Unzan 75-P

[davidj12]

As of 4/11/2013




As of 3/27/2013




As of 3/11/2013



3/3/2013



3/1/2013



First Night



So here I go. I started my planted tank journey with a Fluval Edge. I had no idea what I was getting in to and the further I went toward high tech the more difficult it became to manage. Well I finally did it I talked my wife into letting me have a bigger tank (more on that struggle later).

Equipment List

ADA 75-P
Home Made ADA style stand http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=195788
Solar I light
Solar I Arm Stand
Ehiem 2217 Filter
ADA Lily Pipes 13mm Outflow 17mm Inflow
GLA Primo C02 Regulator
GLA 5LB C02 Tank
GLA Atomic Inline Diffuser
Hydor Inline Heater 200W
WeMo Light and C02 timer

Hardscape

ADA Substrate System
Unzan Stone
Ryuoh Stone (This is what I have got it at AFA in SF but I really like the Unzan Stone better)

Flora

HC
DHG
Hydrocotyle SP
Staurogyne Repens
Micranthenum Micranthemoides
Rotala Rotundifolia

Fauna

Amano Shrimp
OTO of some kind
Cardinal Tetra


The Start


Side View


Inside Cabinet


Got an LED light from Ikea


Start of the Plumbing & Wiring (sorry it's a little blurry)


So now with the story. Originally this was supposed to be next to my couch in the living room. My edge used to be there and I liked to sit there and day dream while staring at my tank. Got the whole thing together and powered on the light.... The look on my wife's face was well... not good. She did not even say anything but I knew. (those of you who are married know what I mean) I have to admit the light cast on to the couch was like sitting under a baseball stadium light. Well we spent the whole night re-aranging furniture and it all worked out. In retrospect even thought she really does not want a larger tank she was being a champ and trying to make it work because she knew how long I have been planning this. Later on in this process I found out that what she really did not like was the color temperature of the light. The Solar I came with the NAG (green) bulb and I have to say when I plugged it in I thought it was a mistake and I had received a marine bulb on accident it was extremely BLUE. Well I got the regular NA bulb and it is definitely a warmer tone. I know the NAG bulb will burn in to be a warmer color but trying to explain that well.... easier to just change the light.

Here is the NAG bulb (sorry about the cruddy photo)

[Green_Flash]

Oh yeah, now this is gonna be good.

Subscribed!

Try giving AFA a call, they have Unzan stone, it is just not listed on their website. The prices if I recall correctly were; small $50, Medium $75, large $100 and extra large I think was $150.

Medium is a good price, I think they said those are over 8 inches tall with two pockets for wabi kusa.

Just tell them you would like to order some unzan stone and they will send you a paypal invoice, pretty easy.

[davidj12]

Originally Posted by Green_Flash

Oh yeah, now this is gonna be good.

Subscribed!

Try giving AFA a call, they have Unzan stone, it is just not listed on their website. The prices if I recall correctly were; small $50, Medium $75, large $100 and extra large I think was $150.

Medium is a good price, I think they said those are over 8 inches tall with two pockets for wabi kusa.

Just tell them you would like to order some unzan stone and they will send you a paypal invoice, pretty easy.

Thanks for the info I did not know they had them in stock! I've been talking to Frank at ADG for a while and I think he knows what I'm after. I'll keep it in mind though. Waiting on my soil and some other things so I don't mind, although I have to admit I'm ready to get this thing going!!

[GMYukonon24s]

Off to a good start.

[Green_Flash]

bump for update?

[davidj12]

I know it's been a while. My wife keeps on asking me how much longer and I have to admit I'm probably a bit more anxious than her to get this rolling. All the parts I'm waiting on arrived at ADG on the last container right around Christmas time so I'm waiting for them to get to me. I'm thinking I'll have most everything in a week or two.

Just starting to make plant decisions now:

Hemianthus callitrichoides (main foreground plant)

Hydrocotyle sp. "Japan" (for inside stone holes)

Micranthenum micranthemoides (background plant) do you think this will work? I've seen that this plant can grow quite tall but I don't have much experiance with it. If not what background stem plant do you think would work? Didiplis diandra, or Rotala rotundifolia??

Eleocharis parvula (transition form foreground to background plant)

Other plants in consideration:

Riccia Fluitans (mix carpet?)
Ammania sp. (a few groves of this)
Staurigyne sp. (alternate mid-ground)

Any thoughts??

[zico_aqua]

Riccia IMO is going to be a PITA in the long run with it's frequent trimming schedule with such high light an' CO2 injection. Micranthenum micranthemoides - good plant for a BG responds quite well to trims. would like you to give HM a thought, rotala sounds good too but it's growth in conditions you are ready to provide will be like it's on steroids..hehe. If you are going for a mix carpet - put glosso infront with HC a bit back..will add a lot of perspective depth, parvula in small quantity in spaces. Ammania 'bonsai' is a good choice for progression towards your stems. Styruogyne 'repens' is a good choice as well. But to all these it all depends upon the scape that you are trying to come up. A sketch perhaps can help people suggest plant choice better..hope it helps..

[davidj12]

Heres What I'm thinking. Of course I have not seen the stones yet so it's still really rough.

[davidj12]

Does anyone have experience with EI dosing and aqua soil? I would imagine you would not have to start dosing right away if using AS or would you?

[jamesdson]

Originally Posted by davidj12

Does anyone have experience with EI dosing and aqua soil? I would imagine you would not have to start dosing right away if using AS or would you?

do a daily 50% water change if you're using new ada soil for at least a week. I do 2 weeks because the ammonia leaching is ridiculously high and also causes algae. i wouldn't start dosing after 2 weeks. you want to make sure that the plants are rooting in and ready to take in nutrients.

if you start getting algae, then don't worry too much about it. your main goal should be getting your plants to grow and fill in so that they can outcompete the algae for nutrients. also, it's also good to start with many plants as possible

you'll learn from your experience, it's always good to try things out.

[davidj12]

So my rocks, soil and some odds and ends are on their way, I'm super excited. The customer service has been really great so far at ADG and definitely worth the wait.

I've been looking for a timer and saw this WeMo home automation switch from belkin. I know its a bit $$$ but I'm a dork and really like tech stuff like this. It was really easy to set up and connects to wifi and my smart phone via the net. I can use my iPhone to set the timers and turn the device on or off manually. You can program "rules" for different devices and monitor if they are on of off when away from home. Will be testing for the next few days on my smaller tank so we shall see...

[manzpants92]

wow thats such a cool idea

[MARIMOBALL]

Nice I have the Same set up but mine is in storage for the moment. Will be folowing this thread.

[davidj12]

So I've been testing the WeMo for a few days now. Looks like it is working quite well. It saves all the setting so if there is ever a power failure it will re-connect to the wireless and check if it is supposed to be on or off. In all my simulated power failures so far it has not had any issues. I think I'm going to get another one to control the C02. I know it's over kill but I really like being able to change the times remotely and without having to stick my head inside the cabinet.

On another note all my stuff from ADG is due Monday!

[boxhead1990]

I like those wemo's might have to buy some seems nice and conveniant