# Terry's 1st aquarium - ADA 60-F: Ohko overload (56K warning)



## awmused (Mar 8, 2013)

Hi all! So I finally got a little down time and got my ADA 60-F tank out of its box and onto a stand where I could start hatching away at a multitude of runs at hardscaping. After pouring hours and hours upon days/weeks/months into reading posts and researching I'm finally starting a journal. There are lots of pictures, so you have been warned!

My dear BF helped me with the technical write-up part of this, so here goes what's planned to go into this:
*
The Nitty Gritty*:
Aquarium: *ADA 60-F* (24"x12"x7" = 8.6g)
Lighting: *18" Finnex Ray 2* (15 Watts: 144 HO LEDs / 7000K)
Filter: *Fluval 106*
Lily Pipes: *13mm Do!Aqua Violet Glass*
CO2: Aquatek mini paintball regulator w/ NAG-aqua music note diffuser

Layout material: *Ohko Stone *
Substrate: *Floramax* topped w/* UP Aqua Shrimp Sand* + natural sand

Planned *Flora*:

HC
HM
DHG (e. parvula)
Downoi
Blyxa Japonica
Mini Pellia
Fissidens fontanus
*Fauna:*

Tangerine Tiger & Red Rili shrimps
Otos
And now the pictures...

*Glassware*:









Some hardscape materials:









And a FEW versions of hardscaping I went through, slept on, and then tore apart to redo:

Layout 1 (very 1st go at it...):









Layout 2:









Layout 3 (still trying to figure out the glassware placement... don't mind the little stones at the bottom, I was playing with some screen mesh to divide the sand and the substrate):









Layout 4 (Very minor adjustment of replacing the stone on the mid-right to something not so "overpowering" as in layout 3. I'm leaning towards this one. I've let it sit for longer than 24 hours without feeling the need for major adjustments):









And a little bit of a closer look at the stones:

















And... just wanted to throw in a lofty rendering of what I'd been thinking of before I actually got my stones. It's VERY unlikely that this will be what comes to fruition:









It'll be awhile before this gets planted & flooded though, and the BF is still helping to work out how to hang the light fixture, get conduit bent, etc. ... Stay tuned for progress+updates! 

I'm open to suggestions & comments before I decide to put down the sand. Please be gentle! It's my first time at this... :icon_redf


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## assasin6547 (Feb 6, 2013)

Wow that hard scape is sexy! IMHO layout 4 is amazing, one suggestion would be to move the small stone to the right of the large mountain either away or down in to the substrate slightly... it seems to be distracting from the 'master' stone (the large mountain). 

You're off to an awesome start...  subscribed.


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## AguaTropical (Apr 3, 2013)

I like the fourth as well!!

Love the texture on those stones!


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

I kinda like #3, it has a little more detail with the small stones on the "shore" area. I also like the "multiple summits" look vs one main stone.

Nevertheless great start. roud:


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

I like number three. More rocks showing up.


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## CPDzeke (Jan 4, 2013)

I like 4. Very dynamic!


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## awmused (Mar 8, 2013)

Thanks guys! I played with adding some more little stones (I guess you can't have too many stones, right? :icon_lol back along the 'shore' edge kind of like I had for layout 3 and moving the small stone to the right of the large stone down and to the right a smidge.

Layout 5:









Layout 6:









Thoughts?


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## ChadRamsey (Nov 3, 2011)

i just love Ohko stone. I also love the dimensions of this tank. Makes for a great combination and tank.

The scape looks great so far.roud:


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

that's going to look ace!


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## CPDzeke (Jan 4, 2013)

Number 6!


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

I agree number 6 looks great.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

they just keep getting better! i vote for number 11!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

What's up everyone... I'm just helping my GF (Terry) w/ a *LOOONG NEEDED UPDATE* on this tank. Reason being, we live together and it's in our office at our place and it's starring at me right now asking to be posted for TPT to see! LOL.... it's developing so nicely and I think she did a really phenomenal job at her first attempt at scaping. 

One minor change to the original plan... we decided to go with the Cal Aqua lily pipes instead of the Do!Aqua's. They just looked better and more proportioned to size. After finalizing on a hardscape, she planted away and started to grow the HC and S. Repens via DSM.










2 months later... FLOODED!









FTS, post flooding:

















FTS w/ DIY conduit light hanger (made by me!):









And on it grew... update coming up w/ more pics!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Fast forward about another month... 

We now have some Pumpkin Neo's and things are filling in nicely.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Tangerine Tiger and Baby Pumpkins


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

*Fast Forward Another Month... As of TODAY!!!*

We added a pair of Amano shrimp to help with some hair algae we're getting... 

We have quite a few baby Pumpkin Shrimp growing up pretty fast. Some are growing faster than others. I've counted at least 10, I'm sure more are hiding somewhere (I hope). 

Now for some pictures (still need to groom the sand a bit, might have to trim the HC soon) :thumb:

FTS:

























And some shrimp eye-candy taken by her:


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

Really nice filled in!


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

That looks really great. The plants are starting to overgrow the hardscape, which is a good thing as it looks more natural.


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## ChuckinMA (Aug 20, 2013)

well done - the effort paid off!


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## design_desire (Jul 21, 2013)

Ah, it's just beautiful! The proportions throughout are spot on, in my opinion. The hardscape, flora and fauna all work in perfect balance, too.

Thanks for sharing. Personally, it's quite inspiring, and I'm sure it is for others, too. =]


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

I cant believe I missed this journal until now. Your tank is spectacular. I like everything about this scape. So well done!

Looks like your about a month out from it reaching its potential as the right side still has some filling in to do.


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## Bianm (Sep 19, 2013)

Very nice tank!!!


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## ryannguyen (Feb 27, 2013)

That's amazing.


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## Aqua Hound (Sep 18, 2013)

I love this scape it really has grown nice and the stone selection is perfect imo :thumbsup:


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

[quote







/QUOTE]

I noticed in this picture that the outflow looks really long, but then in this other picture they look ok. Did you change them or what?



>


I'm asking this because I have a problem with my new glass outflow being too long. I was wondering what you did to solve that.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Chizpa305 said:


> [quote
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Precisely... we changed the 1st pipes (do!aqua 13mm) to Cal Aqua Nano Efflux/Influx 13mm pipes (from GLA).


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

This tank is pretty insane. I wish there was a rock or some other hardscape right in the middle where the big patch of HC is though. It kind of dulls down the rock formation you created. I think even a little piece of driftwood, nothing crazy, just like a very small, flat piece or small rock would just break that up a bit. But, that's just nit picking, this tank is really outstanding.


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

Nice tank! 

I now want a 60F. 

What stand do you have this sitting on?


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

It's an Ikea Expedit bookcase (2x2)


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> It's an Ikea Expedit bookcase (2x2)


Nice.

If you had to do this again, would you use the Expedit again? or the Besta stand from your 60P Journal?


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

If this 60F were our only tank, then yes... otherwise, it works well for the price (significantly less than the besta). I like having the storage compartments of this expedit. Also mounting the conduit light hanger was a breeze.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> If this 60F were our only tank, then yes... otherwise, it works well for the price (significantly less than the besta). I like having the storage compartments of this expedit. Also mounting the conduit light hanger was a breeze.


I was going to say, since I have both as well, that both work very nicely and both are overbuilt for a 60F. The expedit is great if you want storage beyond your tank, the besta is more attractive, IMO, as a dedicated stand.

Both come in plenty of colors from subtle to wild so either choice will work with existing decor.


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## glndrifts (Jun 8, 2010)

great job on this tank, looks amazing.


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## swoof (Jun 30, 2010)

This is a pretty sweet tank Brian!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

glndrifts said:


> great job on this tank, looks amazing.





swoof said:


> This is a pretty sweet tank Brian!


Thanks guys!!! My GF did a great job in the scape... I'm now just the caretaker since she has no time for it really.

Anyway, the HC was neglected pretty bad so I decided to pull it all out and replant the tips. I also cleaned up the sand and pipes. It was a lot of work to say the least! 

Here are some updated pics... HC needs to grow back in.


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## maxwellag (Mar 30, 2012)

Looking good! This is part of my inspiration for my 20 rimless (in progress).


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## maxwellag (Mar 30, 2012)

If you don't mind me asking, about how many lbs of ohko are in the tank right now? I'm thinking of getting some for my next tank, but I am not sure how much I will need.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

We ordered 10 lbs of it from AFA. What's in this tank plus my GLA 6g, makes up 100% of what we received. I'd guess about 3/4 of it is in the 60F. 

Here's the GLA (60F already pictured):


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

Any update on this spectacular tank?

Just wondering, where you put the filter / CO2 for this tank. Did it all fit in the expedit?


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Not much... The downoi is huge and the HC is filling in, almost fully... The filter and co2 setup sit on the side of the stand, between the stand and wall by the closet. We didn't care too much to fit the equipment in the stand. 

Might start selling the downoi.


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## oldskool559 (Aug 19, 2013)

wow beautiful tank


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

Absolutely love this tank, might scrape my 20g soon if I can get the algae in control (co2 tank went empty and cant find a place to refill it). If I do hope you dont might I ima get my inspiration form this scape. Ive always loved the look of downoi and the way its placed in this tank is beautiful!


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## parrottbay (May 14, 2012)

Brian, any update? Awesome tank btw. Where did you get the Co2 diffuser? Looking for one for my tank.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Hey James... right now it's up and running, but it's a grow-out tank with a few fish ATM. No scape really. We'll probably rescape it later this summer when we're settled at a new place (moving once again). 

As for the diffuser, we bought it on Amazon but it shipped from China. It's called NAG-aqua music New U-Shaped Hang On Style Glass CO2 Diffuser... looked up on e-vil-bay. The Amazon seller is no longer on Amazon, but I suspect it's the same one you'll find on e-vil-bay.


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## parrottbay (May 14, 2012)

Awesome, thanks bro!I bet even as a grow out tank, it looks wonderful


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## manzpants92 (Dec 6, 2012)

great looking tank, great looking hardscape, great growth


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

manzpants92 said:


> great looking tank, great looking hardscape, great growth


On behalf of my GF, thanks. This scape will be missed.




parrottbay said:


> Awesome, thanks bro!I bet even as a grow out tank, it looks wonderful


It's okay... It's like an indoor pond with plants. I miss the old scape. Can't wait till my GF decides
to get creative again. If not, I'll probably do something with it sometime mid-year. I'm thinking large manzanita branch partly emersed.


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## harilp (Feb 23, 2013)

eeeew!! Awesome.. 

Sent from my Blackberry Playbook using Tapatalk2


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