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ADA Mini M

Digitalfiend

Digitalfiend

Member
Joined
4 Dec 2016
Messages
40
Location
Whitby, Ontario, Canada
My previous scape with my tank (no journal) was somewhat neglected due to life and work and ended up getting a bad case of algae and I wanted to try something new. So I transferred the RCS and betta to another tank and began the task of rebuilding.

Tank: ADA Mini M
Lighting: ADA AquaSky 361
Lighting Period: Currently 9am - 6:30pm
Hardscape: ADA Kei Stone
Substrate: ADA Aqua Soil
Fauna: none at the moment; planned betta & RCS
Plants: Glossostigma Elatinoides, Rotala Rotundifolia, Rotala H'ra (planned, waiting for order)
CO2: 5 lb tank, GLA Inline Atomizer, CO2Art Dual Stage, Cal Aqua Labs Clip Nano, ADA P-2 Outflow
CO2 Rate: 1 - 1.5 bps (drop checker turns bright yellow by end of day); currently on 8:30am - 5:45pm
Heater: Hydor ETH 200
Filter: Eheim Classic 250
Temperature: 25c

I'm usually a fan of the "jungle" or "nature aquarium" look and like using driftwood, but this time I wanted to try something a little different. I've had some Kei stone just sitting around for quite some time and figured I'd grab a few rocks and give it a try. The goal was to have something nice to look at but clean and easy to maintain as I already have another tank (60p) and one more to setup (90p) - and time is an issue.

Initially, I was going to do the dry start method:

Latest Pics:
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April 8:

The tank is growing well and quite easy to take care of. I'm quite surprised by the lack of algae but I'm still running CO2 somewhat high, doesn't seem to bother my daughter's betta "Nip". The betta is loving the glosso - he roots around in it looking for the occasional piece of food that he has missed during feeding time.

A few updated pics - tank is in need of a trim. It seems to need a trim every 2-3 weeks! Only dosing potassium at the moment. I've got dry ferts but using Seachem Potassium ~1-2 ml every other day.

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Older Pics:
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February 27:
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But because I was concerned about having my betta in the other tank, I decided to flood it and get the cycling going. With the CO2 cranked and the lights set for 9 hrs things have really started to move along:

March 9:
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March 11:
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Will be adding some Rotala H'ra, once it arrives, to add a bit of colour.

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March 14:

This has to be the fastest carpet I've ever grown and everything is looking extremely healthy. I swear this atomizer is working better than my ADA diffuser that I was previously using. Seeing my first signs of minor GSA, which I just cleaned after today's 50% water change (to keep ammonia down).

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​
Ammonia levels are starting to come down slightly but I think it's going to be a couple more weeks before it cycles. So far no signs of algae.
I know this isn't a traditional iwagumi-style tank and it was never intended to be - but I think the simple layout of the rocks works...at least for me. :)

Side note: This is the original concept that I started with but decided against the wood this time around. It is more visually interesting (especially once you add moss, etc) but it would have made maintenance of the glosso a nightmare. Went through this last time with Monte Carlo and driftwood in this tank and it was tough to maneuver the scissors to trim the carpet effectively.

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Here is the original setup of this tank:
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Last edited:
I would add eleocharis mini on the back to increase depth and maybe some riccardia moss on the rocks?
 
I was thinking I should use something a bit bigger than eleocharis sp. mini as I had it in my 60F and it didn't get very tall - though it was extremely prolific and spread rapidly, which might be a problem with the glosso.
 
Both scapes are quite impressive to say the least. I love the minimalism on the latest scape yet the ideal plant placement in the old scape. Keep us updated

-Skye


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SKYE.__.HIGH said:
Both scapes are quite impressive to say the least. I love the minimalism on the latest scape yet the ideal plant placement in the old scape. Keep us updated

-Skye
Click to expand...

Thanks, much appreciated. I think it'll look even better once I get my Rotala H'ra in. Might also add some hydrocotyle tripartite on the left side to flesh things out a bit - though a bit hesitant as that stuff grows even faster than the Rotala and can get really ratty if you don't keep up with it. Any other plant suggestions? I could throw a crypt in there but not sure if it would suit the "light airy" feel I'm going for.

Might also have to throw my ADA Spin outflow on there once I put the betta in...or pick up one of those Cal Aqua Efflux H2s.
 
I was actually going to suggest hydro tri ... because I thought the light green color would go well with the colors in your tank. I was Also thinking a bit of blyxa, hairgrass sp. Belem and a splash of color even more so than the rotala maybe rotala super red sp. butterfly mixed in with the rotala H’ra. I’m not sure on your exact vision of “light airy” lol but these are all plants that I think could help strengthen the scape if planted in the right way.

- Hope this helps, Skye


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Looking very nice, may I ask, how long has that glosso been planted. Seems like not very long for such a thick carpet.

-thanks skye


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SKYE.__.HIGH said:
My bad should have clarified, has it been 2 weeks, 2 months? Two years (if in my tank lol). Thanks skye
Click to expand...

It was planted Feb 27th. It was fully filled in and thick about a month later; you can see the Mar 14th photo in the 1st post for a rough idea of about 2 weeks of growth after initial planting. It really exploded near the end of March and I trimmed it once but apparently not enough as I ended up trimming it again today...haha. :) The photos in the April 8 update are approximately 1 1/2 weeks after the first trimming. After cutting, it takes about 3-5 days for small replacement leaves to appear...this stuff grows quickly for me.

I do run a fairly high amount of CO2 and the light is quite bright. Drop checker is almost yellow-ish by the time the CO2 shuts off. The betta doesn't seem to even notice, probably because the plants are giving off a significant amount of O2. The lily pipe creates a small ripple so at night there should be good gas exchange and since my betta sleeps in the rotala near the surface, it's all good.
 
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