# Marimo's ADA Mini S (LED)



## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

First thanks to John Ciotti for this unique set up. 
Equipement 
ADA Mini S
ADA Mini S solar light upgraded with 8k LEDS
ADA Aquasoil Amazonia Type I regular and fine
ADA tourmaline BC
ADA Bacter
ADA power sand
Pressurized Paintball CO2
Filter to be determined. I have HOB, zoomed 501, or eheim 2213 in stock
Scape will be Iwagumi using seriyu stone
Flora Japanese hairgrass
Fauna to be determned
thats all for now
Oh this is what it looked like at the pet expo.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Is that all Japanese Hairgrass?:icon_eek:


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

are the 8K LEDs high power and used to supplement the original bulb? or are they the sole light source for the tank?


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

zoo there was UG in the tank no J. hairgrass.There is some rare J. mini rotala and rare moss from Japan. I have a pinch in another tank. I beleive the LED's are 3 stunner LED strips from Ecoxotic. The light is at least 2x brighter than the original


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

That looks really good, I like the contrast of red against the green, do you think we could get some close up pictures?
Also, what do you mean at the pet expo? You showed it at one?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> are the 8K LEDs high power and used to supplement the original bulb? or are they the sole light source for the tank?


I'm sure that they are cree LEDs.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

VincentK said:


> That looks really good, I like the contrast of red against the green, do you think we could get some close up pictures?
> Also, what do you mean at the pet expo? You showed it at one?


The tank is empty now I took out the Sakura shrimp, green kubotai microrasbaras, rotala mini Japan and the J. moss. I may have some close ups. SCAPE was at the Orange County Pet EXPO spreading the word about planted tanks. We had 11 planted tanks on display. Including 4 ADA tanks. We had a big turnout and will be at more expo/conventions.

Fishman/CL the lighting is completely LED. 3 strips 6 watts each for a total of !8 Watts of LED lighting. There are about 4 blue actinic LED's to enhance the color of the fauna. Creates really nice shimmer, super cool temperature, and are supposed to last 10 to 15 years. The LED's are actually under powered on purpose for reliability and long life they are actually higher wattage. No moon lights but im gonna add some later.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Here is a view of the LED'S


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

I realized my Do!aqua Mini M fits really good on the Mini s light so its tempting and might use that tank istead. But that would mean I have no room for a HOB filter and would have to use a canister Im trying to keep things simple hear.















I have alot of stone about 100l lbs so i have plenty to play with
Top view

















Slope is 1/2 inch in the front and about 5 twards the back









Final Scape will get a topping of powder aquasoil


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## Damian (Jun 17, 2009)

Looking good so far


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Thanks dream. I really am having fun with this scape just one tiny twist of the stones and it improves the look or ruins it. Im using the rule of thirds as my guide. I got so focused on the placement that as I began to pour the powder aquasoil I forgot to add the powersand, tourmaline and bacter :iamwithst. Ahh! I have bacter balls and Pfertz root tabs so ill add that instead of ruining my scape and mixing the powder aquasoil


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

i might be really dumb here guys but how do you use a paint ball canister for co2, is it the same as the canisters you buy in the lfs?


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## Damian (Jun 17, 2009)

question. Are the root tabs necessary when planting with ada aquasoil? Or are you just fortifying the soil? Im still "green" when it comes to those things. I assumed that fertilization would supplement anything in the tank unless you were going to go with plants that are root demanding.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

luke20037 said:


> i might be really dumb here guys but how do you use a paint ball canister for co2, is it the same as the canisters you buy in the lfs?


Not a dumb question at all. Its pressurized CO2. I believe the bottle is 20 oz. It has a small regulator you can get online plus I installed a better needle valve. Ill post some picks.
Aquasoil should be enough. The purpose of the power sand is to allow oxygenation o occur throught the substrate also for better water flow through it preventing it from becoming anerobic. Bacter dissloves and releases nitrifiying bacteria throught. Tourmaline I cant remember may be iron. I had it so why not use it. Finally root tabs are used for replenishing old substrates or growing nutrient root demading plants like crypts and erio. Once again I had it so why not use it.


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## Damian (Jun 17, 2009)

Ah ok. Wouldnt hurt to use it right? hah. Good start to everything.


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

nice!!


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

The tank has been planted and cycling for a week now. I changed out one stone. Been runing CO2 24/7. water is really clear now. I have ot tested the water. Will try to do that today.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

more pics. The orange stuff is ADA bacter and the black powder is ADA tourmaline bc.
When I was happy with the hardscape I topped it off with ADA aquasoil powder.



















































tell me what u think folks


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Nice looking scape. The tank sure is cloudy  lol.
I like those LEDs. Cool stuff


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

thanks guys. So the tanks has been set up for about 3 weeks now. i have the paintball CO2 runnin 24/7. One day I lower the CO2 and it stopped completely. The next day there was algae on the glass. I added one RCS and two ramhorn snails and the shrimp disapeared. last night i added two RCS and today they still are there. Later i will remove them and keep snowball and golden bee shrimp. Ok here are some more pics
the belem is starting to curl into the substrate.
















In order to remove clutter in the tank the filter is on the left side hidden by the light. I placed the hydor flat heater inside the red sea nano filter. Its not plugged in i have to monitor it to see if it melts the plastic.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

That heater will not melt the plastic. It's barely warm to the touch when it's on.

With the amount of things that you have packed into the filter's media chamber, wouldn't it further reduce the flow on an already weak filter?


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## Francis Xavier (Oct 8, 2008)

Hey Marimo,

Nice rock selection, I see some good potential here. Looks like it's time to turn the hazard lights on that algae growing on the belem though.

Also, that looks like it's an older circa 2008 ADA tank, is that right?


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

TLE041 said:


> That heater will not melt the plastic. It's barely warm to the touch when it's on.
> 
> With the amount of things that you have packed into the filter's media chamber, wouldn't it further reduce the flow on an already weak filter?


Thanks for the info. The filter is not packed just a little filter floss ill be adding bio-rings and less floss now. Francis I know i have to get that algae in control. im bumping up the CO2 and dosing excel no ferts yet.

i decided on Golden Bee Shrimp and snowballs for this tank. Fish have not yet been decided.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Overdue update. I purchased 10 golden bee shrimp but one time the temp reached 76F and they did not tolerate the temp. I had nowhere to put some yellow shrimp so in they went. yesterday I added two ottos. I had two mini catfish but moved them out. Im gonna lower the substrate and level it in the fore ground and replant that hairgrass. Also im gonna get a toothbrush dip it in excell and brush the stones then do a water change. Here are some current pics. lmk what you think.


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## Clare12345 (Dec 20, 2008)

Is the only plant hairgrass? I love the rocks. Are they from ADA?


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## weluvbettas (Aug 27, 2010)

Your tank looks amazing! how long does it take for the cloudyness to settle?


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Clare12345 said:


> Is the only plant hairgrass? I love the rocks. Are they from ADA?


yes the only plant is belem. Stones are from AFA via Nature Aquarium here in Santa Monica. Cloudines went away in two days of repetedly replacing the filter floss. Im gonna remove rome red ramshorn snail cuz they are not doing their job fast enough just reproducing fast. The picture really boyhers me becuase the substrate is not level and its too high in front. Ill try to fix it today. Thanks guys.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

this is what it looked like a couple of weeks ago. 


















Notice the substrate is not level and too high in the foreground. I could not stand it anymore so I redid the front. Also the yello shrimp were sold and will be replaced by snowballs and microrasbora briggitae or CPD's. I had a small planeria outbreak but will take care of that now that there is no livestock or food.


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## joelhunterd (Feb 7, 2010)

Is that the same tank that was at A+? Looks great.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

joelhunterd said:


> Is that the same tank that was at A+? Looks great.


Yes its the one I brought to the meeting at A+. Thanks new pictures soon with snowballs and chili rasboras.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Here is some pics of the minor re-scape. These were from exactly one month ago. Now the grass has covered all the bare spots. I had one RCS and a yellow shrimp but tonight i removed them and added three snowball shrimp. Ill take some pics tonight. Notice the substrate is straight and low at the foreground with a steeper slope.

Sep 22nd 2010


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Foreground is completely grown in now. I added some snowballs. heres some current pics Sorry the pics are bad but ill try to get better


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## deleted_user_6 (Jun 19, 2010)

Gorgeous. I love the character in the larger stone. I bet those snowballs are happy


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Awesome tank!!


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Thanks everyone but my bad pics dont do the tank justice. Right now this is my favorite tank because their is no trimming or prunning to be done to it. The belem is great,. Its dark green color shows off the white of the snowballs, and unlike HC UG and glosso it does not grow over itself, which would require trimming. 
added some CBS too.


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## tenshu (Sep 27, 2010)

You know what is working great to make your nano difusor white again?
Just put some bleach on top of it for a few hours. Shazam it's white again


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

tenshu said:


> You know what is working great to make your nano difusor white again?
> Just put some bleach on top of it for a few hours. Shazam it's white again


thanks, i keep many on hand and once bleached i replace with a clean one. I will be adding the Do! aqua mini diffuser to this tank. Today the temp was over 90F but the LED lights are running cool. So no worries for my shrimp. I really like these LED lights they are super bright and can grow anything and they are 8K color spectrum, Oh and great shimmer effect just like the metal halides I have on the 120P.


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

Victor! I need to go to your house and check this out! ...and the 60-P :hihi:


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## bsk (Aug 18, 2010)

beautiful tank. I like how you redid the slope it adds much more depth to the tank


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

chris.rivera3 said:


> Victor! I need to go to your house and check this out! ...and the 60-P :hihi:


I wont let you near my 60P :hihi: 
its a mess right now but big plans are coming for all three 60P's :tongue:

bsk thanks. It urks me to see uneven substrate. Now im satisfeid just need to get my shrimp breeding.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Quick update I cleaned up the clutter a bit and added a zoomed 501 canister with acrylic lily pipes from onefang. They are really nice. Also replaced the diffuser with a Do!aqua mini diffuser.


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

Great looking little tank, Marimo. I was so tempted to buy a small cube at Aqua Forest.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Hyzer said:


> Great looking little tank, Marimo. I was so tempted to buy a small cube at Aqua Forest.


thank you. You should have bought it. They are small enough to fit anywhere.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Just an update. My one lonley downoi is all grown up and has many side shoots. You can compare the size with the pics taken before. Also one snowball already had babies and two more are holding eggs. Half of the colony will be relocated to my new Fluval Ebi with golden bees and Malawa shrimp. Ok whats an update without any pics right! roud:


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

tank looks really nice dude, killer work.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

F22 said:


> tank looks really nice dude, killer work.


Thanks. Still needs work. Gotta clean the glass better, trim the downoi remove the heater, trim the belem, and add a stalness steel strainer to the intake pipe. Also replace the paintball CO2 with the ADA CO2 system 74-YA. I have Do!aqua lily pipes and an Eheim 2211 on hand but the stand its on wont allow me to run tubbing without drilling.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

your tank is really making me think about getting some lily pipes for my tank... lol

I think this may help you out with a heater issue though:

I got myself some heat tape, like the kind you would use for a reptile system:

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Flex-Watt-Heat-Tape?gclid=CPnmyJzT5aYCFQl_5QodB1V41Q

my tanks stay at about 76 without an issue...


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

F22 said:


> your tank is really making me think about getting some lily pipes for my tank... lol
> 
> I think this may help you out with a heater issue though:
> 
> ...


thank you for the link I think that would work. Im gonna look into getting one. On such a little tank the less equipment in the tank the better.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

i agree, thats what i did with my finnex.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Two of my snowball had baby shrimp. So happy. My have to hurry and set up that Ebi soon.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

Awesome!


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

I have neglected this tank . But Im whipping it back up into shape. Pics comming soon.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

went to the local fish store last night and purchased 5 microrasbora kubotai and two scarlet badis. Added them last night.


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

I'm in the process of building the same tank for my desk @ work.
can you give me the info on the LED upgrades you did and how do you like the zoomed?
I have a 2211 but i think its a bit to much flow for such a small tank and I'd rather do a red sea nano hob style for less desk clutter.


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## magma (Oct 31, 2011)

Beautiful growth of the hair grass. Well done! Can you tell me how many pots you planted initially and long it took to grow in? Are you dosing any ferts? My dwarf hair grass grows ok but still very slow.

-magma


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

bostoneric said:


> I'm in the process of building the same tank for my desk @ work.
> can you give me the info on the LED upgrades you did and how do you like the zoomed?
> I have a 2211 but i think its a bit to much flow for such a small tank and I'd rather do a red sea nano hob style for less desk clutter.


LED are 3 eccoxotic stunner strips.


magma said:


> Beautiful growth of the hair grass. Well done! Can you tell me how many pots you planted initially and long it took to grow in? Are you dosing any ferts? My dwarf hair grass grows ok but still very slow.
> 
> -magma


No pot its E. belem I would say 1/2 a pot to start. Update soon.


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