# ADA Solar MINI



## rkfiske (Sep 7, 2006)

So I was looking at the ADG shop, and noticed that they put up these Solar Mini lights.










27 watts over ~5 gallons. Is that going to be enough for most plant growth? I wouldn't mind doing some glosso/HC/riccia and I have a feeling that it might not be enough light. I know the price is really high for that kind of fixture, but it's going to be basically the only tank I'm going to have for quite awhile and I think the fixture itself is very aesthetically pleasing and pairs well with the ADA tanks. Price aside, do you think that fixture will be sufficient? Anyone have any success with it? Thanks in advance guys!


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

this system works great :thumbsup: 

Saw them in action all the time when I went to Japan. Light is good enough for jsut about anything.


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## rkfiske (Sep 7, 2006)

good, i'm hoping to maybe try some HC up front perhaps later on down the road with the tank. I'm kind of iffy if that light will handle it or not.


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## SCMurphy (Oct 21, 2003)

It will be enough for HC.


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## the_noobinator (Jun 10, 2006)

looking at the price of that light made my wallet ache.


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

I tried ordering it and they were out of stock


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## rkfiske (Sep 7, 2006)

i bet you if you talked to Jeff, he would be able to get you the light if you placed an order. I talked to him about the MINI M tanks and he was really helpful about it. yeah noobinator that light is ridiculously expensive, but i'm only going to be setting up one tank for quite awhile here, so I'd like to just go all out on it haha.


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

rkfiske said:


> i bet you if you talked to Jeff, he would be able to get you the light if you placed an order. I talked to him about the MINI M tanks and he was really helpful about it. yeah noobinator that light is ridiculously expensive, but i'm only going to be setting up one tank for quite awhile here, so I'd like to just go all out on it haha.


I am with you on that :0


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## jeffboyarrdee (Aug 25, 2004)

hey

the solar mini lights are really cool, i have seen them in action and will always be tempted to buy one, but i do agree they are quite pricey. im sure its the same price as Aquaforest in SF, they too sell ADA products. the 27 watts should be plenty of light actually. 5 watts per gallon, and plus u would be loading ur tank with rock/wood and substrate which also displace water, so ud be having even ,more wattage per gallon. im sure u can grow almost anything in those tanks, like those demonstrated in Amano's gallery. i cant wait for you to get one of these, id like to follow this thread.

jeff


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## the_noobinator (Jun 10, 2006)

the ADA tanks are actually a lot cheaper than i thought they would be. for some odd reason i never went to the ADG site because i thought they would be overpriced.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Azoo makes a 13 w light that's 20$ or so, clips on.

Would work just fine as well and grows HC.
Gloss and HC are fairly low light plants FYI. 

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Gomer (Aug 14, 2003)

You get a better look at the ADA light reflector in the catalog and I have seen teh azoo one. The ADA looks like it will have substantially less light losses do to restrike.

Also, the Azoo one looks cheese in comparison.
Many who buy ADA hardware do so with aesthetics in mind.


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## rkfiske (Sep 7, 2006)

Totally agree. There are countless lighting fixtures that would work great with this tank, but I really want that ADA light because of how well it fits with the tank. I also like that it's not sitting on legs on the tank and taht it can just be swung out of the way during maintenance. 

Thanks for the heads up plantbrain, I always assumed that glosso and HC were relatively high light requiring plants. Would they stay low to the substrate and relatively thick with that lighting scheme? Could I get away with just Excel for now? I eventually want to get a C02 system on this tank, but I was hoping I could postpone that initial cost for a little while.


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## SCMurphy (Oct 21, 2003)

HC loves Excel.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Ditto what Sean says!
Smaller nano tanks present a very real issue: too fast plant growth!
You have much less room to to work with and new growth tosses the little buggers out of whack.

So the slower growth w/o CO2 works well, Excel can or does not need to be added, althoughb HC does do much better with it.
Gloss is agressive enough to grow without CO2.

Both can be "grown in" with Excel, then you back off and the tanks tend to do well and require less maintenance.

As far as aesthetics, sure, ADA is nice, but I like the tanks I found for 1/10th the price and the Azoo lights do look pretty good.

I disagree the asethetics is worth the increase in cost in this particular case.
Here's a similar sized tank, actually even smaller, and it's no Excel nor CO2.

You decide, this is with the filter etc. Just a little trim was it. HC infested the filter. Ran for about 2 years. I have broken this one down and doing a HC rock scape with this tank now.

I'm doing no CO2/Excel methods with ADA As and HC, hope it works!

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## the_noobinator (Jun 10, 2006)

is that tank made by "Tom's"?


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## Gomer (Aug 14, 2003)

> I disagree the asethetics is worth the increase in cost in this particular case.


And that decision is purely up to the buyer  
That is why you don't own it and others will even after seeing the lower cost alternative.

I personally am happy with my finnex setup for $45+Shipping


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Tony, that looks pretty nice to me. =)

Might have to try my hand at a nano tank sometime. Gotta get these two tanks up and running first. =)


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Gomer said:


> And that decision is purely up to the buyer
> That is why you don't own it and others will even after seeing the lower cost alternative.
> 
> I personally am happy with my finnex setup for $45+Shipping


Where da plants? :icon_eek: 

Thanks for posting that, now you may want to provide a link cause I'm tired of folks pesting me for my tanks


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Gomer (Aug 14, 2003)

That is an ebay link to the tank picture. I don't have one of my tank (I planted last week).

To find the above tank, search "Finnex" on ebay and look for the 4g or 8g tank. If you dont see it, search Completed Items.

Contact the seller if there isn't an active auction and he will put one up for you. He works exclusively through ebay sales.


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## Luichenwai (May 16, 2006)

This is in regards to the ADA SOLAR MINI.
If I get this tank. Would the Coralife Aquallight 30" fit on top with the mounting legs?


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## trackhazard (Aug 24, 2006)

Luichenwai said:


> This is in regards to the ADA SOLAR MINI.
> If I get this tank. Would the Coralife Aquallight 30" fit on top with the mounting legs?


I believe the Solar Mini is the light fixture not the actual tank itself which is sold seperately.

-Charlie


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## Gomer (Aug 14, 2003)

The Solar MINI S and Soloar MINI M are indeed just the light fixture and base for the ADA tanks Cube Garden MINI S and Cube Garden MINI M


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

yeah yeah post tthe link~

The setup looks great!


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## Gomer (Aug 14, 2003)

fresh_newby said:


> yeah yeah post tthe link~
> 
> The setup looks great!


Check out my reply immediately below Tom's comment on a link .

I will note that the light is probably good for a low light tank. I wouldn't use it for stem plants, although it may work. I'm actually retrofitting that light fixture for a LED setup with the luxeon K2s


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

I have no issues growing anything with the 13 w Azoo, I'm sure there are other clip on brands, and DIY things, it's not hard to make and paint a popular wood box and toss and fixture inside and have it look nifty.

I use Current 40w above my 6 gal nano's but they are suspended.
Check out Ian's 120 cm ADa tank and DIY stuff they did, that's perfect except you make it smaller, one hanger etc.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Gomer (Aug 14, 2003)

The 13watt fixture in the picture above has a good mirror finish aluminum reflector in it...better than my experience with the azoos.


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## rkfiske (Sep 7, 2006)

Luichenwai-
A 30" fixture is far too large for the Cube Garden MINI M tank. That tank is like 14.17" long i believe and the MINI S is even smaller.

Tom-
Here's the link to the Finnex tank that's being sold at premium aquatics if you can't find one up on ebay. They also have the 4 gallon version there too. I was considering buying this tank awhile back too! the Finnex tanks are pretty cool, and a good value.


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## sukebe (Nov 6, 2004)

Gomer said:


> And that decision is purely up to the buyer
> That is why you don't own it and others will even after seeing the lower cost alternative.
> 
> I personally am happy with my finnex setup for $45+Shipping


Nice! 

Does the tank come like that without the plastic trim on the bottom or did you just remove it? The tank in this link looks like it has trim around the bottom.

If you removed it yourself, was it very involved?

TIA


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## Gomer (Aug 14, 2003)

Again, that picture is ebay linked. My tank has the trim and I just left it there.
I dont think it would be hard to remove the trim but since it is at the base and not the top, I don't mind.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Gomer said:


> Again, that picture is ebay linked. My tank has the trim and I just left it there.
> I dont think it would be hard to remove the trim but since it is at the base and not the top, I don't mind.


Those are cool little tanks/lights. So Finnex makes their own fixture? And this stuff is actually made in Chicago area, not somewhere in Asia?:thumbsup:


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