# CmLaracy's 75P ADA II



## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

Here we go, official round two! 

Planted this yesterday, hope you like! Just a note, I'll be filling in the back with a wall of Eleocharis vivipara on friday. For those who don't know, it's a very delicate looking grass plant that can grow essentially as long as you let it. I'll be letting it drape over the top to give the anubias some shade.

Running a mere 3 hour photoperiod to start. Trying out Green Bacter and Bacter 100 to help the cycle, lets see if it works. The filter is essentially cycled already, as it came from a fully cycled tank. I'm hoping the cycle won't last longer than a week or so, but you can never say for sure with ADA AS.

I just want to give a HUGE thanks to Glenn McCreedy, he's a mod here by the name of Gmccreedy. He provided me with nearly all the plants necessary to plant this tank and I really think he deserves some credit  Thanks Glenn

On to the photos, there's lots, with more to come on friday (setup shots were taken with my phone, final shots were taken with my camera)


Here's a lil ADA swagger, nothin much











Laying down the Powersand Special S (2 liters)











Putting down the Bacter 100











ADA AS, 18L











Some Yamaya Stones











The first bit of planting, also with the wood











From the top











Adding some Anubias (thanks Glenn!)











Detailed shot (didn't think my phone could take a shot of this quality)











From the front again











Anubias from the side











Up top, from the side











With water now!











FTS











Anubias action











From up top











From the side











And waaaayyy back for the finale











Hope you enjoyed! Will be updating on friday with the background actually filled in. I hate posting this with an empty background, but I couldn't help myself


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## iantan05 (Aug 24, 2008)

Nice, very professional looking. can't wait for the vivpara to be planted and the plants to fill in =D


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## Jdinh04 (Mar 15, 2004)

Very nice setup. Did you intentionally want to plant the foreground so thick? Hope it turns out the way you like it.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

looks great chris!

you really spammed the pics. WOW! i had to refresh to get them all. first time my comp just gave up halfway through and cut the connection.
uploading all those mustve been annoying.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i like all the pics  it looks great! and talk about an instant carpet


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

very nice!!! you gonan add something to the back? a tall big narrow/needle leaf java fern?


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

iantan05 said:


> Nice, very professional looking. can't wait for the vivpara to be planted and the plants to fill in =D


Me too, I love the plant



Jdinh04 said:


> Very nice setup. Did you intentionally want to plant the foreground so thick? Hope it turns out the way you like it.


Yeah, I wanted to start thick cause it's a slow grower



@[email protected] said:


> looks great chris!
> 
> you really spammed the pics. WOW! i had to refresh to get them all. first time my comp just gave up halfway through and cut the connection.
> uploading all those mustve been annoying.


LOL, I took pics along the way, and posted the ones I thought were worthy of posting hehe.



chris127 said:


> i like all the pics  it looks great! and talk about an instant carpet


I hope so!



fishman9809 said:


> very nice!!! you gonan add something to the back? a tall big narrow/needle leaf java fern?


Eleocharis vivipara


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Looks great Chris. Hope it works out for you this time.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Wow that looks great.

So you planted everything without water first? Do you spray the plants to keep them wet?

Would you do the same when planting tall stems?


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

lovin the Anubias. That diffuser is slick! Is it all glass to the back where it meets the tubing?
Good luck with this one.


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

gmccreedy said:


> Looks great Chris. Hope it works out for you this time.


Thanks Glenn



Down_Shift said:


> Wow that looks great.
> 
> So you planted everything without water first? Do you spray the plants to keep them wet?
> 
> Would you do the same when planting tall stems?


Everything without water. I sprayed them when they started to look a little dry. I also use the same method with stems :thumbsup:



mott said:


> lovin the Anubias. That diffuser is slick! Is it all glass to the back where it meets the tubing?
> Good luck with this one.


Thanks, they're basically all Glenn's!

It is. I have a lot of these 24" glass tubes that are the same thickness as the diffuser stem. I bend them over the stove. I have this one going up from the diffuser, hooking up and over the side of the tank, then turning and running towards the back where it meets the tubing :thumbsup:


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

you must have spent a load on all that ADA glassware. 
it looks amazing, but how often do you have to clean it?
thats what i love about eheims green stuff, algae arent visible. id think algae would love to grow on the glass.


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

@[email protected] said:


> you must have spent a load on all that ADA glassware.
> it looks amazing, but how often do you have to clean it?
> thats what i love about eheims green stuff, algae arent visible. id think algae would love to grow on the glass.


The only glass ADA piece in there is the diffuser. The glass pipes I bought for $7 a lbs (over 40 rods), and the lily pipes are CalAqua Labs, great pipes. The drop checker is also CalAqua :thumbsup:


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

thats cheating.
lol


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

Beautiful start and good luck on round two.

Nice clean look on those bent glass rods as well. How hard is that to do? (I may be stealing that trick myself...lol)


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

jinx© said:


> Beautiful start and good luck on round two.
> 
> Nice clean look on those bent glass rods as well. How hard is that to do? (I may be stealing that trick myself...lol)


Not very hard at all. As long as you have a gas stove 

You can really only buy them in bulk anyway (it's also the cheapest) so there's not big deal if you mess a few up. I have tons of them lying around now, but I've probably used over 10. They really look so much better than tubing, and they're dirt cheap! :thumbsup:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Nice. Glad to see you not giving up.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Looks really nice, chris- nice and clean setup. :thumbsup:

Sorry if I missed it somewhere; is that E. tenellus in the foreground?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Tank looks great. Where did you get those glass tubes from and how do you bend them with out closing them up?


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

lauraleellbp said:


> Looks really nice, chris- nice and clean setup. :thumbsup:
> 
> Sorry if I missed it somewhere; is that E. tenellus in the foreground?


Thanks, it's actually Lilaeopsis brasiliensis. If I started with that much E. tenellus the tank would be completely full of it in a week lol




> Tank looks great. Where did you get those glass tubes from and how do you bend them with out closing them up?


bsmith - I got them off a science lab supply website, something like $7 for a pound. If you bend them slowly over a blue flame they wont close up until you hit some wicked acute angles. When the blue flame starts coming off of the tubes yellow, that means it's burning and melting the Na in the glass, which is your cue to start applying some bending pressure. As long as the flame is blue you can't actually leave burn marks. The longer it's under the firs the more polished it becomes. Also, the ends can be quite sharp, so you can just fire polish them real quick. It's all easy work, but I can almost guarantee some NASTY burns, the glass gets so hot it's unbelievable. I still have scars...


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

CmLaracy said:


> bsmith - I got them off a science lab supply website, something like $7 for a pound. If you bend them slowly over a blue flame they wont close up until you hit some wicked acute angles. When the blue flame starts coming off of the tubes yellow, that means it's burning and melting the Na in the glass, which is your cue to start applying some bending pressure. As long as the flame is blue you can't actually leave burn marks. The longer it's under the firs the more polished it becomes. Also, the ends can be quite sharp, so you can just fire polish them real quick. It's all easy work, but I can almost guarantee some NASTY burns, the glass gets so hot it's unbelievable. I still have scars...


(*excuse the slight threadjack* It's a bad idea, Nick... I can see you thinking it...:icon_eek


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

CmLaracy said:


> Thanks, it's actually Lilaeopsis brasiliensis. If I started with that much E. tenellus the tank would be completely full of it in a week lol
> 
> 
> 
> ...



that's very bad ass


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Looking good bro! Glad to see that tank full again!


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> (*excuse the slight threadjack* It's a bad idea, Nick... I can see you thinking it...:icon_eek


i dont have a gas stove 

i always have loved ur hardscaping skillz Cm, great job on the hardscape, i forgot to mention.


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## Jens (Apr 21, 2006)

Great setup. Glenn's emersed Anubiuas do look nice indeed  

Great job on the glass bending! Did you use anything to get the nice round bends??


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

Really nice work there, and great glass bending. i can't wait to see the Eleocharis vivipara grow in.

(not to hijack, but fishman if you have a propane torch for sweating copper pipes, that will work).


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Hair grass on the way.
Weird, this species is all over Florida.
Grows in flowing water only.

Never seen it in still waters or lakes.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

fishman9809 said:


> i dont have a gas stove
> 
> i always have loved ur hardscaping skillz Cm, great job on the hardscape, i forgot to mention.


Thanks Fish, it's all in the practice and patience. You really gotta THINK roud:



Jens said:


> Great setup. Glenn's emersed Anubiuas do look nice indeed
> 
> Great job on the glass bending! Did you use anything to get the nice round bends??


They're the best anubias I've ever come across, he did an outstanding job growing them 

Thanks Jens! Didn't use anything, just my hands. It's actually quite easy. Just a little bit of patience and some precise pressure. It helps quite a bit that I have enough that I can just throw any out that I mess up on 



tazcrash69 said:


> Really nice work there, and great glass bending. i can't wait to see the Eleocharis vivipara grow in.
> 
> (not to hijack, but fishman if you have a propane torch for sweating copper pipes, that will work).


Thanks. I can't either, I'm sick of looking at a blank black background. I'm going to be letting the viv hang over the surface to give the anubias some shade, and until then the photoperiod is stuck at 3 hours. Doesn't give me much time to watch it 

I'll bump it up to 4 hours once the vivipara is fully draping over the surface



plantbrain said:


> Hair grass on the way.
> Weird, this species is all over Florida.
> Grows in flowing water only.
> 
> ...


Awesome Tom, you're a life saver. I can't get this plant anywhere right now.

Funny that you mention the whole flow thing. The first time I grew this stuff it was in a steady and consistent flow that made it lean to the right, I couldn't keep up with the stuff. I'd trim it 6" back, then a week later it'd be all the way back to what it was and then some. Another time, I placed it in an area with very little flow, it slowly rotted! 

It seems to me like most tall plants like flow (Cyperus helferi to name another). Which is probably why they evolved to grow tall, so they can catch the flow and be easily moved by it.

Thanks again Tom roud:


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## dthb4438 (Nov 12, 2007)

I found my Lilaeopsis brasiliensis growing very fast in the ADA. I had to start pulling them out and throwing them away or selling them after 6 weeks it was going so fast. It's amazing how enriched this substrate is.

Very nice tank and pipes. Very nice.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

I've gotta say, your glass tubing inspired me! I made a few ADA style "Joint Glass" tubes to replace the silicone tubing on my 60-P and Finnex! I actually made them out of scrap borosilicate tubing at work on my lunch hour. Easy-Peasy! Just remember to use heavy leather gloves and wear eye protection! A propane torch is better than a stove!!!


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

dthb4438 said:


> I found my Lilaeopsis brasiliensis growing very fast in the ADA. I had to start pulling them out and throwing them away or selling them after 6 weeks it was going so fast. It's amazing how enriched this substrate is.
> 
> Very nice tank and pipes. Very nice.



I tried talking him into hairgrass but he wouldn't budge!


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

I have Lilaeopsis brasilensis growing emersed of my 20L! Some got to at least 6" in my 60-P...


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

So, how 'bout some of those new pics?


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## kacourt (Jan 13, 2009)

This looks amazing! I am in the planning stages of a planted tank and love looking at all these in-the process pics. Thanks for sharing!


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Chris, want some Rummy Nose? Hint hint...


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

any updates?


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

Very nicely done..


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

Sorry to just abandon you guys, life took some turns. Winter's coming and I'm thinking it's time to brush off the scapin skills.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Life is funny that way 

Glad to see you back, dude :thumbsup:


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

roybot73 said:


> Life is funny that way
> 
> Glad to see you back, dude :thumbsup:


how are the tanks comin bro?

I'm debating whether I should try it again with the MH or switch to a less volitile T5. I had a tough time handling the MH after the first go round.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Well, check the last few pages of the 60-P thread... Almost disastrous. 20L is coming down after the 60-P is fully cycled. One tank is more than enough, and life is too busy these days for the MH tightrope - T5's man. T5's 

Winter is the perfect time to get back into it. Keeps you from going crazy!

Is your tank running at all? Fish only?


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Wow, Chris! Your alive! Good to see you around man.

From what I remember, you had great success when you started off with the small T5 fixture for the initial startup, then ramped up to the MH. Your first setup was incredible. You struggled with the second, but I actually think you weren't really "struggling" as much as you kind of lucked out a bit on the first go.

Your layout for the second one was really nice. Had alot of character. Would be interesting to see what you come up with!


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

gmccreedy said:


> Wow, Chris! Your alive! Good to see you around man.
> 
> From what I remember, you had great success when you started off with the small T5 fixture for the initial startup, then ramped up to the MH. Your first setup was incredible. You struggled with the second, but I actually think you weren't really "struggling" as much as you kind of lucked out a bit on the first go.
> 
> Your layout for the second one was really nice. Had alot of character. Would be interesting to see what you come up with!


Hey Glenn, it's been a bit!

I realize that I did luck out a bit on the first set up. The first one started with 2x65 pc with 2x16 T5. The pc was very dull light, and the T5 just didn't have the wattage or coverage, so the light was much meaker than the wpg. I wish I still had the two fixtures, I'd start with them and move to the MH.

I'll probably raise the MH to the point where it's as meager as the T5 PC combo. Also, the ADA bulbs put out a lot less light than most MHs so I'll stick with it the whole time instead of the 10k that came with the fixture.

I already have the supplies and hardscape materials. All I need is plants and fancy dirt. I'll probably get a couple more Yamaya stones and black wood during that shipment to add to the ones I used last time, I have quite a cool idea floating around up there and it's gonna require a lot of hardscape. I won't be deciding on flaura until the hardscape is in place. No fish this time around hold for a handfull of ottos, sae's, and a bunch of amanos.

How's the bowfront coming?


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

CmLaracy said:


> How's the bowfront coming?


Its there. Not really "flourishing" but giving good ideas for the big movement soon. I have tanks all over still just harvesting plants and fish. I am almost done with stuff in the house. Should be rolling in the 75 gallon and the 72 gallon combo soon. Have all kinds of ideas and about 150 bucks worth of DW sitting here. All the tools are there... just need to pull the trigger one of these days.


I I actually have your T5 fixture! Remember?? I am actually using it now for my little cichlid tank, and it works perfect.

I like your idea about raising the MH. Give it a shot.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Sweet, man. I'm glad you're not dead  lol


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hey it's great to see you back here again!


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

CL said:


> Sweet, man. I'm glad you're not dead  lol





hydrophyte said:


> Hey it's great to see you back here again!


thanks guys , it's good to be back.

glenn- good to see the house is coming together for you! Last I saw was some serious renovation. Do tell on the 75 gallon, all news to me. Glad the T5's helpin you out!


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## newbieplanter (Jan 13, 2013)

Down_Shift said:


> Wow that looks great.
> 
> So you planted everything without water first? Do you spray the plants to keep them wet?
> 
> Would you do the same when planting tall stems?


That's a bad a-- ride there.


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