproduce enough to really be a bother. I've also found that trumpet snails can compete with them for food and win. I think this is because trumpet snails will dig for food, and so can reproduce in the gravel, and will eventually emerge when there are enough of them. | |
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April 2nd, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by sirdarksol I have never been successful in purposefully ridding a tank of pond snails. I just live with them. As long as I keep the water clean and don't overfeed the fish, they can't reproduce enough to really be a bother. I've also found that trumpet snails can compete with them for food and win. I think this is because trumpet snails will dig for food, and so can reproduce in the gravel, and will eventually emerge when there are enough of them. | Hi!
I've acctualy find that Bettas are bery efficient pond snail eaters. I've seen a female rid a tank of them (There where 70+ snails before she was added), and now in a month's time they cease to exist. (This is in one of the tanks at school I run)
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April 2nd, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Oh, yes, I've seen fish empty a tank of them. I said that I haven't been able to do so (with traps and squishing).
My goldfish, He Who Eats Snails, was named because he emptied a tank of pond snails within two days. | |
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April 3rd, 2008
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| | Master Of Fish Poo!
| Loaches can enjoy a good tank full of escargo too.  | |
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Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads 
Why not set some snail traps? Put in a bit of veg like you might for a pleco, and leave it for a while. When the snails are all over it - dispose of it. You might need to do a few of these.
