# ADA Mini-M: (Re)Source (or, Ugly Genius's Beautiful Stupidity)



## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

This tank began with a dry-start on October 7, 2015 and was filled fifty days later on November 27, 2015.

I chronicled with painstaking (some would argue unnecessary) regularity and meticulous (some would argue excruciating) detail in this thread here.

For new readers with no interest in slogging through fifteen or so pages of ramblings from some dude who calls himself "Ugly", the gist of that thread is this: We watched grass grow.

That was pretty much it. 

I'd throw in an anecdote here and there to help pass the time, but all the anecdotes in the world can't speed up or hide the fact that not all that much happened for almost two months.

And while the above summary pretty much covers _exactly_ what went down during that time (absolutely nothing!), you really _should_ read it because while I will do my best to fill in new readers on concepts and ideas from the old thread, some of the sh-t I say won't make a lick of sense out of context. 

That said, let's do this like Buddhists!








*The Tank*
ADA Mini-M (5.4 gallons) 

*Lighting 17W (LED)*
ADA Aquasky 361 

*CO2*
5lbs. tank equipped with a Green Leaf Aquarium Choice CO2 regulator (discontinued) to an Archaea Super CO2 diffuser (S size)

*Filtration*
Shiruba XB-305

*Heater*
Colbalt Neo-Therm 25W

*Substrate*
Aqua Soil Amazonia

*Hardscape*
Seiryu stone and ADA driftwood 

*Plants*
_Lilaeopsis nova_ 'mini' 
_Eleocharis_ 'belem'
_Elatine hydropiper_
_Microsorum_ 'Trident'
_Anubias nana_'Bonsai'
_Bolbitis heudelotii_
_Rotala_ 'H'ra'
_Rotala_ 'Green'
_Rotala_ 'Indica'
_Hemianthus micranthemoides_ 'Japanese'
_Taxiphyllum barbieri_ 'Amano'
_Hydrocotyle_ 'Japan'

*Fauna*
NA

The above photo was taken today and the tank's about 80% complete. (I do believe that the last 20% will make all the difference, but we'll have to wait and see that that becomes the case.)

There are a few things that I would change here or there, but for the most part, I'm happy with the result as I came close to what I had planned in my mind's eye.

And while I may have done well in the planning, the execution to get it here...now that is an entirely different story.

After filling the tank, I experienced a massive die off of the mini microsword carpet. 

It was catastrophic.

I was never able to determine the cause of the die-off of seventy-five percent of my carpet -- it was not, I am convinced, the transition from emersed to submersed growth; it was something else. (I suspect that the substrate went anaerobic, but I don't have anything to back that up with. Just what cops on TV call "a hunch".)

Even if I did determine the cause it would not have mattered all that much because I was then hit with another problem.

BGA.

Like many of you, I work. I'm away from the house between the hours of seven in the morning until about four-thirty in the afternoon. 

So if, say, the sun were to shine directly on my tanks between the hours of 1:30 PM and 3:30 PM, I would have no idea because I'm never there during that time.

And I don't know if any of you have put two and two together yet, but one of the key factors leading to an algae outbreak in your tank is light.

If you've got too much light with too much or too little of something else, you will get algae. 

It's a simple as that.

The decay on the substrate resulting from the die-off and the direct sunlight left uncorrected for several weeks left me with a wicked BGA outbreak that I'm still dealing with.

I was able to beat back much of the BGA, but after the die-off, that algae outbreak, and a couple of other problems with this tank, I was about ready to throw in the towel. "F-ck planted tanks! I'll take up kicking myself in the nuts as a more calming and rewarding hobby!"

The only thing keeping me from tearing down the tank was the fact that it would have been a pain in the ass to tear the tank down. So I just kept the tank running and didn't pay hardly any attention to it for several weeks.

Long story short, after correcting the sun issue, vacuuming up the substrate, and dialing in ferts, the tank's coming round.

Here it is close up.








Some of what's missing is the trident java fern in the center behind the hydrocotle is not yet big enough to notice and that should help give some structure to the dark void in the center and I'd like to get the 'H'ra' on the right-hand side to bush up a bit to give more red accents over there.

The moss needs a trim and I have to get the carpet to grow in more fully and the BGA beaten back completely.

At least I'll have something to do.

In the meantime, I kept tinkering with the Do!aqua cube that I had going.








Here, too, I had some problems in that I experienced a die-off of the EH, but I _think_ I determined the cause and, hopefully, corrected it.

A week or so ago, I added some Cyrpt parva 'mini' that I got from Shaman here on the SnS and while I haven't had the plant all that long, I can say that I love this thing. It's so small! If you're in the market for a cool very small crypt, hit up Shaman for some. Cool stuff.

Anyway, for those of you wondering what ever happened to (Re)Source, now you know.

It's still going.

Guess who's back,
Ugly


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## LRJ (Jul 31, 2014)

Ugly Genius said:


> I'll take up kicking myself in the nuts as a more calming and rewarding hobby!"


:icon_lol: too funny!

Glad to see you stuck with it and the tank still kicking. It's looking awesome!


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## locus (May 13, 2003)

Looks like it was worth all the blood, sweat and tears. Feels good when you start to win the battle.

How many hours per day do you have the aquasky on for? They are pretty strong little lights!


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## Nooob (Oct 25, 2009)

Looks awesome!
I really want some of the Lilaeopsis nova 'mini' where did you get it from? I can't seem to find it anywhere.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Ugly has returned, thank the stars


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Opare said:


> Ugly has returned, thank the stars
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I was beginning to worried. All is right in the world again.


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## amphirion (Nov 13, 2008)

was wondering where you went. glad to see the progress! everything looking good!


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Thanks, *LRJ*! Don't get me wrong, I haven't given up on the idea of kicking myself in the nuts over dealing with planted tank heartbreak, I just haven't figured out exactly how to kick myself in the nuts is all.

Thanks, *locus*! But believe you me, I've got a long way to beat the battle. It'll probably be another month until things are fully under control.
You're right; the Aquasky is very bright. I don't see how anyone could possibly need the Aquasky Moon at 1.5 the brightness. This one's almost too bright as is.
I've got the light on for eight hours. I started at six hours and then bumped up to eight after a couple of weeks.

Thanks, *Nooob*. I got it from Aquatic Mag. It was pricy, but it's a really nice carpet in that it's neat-growing and does so relatively slowly. It's my favorite carpet plant for those reasons alone. (If you have trouble finding it, hit me up in a few months and I'll send you some.)

Hey *Opare*, *punk*, and *amp*. Yep, I'm back. I never left, though. I was just busy reading everyone else's posts.

I also got heavily into _Bloodborne_'s new DLC. Off the chain! Love that game and the DLC just made it all the better. (Funny thing is I do not find that game [or _Dark Souls_] -- so well-known for being frustratingly difficult -- even close to as frustrating as planted tanks can be. Compared to the sh-t my tanks sometimes put me through, _Bloodborne_ tickles.)

Nothing new to report on tank front. I did a small trim on the lawn and that made it look a little neater, but other than that, it looks pretty much the same.
Oh, I also added a few more stems of 'H'ra' on the right, but you wouldn't notice if I showed you so I won't bother posting a photo.

Next week I'm going to Hawaii for a few days, and after I get back, I may end up adding some shrimp to this tank. Right now I don't trust the tank enough as I'm not 100% convinced the water's all that safe on account of it being a carpet death trap and all. If after that time things have simmered down, I'll add some RCS that have breed in my Mini-S nursery. (I'm very proud of this fact, by the way. I have a lot of confidence in my ability to grow pretty much any plant that I want, but I suck terribly with livestock. The fact that my shrimp have not died, let alone had kids, is a huge accomplishment for me. Do you remember the first time you got Glosso to carpet or got your tank pearling after CO2 injection? Yeah, that's how I feel about having bred RCS. It may not be all that hard for everyone else, but for me, it's monumental!)

Anyway, tomorrow I plan on trimming the moss of the driftwood -- time permitting -- and I'll post photos afterwards.

Keep on keeping on,
Ugly


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## Nooob (Oct 25, 2009)

You have to go to visit Aquascapes while in Hawaii! They carry all sorts of rare plants. That's where I picked up all the plants for my Do!Aqua cube a couple of years back.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

From a couple of rocks and some dying grass... to this!! 
You've done it again UG. Despite some challenges, looks like everything is coming around again. 

Also despite being fairly young the tank does look quite mature and should fill in very nicely coming soon... Makes me think of wanting to rescape my own Mini M (it is low tech though...).


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Dude, you are the reason I got into planted tanks years ago. Your tank "riverrun" circa summer 2009 was the tank that made me go planted. I had always just used basic Petsmart/Petco plants until then. I've had anywhere from 1-6 tanks running since then and have been chasing that perfect Iwagumi ever since that tank! I've been growing such an absurd amount of algae ever since!!! If you still have those rocks, I would buy them in a heartbeat!!

Glad to see you are back in the game after such a long absence.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

any update?


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