Stu's ADA Mini M nano - updated pics, page 12

[nayr88]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

Mate the 3rd one is THE one!! For sure the last one.

I attepmted hydopiper in my nano, my co2 run out and everything BUT the hydro carried on growing so I let it die of pretty much, I think you have the skills and the kit to get it going mate.

Sorry I didn't get back to you about heater mate completely slipped my mind, think I'm going to keep it in the fish drawer for a future tank, sorry stu 🙁

How much does a piece of wood roughly the same size as that cost from tgm??

Cheers

 

[Stu Worrall]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

Cheers Nayr, think im going with that one two as it will give me the most room for planting and typing ferns

Good to hear the hydropiper hangs on, id love to get a full carpet of it going and im going to try and grow some DSM in a dish.

No probs about the heater, plenty of time until winter for me to find one 😀

Im not sure on the horn wood costs sorry as TGM just gave me free reign to pick any for the tank so didnt check the prices. The two big pieces of wood were M size and the little ones N size so you may get an idea from here - http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/products/aquatics/d-cor-materials/ada-horn-wood

 

[Tony Swinney]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

I do like the wood coming up out of the tank in layout 1 Stu, but 3 rocks too - I can see that working really well with your pant list 🙂

Tony

 

[Stu Worrall]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

I do like the wood coming up out of the tank in layout 1 Stu, but 3 rocks too - I can see that working really well with your pant list 🙂

Tony

Cheers tony, my pant list includes Farah, George, Levi and Windsors of Chelsea although im not sure how theyll apply here

3 is definitely the one im going for, 1 may get done on a future re-scape with a change of pants, I mean plants 😀

Step-by-step starts tonight with power sand special first 🙂

 

[Stu Worrall]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

I started from scratch last night. Attempted to take the hardscape out while remembering which order and angles it needed to go back in!

ADA stuff to go in


mini-m-5 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


mini-m-6 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Empty with glassware added to see how it will look

mini-m-7 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Hardscape without substrate shows the height the substrate will be

mini-m-8 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Penac P and W in plus tourmaline BC

mini-m-9 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Powersand Special in and removed from the edges with a brush so it doesnt show alongside the africana

mini-m-10 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Africana Powder going in

mini-m-11 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


A little bit more

mini-m-12 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


1 x 3l bag in plus I added another half bag so 4.5 l in total

mini-m-13 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Levelled off with a paintbrush

mini-m-14 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


First piece of ADA Horn Wood in (fingers crossed its in the right angle!)

mini-m-15 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Second and third piece of wood in

mini-m-16 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Fourth piece or horn wood plus Yamaya stones

mini-m-17 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


More stones

mini-m-18 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Final scape before planting with graded yamaya added which was crushed with a mighty Thor hammer 😀

I checked out some pictures of the ADA gallery nanos before deciding on a front level of aquasoil. They plant theirs quite deep so ive gone for the same. Not sure if it aids planting or the plants prefer the deeper substrate. The back will be filled with plants and I may riase some of the stones slightly so they dont get lost in the carpet when it gets going.


mini-m-19 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Now to assemble the plants 😀

 

[John Starkey]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

Like the final scape Stu,glad to see nessie is still there mate ,when are the plant's going then ?

John.

 

[Stu Worrall]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

Like the final scape Stu,glad to see nessie is still there mate ,when are the plant's going then ?

John.

Cheers John. The plants are going in this week hopefully as my wife wants the conservatory table back

 

[John Starkey]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

Cheers John. The plants are going in this week hopefully as my wife wants the conservatory table back


Women hey, they just don't get do they ,

John.

 

[nayr88]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

Looks brilliant mate, really nailed it.

I though that a plus of powersand was that it already contained Penac P and W and tourmaline BC

Nice one Stu

 

[ghostsword]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

Great walk through, that wood is manly, big and strong, makes a great effect on such a small tank. Bold and powerful message.

It would actually look very nice just with moss, but looking forward to the plants.

What is the reason for the Powesand special under the Africana Powder?? Sorry for the silly question, but I am not familiar with the ADA susbtrate line up and how to use it effectively.

 

[Stu Worrall]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano

Great walk through, that wood is manly, big and strong, makes a great effect on such a small tank. Bold and powerful message.

It would actually look very nice just with moss, but looking forward to the plants.

What is the reason for the Powesand special under the Africana Powder?? Sorry for the silly question, but I am not familiar with the ADA susbtrate line up and how to use it effectively.

thanks Luis. Re the Power Sand its not something ive used before as on my 90cm Iwagumi I used tropica aquacare substrate which is a similar product (ish) so im looking forward to seeing the results. There are lots of threads on ukaps about its use and there are threads for and against.

Theres some info on it here - http://www.aquajournal.net/na/notes/001/index.html

This is lifted from TGM's website to save me typing it where theyve explained it pretty well

http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/products/aquatics/substrate-system/ada-power-sand-special-s

Power Sand Special is the substrate material with more minerals and nutrients. This is appropriate for Echinodorus or Cryptocoryne absorbing nutrients from its roots. It works with bacteria inside the substrate, and offer charcoal powder to the bacteria as a food, and creates living substrate.

Power Sand Special is intended for use as a base substrate material and is placed directly onto the glass base of the tank. It contains many organic nutrients and is excellent for plants actively absorbing nutrients from their roots.

Bacter 100 ad Clear Super are blended in the mix to aid in the rapid growth of beneficial bacteria and as an additional filtration aid in the planted environment.

Powersand Special comes in three sizes; S, M and L. S for tanks up to 60 litres. M for tanks up to 250 litres. l for tanks over 250 litres.

The Power Sand Special should be added to the tank leaving a 2-3 inch gap at the front and sides for aesthetic purposes. ADA Aqua Soil is then added over this base layer to a depth of about 2-6 inches (front to back). The complete ADA substarte system is now in place and the tank is ready to hardscape.

Note: Although we have many customers who achieve excellent results using Aqua Soil by itself as a stand alone substrate, increasing numbers of people swear by the use of both Power Sand Special and Aqua Soil- as recommended by ADA.

From our own hands on experience here at TGM, our advice would be that if your budget allows it then go for the complete system, the results for us have been amazing.

and George has a good description here -

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=10862#p115809

I used both successfully. More important, in my experience, is the top layer.

The potential clouding issue with the Tropica may be a concern if you plan on re-scaping your layout regularly, especially if you're using big rooters like crypts. However, unless you're performing a massive overhaul, then regular uprooting of the odd plant followed by a decent water change will clear up the clouding no problem.

Power Sand Special is basically peat-covered pumice granules. The 'Special' bit is the extras i.e. Bacter 100, Tourmaline BC and Clear Super. The peat provides lots of nutrients and the hard pumice allows for greater oxygen penetration down there. The other products claim to add bacteria, extra trace elements, and toxin removal. I have to say that in combination with ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia I have never experienced such impressive plant growth rate and health. This is purely anecdotal evidence, of course.

Tropica Plant Substrate is a clay-based product with high CEC (cation exchange capacity) that basically is the ability to take in nutrients from the water column, making them available to the roots. It turns to a mud-like substance as soon as water is added, and as mentioned it will cloud the water if it's disturbed. It may be advisable to cap it well, but I have only covered my latest set-up with Tropica topped with just a flat 4cm of other substrates (EcoComplete, Unipac black and Flourite Black mixed).

Before we get into a big, "is ADA worth the extra cash?" then it's important to know what your top layer is.

If it's ADA Aqua Soil then I'd consider the Power Sand Special.

If it's another type, then I'd go for Tropica.

They both work well, but if you're going for the ADA system, then it can be a go idea to go the 'whole hog', IME. The results cannot be denied.

I hope that helps. 🙂

 

[ghostsword]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano - Step by step on page 5

Thanks,

George explained in a nutshell the issues I have with Tropica Aquacare. Before I found UKAPS, I got a couple of bags of Tropica Aquacare and filled the tank with it, at least 2cm front to back. I have since topped it up with Dennerle substrate, but it is so messy when a plant is uprooted, I would never use it again. But the big rooters love it, so maybe Power Sand Special is a good replacement, if it does not turn to mud.

Thanks for the time taken to explain it. 🙂 I appreciate it.

 

[Stu Worrall]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano - Step by step on page 5

Pretty much any sub-substrate layer will make a mess if youre lifting long rooted plants but yes tropica aquacare does go mud like as its clay. The power sand is pummice though so I guess it should retain some of its form but it would still cloud the water if disturbed. Deep aquasoil on the top is best

 

[Piece-of-fish]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano - Step by step on page 5

Looking forward to the planting
Thanks a lot for photography tips, i think my main struggle would be correct white balance.
I have got quite a nice kit already just need to learn how to use it now 😀

 

[JEK]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano - Step by step on page 5

Nice journal and very nice step by step! And all that ADA, I'm still drooling...
The Mini M tank and mini solar are IMO the nicest nano kit in the world. I'm regretting I sold mine every time is see one.
Good luck with it!

 

[Ian Holdich]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano - Step by step on page 5

looks great Stu!

 

[LondonDragon]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano - Step by step on page 5

Great stuff Stu, looking forward to seeing this one planted 🙂 Great kit and love the hardscape 🙂

 

[Tony Swinney]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano - Step by step on page 5

Great work on the step-by-step Stu. I like the way you're "in it" doing things as you shoot - makes it more personal 🙂

Its gonna be a corker of a scape, I'm sure.

Tony

 

[Stu Worrall]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano - Step by step on page 5

Looking forward to the planting
Thanks a lot for photography tips, i think my main struggle would be correct white balance.
I have got quite a nice kit already just need to learn how to use it now 😀

Cheers POF. The WB is quite easy if its a fixed setup or if youve got something like lightroom you can just click on something white in the photo to fix it

Great work on the step-by-step Stu. I like the way you're "in it" doing things as you shoot - makes it more personal 🙂

Its gonna be a corker of a scape, I'm sure.

Tony

Cheers Tony, I had to get Sarah to take the pics while i was pooring as I didnt have enough hands! Good luck with yours 😀

Great stuff Stu, looking forward to seeing this one planted 🙂 Great kit and love the hardscape 🙂

Cheers Paulo 🙂 Should be planted within a few days

looks great Stu!

Cheers Ian 🙂

Nice journal and very nice step by step! And all that ADA, I'm still drooling...
The Mini M tank and mini solar are IMO the nicest nano kit in the world. I'm regretting I sold mine every time is see one.
Good luck with it!

Thanks JEK, I would be very sorry to see mine go too and your setups were very nice

 

[andyh]

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano - Step by step on page 5

Stu

I havent been on properly in a while and have just read your journal from start to finish, firstly let me start by saying that kit selction quite literally made me drool!

Really like what i have seen so far with the planned hardscape, and i am keen to see what you have in your head for the planting, keep up the journal!

See you Saturday

Andy