# Thoughts on hardscape for iwagumi?



## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

Hi everyone! I'm starting up a 3 gallon planted Picotope for my betta, and I decided to go with the iwagumi style. I've really started to like the simplicity and natural appearance of this style. I found a bunch of nice, sparkly gray and pink rocks near my home, so that makes the choice pretty easy.  

Any thoughts on the design I have now? Should I take out or move some of the rocks? What about the little "path"...should I make it bigger? Sorry about the cloudy water - I'll try to get a better pic when it clears up.










Also, here's the (poorly drawn) plans for the plants I'm thinking of eventually adding. Any thoughts? (I know the wisteria can get big, but I have kept it in this tank in the past, and I loved it...would love to have one again)


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## valen1014 (Jan 20, 2013)

Looks awesome! -^^-

I was gonna recommend using the dry start method if you plan to have the HC carpet, but I see that you've already started cycling it. You might wanna consider dwarf pennywort, I've used them in the past for a 2.5 gal and I think they do a great carpet effect without the difficulty of HC. Here's a pic of that tank =)

Oh and I forgot to mention that some moss of the driftwood would look cool too XD But I think what you have already planned out is gonna look great as well. Can't wait to see it!


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

try to find out what kind of rocks they are. when you say sparkley, it makes me think they may have metals in them. also before you settle on any types of plants,make sure your lighting,ph,gh anf kh are all up to snuff as well as ferts and what type to use. iwagumi is a style with definite "rules" behind it. if you are not using the rule of thirds,it is called a nature tank. nature tanks can be just as stunning as iwagumi.


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## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

Thanks for the help!  Yes, at first I was thinking maybe moss or hairgrass in the foreground, so I started cycling it...seems silly to drain it now though, since the cycle is almost finished - not to mention I have a betta waiting to move in.

The difficulty of HC is what makes me worried, as much as I like how it looks. I'll look into dwarf pennywort - it looks like a pretty plant. 

I'm pretty sure they're either slate or granite. One rock had a patch of what was either mica or pyrite in it, so I took it out to be safe (which is a shame, since it was my favorite rock :-(). They have little bits of what I think is pink and white quartz in them as well, so I think that's why they look sparkly. 

I'm trying to follow the rule of thirds. Maybe it's not a strict iwagumi...but that's what I'm calling it, I suppose. 

I need to get a new low range PH test kit. I'm going to test the KH today, though - finally found my test kit. My light is a 13w compact fluorescent 50/50 light. I might get a new light before I get any light-intensive plants.


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## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

I got a wisteria plant for the tank today from Petco. Looks nice...can't wait for it to get lacy looking leaves. It's a bit leggy, so I'll probably need to trim it quite a bit. I think it'll fill in the corners nicely. 

Non-cloudy picture, before I changed everything around...









I think I like the rocks better like this. I might take out one or two of the small ones, and bury the big rock a bit more.









Next 2 pics show the texture of the rocks. This is what I meant by "sparkly" I'm thinking that the gray ones are some sort of granite, and the pink parts are pink quartz. Thoughts?


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

I believe the pink is quartz, which should be neutral for your tank. (I have some green and some pink from my one really good LFS and they test the rocks prior to sale and mark them as neutral, ph up or ph down. 

The other does look like some sort of granite...but it's been SO long since I messed around with rocks I can't be sure. It could be mica...or it could be quartz, granite does often have quartz deposits in it...it's hard to tell from the photo. 

As for the leggy wisteria, if you trim it, if there are any sections with a "seam" in them, like a ring around the stem, then leave those in the water as floaters, often they'll sprout and form new plants.  It's gotten to the point with me that anytime I cut anything off wisteria I just dump it back into the tank to float...likely as not it'll sprout roots...sometimes even random leaves...that stuff is hardy as all get-out, lol!


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

OH, one more, if you like the lacy look of wisteria, check out water sprite. It's beautifully lacy and delicate like wisteria.


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## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

Wisteria is very hardy. The last time I grew it, I started several plants just from a leaf and a little bit of stem. I had a 1/4 gallon bowl at one point that got filled with one twisty plant, just from sunlight and some dirt substrate.

I've heard of water sprite before. It looks like a very pretty plant. I've never seen it in the fish/pet stores around here.  Not sure if I'll have one in this tank, but I'd love to have one at some point!


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