Starting an Iwagumi Aquascape

There's a lot to like about iwagumi aquascapes. Their simplicity is calming and beautiful and there's something special about watching a school of fish hover over a "field" of grass. Starting your own iwagumi aquascape, especially your first, is likely to lead to the exact opposite feelings: lots of pulling out of one's own hair and frustration as your aquascape is consumed by every algae known to man. Why? Well iwagumi aquascapes usually rely on only 1 or 2 species of plants, usually carpeting plants like dwarf hairgrass or HC, which don't grow particularly fast or soak up a lot of nutrients. Let's imagine a typical beginner mistake starting up an iwagumi aquascape.

When you first start an iwagumi, chances are you have some rocks, and a species or two of carpeting plants. You probably have a CO2 system of some sort, and pretty powerful lights and a fertilizing schedule. The aquarium probably looks pretty barren, aside from a few sprigs of plants strategically placed. Fast forward 3 weeks and you probably have a mess of algae that has covered your rocks, plants, and even substrate, suffocating the remaining carpeting plants into submission.

What happened? You created a perfect environment for algea. When you set up a tank, it's critical for your aquatic plants to establish a dominance, soaking up all the nutrients they can. If you don't have enough plants, algae moves in and will smother everything, thriving on the excess nutrients your plants aren't using.

So how can you avoid this when you set up your first iwagumi aquascape? The key is fast growing stem or floating plants. Add as much of these as you can, without shading out the carpeting plants. They are excellent at soaking up excess nutrients and some even release chemicals that retard the growth of algae (called allelochemicals). They don't have to disrupt your pefectly planned iwagumi layout, simply float them in your aquarium for the first few weeks, or until the carpeting plants have a chance to take hold and spread. Also, hold back a bit on fertilizing until your plants really start growing, and fertilize in proportion to the amount of plants you have in the aquarium. Gradually up the fertilizing, keeping track of algae and reducing it if you see the algae starting to crop up. This helps swing the balance in favor of your aquatic plants, and algae won't have as much of a chance to gain a foothold.

Some plants that work particularly well at keeping algae at bay in the early weeks of a newly set up aquarium are Hornwort, any hygrophila species, or any floating plant (although these can quickly become a pain to get rid of since they grow so quickly and tend to hide in everything--I'm looking at you duckweed!).

If algae does get out of balance, the best thing to do is reduce your lighting period, reduce fertilizer dosing if you are dosing too much, make sure your CO2 is steady and wait. As long as everything is balanced, your plants should be able to outcompete the algae and your iwagumi will be back on track.

Good luck!

*Photo by Mikhail Sharonin of Russia, who placed #435 in this year's IAPLC contest

Iwagumi Rock Placement Animations

Sorry about the broken links, the website (www.aquasaigon.org) seems to have disappeared. I'm trying to find the images elsewhere but not having much luck. Hopefully the website will be back up soon.

Sorry it's been a while since the last post, it's been a combination of a hectic personal life and running out of post ideas for the most part. I'm still looking for another worthy tank to analyze for an Aquascape Analysis so that should be up sometime before the end of the month.

For now, take a look at these animated images found on http://www.aquasaigon.org. They detail the different layers of rock used in an iwagumi aquascape:


You'll also notice that the first stone placed is placed according to the Golden Rule of Aquascaping.

Practical Fishkeeping: George Farmer's nano tank

This is a great example from Practical Fishkeeping of a high tech nano tank. It's small, but absolutely beautiful! If you'd like to read more about the setup of this aquarium, check out George's Nano Aquarium Journal.

Aquascape Analysis #6: Gallery 22 Iwagumi

This week's Aquascape Analysis is Tank 22 from the ADA Europe galleries. It's different from previous aquariums in that it is an sanzon iwagumi style nature aquarium, which is a subset of the nature aquarium style. It contains only a few different species of plants and one species of fish. It also makes use of rock as a prominent hardscape in a distinctive non-equilateral triangular arrangement. You'll notice the rocks are placed so the largest rock is at the peak of the triangle and the two smaller rocks seem to lean or point towards the largest rock. This is the basis of sanzon iwagumi.



The profile of an iwagumi tank is almost always flat. This is due to the use of carpeting and grassy plants. If anything there are gentle, natural slopes to emulate nature, but no major profile-defining shapes. This helps to concentrate the viewer's attention on the rocks and convey a sense of openness and airyness.



As for the focal points, in an iwagumi tank, these are almost always the rocks that make up the hardscape. Usually the main focal point is the largest, most prominent rock. In this aquascape, this hold's true. The two other rocks form the secondary focal points. Notice how the two secondary focal points (yellow) flank the main focal point (red) and how the main focal point seems to follow the Golden Rule.



The flow in an iwagumi tank is almost always exclusively following the shapes of the hardscape, as these are almost always the focal points. Therefore the flow is very simple and relaxing.



As for the foreground (green), midground (blue), and background (yellow), these are harder to define and less concrete in an iwagumi. Often, an iwagumi will look like one large foreground, with no discernable background. However, in this iwagumi, the two smaller rocks seem to anchor the midground. The background consists mainly of the largest rock and the taller grass towards the back of the aquarium. Again, the ground in an iwagumi are much harder to define and often subjective.

Overall, iwagumi tanks are based on relaxing simplicity and visual appeal. The use of three stones is not random: the human mind prefers odd numbers visually. Using only a few plant species keeps it uncluttered, and using prominent rocks as hardscape provides clear focal points and guides for the viewer's gaze.

Iwagumi and Sanzon Iwagumi Aquariums

Iwagumi aquascapes are a subset of the Nature Aquarium style, pioneered by Takashi Amano. Based of Japanese gardening principles, iwagumi literally means "rock formation." Rocks form the structure of Japanese gardens, and so in an iwagumi aquascape, rocks play a major role. Also, how these rocks are placed and how many of them there are is also very important. Many different styles of iwagumi have been adapted to the aquarium, but the overall theme is that of tranquility and simplicity.



The most common iwagumi style is called sanzon iwagumi. Sanzon means "three pillar" in Japanese and these aquascapes make use of three rocks, with two smaller rocks and one larger rock. According to JAANUS, this term was first used in the 11th century Japanese garden treatise "Sakuteiki." The grouping of stones comes from Buddhism; the central stone is called the chuusonskei (or the big Buddha) and the smaller flanking stones are called kyoujiseki (or attendant stones). The kyoujiseki are often tilted or pointed towards the chuusonskei as if bowing down to it. The chuusonskei is almost always positioned according to the Golden Rule.



Other styles are less frequent, but always make use of an odd number of stones of varying sizes. In the aquascaping community, iwagumi has taken on additional traits as well. Iwagumi aquascaped aquariums often have one single type of carpeting plant (often glosso, hair grass, or hemianthus callitrichoides) and one single species of schooling fish (most commonly rummynose tetras, cardinal tetras, or harlequin rasboras). This adds to the feeling of simplicity in the aquascape.



Many assume that caring for and maintaining an iwagumi aquascaped aquarium is easier than other styles. It is in fact much harder due to the restrictions in terms of a single plant species and the high light levels. Carpeting plants are often rather slow growers and don't absorb much in the way of nutrients. Therefore, starting an iwagumi aquascaped aquarium and getting it balanced is by far one of the most challenging aspects of the hobby. Algal blooms are common and stem plants are not available to help cycle the tank and achieve a balance. Instead, it is a lot of trial and error trying to get rid of algae and determine the correct fertlizer levels. Most use Amano shrimp or other types of shrimp to help control aglae. Iwagumi aquascaped aquariums are definitely not for beginners, but can be some of the most beautiful and peaceful aquascapes imaginable.

Aquascape Analysis Delayed

I just wanted to let you all know that I do have an Aquascape Analysis prepared for this week, however it may be delayed until next week while I finish up an article on aquascaping styles. The Aquascape Analysis is based on a sanzon iwagumi style and I thought it best to explain the style in detail first before delving into analysis. I've finished a summary of the two main styles, Dutch aquascaping and Nature Aquarium aquascaping which I will be posting soon, but I just wanted to write one examining the iwagumi style. Look for these articles soon, and after them, a brand new Aquascape Analysis!