# Stu's ADA Mini M - Step by Step



## stuworrall (Oct 29, 2006)

Its been a while since I posted on here so I thought id pop up some pictures of my latest tank which ive recently setup in the last few weeks.

Specs

*Tank*: ADA Cube Garden Mini M - 36x22x26cm / 5mm optiwhite glass
*Hardscape*: ADA Yamaya Rock, ADA Hornwood
*Co2*: Pressurised via Do!Aqua Music Glass - Mini 10D, Music Counter and ADA grey parts set
*Lighting*: ADA Mini-M - Solar 27W light
*Filtration*: Fluval 205 external to 
Outlet - Do!Aqua Violet Glass mini MP-1 10D
Inlet - Do!Aqua Violet Glass mini MV-1 13D
*Heating*: None yet as its in a centrally heated room. I may add an inline heater in the winter
*Substrate*: ADA Power Sand Special topped with ADA Africana Powder - Penac P & W and tourmaline for good measure
*Ferts per day*: ADA Step 1 and Brighty K
*Critters*: Red Cherry Shrimp, fish undecided yet
*plants to include* - Ferns, tennelus, hairgrass, fissidens, mosses, Bolbitus and a carpet of glosso

Heres a quick preview all the kit that was due to go in


mini-m-1 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


I tried out a few hardscapes before deciding on a final setup.

1. I decided I messed up the rockwork on the first one as it doesnt look very natural but i liked the wood.

mini-m-2 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


2. Sloping lying down design

mini-m-3 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


3. centred lying down design

mini-m-4 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Number 3 was my fav so on to empty the tank and do the step by step of setting up...


I 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 


tank sprayed flooded with water up to the lower aquasoil level to aid planting

mini-m-22 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Some hydropiper planted in the front

mini-m-23 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


and a little more... Small pinsette type tweezers are great for planting this. I used to try this with HC and big tweezers which just ends up crushing the roots.

mini-m-24 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Hydropiper done, some HC on the left and fern on the right

mini-m-26 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Now in go some tennelus at the bottom left and right plus a pot of HM

mini-m-27 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


more ferns

mini-m-28 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


The bolbitus starts to go in. I got small slate/yamaya pieces and tied the bolbitus to them with either tie wrap/ cotton or bonsai waire depending on how the roots were placed. (Bolbitus doesnt like its roots buried). I didnt attach it to any wood as I wanted as much freedom to move it as possible if needed 

mini-m-29 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


All in

mini-m-30 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Scrunched paper in to keep the substrate in place when I fill with water.

mini-m-31 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Filling up...

mini-m-32 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Filled  

mini-m-33 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


I was really impressed with the Africana as there was no dust whatsoever when I filled with water and it was as clear as a bell from straight off and has been since. 

Since I took this the front ferns have been moved down a touch so they look more natural. I also havent got around to tying any new fissidens moss stones so about 10 of these will be going in at random places on the front. Ive also had from hydrocytl SP Japan which has gone in at the front. 

The bad news is that the hydropiper didnt converted very well as it started turning to mush as soon as it went underwater so this was to be replaced with glosso as my LFS was out of hydropiper.

Since then it was moved from the photography background to its final location on my TV Bench


mini-m-35 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Do!Aqua Music glass mini 10D

mini-m-36 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


mini-m-38 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


Music counter

mini-m-37 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


After Id added some more fern from my 90p and added the new glosso to replace the hydropiper. At the moment im doing daily water changes to avoid the ammonia spike.

Im dosing 1 squirt each of step 1 and brighty K


mini-m-39 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


mini-m-40 by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Nice tank and beautiful pictures!


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## tnt808 (May 6, 2011)

Very nice. I wish my mini m looked like that.


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## roni (Aug 28, 2006)

Wow...This should be an ad for ADA  tank looks great!


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

I like how the tank was all planted before filling. I hate clouding up water when adding plants!


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## forrestp38829 (Nov 17, 2010)

Beautiful. Go on...


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

When I saw your first picture with all the equipment laid out, I didn't think I liked your choice of wood. However, you made it all come together really nicely with the wood, rocks, plants, and photography. It is refreshing to see a different choice of wood. Amazing tank!


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

ELATINE HYDROPIPER. I'VE WANTED IT FOR MONTHS. 

If you were in the US I wudda been prepared to offer you my house... 

I really like the tank & I LOVE the photography- very professional. You should enter this in the upcoming aquascaping contest.


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

very cool. nice pictures


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## Drink_soy_sauce (Sep 15, 2009)

Looks awesome! I really like the lighter look of the africana. I don't know why more people don't use it.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Holy...those are some nice photos of a beautiful tank. Great work and +1 on the Africana. I'm using it as an underlayer in my shrimp tank.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

looks amazing! i love your pictures of the empty tank! the lighting is great. i think i liked the first payout better, but the finished product looks HOT! thanks for sharing


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## RWalleyTX (Apr 17, 2011)

wow great setup nice pictures.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

3rd design was my fav as well. Just wait a couple of months and it'll be looking better.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

thats a cool trick with the newspaper!


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## stuworrall (Oct 29, 2006)

ddtran46 said:


> Nice tank and beautiful pictures!


thanks ddtran


tnt808 said:


> Very nice. I wish my mini m looked like that.


Thanks, I took lots of inspiration from mini m searches before I set it up.


roni said:


> Wow...This should be an ad for ADA  tank looks great!


Thanks Roni, not quite up to that standard yet 


Geniusdudekiran said:


> I like how the tank was all planted before filling. I hate clouding up water when adding plants!


Yup, I can never plant carpet plants very easily when its got water in, they always float back up!


forrestp38829 said:


> Beautiful. Go on...


:thumbsup:


volatile said:


> When I saw your first picture with all the equipment laid out, I didn't think I liked your choice of wood. However, you made it all come together really nicely with the wood, rocks, plants, and photography. It is refreshing to see a different choice of wood. Amazing tank!


Thanks volatile. Ive not used ada hornwood before as its mainly been manzi and redmoor root but I love this stuff and how it sinks straight away.


Senior Shrimpo said:


> ELATINE HYDROPIPER. I'VE WANTED IT FOR MONTHS.
> 
> If you were in the US I wudda been prepared to offer you my house...
> 
> I really like the tank & I LOVE the photography- very professional. You should enter this in the upcoming aquascaping contest.


Will do, thanks for the pointer. I was disapointed with the hydropiper but it can only be bought in the nutrient tubs at the moment. Im hoping to get a fresh one the next time its in stock, grow it emmersed in some AS then slowly introduce it to water by floating then sinking. fingers crossed it may then grow. Im only aware of one other UK tank with this in.



Fat Guy said:


> very cool. nice pictures


Thanks 


Drink_soy_sauce said:


> Looks awesome! I really like the lighter look of the africana. I don't know why more people don't use it.


I'd not thought of using it before as I usually use amazonia. The africana is great as there is zero dust so the water stays crystal.


shrimpnmoss said:


> Holy...those are some nice photos of a beautiful tank. Great work and +1 on the Africana. I'm using it as an underlayer in my shrimp tank.


Thanks shrimpmoss. it is good stuff



orchidman said:


> looks amazing! i love your pictures of the empty tank! the lighting is great. i think i liked the first payout better, but the finished product looks HOT! thanks for sharing


That was the layout I decided on in the shop when I bought it but I ended up trying a few different designs. I may well plant no 1 up in a future scape.


RWalleyTX said:


> wow great setup nice pictures.


Thanks RWalley


!shadow! said:


> 3rd design was my fav as well. Just wait a couple of months and it'll be looking better.


Thanks shadow, im hoping for some good growth once the tank settles in.


orchidman said:


> thats a cool trick with the newspaper!


I got it from Oliver Knott when he did a demo in the UK, it works really well.


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## gitusukka (Dec 31, 2007)

You've got scaping and photo skills. Amazing.


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## Aphyosemion (Oct 15, 2004)

Absolutely awesome! When I set up tanks the most difficult part for me is ALWAYS coming up with a decent aquascape. Many of my tanks get plants thrown in and then I try to make them into something decent. You clearly had a really good layout in mind before you even started.
I have been wanting an ADA Mini-M, but current finances (or lack thereof) prevent me from picking one up. If I had the cash I would copy your layout very closely. I really appreciate the step by step as well. Not only is it instructional, but also inspirational.
Three thumbs up!


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

Very professional. Wonderful pics.


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## stuworrall (Oct 29, 2006)

thanks all, its really nice to be able to have one of these in front of where the TV hangs 

Growth is going well. A little melting of the glosso at the front but its slowly coming back and the ferns are settling in. I had a little algae that came in on the bolbitus so ive trimmed those leaves and they have started sending ou new shoots which should fill the back of the tank again. 

No other algae at the moment (fingers crossed) and ive got about 5 red cherry shrimp in there doing some tidying up.. Water changes are still at 50% every two days which ill start phasing out now to get to once a week.


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

Have you decided on fish yet Stu?


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## stuworrall (Oct 29, 2006)

probably 3 spot rasbora but I also want to get some CRS breeding in there too


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## sockfish (Jul 11, 2007)

Very nice--both the tank and the photos. You make it look easy!

Um....didn't the newspaper get pasty and fall apart?

sox


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Can't wait to see new pics of this tank. Definitely keeping my eye out for it.


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## tbarabash (May 18, 2011)

Damn... nice photography. Must make a good living to afford all ADA stuff hahaha making me rethink my choice not to persue wedding photog!!! 

Nice photography for an even more beautiful tank.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

As others have stated, great photo documentary and editing. I really need to get my feet wet trying that stuff since I finally have a half way decent camera. 

Your design and scaping looks very nice too. Mini-m's are one of my favorite tanks and my personal M has been through more incarnations then I care to remember!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Wow, the tank was instantly filled out beautifully from day one! Excellent pictures too. I thought that all of your scapes were great. Well done.


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## tbarabash (May 18, 2011)

Question: What did you use to take the pics? Looks like you just used a huge whitebox but that doesn't seem practical to me.. that would be a huge box and lots of lights and not sure how you'd get the shadow below the power cord in a whitebox without some nice lighting tricks


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

tbarabash said:


> Question: What did you use to take the pics? Looks like you just used a huge whitebox but that doesn't seem practical to me.. that would be a huge box and lots of lights and not sure how you'd get the shadow below the power cord in a whitebox without some nice lighting tricks


+1 I'm also curious so that I may improve my photography skills with my d3100


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## bl4nket (Jul 18, 2011)

Super awesome tank!


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## Aphyosemion (Oct 15, 2004)

I'd love to see an update on this tank after it is fully grown in. I'd also love to know if that 24w light is enough to grow the glosso. Are you having any problems with it growing vertically?


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## Chlorophile (Aug 2, 2011)

Awesome tank.
Subscribed.


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## spyke (Oct 14, 2010)

i'm jealous....going to sell my 90 gal to get a dinky tank like this...yep, i'm doing it!


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## karatekid14 (Jan 16, 2011)

Amazing scape and photos!


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## beedee (Jul 1, 2010)

update?


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## DishyFishy (Jul 17, 2011)

Awesome journal. It probably took you as long to get the pictures looking that good as it did the tank! Great job!


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## spyke (Oct 14, 2010)

i was definitely inspired...i broke down and bought a mini m...YAY!

ps...UPDATE!!!!!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

spyke said:


> i was definitely inspired...i broke down and bought a mini m...YAY!
> 
> ps...UPDATE!!!!!


Some of the most fun you will ever have. :thumbsup:


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## spyke (Oct 14, 2010)

bsmith said:


> Some of the most fun you will ever have. :thumbsup:


 
oh yes...I'm sure. So far, i guess this is just common sense, but the more effort i put into a tank, with the scape, to the water quality to even aquiring all the parts, they usually turn out way awesome...or at least to me. 

so i'm starting a thread on mine soon...it won't really be up and running soon (DSM) but everything else is gonna be DIY, my stand, light stand, light fixture, C02....and that's it so far.

can't wait!

and still STU!!! UPDATE!


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## stuworrall (Oct 29, 2006)

apologies for the lack of updates, I hadn't realised people had posted on here since so must have my email updates turned off which Ill fix. Looking forward to seeing your journal spike 

The tank got a bit neglected during the summer as my dad died suddenly so all the hobbies at home got put on hold (my 90cm tank is now a jungle!)

After winning the aquascaping competition at Aquatics Live in London I got a bit more fire again for aquascaping so I've tidied the tank up.

The tank did well with not much husbandry over the summer, no algae to speak of except a bit on the glass and the plants grew like mad!! 

Unfortunately the HM I had in there went mad and covered the surface thus blocking the light to the carpet of SP japan and glosso so I lost that. This week Ive removed the HM and given everything a general tidy up. The fern has grown quite well but a few leaves are showing a brown colour but most are fine. The bolbitus has grown in and I've planted a new gloss carpet at the front so it looks a bit untidy there at the moment. 

Here are some pics with a video to follow once I work out how to use iMovie!


ADA Mini M Aquascape by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


ADA Mini M Aquascape by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


ADA Mini M Aquascape by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


ADA Mini M Aquascape by Stu Worrall, on Flickr


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## karatekid14 (Jan 16, 2011)

OH MY GOSH! I am bookmarking this. You should try out for the AGA contest, because you would win the nano part.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I know I'm dredging up a very old thread but what was the final look of this tank stu?


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