rrrrRamos' ADA Mini-M

[rrrrramos]

Some pics from the last few days. Got the stand from Target, was worried about the light overhanging but after having it on here for a bit I'm not really worried too much. I like it better on this, gotta drill some holes for the tubing and will probably fill it in sometime soon, or at least I'm considering it..

[xximanoobxx]

UG's looking really nice!

Can;'t wait till the tank is filled

[hydrophyte]

That's lookin' good.

[malaybiswas]

Is that hydrocotyle in there with UG? Looks like mushrooms in open field. Really cool.

[rrrrramos]

Thanks!

Originally Posted by malaybiswas

Is that hydrocotyle in there with UG? Looks like mushrooms in open field. Really cool.

Yup! I like it, I hope it doesn't spread tooo fast. If possible I just want it around the base of the rocks.

[rrrrramos]

Drilling & filling next week.

[rrrrramos]

I need some suggestions!!
There is a small store down the street that sells ADA Ferts. I don't know EXACTLY which ones, but if I'm not mistaken they are clearing house for a move and have them priced at $16 a pop. If I was to pick these up, which ones would I need? I'm totally lost in the Step 1-3 and Brighty K series, as they are pretty vague on what they have in them on ADG and AFA. So basically, which ones would I need for this tank? Any help on that point is appreciated.
Also, assuming my roommate gets his drill, and I pick up the drillhead and find a place to get the Co2 filled, I should be flooding on Monday.
After that I get two weeks to decide on which type of shrimp I want to have in here. I'm starting to drift away from Blue Tigers/Blue Pearls and am considering just regular Tigers or CRS/CBS Grade S or higher. And I get to look for some Rotala wallichii for the back too

[rrrrramos]

Filled. Please ignore the Java Fern, if you can. Just making sure it stays alive before I put it in my Mini S. Nine hour light cycle. Not dosing yet, prob will start in a week or so. I'm liking it so far though!

[rrrrramos]

Got a good amount of stems of Rotala wallichii in today, planted in the space in back. They are adjusting to the tank and light right now so I'm not going to post pictures just yet. I'm impressed with the plant though, I can't wait to see how it fills out in here.
Next step on the list: livestock. I've already decided this will be a shrimp tank, now I've just got to decide on what TYPE of shrimp to get. I'm starting to lean more towards a high grade CRS/CBS than the blue I was going to be going for when I started this tank. Even still I'm tossing up the idea of maybe snowballs or even going back to my plan of Blue Pearls. Either way I have to wait for the ammonia to go down. It's down to .25 already, so it should be good by the end of the week.
Lastly, I'm loving this stand. It holds everything perfectly, and really showcases the tank. If it accommodated the overhang on the Solar M it'd be PERFECT but it doesn't seem to be a problem with such a small part hanging off.

[kcirtappatrick]

dang! that UG has filled in nicely! just a few more spots to get a nice thick carpet. i'm currently attempting to do a drystart with UG in an iwagumi layout. we'll see how it turns out.
i know you posted your dosing for your mini m a few pages back. could you PM or post your dosing for each day of the week? i just got my dryferts in and i'm clueless on how much and when to dose for a mini m..and i dont wanna overdose and kill my shrimp haha.

[rrrrramos]

Shot you a PM man.

The Rotala adjusted to the light really quickly! I'll post up some pics later tonight if I remember.

[rrrrramos]

Alright, some more pics, better quality this time. I did find one plant in here that I was quite unhappy to see but I can't say I didn't expect. Utricularia sp. gibba. Ugh bladderwort! Removed what I could see, and will probably have to continue to do so. At least it's easy to remove at this stage.

3/4 Shot


A Happy Family


Rotala wallichii


Full side shot


An attempt to show the UG and HV together..


And finally, a FTS

The background is just on there for the shots, but I have to admit I like how it looks there. I'm being torn between keeping it because it looks nice and taking it down because I like the look of ADA tanks where you can see behind them.

[trigun808]

go with ada brighty k guaranteed, and also maybe step 1, step 2 is when your tank has been established and rooted i think, so maybe later on but brighty k and step 1 u need those

[rrrrramos]

Ammonia is down to 0, guess the dry start and using the same stuff substrate really helped. Will probably stock next week or or the week after. Everything is growing in really well and I'm almost certain I pulled out the last of my uninvited guest a couple days ago. /fingers crossed

Originally Posted by trigun808

go with ada brighty k guaranteed, and also maybe step 1, step 2 is when your tank has been established and rooted i think, so maybe later on but brighty k and step 1 u need those

I got to the place, they had Brighty K, Brighty K Special Lights, and Step 2. I picked up Brighty K. I'll probably just dose my regular dry ferts for a good month or two till I'm ready to use Step 2 and get that later. Place I went to also had a pretty sweet macro algae reef setup with a black clownfish. I almost had to ask how much the whole setup was! It was gorgeous!

[rrrrramos]

Couple more updates, UG is filling in nicely, just have the one spot you can see in the first picture left to fill in, I'm assuming that won't take too long. I trimmed the Rotala and replanted in a few spots.

First, showing how much the UG has filled:


Just an FTS, not as good quality since I didn't pull out the tripod


Close-up on the UG


And finally a shot of how the Hydrocoytle and UG look close up with each other

I hope you guys like this. I'll be getting some CRS or CBS when I allocate my funds and find out where all my money will be. Hopefully within the week! Water params are ideal!