Shadowing Practice: Can a Wood Iwagumi Aquascape Exist? - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.

255 sentences

If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.

Hello everyone, today I have this Eheim Clearscape set to build

and my favorite thing about this is it's not your regular 60 piece size, it's deeper.

It's actually 60 by 35 by 35 and I have the perfect hardscape to use this depth, so bear with me.

A little backstory, about a year ago when we received the shipment of hardscape from Riverrest,

there was some strange pieces mixed in with the ironwood.

Now this is clearly something different than what we usually use as ironwood, but I had to save these.

It's just a really interesting texture.

It's very very thin, and today is the day to actually use these.

My main idea with this main piece and all the rest is way smaller, so I'm gonna have to figure those out on the go

but this is to build a wall something like this

and trust the rigidity of this which is virtually non-existent

so put this in like this and build up the soil behind it

and have like a lower part in the front

and the really high soil in the back and carpeting and

so on the way i put these pieces away the sign on the box says wood Iwagumi 60p

so that's that's what this is gonna be basically i'm gonna build something like a mountain Iwagumi

but with wood only i'm hyped

and scared at the same time on how this is gonna

go i really need to figure out the perfect angle on how this is gonna actually stand.

I think this is gonna be the angle.

I want to really pull up the middle.

The side is gonna come up as well so that's what's gonna give me depth.

It actually comes out perfectly in like one third.

The top is pulling downwards which again works for depth.

I just need to make sure that this actually stands.

I need something to weigh down with and I picked a few pieces of Sensei stone because it almost broke the glass.

That was fun.

This has flat surfaces, so I can actually put it down and then glue the wood to it.

As always, I'm trying to work in a way that it sort of stands on its own, because this way I can avoid extra tension on it later on.

I'm gonna need glue and the fluffy stuff.

Now I need to fix the flexibility of the wood itself.

Okay, it's not visible from the front.

Perfect.

I was worried that the liquid glue is going to leak through these cracks, but it didn't.

Now the flex is gone.

Actually, this is a stage where the extra 5-centimeter depth comes in handy,

because this piece of wood would actually be almost touching the glass right now if it was a normal 60p.

But I still have space where I'm gonna be able to put plants and actually I'm thinking about

Raising it slightly putting another piece of rock down here that it stands on.

So yeah, I have this

Flow going towards the back

Actually the whole layout is gonna have like a strange

Physical twist not sure how to put it and I don't clearly see it myself yet Okay,

this seems to be a bit unstable at the moment, but what I'm going to do, which we never do, and it's very important that I don't forget now,

is I'm actually going to pull down a base layer of soil and then put the whole thing on top of it,

because I don't want to lose this end of the wood.

I don't want that to be covered by soil here in the corner.

These two pieces actually fit together quite nicely.

And I believe they could be good for this side to start off the same wall structure.

I'm going to have a rock underneath this as well, obviously, to have it way down.

If I leave this off, because I'm gonna, obviously, it's going to sit on top of the soil already.

I like how this goes through in between, like a part.

I'm going to have to glue this on because it can't really move forward.

I'm actually going to need a pair of eyes to help me.

So I don't actually see where I put the compound.

So if you could tell me if I'm in the correct place or not.

You are.

Yeah, go all the way through there.

What?

I mean...

Okay, thank you.

Thanks for the help.

I was actually thinking about making this side like a continuation of this, but it doesn't work out as I want it to.

But, I just realized that if I put this one here in the back, and I'm gonna have the high soil to put it on top,

that way I have three layers of hardscape instead of two.

Still summer in this.

I've asked for the next bottle, but...

Didn't get it, as usual.

It's gonna be great, my hand.

I can stand like this.

That's just perfect.

Okay, so I'm gonna actually take out all the pieces.

Uh oh.

Ah.

Hmm.

So this rock was glued onto the glass somehow.

I need my tools.

I have some leftover power sand.

This is the M size, which is, well, it's not for 60p, but it doesn't really matter that much.

I'm putting in a base layer, and then I'm going to put the hardscape back on top of the Amazonia,

finalize its position, and then fill up the rest of the soil.

I want about the same level all around the tank to start with, and then I'm going to raise wherever I want to.

This one goes back.

So I'm pushing it into the soil slightly to get the perfect angle and to make sure that I'm gonna be underwater.

Very nice addition to this cabinet from Eheim.

There's a shelf that you can use for checking your height.

I have about two, almost three centimeters from the top, so water level is gonna be higher than the hardscape, which is the goal, just higher.

Yeah, I need the angle on it.

I definitely need lots of soil.

I have no clue if this is going to stand.

So it's quite steep, especially here in the middle.

And this one comes on top of the soil in the back, so I need to wait with that.

Did I ever mention I hate working with wood?

This is so much easier to do with stones.

Okay, it's time to plant, so time to make the soil wet.

I'm going to start planting and I've chosen a bunch of different plants.

We are moving away from the wooden Iwagumi stuff because I don't want this to just be a carpet,

but it's going to be grass-like plants only.

100

Grassy shapes are going to overcome the escape.

101

Starting point of that is the good old L.A.

102

Charisaticularis mini.

103

I've said this many times before, but maybe some you haven't heard it yet one of my

104

favorite tips to give for planting especially for LL Caris carpet

105

is this plant tends to start its life in the aquarium by getting yellow

106

and in some cases looking like it's almost dying that's actually just the leaves changing from immersed to submersed form.

107

Now to avoid being freaked out by this effect and knowing exactly

108

if it's just the leaves changing or there is an actual problem,

109

the best thing you can do is grab a few of them and plant right beside the glass so you actually see.

110

You don't want to do this in the front

111

because it's not nice to look at

112

but on the side it won't be visible normally but you can actually see the the plant inside the soil.

113

If you see root development in that part then your plant is fine.

114

It doesn't matter how brownish your plant turn, they're going to come back to life with new leaves.

115

The guys just told me that I should have done this on the other side

116

because this side of the tank is actually very visible in our gallery

117

but this is a very good option to educate people in our shop

118

so it's going to be fine like this we have actually

119

used this ehan clear scape set before i believe it was

120

attila who's built in it i've liked his layout a lot

121

there's actually a video where I've gone around the whole showroom and rated all our aquariums.

122

And in fact, it wasn't just me, it was some of you guys as well, because our YouTube members were invited to rate our tanks as well.

123

But anyway, go check out the build video of that, because it's completely different from what I'm doing now.

124

It's much more of a classic NA style setup.

125

Some of you guys in the comments of that video

126

highlighted how you don't like the red line on the cabinet that much.

127

Now, to be honest, just having it as it is,

128

I like it but obviously it's a question of where the cabinet is actually placed and what's around it.

129

The red might be a bit popping off too much.

130

In that case you can actually flip the doors upside down so the red line is on the bottom.

131

So there's a small trick for if this is the only thing holding you back.

132

And if you want to say again that you don't like it, then be careful, Eheim is watching.

133

There's another feature of the cabinet that I actually like a lot

134

and I don't think it's such a questionable thing as the red line.

135

It's actually the openings on the side.

136

It has this brush on it that comes in handy because you won't get dust starting to collect within the cabinet.

137

Or if you have the aquarium set up,

138

for example, in your bedroom and you are very sensitive about any kind of light during the night,

139

in that case a lot of electronic devices have some lights on them within the cabinet, so through this the light won't come out.

140

I'm not sure if that was the thinking behind it in any way.

141

I would say probably not.

142

But yeah, I find that quite handy.

143

The base carpet is done.

144

I have different types of grasses.

145

I have Eleocharis parvula and Eleocharis acicularis.

146

Now, these are the long ones, not the minis.

147

So it's just going to come up here on the sides.

148

And I also have Littorella uniflora, which I've used, I don't know, about 10 years ago once, and I have no idea how it's gonna look and how it's gonna behave,

149

but hey, it's time to try stuff.

150

What I find a bit weird about these plants is, I don't think there are two occasions where we have the same plant.

151

So this Hatsklaris and Parvula, sometimes this is like the final size of the plant,

152

the plant and sometimes it grows like that in the front.

153

I was quite sure that that plant was Eleocharis acicularis and the green aqua branded one.

154

Now I've asked my colleague who ordered the plants to get me definitely the same plant for my IAPLC layout.

155

He told me it's not acicularis, it's something else i don't remember what it was

156

and we originally got that by mistake when we ordered at glade

157

so at this point i have no clue anyway this can be trimmed

158

so if it's going to be

159

that long we can simply trim it back i really hope

160

that this grass is actually going to be visible behind this line.

161

Okay, so the box says it's a front growing plant, the Littorella Uniflora.

162

So I guess it won't be very high.

163

We can just pop it in between the normal carpet.

164

I truly have no idea how this plant is going to look.

165

I could have looked online, we probably have photos of it on our website.

166

If you want to do a better job planning your plants for your next project,

167

it's actually quite handy to go to greenacro.com and go through the plants,

168

where we usually have pictures of how they look immersed and also how they look submersed,

169

so once they got to use to the new space underwater, which can be quite different.

170

I believe we have a whole video explaining that.

171

I did a video about that.

172

So yeah, if you have no clue what I'm talking about, go check that out.

173

The next plant I'm going to use is Blixta Japonica, and the reason why I have it so big is

174

because it's actually stolen from my own aquarium

175

so we don't have to wait for the in vitro version to melt

176

and then start to grow because that's what's going to happen

177

when you plant blixa it's perfectly normal don't worry about it

178

90 of the time the whole plant just goes away

179

and then it comes back to life this is the only reddish tint i want to see in this tank

180

if i would be planting like

181

rotalas

182

or whatever those reds would for me clash with the dark

183

brown of the wood in this layout obviously it's very often used together ironwood

184

and red stem plants

185

but in this case i don't want any strong red highlights

186

the blixa is gonna have a very nice pinkish reddish tint on the tip of the the leaves and that's it.

187

Actually the whole concept of using grass type plants only in different layouts is something that I've been experimenting with the past,

188

I don't know, year but I like the effect I get from these tanks.

189

Maybe just a few pieces here as well.

190

These won't go red because these are in the shadow, but this way I can nicely connect the front to the back.

191

Okay, I think I'm going to fill this corner with the blixer.

192

I don't want any of the other plants in here.

193

I have three plants I've never used before.

194

One of them might be a bit out of what I'm after.

195

I don't like to waste plants, but these might not go in.

196

This is the Heterantera Zosterifolia.

197

The image looks very good.

198

It's not a proper grass type plant, it's a stem plant, but with very thin leaves, which sort of resembles grass.

199

Now the other two plants I have is Jensis repens, which is a very nice plant and we don't use it at all.

200

I don't know why.

201

Do we have it anywhere in the gallery?

202

I don't think Balazs uses it either.

203

The other one is a new plant from tropica

204

which is the Nyas Guadalupensis guppy grass

205

which in most cases you see this plant just thrown into like fish holding tanks in shops

206

but if you plant it it's actually quite nice stem plant in the background

207

which you can grow very very dense

208

and it has very very thin leaves okay so Pamy I'm sorry

209

but for the heterontera i probably won't use that okay this is not the easiest plant to take apart

210

i'm gonna put the answers behind this big piece so it sticks out

211

where is the bottom of this plant okay there it is

212

it's probably not gonna be the easiest thing to plant what

213

fish what fish don't know well it's a guppy grass

214

so we could go with guppies

215

and the guppies maybe does it look any good planted from the front

216

because i have not checked on it since i've started planting yeah

217

if you look at it like this part seems almost empty

218

because the unisus repens here and the blixen front those are quite big right now

219

but this one is the guppy grass which is very small at the moment, but it grows very quick.

220

So this should look good in, I don't know, a week or two.

221

Let's take a look.

222

Yeah, it screams for crystal red shrimps, doesn't it?

223

But the red shrimps, that's good, because those are small red patches.

224

Well, see in a bit.

225

By that time, I'm going to know what's inside.

226

Here we are about three weeks after the initial setup and you can see that it's only been three weeks.

227

Usually we show you a more dense, more developed carpet because we shoot these final shots four, five, six weeks after the setup.

228

But you can see that there are some spots where plants are missing.

229

But luckily I have planted my usual check plants on the side

230

and I can see that root development is perfect

231

and obviously I can see it on the carpet itself that's much more dense than it was on day one.

232

What we still need to wait for is the coloring especially on the blixer.

233

Here in the front is none, here in the back these slight reddish colors coming up

234

and also the Jönsse Sripens that's coming to reddish colors some of the leaves are already red

235

so when that comes up much much more.

236

It should reach the top of this wood piece.

237

It's going to be perfect.

238

And as for the looks itself, like the effect that I was after, it's coming out perfectly.

239

So You can see the green in between the cracks of the wood.

240

With the fish and shrimps I wanted to play on this basic colourless of the tang, so it's It's very dull, just the greens with small bits of red.

241

And the Andler guppies are perfect to balance that out, to bring some colour.

242

And also the sakura shrimps with their red colours.

243

And hey, it matches the logo as well.

244

Of course if you guys are following us on social media, you have already seen the guppies here because we post some behind the scenes stuff.

245

You've seen a photo of us letting these fish in.

246

Now, throughout the making of this tank I've used the term wooden Iwagumi.

247

I think I still stand by it.

248

It sort of looks like an Iwagumi, just big wood.

249

I don't think this should be like a new style.

250

It's not that good.

251

But maybe there is something in it.

252

Maybe in the future we're going to develop this.

253

Let me know if you like it, if you want this to be a new style or not.

254

If you are not a fan of my insanity of making a wooden Iwagumi, you can check out the previous build in this Iheim clear escape tank, which was done by Attila,

255

I believe, and that was a really nice nature-style tank, so you can find that video over here.

Download App

Everything you need to speak fluently

AI PronunciationScore every sentence

IPA PracticeMaster every sound

VocabularyBuild your word bank

Vocab GameLearn while playing

Scan QR

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

✨ Recommend Video

296 sentences

Why Practice Speaking with This Aquascape Video?

This video is a goldmine for english speaking practice because it blends casual, conversational speech with technical details—mirroring real-life communication. The speaker’s mix of excitement, problem-solving, and step-by-step explanation creates a dynamic context that trains your ear to follow natural pacing and tone. Whether you’re a hobbyist or just learning to discuss projects, shadowing this dialogue (using the shadowing technique) will improve your ability to articulate ideas clearly, even when thinking on your feet.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

The video is packed with practical structures to master. Here are 3 key ones:

"I'm going to have to figure those out on the go": Uses "have to" + "figure out" + "on the go" to express adaptability. This phrase is perfect for describing real-time problem-solving, a common scenario in daily speech.
"It's not visible from the front. Perfect.": Short, punchy sentences paired with exclamations show how native speakers simplify communication for clarity. Practice this to sound more natural, not overly formal.
"I don't clearly see it myself yet": The phrase "don't clearly see" softens uncertainty, a polite way to admit confusion. This is essential for polite conversation, especially in professional or collaborative settings.

Common Pronunciation Traps

Several words in the video can trip up learners. Focus on these to improve english pronunciation:

"Eleocharis": This plant name has a tricky stress pattern—emphasize the second syllable: "el-ee-OH-ka-ris". Repeat it slowly using shadow speech to nail the rhythm.
"Rigidity": The "g" is silent, and the stress falls on the second syllable: "ri-JID-uh-tee". Avoid over-pronouncing the "g" to sound more fluent.
"Immersed": The "er" sound is short, not long. Say "im-URST" instead of "im-MERSED" to match native pronunciation.

Use a shadowing site to replay these sections, pausing and repeating until they feel natural. With practice, you’ll turn these traps into strengths!

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've asked · I've chosen · I've said
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be covered · was glued · being freaked
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	this which is · size, which is · hardscape, which is

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Can a Wood Iwagumi Aquascape Exist? - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Download App

I MADE A RIVER AQUASCAPE FOR THE PERFECT NANO FISH! Aquascape Tutorial

This structure feels impossible to move

The Art of Balancing Stones

I Tried the Impossible Art of Building a Ship in a Bottle

Tokyo’s Vertical Farms - The Future of Farming | WIRED

STUNG by a Stonefish! (Most Painful Sting on Earth)

Backyard Squirrel Maze 2.0- The Walnut Heist

Architectural Design Process Explained

I Added Animals Into My Giant Rainforest Vivarium

NEVER TOO SMALL 40sqm/430sqft Tiny Cabin - Gawthorne's Hut

How the Grand Canyon Was Really Carved?

This Fish Shouldn’t Exist… So I Got One

Why Practice Speaking with This Aquascape Video?

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Common Pronunciation Traps

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?