The Planted Tank Forum banner

ADA 90P Iwugami (56K Warning) Updated 5/16/2013

74K views 295 replies 52 participants last post by  styxx 
#1 · (Edited)
Well I have decided to take the plunge. I have begun yet another tank and this time it's to be a ADA 90P. I wish that I had the $ for the 120, but for now a 90P will have to suffice. Please note, I have switched to an Iwugami style as of 7/27/2012! So here are the specs and photos to follow:

Flora
Anubias Barteri Nana Planted
Microsorum pteropus Needle Leaf Planted
Lilaeopsis mauritiana Planted

Fauna
Cardinia Japonica Arrived
Otocinclus Affinis Arrived
Harlequin Rasboras Arrived
Assassin Snails Arrived

Equipment
Fluval G6
Hydor 300W Heater
5Lb. CO2 w/Milwaukee Regulator, Solenoid & Bubble counter
GLA Atomic+ CO2 Diffuser - with Check Valve - 75mm
GLA (Cal Aqua Labs) Glass Lily In/Outflow Pipes
2 x 30W Growbeam 1000ND, 6500K LED Tile
EchoTech Vortech MP10
ADA: Iron Long Bottom, Multi-Bottom Long, Tourmaline BC, ECA, Phyton-Git, Brighty-K, Brighty Lights, Step 1-2-3,
45Lbs. Seriyu Stone (not cheap )
60Lbs. Seachem Fluorite Black

And without further delay:
















 
See less See more
6
#8 ·
I decided against ADA Amazon soil because in my experience, it tends to turn to mush in the bottom layer over time. And since this tank will be around for at least the next year (or more) I wanted something that will hold its shape. Fluorite does that and doesn't suffer from compaction like ADA soil. Moreover with amendments like Multi-bottom and Iron Bottom its high CEC capacity increases its utility (apart from the Fe and other minerals that it already possesses). As for scratching, I haven't had any problems, but then again, I don't do a lot of fiddling and moving around things once I plant the tank. Other than trimming I usually leave things be for months at a time. The only occasion that I've ever been concerned with scratches is when moving large rocks in the substrate but even then the friction can be minimized. And of course, one could always use Fluorite Sand as an alternative if one were concerned about scratches. But I'm not too concerned.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I know but I'm concerned about height. I need sufficient height in the rock in order to offset the potential foreground that I want to use. I may have to resort to glosso because it seems that since my tank is only 18" high and the rocks aren't nearly that tall, therefore I might have to use glosso because it grows much closer to the substrate, whereas Lilaeopsis tends to grow 2-3 inches high (which would obscure the rock). Any thoughts?
 
#14 · (Edited)
Yes, I'm still tossing the idea around in my head. I really need to see how I can get the rock layout first in order to arrive at a decision on the foreground. In the past I grew the lilaeopsis brasil but if memory serves me correctly, it took like 6 months for it to really take off and then after that it was a breeze, but it was a PITA to really get going. I finally gave up and then two months later I woke up to see it covering every square inch of the substrate (and that was with high light, CO2, etc.) So I hope that the mauritiana is much easier to get going and won't take as long to cover the substrate (should I go with it as I originally intended). At the moment, I'm waiting on the tank, but my ADA glass lily pipes should be here on Wed! More photos to come...

Oh and BTW mcqueensesq, I went to LSU/UNO for my undergraduate degree! I miss uptown and the Quarter so much! Many of my friends still live there, but left for Grad school after Katrina. Hope things are going well down there these days...
 
#18 ·
Glass Lily Pipes Arrive!!

Why hellooo there Mr. FedEx package, what is that you have in there for me today? AHA! What do we have here?!?



Note how narrow the outlet is - I wonder if this is to increase the turbulence of the flow?



This intake is really gorgeous in real life and the quality is quite evident. Both of them appear to be very fragile, but they're quite sturdy and composed of thick glass.



I love how the workmanship is reflected in the precision of the cuts; no jagged edges here! :wink:
 
#24 ·
Wow. Well the LFS has some very tiny juveniles available, so I was considering it, but after your little bombshell I guess I might have to pass! @ pandacory, I'll keep you posted. At the moment the G6 is very nice but one shouldn't expect high flow out of it. Given that my tank is only a 90P and thus under 50G, I think it's sufficient, but it's not worth the price for a larger volume if high flow is an important criteria. Don't get me wrong, the flow is decent, just not that powerful. Hard to describe without a video, which I can't make atm :icon_redf. As for the Grobeam 1000, it's without a doubt a very impressive LED fixture. It's convinced me to invest the extra $$ for LEDs despite the lower costs for other lighting alternatives. I'll let the plant growth speak for itself in a few weeks. And for everyone else who's been following the thread, the tank should be here sometime next week! FINALLY!!! :bounce:
 
#25 ·
Which controller are you using for the grobeams?

The gla site is a little unclear for me if the standard controller is capable of handling 2, since they do state it has 2 channels, whereas the upgraded controller is capable of handling 4 (directly stated on the site)

As far as $'s go, they seem to be priced *fair* for the features and coverage as long as they work as advertised and you accept that it is still a new and upmarket technology. They look like one of the better options in a pendant style setup.

What is the working coverage of a single tile? It sounds like about 18"x18" each from the site, so 2 should be perfect for your 90p. a version capable of 24"x24" would be awesome for same pendant style and features.

As far as flow on the g6 goes, I personally think that if the filtration capacity is good for your desired maintenance interval, and stems in dense plantings placed in the weakest flow area of the tank will wave at you, you should be good.

I am excited to see how these perform! Your tank is helping me decide how much drool factor I really want to price in to my next project budget! :D
 
#26 ·
I use a G6 on a standard 55gal, 48"x13"x20 and I chose to have a seperate powerhead because of the length. Now Pugman uses two on a 180P thats working well, so one G6 could be perfect for the 90P. The lily pipe could have something to do with it seeming to not have as much flow because they are designed to spread the flow out. Pugman is also using pendants with his setup, there are a few similarities between your two tanks, if you havent seen it, here is his thread. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals/166542-180p-build.html
 
#27 ·
@ pandacory, At the moment I'm just using a digital wall timer. I have considered using the multi-controller, but at this time, I'm just using one Grobeam 1000 tile. If I find that I need to use the second one on this tank I will probably add the upgraded controller. First, it does support 4 channels (2 per tile) and second (and more importantly) it eliminates the need for the power "brick" that accompanies each tile. The down side is that the damn multi-controller is exceptionally expensive (more than the cost of a single Grobeam 1000 tile itself). :( I'd rather reinvest that $ into plants for the time being. Yes the light spread is about 18" x 18" so perfect for my size tank, though considering the height of my stand, I'm holding off on adding the second one to see what kind of results I get. From looking at the light when lit, I'm now worried about algae should I add the second tile to the mix. I tend to agree with you about the G6.

@ Ozydego, yes I'm watching Pugman's thread closely. I wish I could afford a 180P OMG! I'm so jealous! I think flow will be sufficient given the size of my tank, and I'm not really keeping any fish that need a river, lol.
 
#28 ·
Clever idea to increase the effectiveness of fluorite with ADA substrate nutrients, if I ever have to use anything besides Aquasoil I will definitely be doing this... probably wouldn't have thought to. Great idea, very curious to see how well it works. If I was doing this little trick I'd probably be overly generous with the ADA nutrients to compensate more effectively for the lack of AS nutrients, you can't really over do it with these ADA nutrients, especially the bacter.

Bacter 100 is the only ADA substrate nutrient I've ever used, and wow is it effective. It's also quite good for getting rid of BGA between the glass and substrate. I dose extremely lean with N so occasionally very small amounts pop up when I let my filter slow and N get below 3ppm. Lots of bacter 100 and a generous amount of green bacter completely cycled my tank in 4 days, by day 5 I had amanos and ottos and, wait for it, SSS CRS in and none of them even flinched, 100% survival rate. I used 2x as much AS as recommended as well!

BTW I'd start with 2 of those LED panels, but I'm a high light freak I love the growth and challenge of extremely high light, so YMMV. I've actually considered putting a 250w halide over my 75P but I don't feel like buying a chiller and a water top off system.
 
#29 ·
Surprise!



CM,
Thanks. I figured that if I wasn't going to use AS then I better get as close as possible to its nutrient levels. Fluorite is actually quite good, except I want AS type growth, so in went the soil amendments to improve my results. AS and Fluorite are the only substrates I'll ever use. Period, hands down. Of course I've never used them because I've always had Aqua Soil and that typically was sufficient so I guess we'll see how things go. As for the lighting, I'm sure that you would have used two LED panels but you are a light maniac (as everyone knows, lol). I'm trying to achieve two, somewhat competing objectives with this tank. First is growing the E. Hydropiper successfully and still keeping some of the shade loving plants (like the anubias varieties) happy. I'm hoping that the Trident Java will be enough shade to keep things manageable. Time will only tell. But on the upside:

Pics tomorrow!! :redface:
 
#35 ·
90P Arrives and Hardscape Layout (Done?)

Well here's what you've been waiting for, the 90P arrived today finally. It weighs around 90lbs empty, so in retrospect I'm glad I didn't buy the 120P. The glass is thick compared to the 60P that I had way back in 2006/7. The crate and box mess...I was so excited to get the tank out I almost had a hernia lifting it by myself. Believe me, if you ever want to have one delivered, you absolutely must have this to protect it. I was skeptical but when the UPS man delivered it, I realized it was a very necessary precaution.



First step, the Tourmaline BC, Iron Bottom and Multi-bottom Long amendments go in...



Then next the Fluorite Black...at this stage, I had to raise the LED light fixture fairly high to have some room to work. Physically, I guess I just didn't realize how the dimensions of the tank would look like until it arrived, though I planned for it obviously.



And of course the obligatory ADA brand sticker!!!



Next comes the manzanita tree...



Accompanied by some Seriyu stone... with a few close ups for detail.









I'm still not certain about this arrangement on the left side of the tank around the manzanita tree...




And finally the whole composition, with some additional Fluorite on the right to create a hill and some depth with a valley in the middle. I also slightly increased the depth overall. I'm not absolute certain how I want to handle the stones on the left side. I have more stone to work with but the real estate in the tank is fairly limited at this point since I really like the hill I've created on the right. As always, comments, suggestions and critiques are welcomed!

 
#36 ·
Well finally! Looks really good so far and the stones look awesome. I like what you have so far and I probably wouldn't change much. Since your going with a tree theme I think it works. I'm curious, did you have your tank shipped to your door? Was it alot more for that? Also, a note on the 120p. I believe that one of the reasons why Amano rarely uses it is that because he likes to have all the big tanks at one height in the gallery so it looks clean. I was told that by and Ada rep;) also, the dimensions work better with the golden ratio..... That said, I noticed a lot of the IAPLC entries this year using 120ps. I actually like the long and low look. Works well with mountain scapes. And driftwood stone combos. Anyway, I'm happy you finally have something to work with. I'm curious to see how the light does. Which brings me to my next question. Do you like the rail attached to the light. I'm thinking of just attaching my tile with the hanging kit directly. You think that would be possible? And it looks SUPER bright in your photos.
 
#37 · (Edited)
Some Answers...I Hope



I did have the tank shipped to my door by UPS. It cost me about $85 but it only took 3 days since I live in Washington state and it's not that far from Cali (which is nice). I would die to have a 120P but the glass on the 90P is 1/2 " thick, so I can't imagine what the 120P's glass must be like. It probably weighs a TON; but I do like the length and the low height makes for some really useful real estate. Here's the thing with the rail - I like it because it has room to expand and put a second tile on, whereas if you limit yourself to hanging just the fixture, you'll have to get the rail eventually to add a second tile. As for the brightness, it is hella bright, but it takes about 2-3 days after you first get it to really kick in. Initially I was very skeptical about its lighting intensity, compared to CPF, T5's T8's, etc. But your eyes have to adjust to how LEDs illuminate things and it has a short "burn in" period where the LEDs reach their optimum efficiency (which in my case was about 3 days of regular use). I actually have to raise it higher than I planned because it's so bright and I already returned the second tile because it's obvious that lowering it would be enough to increase the PAR at substrate level. Also please pardon the extra suspension wires, I'm having them trimmed today. I should also note that the light is about 4" above the tank in the final FTS.
 
#39 ·
I can't wait to see how the single tile performs. If you can run the 90p up to high light then it becomes very competitive with a high end t5ho set up as a lighting solution.

Again, drooling over the equipment and layout, I say that, of course, with a 0% for 12months credit card mocking me!
 
#40 · (Edited)
I love those dimensions, truly jealous. I'm always wishing my 75P had another 6" of length. This will definitely be the tank I buy when my 75P is too old to use, and it's definitely getting there... 6 years of use and 7 scapes, it's seen better days. If for some reason I can afford it by then, a 120H would take precedent over the 90P, but I'd much rather a 90P over a 120P.

I like the scape but it would definitely benefit from more substrate, more height and depth would really impact it in a great way. Would you have to order more or do you have a LFS you could take a visit to?

Goos stuff, cheers mate.

EDIT: I'm disappointed in you styx, where's the other LED pendant?! ;)
 
#41 ·
Quick Update

I can't type much, as yesterday I was busy trying to run some errands to Ace Hardware. I bought some new ferrules and trimmed the wires hanging the light, as well as buying some composite shims for the stand (it wasn't level completely and I filled the tank up and the water level was about 1/4" off). In the process of shimming the stand (with the tank, rock and substrate - but no water) I twisted my lower back. And of course it's hurting like a b***h right now. :angryfire Though the stand is completely level now and hopefully will stay that way even once the weight of the water is added. Also I broke the nipple on my GLA diffusor and they were nice enough to send me a new one. So everything should arrive around Tues. or Wed. More updates then, since that's when planting will start.

@ CM, yes, I know you want more light, but right now you'll just have to wait! :biggrin:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top