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frrok's ADA MINI-M - A Slice of Nature --What has a Begininning must Have an End.

64K views 352 replies 40 participants last post by  frrok 
#1 · (Edited)
***Latest Update 11/13/2012*** ---(photo taken in late October)



I've broken down my 3.5 and set up this mini-m that I got for xmas. took me all day and was a lot of work. I didn't realize how many plants i had and with such thick roots! took out my fish and shrimp and placed them in a bucket with a heater and airstone. removed plants and substrate. I kept some of it for later. i was planning on re-using the tank but it broke while i was clean it out outside. its a cheapo acrylic tank from petco so that wasn't surprising. anyway, here are some pics of the set up stages in my tank. For substrate I layered, eco - complete on the very bottom, some of the old dirt and gravel mix from the old tank, then MGOCPM(dirt), filled it black beauty blasting sand then a light coating of fine black gravel or sand from substratesource.com. I really like this gravel as it has a nice dark color and is soft. easy to plant in. the black beauty has some brown mixed in. anyway, layed out my hardscape with Manzanita wood and black lava rock. then planted and filled. i am currently running a red sea nano filter but planning on swapping it out with a zoomed 501 with acyrilc lily pipes that are currently running on my 10g. i will get a powerhead for that tank soon. right now i have the tank filled and planted, i am going to test water today and if everything is cool i will add the fish and shrimp back to the tank. here are some pics of the process. thanks for looking and let me know what you think. any advice would be appreciated. Although, this is far from the final result i am happy with it how it looks. def planning on adding more crypts possibly. This tank will be lo-tech for now.

here is the list so far. ---updated 7/15
fauna
2 male black bar endlers
13 sakura grade red cherry shrimp
2 Amano shrimp

flora
Rotala rotundofolia
Ludwigia sp. 'red'
Bacopa caroliniana
Sagittaria subulata
Taxiphyllum barbieri (Java Moss)
mini xmas moss
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'red'
Cryptocoryne petchii
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'mi oya'
javern fern "needle leaf"
Mini-pellia
suberwassertang

Hardscape
Manzanita Wood
Black Lava Rock

Equipment
Zoomed 501
Tom's 13w perch light fixture with 6500k cfl bulb( may upgrade later)
archaea mini heater


break down

this is before i added the black sand on top. just bb, looks good.

substrate


hardscape

notice more subdued black sand coating

closeup hardscape


planting

all filled

full shot - next day

I also shot some video documenting the progress, check it out here, http://www.youtube.com/user/frrok1/feed
 
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#78 ·
It's funny, usually it's the intake that breaks for me. I went through three sets of powermann pipes, and I still have like two outflows laying around something. I may actually be able to send you a replacement if you don't mind the mismatch.
 
#88 ·
Just got back from my trip on Monday and I was finally able to take a shot today. The tank is in desperate need of maintenance. I've been so busy ever since I got back. I'm hoping to get a chance to do it Friday. It's finally time for another trim on my stem plants as well. Got my Purigen also. Thx Styxx! :)
Stay Tuned.
 
#92 ·
ok, trimming is complete.I also trimmed some of the emersed leaves of the new crypts I planted. They are quite established now. And you guys were right! Purigen is the bomb! in a few hours cleared my water right up! i also did a 25% water change. but it was yellow even after the water change.

by the way, Thank you Dollface for the new pipes! :)

I have to think of a nice way to repay you guys...


male bb endlers - suckers move so fast. hard to get a good macro of them. oh well best i could do.
 
#93 ·
You're so welcome. I told you Purigen is worth its weight in gold, lol. It's amazing at removing not only tannins but protein and other nitrogenous organic wastes. Just leave it in the filter until it turns dark brown to black, and this may take a while so be patient. Remember it does its job better over time. You're going to love it, since it's also great for stabilizing the bacterial colony.
 
#109 ·
thank you!!
I honestly think it was old age. The only ones that were dying were adults. Some them I had for about a year. The population is pretty steady now. I haven't had any new babies in a couple of months tho. A lot of my shrimp are Juvie's. Only have a few adult females. I think if I didn't have fish it would probably explode. Lol
 
#118 ·
btw, my shrimps have been so awesomely active and out and about in this tank after i put the purigen in my filter. They really love the clean water. I counted 13 sakura reds, and a few young females are finally saddled.

Question: currently this is low tech and I don't dose all that regularly. K and trace once a week or two and now I started dosing No3, because purigen does remove nitrates. Is this advisable or does it not matter?
 
#119 ·
I would dose as appropriate for the biomass volume that you have (which is low atm). You can certainly add No3 but if it isn't broke don't fix it - i.e. if you're not having algae issues now you don't want algae issues in the future (especially when you're going to be out of town). This is one reason why having CO2 is great because its great for encouraging plant growth to outcompete algae despite an occasional dosing error. Hope that helps? And we really deserve a photo update ffrok! Come on, I'm dying out here! LOL
 
#120 ·
Here is a quick iPhone shot. I wasn't able to do my maintenance today. Thats why the water level is low Planning on getting it done first thing in the morning, before I go out of town for the weekend. My stems are growing back nicely(hard to tell in the pic). Faster than the last time I trimmed for sure. I will get an overhead shot tomorrow. I noticed I have some bba growing on the lava rock. It's not that bad , but I don't want it to spread. What's the best way to get rid of it? Some rocks I may be able to take out and clean. But not the top one... Trimmed some more of the emersed leaves of the crypts. They adapted well. New growth coming in nice. Anyway, that's it for now
thx for looking.
 
#122 ·
finally a proper udpate!! my stems are creeeeepin' ever so slowly! but they are there, and they are looking nice. Question is on my next trim(third) should I trim higher up on the stem? crypts are settling and almost to where I would like them to look. kind of a transition plant on the left side and more of a field type look on the right. what are your thoughts on that? I am including a phot of the left side which is my favorite. with the mix of moss, sag and stems. I really like how it looks right now. Oh and I used the good camera this time... cheers! :)

PS> apologies, I know I need to top off and trim the moss. anyone have any good tips on trimming moss? I really hate that it doesnt float! I tried using airline tubing to suck it up while I trim but it doesn't really work that well. and that white stuff on the sub is just food. :red_mouth



 
#123 ·
crickets! hahaha

Need to Rant a little bit.. Im really getting fustrated with the slow growth on this tank. I cant wait to get this Co2 started. but I need to get the solenoid in order to run it. I am not home enough to dial it on and off everyday.its too much for me to handle right now. anyway, as soon as im settled i will be getting what I need. i have a diffuser and drop checker...just need a pb tank, regulator, tubing and a bubble counter.... oh and a new LIGHT!!! ughhhhh it will never happen :icon_frow
 
#125 ·
Ok, here's the deal. You need to get that CO2 started but all you need is a plug in timer for the wall. Set it and forget it. The solenoid will "click" on and start the CO2 running at the time you set on the timer and it will "click" off when the timer reaches the time you set. Usually you're supposed to plug the aquarium light into the same timer since CO2 is only used by actively photosynthesizing plants, e.g. when the light is shining. Otherwise you'll build up CO2 to toxic levels (because CO2 decreases pH when as it gets higher in concentration - generally not a problem with plants because they absorb it when light is shinning but at night it can kill fish, shrimp, etc. for obvious reasons). A bubble counter isn't necessary, just tune to where the diffuser is reaching the correct color in the drop checker; I'll send you some tubing just get that damn pb tank and regulator damn you to Hell!!! :flick:
 
#127 ·
quick early morning iPhone overhead shot. Please exuse the out of focus exposure. My stems are looking nice;)I just got a whole bunch of needle leaf java fern that is just floating in the tank right now. I've been working my butt off and have no time to plant it. Alot of the leaves are old so I am going to have to clean it up and trim it big time.it's also extremely long. The little java fern I have in there right now is suffering from some kind of weird algae that it came with. I have no idea what it is. It's hard green clumps. I put some in my ten gallon half moon an it spread to my phillipine java fern. I have a thread about it in the algae room. So far I've had no luck iding it.

In other news I'm officially
moving next Wednesday so I can hopefully set up this tank with co2. I'm half way there. I may just have to take my contest shot for the nano contest before I get the co2 up and running. :(
 
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