The Planted Tank Forum banner

Trenton's ADA 60P Journal - Tank Planted

53K views 120 replies 33 participants last post by  R2D2 
#1 · (Edited)
Current FTS (August 24, 2012).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7857799118/http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Hey everyone,

This journal will be chronicling my iwagumi style ADA 60P and what I found out along the way. I have found out very quickly that there is no cut and dry method of doing things so bear with me as I try to make sense of it all.

My aim is to make my journal detailed so that others can get help from it if needed. I don't consider myself to know very much, but I am learning more every day.

I just really want to thank everyone on TPT for taking time out of their lives to post their own experiences, journals, replies, etc. Without these invaluable resources, I would be making a lot more mistakes than I am going to!

Current Setup - Rockwall Mountain Scape
Red denotes planned/unpurchased
Blue denotes in the mail!

Soil/Substrate:
- ADA Aqua Soil New Amazonia Normal (9+3 liters)
- ADA Aqua Soil New Amazonia Powder (3 liters)
- ADA Clear Super, Bacter 100, Tourmaline BC, Penac W and Penac P

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7158189677/http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7343391924/http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Hardscape:
- Rocks collected at our cabin in B.C.
The rocks were scrubbed and disinfected with bleach water and tested for suitability with the API Nitrate #1 drops. No bubbles were present.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7158171553/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7158184067/http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Filtration/Flow:
- Eheim Classic 2215
- Media TBD
- Hydor 200w Heater
- Aquatic Magic 13mm Lily Pipes


http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7158207725/http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7343402510/http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

CO2 Distribution:
- 5lb Aluminum Cylinder
- Go CYL-20 SS Regulator
- Clippard Mouse Solenoid
- Swagelok SS-SS2-A
- Assorted Swagelok Fittings and Check Valve
- Aquatic Magic Bubble Counter
- Aquatic Magic Rhinox 2000 Distributer
- Aquatic Magic Drop Checker


http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7343432916/http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Light:
- Aqua Medic Sunbeam 2x24W T5HO
- Giesemann Midday
- DIY Conduit Light Hanger


http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7158228491/http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Flora:
- Hemianthus Callitrichoides 'Cuba' (HC)
At this point as I am just trying to figure everything out so I will be sticking with one carpet plant. I will try more plants/mosses in the future though once I get the hang of everything. I would like to try out: mini micro sword, DHG, e. tenellus and various other mosses.

Fauna:
- 12 Rummy Nose Tetra
- 6 Panda Corydoras
- 4 Otocinclus Vittatus (Otos)
- 4 Amano Shrimp
- 2 Long fin GBR

Fertilizers:
- Pfertz NPK and Micros
- ADA ECA, Green Bacter, Green Gain and Phyton-Git

Misc.:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7158205871/http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

So far it has been a big struggle to try to source everything that I need living in Calgary, AB. I have had to buy pretty much everything online from the USA or Vancouver, BC. This means a lot of shipping costs but the alternative is waiting for an order to come in at my LFS and pay double the price anyways so shipping is worth it.

Currently I am waiting a couple of packages. The 60P among other things has finally been in stock, so it is being shipped right now from AFA! I will have to wait till the end of July though to plant and fill as I am on holidays for about 2 weeks.

I can't wait to share my experiences with you all. Thanks for checking out my journal!

-T
 
See less See more
10
#77 ·
So I cleaned out my filter yesterday and my tubing. I had installed the heater in the wrong location when I first did it (1 am...) so I fixed that as well.

Cleaning media if tank water.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7769295872/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/
It was pretty dirty... 2.5 weeks. I filled up the void space in the filter with a bit of ehiem bio media and rings for now. I plan on getting more bio media though for my next maintenance.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7769261274/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/
Took out the carbon that I had placed in at the beginning in preparation to get fish.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7769317762/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/
With the heater moved I was able to get both the filter and the cylinder under the tank!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7769220104/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7769207910/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

My ammonia is 0, nitrite is now coming down from off the charts and nitrAtes have been staying at around 40 to 80ppm.

Found a couple of small snails last week. I think they hitchhiked with some of the plants. I have been crushing them, and haven't seen any for a couple days. Not getting my hopes up though.

I really hope that we can get fish this week! The HC doesn't seem very strongly routed so I don't know if I should get shrimp and corys yet. What do you guys think? Will they wreck the substrate and HC? I was thinking of starting with the otos and rummynose tetras, although they tend to be more sensitive, so I dunno...

Cheers,
-T
 
#80 ·
Thanks!

Do NOT get any corys! Those damn fish will tear up that substrate like little crack fiends. Otos and tetras and shrimp should be ok. Also I t seems to me that while your HC is growing well, it's more vertical than horizontal growth. How high is your light from the top of the tank? I would trim the HC and lower the light to increase the PAR @ substrate level. That should make it grow more horizontally than vertically. And finally, don't be afraid to pour a little aquasoil on top of the HC in areas where it's not rooting well. That should hold it down long enough to take root.
Hmmmm... maybe I'll have to wait for the HC to be well rooted. I am planning on either getting a dwarf species or panda's so it shouldn't be as bad as the larger ones.

I was planning on trimming the HC again. The light is 8" from the water surface and ranges in height from the substrate from 19" to 17". Do you think that is too much?

It's funny that you say that about the aqua soil. I had already done that to some patches of the HC. Most of it has taken root though, I'm just not confident having fish picking at it yet!

-T
 
#79 ·
Do NOT get any corys! Those damn fish will tear up that substrate like little crack fiends. Otos and tetras and shrimp should be ok. Also I t seems to me that while your HC is growing well, it's more vertical than horizontal growth. How high is your light from the top of the tank? I would trim the HC and lower the light to increase the PAR @ substrate level. That should make it grow more horizontally than vertically. And finally, don't be afraid to pour a little aquasoil on top of the HC in areas where it's not rooting well. That should hold it down long enough to take root.
 
#81 · (Edited)
I just strongly suggest to not get corys because HC doesn't have a very lengthy root structure and so it has to be well established before introducing those types of foraging fish that like to nose around in substrate. And even then I would be very wary. I would reduce the light by another 2" and see what kind of effect it has and adjust the CO2 as necessary. You're doing everything exactly right so far if you haven't had any algae. If after a week at the new lowered hight, you find no real algae problem, then you could keep it at that reduced height, but if you DO find an algae problem, raise it back up. Anything over 1/2 a foot above the tank for just the light fixture that you have is pretty high (at least for HC) IMHO. Oh believe me that HC will grow right through that aquasoil, lol. If you check on post #138 of my 60P thread in my signature, you'll see that my light was directly over my tank, lol.
 
#83 · (Edited)
Trenton,

Cory hastatus is an interesting fish. They are nano-sized and swim in very tight schools. They don't spend as much time on the bottom like most corys do. They are somewhat difficult to find, though. I almost went with these for my nano, but decided to instead go for Boraras brigittae.

Here is a video showing the hastatus schooling behavior:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oid0wfuh3I
 
#92 ·
Last night's pictures. Did a major trim of all plants and HC for the first time.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7778076324/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7778061802/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7778043628/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

In some spots, the HC is going horizontal, but in others, it seems like it is barely holding on by a couple of roots. I felt like I was going to pull up all the HC the whole time I was trimming. Is this because it was going vertical too much?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7777957380/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7778013928/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Are these brown spots normal?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7778029146/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

I have also lowered the light by 3" so it is now about 5" above the water. I will see if this makes a difference with the HC. I have not upped the CO2 yet, I am watching the drop checker tonight to see if it's ok.

-T
 
#95 ·
Did a huge water change today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7784838436/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/
Ummmmm... is the silicone supposed to be like that? What should I do? Should I avoid filling to high?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7784834262/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/
Pre-change water parameters:
  • pH - 6.4
  • Ammonia - 0
  • Nitrite - 2
  • Nitrate - 80
After water change:
  • pH - 7.0
  • Ammonia - 0
  • Nitrite - 1
  • Nitrate - 10
I'm starting to get some green and brown algae on the glass also.

-T
 
#98 ·
As you can see in post #92, the difference between horizontal growth and vertical growth. HC will literally lift itself off the substrate and float up without constant trimming. It also needs high light to create the carpeting (horizontal) growth effect. The brown spots are probably algae - run the leaf between your fingers and see if it wipes off. From the looks of it, it will probably wipe of easily, if not then it may be something else. However, if it does just wipe off, then its just brown dust algae - shrimps and ottocinclus love it and will clean it up over night, lol. Considering that you're starting to see it on the glass, simply means that you have high intensity light and I would get some Amanos or ottos to handle it, or you can just clean it with these. The water parameters are looking good, though I wouldn't recommend such a drastic water change with fish, lol. With the lowered light you should see some substantial growth now, especially after the trim. Another week or two and it's going to be ridiculous. Seriously.

As for the issue with the silicone, what exactly is the issue? I can't see to what you're referring in the photo above. I see a color difference, but I can only see from one side and not from where both panes of glass meet. If you are worried about a sealant failure, lower the water level to beneath where the area is in question!! Please post a pic of the sealant joint, asap.
 
#101 ·
I would add some ottos or amanos, but my water parameters aren't good enough yet... soon hopefully. That was actually the biggest water change I have done yet. Don't plan on doing that with fish though!

I don't really get it. Some areas look like they are growing well, others are not. More in the post to come.

Yeah, the silicone had an area where it looked like it separated. I have lowered the level a bit.

The tank looks great, and the photos are so crisp! I have the same issue with my 60-P, in one of the top corners you can see the silicon separating from the glass panel. I believe this is normal for ADA tanks over time but it is important to notice if that air bubble between the glass grows and gets bigger which could be a warning. I've notice my "bubble" on mine about 6 months ago. I haven't seen it grow though (fingers crossed).
Thank you! Over time... this has only been set up for almost a month. Hopefully it doesn't get worse! I'll keep my eye on it.

I like the progress so far!
Thanks!

-T
 
#99 ·
The tank looks great, and the photos are so crisp! I have the same issue with my 60-P, in one of the top corners you can see the silicon separating from the glass panel. I believe this is normal for ADA tanks over time but it is important to notice if that air bubble between the glass grows and gets bigger which could be a warning. I've notice my "bubble" on mine about 6 months ago. I haven't seen it grow though (fingers crossed).
 
#102 ·
Today's shot:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7819346252/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Current water parameters:
  • pH: 6.4
  • Ammonia: 0.25 ppm (Don't know why this came up from being zero forever...)
  • Nitrite: 2 ppm
  • Nitrate: 40 ppm

Starting to get all kinds of algae in tank. Don't really know the names of them. My light is 5" from surface and is 2 x 24W T5HO, dosing two squirts of Pfertz NPK + Micros every two days. I just read that I should not being doing these at the same time, so I will be alternating days from on with these.

Any thought on the algae issues?

BSA?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7799430568/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

GDA?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7799423596/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Brown fluffy stuff on rocks:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7819378428/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Black stuff:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7819372908/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Green floaty balls, brown and hair looking stuff on HC:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7819357202/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Also the crypt is starting to get some small holes in the leaves. New and old alike. I have read this is from nutrient deficiency. I thought I was dosing adequately. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the help!
-T
 
#103 ·
Looks good besides the little algae problems you're having. I'll be following your thread pretty regularly. Getting my 60P wet next week.. setup is pretty similar, what about the pfertz dosing have your read? Trying to figure out how I will be dosing. Also looked up the ADA additives you were using, probably gonna get Green Bacter, ECA, and Phyton-Git myself.
 
#105 ·
Thanks! I don't think I have quite figured out the pfertz dosing yet because I have quite a bit of algae in the tank right now, mostly in the HC.

I would start to dose per the recommended regimine and add either some Excel or Phyton-Git. That GDA you should clear off regularly before it becomes encrusted on the glass then you'll have to use a razor blade to remove it. Algae is a constant battle, but one that can be won! That fluffy brown stuff and the algae in the HC will get cleaned up with sufficient number of amano shrimp. What's your CO2 rate at the moment (looks high enough based on the pic with the drop checker). I think you just need to get the tank balanced and all these algae issues will disappear (especially a reduction in that ammonia). Next time you trim, I would trim the HC right to the substrate level, for example this is just after a trim.
Dosing pfertz every other day x 2 pumps each. Usually add a cap of excel too. Haven't really tried the photon-git yet. I'll read the instructions again tonight.

I will be getting some amano shrimp here pretty soon. I did a trim of the HC the other day as low as I could get, but some areas are still barely rooted. They are almost floating, so they still uproot very easily. I'm trying to force it to send roots down.

Thanks for the help guys!
-T
 
#104 ·
I would start to dose per the recommended regimine and add either some Excel or Phyton-Git. That GDA you should clear off regularly before it becomes encrusted on the glass then you'll have to use a razor blade to remove it. Algae is a constant battle, but one that can be won! That fluffy brown stuff and the algae in the HC will get cleaned up with sufficient number of amano shrimp. What's your CO2 rate at the moment (looks high enough based on the pic with the drop checker). I think you just need to get the tank balanced and all these algae issues will disappear (especially a reduction in that ammonia). Next time you trim, I would trim the HC right to the substrate level, for example this is just after a trim.
 
#106 ·
Aaaaaaannnnnddd I present fish (and shrimp)!!

Been to busy to post. Got three rummy nose tetras last monday and three RCS.

They were pretty pale when I first added them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7835529864/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7835520054/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Tank parameters where still doing OK, so I added 7 more rummies and 3 otos on wednesday.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7857947940/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Two of the otos had stubby tails when I got them, apparently this is happens regularly. They are already growing back!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7857937420/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7857875094/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

The otos seem to be pretty comfortable in the tank... the rummies on the other hand. When the lights are off, they will swim in the whole tank. When the lights come on, they all hang out in the deepest part of the tank in the front. Everyday they are getting better though. They were eating the first night I added them to the tank.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7857788438/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Current FTS (August 25, 2012)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60413606@N05/7857799118/ http://www.flickr.com/people/60413606@N05/

Still trying to figure out the correct dosing/CO2/light combination. The HC was looking really good after I trimmed it but now it is covered in algae...

Last time I checked, all pH/Ammonia/nitrite=0 and nitrates at 40

-T
 
#110 ·
Current Tank Stats

Fauna:
  • 2 x GBR (I think they are male/female. Still unsure)
  • 12 x Rummy Nose Tetra
  • 3 x Oto
  • 3 x RCS (Not sure if all three are alive still)
  • 3 x Amano Shrimp (Haven’t seen them since adding them.)
Flora:
  • HC
  • Lilaoepsis Brasiliensis
  • Juncus Repens
  • Cyperus Helferi
  • Rotala Indica
  • Crytpcoryne Becketti 'Petchii'
  • Echinodorus 'Red Flame'
  • Anubias barteri var. Nana (Not planted yet)
Lighting:
  • Weekdays – 6:45 to 7:15am and 4:20 to 11:30pm
  • Weekends – 4:20 to 11:30pm
CO2:
  • Approximately 2 to 3 BPS – 4 to 11pm
Feeding:
Usually twice a day, fasting one day a week. Feeding frozen food every couple of days (A quarter of a block is plenty!)
  • NLS Small Fish Formula
  • Hikari Blood Worms
  • Hikari Spirulina Brine Shrimp
  • Hikari Brine Shrimp
Dosing:
  • 2 Pumps Pfertz NPK+Micros every other day
  • 1 Cap excel every other day
  • After water change, 6 drops each Green Gain and Green Bactor, 12 drops Phyton and 16 drops ECA
Filter:
Last night, after about five weeks running, I did some changes on the filter.
  • Ceramic rings from LFS
  • Eheim coarse filter sponge
  • Eheim Substrata (Came with filter. Original biomedia in filter)
  • LFS Biomax (Same supplier as Seachem Matrix)
  • Filter Floss
  • Purigen (250 mL)
Water Changes:
Trying for every seven days, but that is too long at this point. Usually go to the top of the biggest rock, so about 5 gallons.

-T
 
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