Speaking with some members from ukaps late one night, we got chatting about what could possibly make a Great British ‘Scape - many jokes were passed around about shopping trolleys, empty beer cans and bottles, sticklebacks and the like, but it got me thinking about alternative ideas… and when I stepped out of the house the next day, it hit me! Living in a new house on a new estate is great, but our back lawn was a mess, so a few summers ago I turned the entire lawn over to start fresh, only to discover about 50 or so bricks left over from some (lazy) builders. A few bricks I’d kept for unknown reasons were happily being covered by winter growth just behind my shed, and they looked just the ticket…

This scape was meant to be an Iwagumi, but after many months of searching for the perfect hardscape rocks for a strict Iwagumi, I was ready to give up on the idea and try something else, but before I do I wanted to try these bricks as a sort of Iwagumi copcept or alternative. Now whether or not my creation ended up as an Iwagumi or not is down to how you translate and understand ‘Iwagumi.’ For some, this means naturally occurring ‘rock formation.’ For others it means ’stone arrangement’ suggesting a man made pre planned scene. Something very obvious here.

At this point you’re either rolling on the floor laughing and thinking ‘what a pathetic idea’ or you see another side to it and are thinking ‘Damn, that is genius!’ in an Oliver Knott sort of way. Either way I hope this raises a few smiles at least

So here we go! One empty 24×12x15″ cheap Clearseal tank ready to be abused…

The substrate is left over ADA Aqua Soil Malaya, mixed with Power Sand Special. Really, this is horrible stuff once pre-used. If not capped well, it’ll just make the water permanently cloudy as it breaks down to dust.

Next, the hardscape. Cleaned up and acid tested. These are arranged slightly different to how I found it in the garden

Once happy with the hardscape positioning, the substrate is capped with a nice layer of FloraBase. A beautiful looking substrate from Red Sea - quite expensive as the bags are small, but this is also very fine grain which does tend to be more pricey.

Here’s a top shot

To help with planting, a small amount of watter is added just to wet the substrate. I pour water on top of a bag to help prevent the substrate moving.

Small bunches of HC are planted toward the front with tweezers - I don’t want this as a strict foreground plant however…

Lilaeopsis next, dotted here and there…

Ernie Tenellus and Blyxa next, mainly toward the back and around the stones…

Finally, my old mate Eric Acicularis is planted everywhere else - this will be the main plant to resemble a lawn - the other plants are to add a little contrast in size and texture, and sort of resemble weeds within the lawn.

Fill ‘er up Bob!

A few minutes after filling, looking good

Some close up arty shots which I really need to stop attempting

Without Foundation by James Maslin

Tank Specification:
24″ x 12″ x 15″ Clearseal tank, trimmed with wood.
71 litre

Filtration/Flow:
1 x Tetratec EX1200 rated at 1200 l/h

Lighting:
2 x 24w HOT5 - 6 hours per day.
1 tube partially covered.

CO2:
Pressurised 2kg system, 4 bps via Boyu Inline diffuser, 30ppm+.

Water Parameters:
Wet.

Flora (by AquaFleur):
Hemianthus Callitrichoides ”Cuba”, Lilaeopsis Novea-Zealandiae, Echinodorus Tenellus, Eleocharis Acicularis, Blyxa Japonica

Fauna:
3 x Otto
6 x Ember Tetra (for now)
10 x Red Cherry Shrimp

Fertilization:
Estimative Index method of dosing (More Information)
1.5ml Easy Life EasyCarbo daily

Water Changes:
1 x 50% w/c per week.

Tank set up on March 26, 2009

Follow up - April 26, 2009

This tank is filling in nicely now, and most, if not all of the emersed growth has died back and been removed. The HC isn’t taking so good however…

HC aside, I’m very pleased with the outcome so far. What started out as a joke is actually turning out to be a pleasant aquascape. Its certainly different. And more importantly, my wife likes it

More pics in the coming weeks, thanks for looking, and please feel free to leave some comments - good or bad

All photographs taken with a Fujifilm S5700.

- James