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PM's Low-Tech ADA Mini M (Rescape on Page 2)

PM

Member
Joined
15 Dec 2007
Messages
642
Location
London
Hello everyone!

I'm glad to announce that after a very long time without a tank (due to moving house a lot), I have bought a flat with my girlfriend and am going to set up my old nano on my desk!

I need this to look slick and elegant, as my desk is in the middle of the main room (all open plan).

Low tech nano v1: PM's 12L Nano Shrimp Tank. Low-tech. UPDATES! | UK Aquatic Plant Society

Advice needed:

Layout.
I: I am thinking of anchoring the planting to the back right hand corner, with a sandy foreground which runs around to the back left of the tank.

Q: Does anyone have any good examples of this layout with nanos?

Stocking.
I: I love shrimp and snails, this is what I stocked the tank with before. Though I am wondering what other options there may be as I think people think it's weird having shrimp! (Not that bothered mainly just enquiring).

Q: Are there any fish that would do well in this size tank (and not jump out), or should I stick with shrimp & snails?

Set up.
I: I have never tried dry start mode, though I am considering it for this to mature the plants and avoid the algae. Also I don't usually have to start with an uncycled tank!

Q: Should I use DSM? Any tips on cycling? Will the plants I want to use work with DSM?

Plants.
I: I had these plants in my old tank and they grew well for me, and am very fond of them:
Anabius nana petite
Xmas moss
Mini Java fern
Round Pelia

Q: Any other "dwarf" plants you can recommend? For low tech method and slow growth (no stems).

Tank spec:

Tank:
Clearseal 12x8x8"

Filtration & Heating:
Newattino Plus
Dennerle Nano Clean

Lighting:
Ikea Arod LED Desk Lamp

Substrate:
Colombo Flora-Base
ADA Xingu

Hardscape:
Wood/Rock
Wire mesh

Plants:
Anabius nana petite
Xmas moss
Mini Java fern
Round Pelia

Thanks all! Paul.
 
Hi Paul,
great your getting back into it :thumbup:

Have a look at George Farmers latest journal for dry start tips although given your plant list id just plant up and fill as non substrate rooting plants wont really benefit as much. Maybe the plus side of dsm would be faster growth to fill out your scape quicker....but id just buy more plants from the start and get it going :)
Flora base leaches ammonia, so will help your cycling, just carry out 50% plus every day water changes for a week or two, dropping to every other day week 2 or 3, third day week 3 and then your usual routine thereafter. Remember low tech wont need large water changes, this may infact cause more issues with algae from fluctuating c02 levels. Maybe 10% per week to keep things fresh.
Question: are you using the flora base for its effect on water chemistry? if not why not just use sand throughout as your chosen plants dont need a planting substrate.

As for fish, maybe have a scout through this thread, but id be inclined to just keep shrimp and snails.
Small interesting/unusual fishes - suggestions wanted | UK Aquatic Plant Society

For an example of your layout maybe something like this from LondonDragon (Paulo) would offer some inspiration?
Quick update, these tanks have suffered a little with neglect, due to not having much time for the hobby lately.
Added some new HOB filters from Eheim, the Niagara are just not good enough.


Left:
pict0570c.jpg


Right:
pict0559.jpg



Overall :

pict0578x.jpg


pict0588.jpg


pict0593l.jpg


Thanks for looking.
This is the link to Paulos Journal, these are very low tech, yet stunning nanos:
[NANO] Double Opti White - Cherry/Sakura Breeding Colony | Page 4 | UK Aquatic Plant Society

Hope that provides some food for thought.
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Thanks Ady.

Paulo's nanos do look great. I am just going to use ADA Xingu sand alone. Have just ordered my plants - Xmas moss, Weeping moss, Round Pellia & Anubias petite.

Here's a pic of it's location and rough hardscape (mainly just soaking the wood so it doesn't float but I like how it looks actually! Sorry for the crap photo, I don't have a decent camera any more...

8493937681_b767e6bf19_c.jpg


8493937677_cf144c6da9_c.jpg


Thinking about what shrimp to get. I might get some snowballs, always liked them but never had any. Also 1 Clithon Corona :)
 
This sounds ace, will be watching for some photo's (which judging from above are fine; they look very good to me)!

All the best from Bill. :D


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
 
Hello mate!
Been a while since I've seen you on the forum, good to see your getting back into it.

Your previous one was really nice so ill make sure i subscribe to this one too.
 
^ Thanks :)

I have decided that I'm going to stock only Snowball shrimp, one clithon corona, and perhaps in future, boraras brigittae! Or something equally small.

Thinking about getting an ADA Mini S for this, as I prefer the dimensions of the tank to what I have, and I have wanted an ADA tank for years!

I also decided that the ADA Xingu I have, I don't like for this tank (grains are massive), it seems as if ADA Bright Sand is out of stock at TGM, I think it's been discontinued by ADA also. Does anyone have a recommendation for similar looking sand? Small grains and a variety or tones in it for a natural look.

Also I am planning to use sand only. Does anyone think I should use part flora base for water parameters if I want to try boraras brigittae in future?

Sorry about the boring journal so far, I'll have some fun stuff once I've got the info and stuff I need!

Paul
 
DO IT!!! Treat yourself to the mini S or even the mini M

A nice dennerle 9w for S or the 11w for the M. Would look smart without he ADA cost and high wattage. Well the 9w would do the mini M also I guess.

Not a boring journal at all, I always meant to start mine like this but never do. It makes for a much better read this way :)
 
Thanks. I'd love a Mini M but it would be too big for my desk, so I think I will get the Mini S. I have a light very similar to the Dennerle one, though I plan on using the desk lamp, which has a single LED bulb so I get that nice shimmer too! Must keep the light low, I really don't want it to turn into a green blob of algae as I won't use CO2 or carbon.

What do you think in terms of the sand? Can I still get ADA bright sand around?
 
Hello mate. Not sure about the bright sand. I was in ADC London and they had a type of sand I tried to remember the name but ....well I forgot it :(
Ill have a look on TGM n see if I can remind myself it was really really nice too, I almost bought some just to put in the cupboard for when I eventually re scape.

Will check back with u in a bit once I've had a snoop about
 
Hi guys, bit of an update on my plans: I have figured out that I can use the hardware in my desk lamp and drill a hole through my desk and just clamp the lamp to that! Allowing me to get rid of the base, meaning of course, I have space for an ADA Mini M!!!! This is the only tank I will have for years in our small (but lovely) apartment, so I think the Mini M is going to be much better for me than the Mini S, as I would really like the opportunity to add some micro-sized fish to it at some point.

However, there is no way I'm using external filtration here, so I was wondering if my Dennerle filter would be okay? I mean I would only be swapping it for another internal one anyway if there was a much better alternative that was shrimp safe, but would like people's opinion on this. Still looking for the sand I want, that Unipac looks interesting, might get it but will keep looking for now, I am very picky it seems!

So after that is all decided and bought, (and I finalise/redo the hardscape as the tank will be a fair bit bigger), I would very much like to decide on fish. I won't be adding the fish for some time after setup, though I am keen to know whether they need any particular type of parameters, as I don't want to find out for example, that I should have used flora base rather than just sand when it's impossible to change without a massive upheaval of the tank!

My preliminary shortlisted fish are:

Ruby tetra - Axelrodia riesei
Sundadanio axelrodi
Boraras brigittae
Lamp eye killi - Aplocheilichthys normani
Pygmy cory
Microdevario kubotai

It's important to me that they don't eat baby shrimp, or bother them. Also that they do not JUMP OUT! I hate it when that happens. Any other suggestions welcome!

As I said this will be my only tank so I need to try to get all my 'kicks' out of it! Plants, fish, and shrimp. All in 36cm!

Paul
 
However, there is no way I'm using external filtration here, so I was wondering if my Dennerle filter would be okay? I mean I would only be swapping it for another internal one anyway if there was a much better alternative that was shrimp safe, but would like people's opinion on this.
Hi,
could you not look into HOB (Hang On Back) filters. They remove the bulk of the filtration chamber to outside the tank, but aren't as space demanding as an external.....just a thought to maximise in tank volume and minimise in tank equipment now that your going all posh with ADA ;) You could add a shrimp guard to the intake strainer too to be extra sure its shrimp safe :)
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
I think from the room a HOB would look more of a mess to be honest, also there is actually no space for a HOB (left monitor, behind wall, right desk lamp) and I don't like that they aren't silent. The Dennerle in a Mini M is really quite unobtrusive. I just wanted to see if anyone will respond with "no way can that tiny filter be effective in a Mini M", then I would argue with them until I was proven wrong ;) that's kinda how I work. Thanks for the suggestion but it must be fully internal for me. Also the Dennerle gives a reasonable flow having the impeller in the tank.

Paul
 
Hi all,

Bit the bullet and went for the ADA Mini M, and it really is a beautiful tank. Also got some ADA Mekong Powder sand, which I prefer to the ADA Xingu I had, though mainly just due to grain size, the Mekong does have a nice natural look though. Bought a Fluval Compact 25W heater too as the 10W one a little too weak for this tank size. Here's some photos of it right now:

8545095611_f0d38ec4be_c.jpg


8546192238_abf0cd70f3_c.jpg


8545095765_4bc4ab19cc_c.jpg


The size of this tank makes a big difference compared to my 12x8x8" Clearseal, I'm not thrilled with how the 'scape looks, though I have spent to much money on it already and this is the only hardscape stuff I have, and buying this stuff online is tricky at best, if you know what I mean! Have to say I really don't like the new ADA logo, the font looks like something you'd see on a drum & bass club night flyer, though TGM had run out of the ones with the old logo I believe.

So my plan is to just grow in a bunch of mosses, also want some Mini Java Fern (can anyone help here)? And just let in grow out. I'll probably think about adding the White Pearl shrimp in a week or two, and am still considering what fish I want.

I don't know whether to order a snail or two with my shrimp, or to just get shrimp and then add ottos or similar later? Any advice helpful. Feel a bit silly having such a nice tank and not doing a great scape, but it'll be kind of like a little experiment as I haven't been into this for some time, and then further down the line I will re-scape and commit to creating something really nice!

Paul

P.S. Sorry for the crap quality photos, I will get a decent camera at some point in the future.
 
I really don't like the new ADA logo, the font looks like something you'd see on a drum & bass club night flyer
looks like a sticker too, could you not just rip it off :eek:
Mekong powder looks nice mind.
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Hi Pm

I run one of these with a Solar M low tech, and pretty messy for my CRS. Feels a bit sacrilegious to be doing so. But hey ho.

Nice start, quite fond of the sand too. Im looking for some in the near future and looks like this could be the one.

Just bought a cal aqua 17mm set, and an ADA beetle diffuser ( gonna go back to standard diffuser rather than inline UP atomizer). So might have to save up for some ADA sand :lol:

Cheers,
 
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