miniMal (thread closed)

[tim]

hi folks, new project time for me, as you may guess from the uninspired title the tank is an ADA mini M purchased for a bargain price from a member on here (cheers Daniel).
the title also refers to the effort ive put into the setup of this scape so far hardscape of manzi and landscape rocks I had knocking about, plants have been pillaged from my temporary tanks as im saying bye to them next weekend, anyway couple of pics.

laid a few rocks in to stop substrate slipping, then added in just 1 piece of manzi tied with anchor moss

topped up the substrate, after this filled 2/3 with water and planted up, hooked up all the equipment and off she goes I will get a fully planted pic up when the water has cleared with a plant list but for now ill give the tech specs,
tank ada mini m
azoo flexi mini led
cristalprofi 700 with gush nano pipe set
co2 jbl reg with welding gas disposable bottle, in tank fluval diffuser at the minute just waiting for a few bits from co2 art and ill be hooking up a do aqua 10mm nano diffuser, fauna will be cherry shrimp and my green neon rasbora, that's all for now as always cheers for looking.

 

[tim]

Planted pic

Plants so far
Monte Carlo, rotala green, anchor moss, hygro pinatidifida, eleocharis parvula, mini type Java fern, and crypt petchii, will probably add more and garden out some plants along the way but hoping to run this till Xmas time when I'll take it down to make space for the tree
Dosing with tropica specialised every other day and my ei trace mix on alternate days.
Cheers for now.

 

[stu_]

Like it.
But buy some clear tubing,you cheapskate........😀

 

[tim]

Like it.
But buy some clear tubing,you cheapskate........😀

clear co2 hose is on order with a nice glass u bend a new check valve from co2art, but if you mean filter hose, well I am a cheapskate 😉

 

[Guest]

Looks great...very nice planting.

 

[pepedopolous]

Looks great! Do you think the light will be enough for the corners of the tank?

P

 

[tim]

Looks great...very nice planting.

Thanks Troi

Looks great! Do you think the light will be enough for the corners of the tank?

P

Thanks P the light seems to spread right to the corners, the LEDs have 120 degree lens not sure if that helps with spread, suppose the plants will tell me over the next couple of weeks.
Cheers for all the likes.

 

[tim]

Morning folks, couple of weeks in and all is going smoothly so far

Do Aqua diffuser fitted with clear hose and a nice sleek glass u bend from co2 art, should keep stu happy 😉
Water changes have been every 2 days due to the established filter, added in my green neon rasbora and some cherry shrimp, this addition was followed by diatoms so I'll carry on the waterchange routine for a few more weeks then look to add a few more green neons, plants are growing slowly but steadily, only the pinatidifida struggling at the moment but I'm determined to wait it out and grow the damn plant :lol

Cheers for looking.

 

[Guest]

Very accomplished...

 

[Dantrasy]

Super clean!

When that moss grows out your scape will be awesome.

 

[moroland]

fab tank

 

[tim]

Quick pic pre trim and waterchange later today

Significant growth in 7 days mc needs cutting right back stems will be trimmed, glass is covered in diatoms, will need to stick to twice weekly water changes for a while I think to keep on top of algae, ludwigia turning nice orangey red, so far happy with the light maybe a bit on the strong side but growth so far seems fairly even.

 

[tim]

After the haircut

Should grow back in a couple of weeks

 

[tim]

Morning folks few update pics for this one
Found some free fissidens growing in the anchor moss

Stripped the mini Java fern off the dragonstone it was on and attached it to the wood with superglue

while doing the above found a rhizome of mini bolbitus I grabbed from a member on here around 2 years ago the resilience of plants amazes me

monte carlo has grown back thick in just a week

full tank shot


image by timyapp, on Flickr
stems also had another quick trim I will let them hit the top again and start trimming for shape now they are dense enough,
cheers for looking.

 

[Sentral]

Really like this, great job!

 

[tim]

Really like this, great job!

Thanks sentral, gave the moss its first trim yesterday, Monte Carlo needs cutting back again, I'll try and stick an update pic up this evening.

 

[tim]

Some updates, Monte Carlo seems to be a bit much for this size tank with co2 2 weeks and mc mayhem

Stems not growing evenly so I've moved the light to the left of the tank to try and encourage even growth

A big trim has revealed lots of bba on the rocks confirming plants will not out compete algae

Good trim and cleaning session later I'm left with this

Need to get this back on track so plan is water change every other day, cut light by an hour and remove bba each water change, happy enough with plant growth rate just need the stems to grow evenly,
Cheers for looking.

 

[tim]

Evening folks, its been a while so here's a warts and all update as we like em 😉 few algae issues with this one probably down to too much light even though its been stated elsewhere the flexi mini is low- medium light, its still a bit strong for my liking as the algae set in a little harder than ive experienced before especially in the monte carlo i used a large dose of liquid carbon to try and see it off whilst switching back to inline atomiser for co2 things looked up for a day or two algae dying off easy to remove with toothbrush tweezers, this was then followed by monte carlo complete meltdown.

Untitled by timyapp, on Flickr
none of the other plants reacted this way and i had some monte carlo struggling away in a tank i took down this weekend, so a quick syphon to remove the mess left this,
Untitled by timyapp, on Flickr
now replanted it looks like this
Untitled by timyapp, on Flickr
i will follow up the replant with a few regular water changes, keep co2 stable and if the algae returns i will be looking for a dimmer option for the light 🙂
cheers for looking.

 

[tim]

Afternoon folks, warts and more warts update time 😉, recent total lack of time has led to this scape being totally ignored for the last few weeks, Bga has crept in amongst other nice algae types so this morning i was just about to take the tank down when i had a change of heart 🙂
looking very sorry for itself
Untitled by timyapp, on Flickr
close up
Untitled by timyapp, on Flickr
cleaner
Untitled by timyapp, on Flickr
cable tied some silicon paper over the light as a dimming solution, not the best looking solution but will do for now
Untitled by timyapp, on Flickr
cheers for looking.

 

[dfinn]

Love this scape, don't give up! I am having my own woes with the Monte carlo so feel your pain!

Dan