# First Planted Tank: ADA 60H inspired by El Natural method



## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Started Planning for the tank since Dec 2012. Finally decided to make a Journal to record the progress here.

12-30-2012

I have been reading about El Natural for a while and finally decided to setup my first tank. (Christmas Bonus certainly helped







)

I am gathering all the materials and so far i have the following:

ADA 60H (24"W x 12"D x 18"H)
Ray 2 7000k LED light
Eheim 2211 filter for water flow
DIYing a ADA wood stand, in the process of sanding it.
MG Organic Choice Potting Soil
Eco-Complete on top of the soil (like the black color)
Found a nice looking driftwood somewhere in Everglades. I'll probably place it like the photo below:


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

1-1-2013

Started my first day of wet-drying the MGOC, I will take it slow and easy..
Just sanded and sprayed the waterproof seal to my DIY ADA stand, here is a pic:








Can't do much about the fish tank until the stand is ready 

2-19-2013

Finally finished the stand!
I have been working on the MGOC more than a month. However it is still forming smelly bubble to the water surface. I am gonna use it anyway...


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## cephelix (Apr 8, 2013)

very nice work on the stand.
always intrigued with the el natural method..
excited to see how things turn out....


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

3-1-2013
The tank is up!









3-5-2013
White mold started show up on my driftwood...









3-12-2013
Water quality was bad... even black mold showed up on the wood... time to redo the tank!
photo before taking it down









Planted glosso on the soil while the driftwood is being scrubbed, boiled and baked.
(later noted: having some glosso in a bunch was not a good idea...)


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

cephelix said:


> very nice work on the stand.
> always intrigued with the el natural method..
> excited to see how things turn out....


Thanks! As of today my tank is in a good condition i think. Only has a little green spot algae and green hair algae. Water parameters have been good. Thinking of mixing some DIY CO2 into the El Natural method to see what will happen.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

3-17-2013
Put back the driftwood into the tank along with some java moss, Christmas moss and giant hair grass. Added two Amano Shrimps to help keep the tank clean.









3-19-2013
Added Madagascar Lace and Hungarian sword, 2 guppies, 2 neon tetra(1 got eaten to the bone the next morning...), 2 otos, 8 fire red shrimps and 6 CRS. Bubbles popped out from the soil once a while. I started poking the soil with a stick everyday. The Stainless Steel intake guard is so ugly in the tank so I took it out.









3-25-2013
One more neon tetra and a guppy died. Tested water and nitrite was like .25ppm. Did 25% water change. Two days later the guppy killed 1 of my CRS so I moved him away from this tank. Added java fern, anacharis, dwarf penny wort and wendtii sword.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

3-30-2013
Now I have in total 5 clown killifishs & 4 Amano shrimps. The tank started to have green spot algae on the glass. I just scrubbed the tank, cleaned the filter and did a 40% water change. To reduce the protein film I made a DIY skimmer for my lily pipe.









4-3-2013
The Anacharis and Madagascar Lace have been growing nicely.
Added Ludwigia Sp Red, a short version of unknown red sword plant, and Subwassertang.


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## FlipsideJohn (Apr 8, 2013)

where did you get that driftwood piece?! I love it


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

4-14-2013
My clown killifish spawned on Sunday morning! I felt like a proud daddy!
WOW, Purigen made a big difference to the water, my tank is so clear!
Took out frogbit for my first RAOK. I am still deciding how much I should add back to the tank. Added few plants but I have to identify their names... I have in total 22 kinds of plants now, I think my plant collecting addiction can stop for now.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

FlipsideJohn said:


> where did you get that driftwood piece?! I love it


Thanks! It was found on a remote island somewhere in Everglades. My friend said it could has been laying there for over 10 years already!


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## FlipsideJohn (Apr 8, 2013)

wow that was a great find! lucky you


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## starfire12 (Aug 13, 2009)

Looking great. I like the looks of the left side of the tank, nice choice of plants. The right side is ok, I would remove the really tall plant and add some more of the red plant in the back right corner.


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## tizzite (Mar 28, 2010)

I like it. Very clean, cool plants, very nice driftwood.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

starfire12 said:


> Looking great. I like the looks of the left side of the tank, nice choice of plants. The right side is ok, I would remove the really tall plant and add some more of the red plant in the back right corner.


Thanks! For the right side i am waiting for the Madagascar Lace to grow more to become the focal point. My mrs. Might want to add some crabs, so I am keeping the anacharis super long in case she picks crabs that need air from above water. Adding some red sounds nice too, I may consider that.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Came back from a 1 week vacation and the right side of the tank is out of control. Decided to do a tank makeover.
Before








After








During the makeover I finally was able to count all the shrimps. Only 2 out of 9 CRS survived :-(, RCS, pumpkin, snow and CBS are all doing fine... My clown killifish must love CRS for their taste?


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

2nd attempt on carpet. This time with Marsilea Minuta. Also changed some background plants, added red root floaters and added some yellow shrimps.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Long due update. Finally the plants are getting denser, and for the first time my shrimps are having babies!


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

Wow! That think is filling in thick! It looks great. Don't be afraid to trim it though.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Thanks! For some reason every time I trim the plants some shrimps die! I am waiting for my new tank project to be ready to house the shrimps before I trim this tank.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Long Due trimming ended up redid the whole tank! I adjusted the layout a bit try to showcase the Madagascar lance.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

The wood is swamp cedar.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

After 8 months I finally know what kind of wood it is! Thank you Tom for pointing it out, I am honor! :icon_mrgr


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## A.D.D.i.c.t. (Dec 9, 2012)

The most recent rescape looks fantastic! The bushy overgrown look was nice, but you certainly achieved your goal showing off the madagascar.


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## Greenz (Aug 27, 2013)

Beautiful tank and that driftwood is amazing. What are you using for Co2


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

That red plant looks very red. I have not been very lucky with getting red colors in plants. Maybe I should try that one and see what happens. What is its name so that I can try to find it?


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

The tall one on the left is Ludwigia sp Red. It's pretty easy to grow and doesn't require a crazy amount of light to stay red. If you fertilize, have higher light, use CO2, and have good substrate, it grows like crazy. Mine basically doubles in mass in a week in my tank, so I'm removing 50% of it weekly.

The short one in front of it kind of looks like a stem of alternanthera reineckii mini, but it's hard to tell.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Is that the same as ludwigia repens?? I always get confused with those ludwigias, there are so many different species.


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

Chizpa305 said:


> Is that the same as ludwigia repens?? I always get confused with those ludwigias, there are so many different species.


Nope, not the same. Ludwigia sp. Red doesn't have any other names that I know of. I'll be getting rid of some on Sunday. PM me if you are interested.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

The plants are growing well, time for a trimming again!

Went to visit a local planted tank fellow. His tanks are awesome! So many beautiful tanks, so many beautiful plants! I added the three different kinds of free plants he gave me. At the front left corner next to the red plant you can see a kind of green crypt, 2 stems of "Christmas tree looking thing". Also at the center behind the wood you can see the "stem with long, narrow leaves that will turn brown under water"... Of cause I can't remember a single plant name as usual :biggrin:.



















A.D.D.i.c.t. said:


> The most recent rescape looks fantastic! The bushy overgrown look was nice, but you certainly achieved your goal showing off the madagascar.


Thanks A.D.D.i.c.t.! yeah finally the Madagascar Lance has space to grow. I used to just bury it in the back behind everything.



Greenz said:


> Beautiful tank and that driftwood is amazing. What are you using for Co2


I am using an Ebay DIY co2 set "Pro DIY CO2 system with pressure guage and check value D301". Highly recommend it. Instead of yeast and sugar this system use Citric acid, vinegar and baking soda. The setup is easy and it is less messy compare to the yeast/sugar combo. One mix can last up to 4-5 weeks for 2-3 bps.



Chizpa305 said:


> That red plant looks very red. I have not been very lucky with getting red colors in plants. Maybe I should try that one and see what happens. What is its name so that I can try to find it?


The tall one is indeed Ludwigia sp Red. And I forgot the name of the shorter one in front. I just trimmed the tank and have a little bit of everything flowing in my shrimp racks. If you want to try it out you are welcome to come pick it up, since you are in Miami too.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Some close ups of the new additions to the tank.


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## tetra10 (Aug 5, 2012)

how are you liking the ray2? hows the power output?


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Ray 2's power output is fine. My 18" height tank is getting enough light to grow everything I throw in it. The color looks a bit washout through. That's why I end up adding a monster ray for the red plants.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Very nice, I'm getting the itch for a 60h now.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

xmas_one said:


> Very nice, I'm getting the itch for a 60h now.


60H is good if you like stems and want more space for the fish 😄


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## Matsnork (Jun 3, 2013)

Very nice tank. The diy cabinet looks really good also! Did you use laminate or paint?


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Matsnork said:


> Very nice tank. The diy cabinet looks really good also! Did you use laminate or paint?


Laminate. I don't have the good skill to paint smoothly.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Your tank is quite stunning!


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Thanks!
Just did a big trimming. Removed Ludwigia Sunset, Botala and an unknown plant so that I have room at the middle left backgound to move the Madagascar Lance to. Cutted a sandwich bag of moss too!









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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

The DIY co2 bottle leaked and made some mess inside the cabinet! I think it's meant to be for ne to stick with the original low tech El Natural setup, so no more co2. By the way the Neos are so happy that they are multiplying.









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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Just cleaned the glass...









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## harilp (Feb 23, 2013)

Awesome wood!!

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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

harilp said:


> Awesome wood!!
> 
> Sent from my Blackberry Playbook using Tapatalk2


Thanks!

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## jmf3460 (Aug 21, 2013)

harilp said:


> Awesome wood!!


that's what she said...sorry couldn't help it


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Love it!


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## thebuddha (Jul 16, 2012)

anyone know what this "christmas tree looking thing" plant is? i have never seen it before.


usgetata, beautiful tank man!


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Thanks thebuddha! The "Christmas tree" later grew bigger and changed to greener body and orange tip. I removed it from my tank in the last rescape. Never found out the name though.

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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

The moss on the wood is out of control so i took it all off. Plus removed many hairgrass runner.


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## loriinpd (Jun 30, 2014)

usgetata said:


> 1-1-2013
> 
> Started my first day of wet-drying the MGOC, I will take it slow and easy..
> Just sanded and sprayed the waterproof seal to my DIY ADA stand, here is a pic:
> ...





usgetata said:


> Started Planning for the tank since Dec 2012. Finally decided to make a Journal to record the progress here.
> 
> 12-30-2012
> 
> ...


Can you go into more detail as to how your prepared the MGOPS before you added it to the tank?.


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

The Christmas tree looking plant could be Mermaid Weed (Proserpinaca palustris). It's capable of radical changes in color and leaf shape. Under low light can be deep green, with oblong, serrated leaves. Under high light/CO2 it it turns bright reddish brown with very spikey leaves.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

loriinpd said:


> Can you go into more detail as to how your prepared the MGOPS before you added it to the tank?.


Please have a good read at the following link, it explain how to prepare the soil fou your need:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/84918-suitable-soils-walstad-method.html


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