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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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#325 ·
10/21/12 - water change. Glass cleaning. Trimming algae infested plants. Dose equilibrium.

I bought shades for this room this weekend. I am going to put them up tomorrow. Finally going to block the sun from making this tank into an algae grow-out farm.lol Also, This week begins my search for cheap and small Cardinia multidentata (amano shrimp), locally. I am going to add 5-6 and if I can get some ottos I will add three as well. All my Sakura shrimp are dead except one lonely male that now lives in my lo-tech ten. Such beautiful red shrimp and they all died on me. I will never have shrimp(except Amano's) with Co2 again. Thx for looking.

 
#330 ·
Peat Moss should be easy to find. You want pure sphagnum peat. Usually/ possibly always compressed which means even the smallest bag/bale will probably be overkill or enough for a lifetime of Wabi's!
I mix peat and compost 3 to 1 get it pretty wet, then squeeze the water out and it holds it's shape quite well. A layer of moss around the ball (to help hold it together) with plants and additional moss here and there works nicely.
 
#335 ·
:(

It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this update today. As I will soon have to break this tank down. As some of you may or may not know. I live the Rockaways in NYC. We were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. People have lost homes and possessions and the community is struggling to clean up and rebuild. my girlfriend and I own a Condo(just purchased in late June) on the shore in Rockaway. We were fortunate enough to still have a home left standing but it has sustained severe damage. My basement was flooded to the point that it filled with water all the way to the first floor. We actually had a few inches of water in the first level from water coming in from the basement. No water ever came in from anywhere else luckily. So, our furniture from the first floor was spared. I did lose a washer/dryer, futon, 20L emmersed setup, DVDs and some other random stuff. Luckily we brought the important stuff like our TV and some clothes up to the main level. I also had my surfboard quiver down there but that was ok. the water rose very slowly I'm assuming. In the process I lost most of my fish. I did have battery operated pumps for the power outage but I assumed that I would not last long. Well a week went by and still no power and temps were dropping! Fish were fine so I didn't think to move them yet. Still holding out hope for the power to come back on. Well temps dropped even further. I lost all my pygmy cories(6), my family of endlers about 5-6 and an otto. I was able to save some fish from my other tank, 3 platys, a betta, an amano and my remaining male cherry shrimp. I was shocked that the fish survived in below 50 degree water temps! by the way, I didn not have access to a generator. so heaters were not an option. All the power was being used to pump out our basement.

Anyway, Rockaway is still without power and I have been staying with Family in nearby Brooklyn. Traveling everyday back and forth cleaning out what I could. We've gutted the entire basement and part of the first floor, with the help of volunteers from the Rockaway Beach Surf Club and OccupySandy. Found out a few days ago that our wood floors will have to be replaced as well. Which means that all our stuff will have to go in storage while they re-do the flooring. So, my tanks will have to be broken down because I will not have room where I'm staying to run the tanks. Im really sad..... BUT

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I titled this as "What has a beginning must have and end" But it is also true that a begining must have and end...must also have a NEW BEGINNING! We will rebuild, not just me but the rockaway peninsula! And I will have tanks again. I was already planning a big tank, most likely a 120p. So when I come back, I will be more inspired than ever to create something awesome. Im really stoked on that end. So thanks for following me. I will most likely not be on much, because I have so much going on. thank you tpt!

pic below is whats left of the boardwalk. just a skeleton now.
 
#337 ·
At our last meet, it was suggested that we pool together some plants to help you guys rebuild. Mike also went through something similar so we wanted to help.

The hobby will still be around when you are ready and have more time to enjoy. It would be an otherwise up hill battle now with everything else happening in your life. Just let us know when you are ready as we are all friends now.
 
#338 ·
Albert, I appreciate the thought, but I didn't sustain nearly the losses that Joe did, so anything we pool together should go to him when hes ready and any other members who sustained heavy losses.

Joe, what happened in our area was awful. My area got hit pretty bad, and then I saw Broad Channel, Rockaways, and Breezy Point and it was somehow even worse. Im sorry to hear about your condo. I didnt get my power/heat back until Friday. I don't know if you guys have hot water down there, and I dont think you do, but doing water changes with hot water can help keep the temps up. Thats what I did for two weeks with my community tank.
 
#341 ·
Thanks mike. For a little bit I was going to my neighbors, they had gas, heating some water and adding it to the tank in water bottles. But I wasn't staying home at night so the temp would just drop super low anyway. Anyway, I have some ideas on how to keep my tanks and other things running in event of a disaster. This thing taught me a huge lesson that's for sure.
 
#345 ·
im very sorry for all this damage sandy caused you.
hope you not only recover, but are reinvigorated to do more and do better.

your beginning -> end -> beginning statement is a very ancient ideology. and one i, personally, am drawn to. even got a tattoo of an ouroboros. i think its a very healthy way to look at damage.
 
#347 · (Edited)
Oh my dear frrok! I'm sorry to hear about the damage and losses that you've suffered but I am completely confident that you will be back on TPT with that 120 and I'll be appropriately (and disgustedly) jealous! Everyone takes a break now and then from the hobby (including myself, when these types of events happen) but I look forward to your return and wish you all the best!
 
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