Digsy's "Turns out it's a Mini-L" 45-P (56K)

[Digsy]

This is my first journal as most of my tanks were learning experiences and I upgraded and made changes as I went along. I had hoped that with this one, I could avoid the mistakes I've made in previous tanks and start off with the equipment I wanted. I still don't have a great plan for the scape and would love to hear any suggestions!

Specs


Tank: ADA 45-P on a custom built mahogany stand

Lighting: 36w Archaea light w/ ADA 8000k bulb

Filtration: Eheim 2213 with Cal-Aqua filter pipes

CO2: Red Sea paintball regulator w/ ADA El Valve solenoid, Fabco NV 55 needle valve, GLA 1000 diffuser

Heater: Eventually, I'll be adding my Hydor 300 inline heater.

Substrate: Aquasoil Amazonia

Plants:

• Lilaeaopsis brasiliensis

• Eriocaulon cinereum

• Eriocaulon australia

• Ludwigia guinea

• Rotala indica

• Rotala rotundifolia

• Limnophila sp. 'mini'

• Needle leaf java fern

• Eleocharis sp. 'japan'

• Limnophila sp. 'wavy'

• Ludwigia inclinata

Fish:

• 15 Boraras brigittae

The big rock currently in the tank is just to keep the manzanita down until it sinks. I know it's hideous.





I'm using Seachem Stability so that I can add my school of 15 Boraras brigittae from a 12 gallon Nanocube I'm going to take down. Later, I'm planning to either add a small group of dwarf corys or a goby. Does anyone see an overstocking issue with either of those choices?

Also, when should I start dosing my ferts? Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions.

[sewingalot]

Sweeeeet.

[Digsy]

Thanks sewingalot! Can anyone tell me if I should start dosing ferts now?

[chase127]

Dont add fish till your AMAZONIA cycle is overrrrrrrr! give it two to three weeks at least. maybe less if youre using an established filter. also, im a believer in the less chemicals, the better. sometimes just water and dechlor will do the trick, no need for fancy additives (besides ferts) speaking of which, let your plants settle and the initial AMAZONIA dose of ferts before you start dosing dry. and 12 brigittae will attribute almost nothing to the bioload. probably as much as 2 tetras would. i dont see why adding a party of hasbrous or something wouldnt work

[Digsy]

Chase, I added the large plant mass in order to avoid a traditional cycle. I would assume that the ammonia produced by the aquasoil probably won't overwhelm the tank too much as long as frequent water changes are maintained and the bioload isn't excessive but, maybe I'm wrong? I was going to add half of the dozen Boraras this week and wait another week to add the other 6, just in case.

How long did you wait before dry dosing your 45-P? Thanks again!

[Digsy]

Ok, I did a little more research after my ammonia tested sky high and think I'll go ahead and wait another week or two before adding my fish, as was suggested. I'm also going to throw in a filter sponge from another tank to sit for a week or so to see if that speeds things up any. Thanks for the heads up!

[CL]

With that many plants, your ammonia spike shouldn't last too long.
That sunset is a great nutrient sponge!
Awesome stand

[ex225]

Wow nice tank. I hope to go high-tech ADA someday. It just look so cleannnnnn.

What floaters are those on the right side? I've only had experience with duckweed and salvinia and the hanging roots on yours don't look like either.

I'm trying to find some floaters like that for my open top 20 to replace the pesky duckweed.

[chase127]

i think i waited about a month. then as my plant mass got larger i started to dose.

[CL]

Originally Posted by ex225

What floaters are those on the right side? I've only had experience with duckweed and salvinia and the hanging roots on yours don't look like either.

it looks like frogbit to me

[Digsy]

Originally Posted by clwatkins10

With that many plants, your ammonia spike shouldn't last too long.
That sunset is a great nutrient sponge!
Awesome stand

Thanks, that stand cost a small fortune but I guess that's the price of finding something that matched the furniture in the house! I'm also glad to hear that my plant mass should make for a shorter cycle, that was my hope when cramming all of those stems in there!

Originally Posted by ex225

Wow nice tank. I hope to go high-tech ADA someday. It just look so cleannnnnn.

What floaters are those on the right side? I've only had experience with duckweed and salvinia and the hanging roots on yours don't look like either.

I'm trying to find some floaters like that for my open top 20 to replace the pesky duckweed.

Thanks ex225, ADA does make some NICE looking tanks. The floating plant is mini water lettuce and I really like it. Anything beats duckweed!

[pandapr]

Found this thread because I want to buy an ADA tank like this one. Not sure between the Mini L, 45-P, 60-P or 30-C.
The real issue in my case is the S&H. The Mini L S&H is $48.25 and the 60-P runs around $85 plus the tank. Started $aving.

What are your toughs on the 45-P ??
Thanks

[Digsy]

Ouch! $50+ shipping? That would make the decision tough. I went with the 45-P because I wanted to replace a similarly sized tank. I don't have room for anything bigger so, that made my decision. If space wasn't an issue, I'd probably get the largest one I could afford because these are beautiful tanks!

[el_santo]

another 45-P for me to lurk and compare mine too and ultimately be envious of and slightly jealous.

just kidding.

[Digsy]

Originally Posted by el_santo

another 45-P for me to lurk and compare mine too and ultimately be envious of and slightly jealous.

just kidding.

I was very disappointed to see that you didn't have a journal for me to drool over! Care to share yours?



No other updates at this point. Ammonia is still over 2.0ppm after a 50% water change yesterday. The stems have already grown quite a bit though and I'm hopeful I should be seeing a drop in the ammonia soon so that I can move on and add fish. I'm really glad, after reading others threads, that I didn't have ANY cloudiness issues with my Aquasoil.