# New ADA Mini-M setup



## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Awesome, gotta love the Mini M. Lets see those pics.


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## Blue_Ram (Sep 6, 2010)

Nice equipment you purchased. Now let's see som pictures of your possible 'scapes. BTW Don't order those shrimp for a while or at least you know your bio filteration is established.


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## Ben. (Mar 29, 2011)

Blue_Ram said:


> Nice equipment you purchased. Now let's see som pictures of your possible 'scapes. BTW Don't order those shrimp for a while or at least you know your bio filteration is established.


+1 :thumbsup: 

oh and pics please


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

haha could anybody tell me how to get pics on here? ive never posted on the forum before.

yeah my friend offered to have shipped to him and he will take care of them for me.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

www.photobucket.com
make an account, upload pics, copy image code, paste here.


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

Layouts:
1)








2)








3)








4)








5)








6)








7)









Layouts 6 & 7 are the same just one has the light on it because i had just gotten my light in that day. 6/7 is my favorite one so far. i welcome any and all comments on my scapes


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

I like 2,4, 6


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## Blice (Mar 7, 2011)

I like 6 and 7 minus the slope in the front right.


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

thanks for the feedback guys, i will keep playing around with more formations and post the pics for yall to see.
i am hoping t0 plant in the next 2 weeks. i will post pics of that as the carpet grows in. thank you again


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

got my crystal reds in, and im planting my tank this wknd. currently my friend is holding the shrimp for me in his tank.


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## forrestp38829 (Nov 17, 2010)

I really like the second to last one. Did you get any larger stones? Great so far.


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## HexOmega (Apr 7, 2011)

I would go with 4


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

newest scape


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Although the final scape looks good, I suggest you group the stones together a bit more rather than spacing them out at equal distances. It'll look much more natural this way.

Also, if you can, get another stone that's at least twice the size of these ones to act as a focal point. Larger stones throughout would also look good. I'm a fan of larger stones but fewer in numbers. Keep in mind that once the HC fills in, the bottom 1-1.5" of the stones will disappear. With small stones like these, it'll all resemble the size of pebbles.


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

that is a good point. i was going for Amano's style of many rocks on a mountain side compared to the traditional 3 rock iwagumi style. I was partial to the traditional iwagumi style because of the simplicity of it; however, they rocks i purchased didnt support that style. My focal point stone was large enough, but the other two accent stones did not do the job the were supposed to so i opted for the mountain side scape. And I would like to add more stones but the rules of iwagumi say to have an odd numbers of stones so one side becomes the focal point instead of the sides being symmetrical, and I am afraid if i add 2 more stones my scape will look to crowded. i may have to just make another scape or find some more stone.


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## newportjon (Mar 22, 2011)

It's looking good!


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

I finally got to plant my tank this weekend. I planted both HC and UG, Ill post pics later today.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Cool, looking forward to pics.


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## youjettisonme (Dec 24, 2010)

I have to agree that this scape is lacking a focal point rock. You can do a "mountain scape", but you'd probably have to have a lot more rocks to pull that off. In an iwagumi, at least one of those rocks should be twice the size of any of the others. Otherwise, you can group many rocks closer together to lend that illusion. 


Basically, the scape will lack enough contrast, and to make up for it you will have to be an even greater artisan with your planting. Absolutely possible, for sure, but you make future aquascaping tasks more difficult. 

For your scape, I could definitely see your rocks becoming secondary to your plants over time. HC and especially UG is no guaranteed success for anyone, and it's usually when one or both start to falter that you'd end up transforming your simple iwagumi into something else. Just something to consider for the future.


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

Just a little tip,

make use of your space! You have a large tank relative to HC. If you small rocks, then you give the impression of disorganization; you need a large rock and several medium sized rocks to act as a focal point. (Sure three rock scapes are good but they're hard to master)

Slope makes a tank look way bigger than it is also. My Mini-S has a 5 1/2 inch slope in the back; it looks bigger because of this.

I like where this is going! Good luck!


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

since i have it planted already is it too late to try and change the scape up? 
thank you for yalls advice, this is my first planted tank and i still have a lot to learn.


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

This is 2 days after being planted, i am running about 9 hours of light per day


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

More pics taken from head on:


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## DetMich (Mar 18, 2011)

I'm curious how you saran wrapped the top of your tank with your Archaea 27w. I have the 36W version but having a hard time keeping the tank air tight due to the clips on the side.

Good start so far. It should fill in nicely in the upcoming weeks.


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

i wrapped two extra pieces around the parts that were not air tight. i had trouble too because of the clip on feature but i just cut two pieces to make sure it could seal in the moisture.

and thank you, i am really anxious to see how the ug does. but cant wait to see some progess


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

be patient with ug. Its gunna be a week or two.


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

it is day 5 of my dry start, i am sorry to keep asking so many questions but do i need to keep spraying the aquasoil or will it stay pretty damp on its own? 
and I am curious on fertilizer, i have the do!aqua Be bright (one cap full diluted in 500 ml of distilled water), how often should i fertilize the HC?


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

You need to keep the water level slightly lower than the surface of the soil. I stopped spraying because it was getting all over the glass, drying and leaving marks on the glass. Then I would have to clean the glass every once in a while. Now I pour water onto a rock until I see the water level reach the surface in the lower spots. You want the substrate/roots wet and leaves of the UG dry. Its ok if the leaves are wet. Just focus on the water level, keep it just below the substate.

Using ferts in the dry start is argued both ways. Since i'm using aquasoil I am using no ferts in the water, just dechlorinated water.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Lightly mist the plants once or twice a day with dechlorinated water. Fertilizer isn't necessary. Make sure you cover the top with a saran wrap to keep humidity levels high.

Also up your light period to 12-14 hours a day.


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

Thank you for the advice, I appreciate the help.

I have also changed up my scape a bit, added 2 more stones. Here is some pictures taken an hour ago:


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

Here is my tank exactly one week after planting:










and here was day one


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

Just an update, I am 2.5 weeks in my DSM and have had some nice growth:

here was day one:









This picture was taken yesterday


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## tab51 (Jan 17, 2011)

I filled in my tank about 2.5 weeks ago, HC is still growing very well; however, my UG is not doing so hot. It's developed some blue green algae within a few days and I had a heck of a time tryin to clear it up. I finally got rid of it, but my UG still looks very sickly. I changed my scape up a bit because the HC was starting to cover up some of the rocks. I have about 7 crystal reds and around 5 cherries that team together with 1 oto to battle algae. I run 1-2 bps (8 hrs/day) and have a photo period of 8 hours. I am doing daily water changes daily of 30-40% and dose beBright after each water change, I will try to post pictures later in the day. Any input on improvements would be greatly appreciated.


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## sampster5000 (Oct 30, 2010)

Good first start! Like I said earlier, try to cut back on so many water changes and ferts. Give the plants some time to suck up the nutrients. Enjoy the extra cherries!


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

lets see some pics, sounds cool.


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