ADA Mini-S: Riven Tanglewood

[asimkhatri]

I like the shape of ur DW
nice one

[Ugly Genius]

Hey, thief. It's weird how we seem to have the same problems at the same time.
And you're right, about a lack of information on fighting algae. Most of its anecdotal and, I've found, ineffectual for my tank. For the BBA, for example, the main cause is reported to be fluctuations CO2 and inadequate flow. This was not the case in my tank.
I think what it comes down to in the end is finding the correct balance. Plain and simple.
No doubt I'll keep playing with the 'scape for the Mini-M. After all, what looks good on the kitchen counter does not necessarily look good inside the tank. The hard part is actually figuring out what to plant where. I'm trying to figure where the plants would grow in nature. This is hard because what looks natural and what is pretty and interesting are not always the same thing.
The rocks are Manten stones from ADA. They're the same as in Riven, but these I've broken up so as to expose the porous insides.

Thanks, chris. I took the Amanos out a week or so ago. I even took out Guilty Spark, the Nerite. Now there are only two Cherries in there. The Cherries must be happy with absolutely no lack of food for them.

Thanks, asimkhatri. I really like the DW, too. In fact, I bought the pieces even before I had a tank. I just knew that I wanted to use them.

[thief]

lol I find it interesting too how we have somewhat the same problems but different causes. Such as I have a Ehiem 2234 ( I believe ) and flow is not the problem. But I can see DIY CO2 the problem. I still have not gotten it down yet. I have a leak in mine as of now. Also I read that Inadequate flow and not enough O2 is a cause. Nextly lighting for mine. I leave it on about 15 hours a day! Some say I am crazy. More adventures I think. I hoping to run to Radio Shack to buy the timer this week.

But on the bright side my white clouds have breed like crazy. I counted like 30 babies. But I bought some fish and well they got a full tummy.
lol

I will update my journal one day. School is the essential target for now!

[welchrock]

ugly genius - where did you get the Archaea 28W lamp? looks pretty sweet and 28W is a lot coming out of such a small frame.

[workn4frags]

nice set up. I had the same problem with the algae and dosed excel daily until it was gone. I am now dosing according to the directions and do not have any algae.

[Ugly Genius]

theif, yeah, school's important; focus on that. And an added plus is that it never gets algae!

welchrock, the light is from Aqua Forest Aquarium. I think it's their store brand as "Archaea" is the company name of the store. It's sold in other stores as I believe hyphination bought the same lamp in Hawaii. It's a good little lamp. The good thing about it is that it can take four-pin or square-pin bulbs. The bad thing is that the bulb is not centered in the fixture and if you center the lamp, the right-hand side of the tank is shadowed a couple of inches. (Much like ADA's Mini Solar lamp.)

workn4frags, I will try the Excel route if the algae keeps up for more than a week. I'm trying to first determine if the algae was caused by a bad bulb in the Archaea fixture. I'm thinking it might be as even after one day with the Ott-lites back on it, the algae has dissipated considerably. (Note: for those with Mini-Ss, there is no better light source than two 13W Ott-lite task lamps. They are exactly the right intensity, exactly the right height, and exactly the right spread. They are even better than ADA's Solar light. Seriously, ADA should make lamps like this.)

Well, today Fallout 3 (a video game) is coming out. I'm excited about it. Quite honestly, with Riven's algae and a massive die-off of shrimp in Zoo's Delight, I was seriously considering leaving this hobby. It was just too frustrating.
What I think now is that I need to lessen up on it a bit. Take it slow. Focus less on the tanks and balance out everything else in my life. A video game will help in this regard. Also I should go on more motorcycle rides while the weather's still nice.

Maybe I need more light and O2.

[Ugly Genius]

Before I plant and put water in, please fire away. Any comments or criticisms appreciated.

Oh, and remember, I'll be using hairgrass, so what might look like too big of rocks, might not look so big once it's planted.

[fishman9809]

looks very VERY nice, u should get more ADA tanks

get a 60p !!!!

[CL]

I love it! Are you gonna start a new journal or keep it in this one?

[hyphination]

love the new layout keep up the good work!
btw are there replacement bulbs for the archea light with higher wattage?

[fish_fasinated]

thats an amazing scape! i can't wait till this is planted. UG you never stop amazing me.

[Karackle]

Layout looks awesome!

The only thing I'd suggest is maybe painting the clamp holding the light onto the tank black so it doesn't stand out so much (unless that's already the plan), and the rocks are kind of close to the glass in some places which could get tricky if the glass needs to be cleaned, but the aesthetic is fantastic! I can't wait to see it planted either!

[pbfreakon]

The Mini M looks great, looking forward to 30+ pages of it's evolution!

Also, what color temp are the bulbs in your two ott lites? I'm planning on buying one to add to my tank. I know ott makes natural light supplement bulbs, but all the lamps I'm finding online are the trucolor bulbs. Are yours natural light or trucolor?

[Ugly Genius]

Thanks, fish. If money were not an object, I'd go for a bigger tank. I know I'd love having the extra room. 'Scaping would be so much easier and open up so many more possibilities.

Thanks, cl. I think I'll start a new journal once I plant. It'll make keeping track of it easier for everyone else. As Riven and the Mini-M will be very different, it'll probably be better if I started a new one to keep things simpler for people.

hyphination, I don't know if a higher wattage could be safely used in it or not. All I know is that there are other temps available -- 6,700k, 8,000k, 10,000k, et cetera.

Thanks, fish. That's a very nice thing to say.

Karackle, thanks! The clamp is an eyesore, isn't it? I'll figure out something. I also have to figure out how to make the Zoo Med pipes less ugly. While I really love the hardware aspect of this hobby, I also hate that much of the hardware is so ugly. Even the ADA stuff, while innovative and creative-looking, is a bit too conspicuous for my tastes. I wish we there were hardware that was functional and invisible.
I really tried to make it so that cleaning the glass would be easy, but I focused more on the wood. I'll study the rocks tonight and see what I can do.

pbfreakon, thanks! This things thirty-two pages! My lordy. I'll probably update the new journal a lot less, though. With slow-growing plants, there won't be all that much to talk about.
For the Ott-lites, you can use any 13W bulb. Actually, I wouldn't even recommend using Ott bulbs unless you get the plant ones. Just get any 13W in your preferred 5,000k to 10,000k spectrum.

[welchrock]

Ugly_Genius thanks for the info on the light; even with the shady area you mentioned, it sounds like you would recommend the light...right? Do you think 28W is appropriate over 5.5 gallons?

Looking forward to new picts!