# Hayden's ADA 45-f: The End



## Hayden

Hello all, 
I am beginning my new tank: an ADA 45-f. My idea on this build is to take my time. I saved up and bought high quality equipment, and I will take my time carefully assembling and scaping in order to truly appreciate it's beauty. It will sit in my room, so, because I am home-schooled, I can enjoy it all hours of the day 
My scaping plans are fairly open at this point. I already ordered 10lbs of Seiryu stone from AFA, and I want a fairly "clean" looking scape, but I'll have to wait to see what the stones look like and such before I fill in details. 
At this point, I own the Aquarium, stand, and lighting. I have ordered the filter, pipes, tubes, stones, and soil from AFA, and have purchased a GLA co2 system from a fellow TPT'er.

Here are the Specs for my soon to be setup:
Aquarium: ADA 45-f
Stand: Ikea Expedit
Lighting: Custom LED Fixture from RapidLED
Co2: GLA Atomic V2 nano
Dosing: EI (via DIY)
Substrate: ADA Aquasoil
Aquascape: Seiryu Stone
Flora: HC, Riccia Flutians, Eleocharis Parvula
Fauna: 12 Boraras Naevus, 6 Corydoras Habrosus, 2 Amanos

I will try my best in documenting the setup process, fingers crossed I can borrow a DSLR!


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## Hayden

*Step One-Conceptualization*​ With my equipment coming Monday, I have some time to make abstract plans for my coming setup. My inspiration for this setup comes from (among other things) the beautiful Fall weather up here in Minnesota. I really wanna try some nice red stemmed Rotala species (still deciding on which one). I'm definitely using HC for the foreground, and most likely S. Repens for a midground/transition plant. The scape will be composed of Seiryu stones- I have left scaping Ideas essentially open so I can be free to scape when I receive my rocks. My overall themes are similar to those of Amano and others here: Simple, Natural, Clean, and Beautiful.
I took some preliminary photos of the empty tank and a couple other shots of my room.
















Some shots of my stereo 
(I need something other than just an empty tank!)


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## GMYukonon24s

Nice tank and stereo


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## SaltyNC

Hayden,

I'm looking forward to seeing your layout. I like the mat you've chosen for under the tank. That looks nice. As another owner of a bookshelf tank that actually sits on a bookshelf, you're likely to get a little water on and around the bookshelf, so if you have expensive or rare books below the tank, you might want to cover them or move them while doing water changes, trimmings after it has been flooded, etc.

Good luck with your project. I'm subscribed.


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## Hayden

Thanks for the replies. As for rare books, your right. About $500 of rare books and records. Needless to say I was extremly careful doing water changes when I had my previous scape setup. Only one minor accident so far which didn't cause any damage. This time however, since I will be using a canister filter, I will make sure to take extra precaution. Thanks for the warning.


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## Geniusdudekiran

This is going to be excellent.


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## Hayden

Thanks Kiran. Your scape has been one of my greatest inspirations. It's a pleasure to have you commenting on mine! I hope I can acheive the same sense of balance and integration between the scape and the room as you have.


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## Geniusdudekiran

Thanks for the compliment! Using all ADA equipment like you plan will certainly allow for such a seamless integration. What light will you be using?


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## tetra10

are you going to be using ADA super jet filters?


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## Hayden

> What light will you be using?


I made an LED fixture, parts supplied from RapidLED. I'll post pictures of it in a moment.



> are you going to be using ADA super jet filters?


Nope. An Eheim 2211, just like at the ADA gallery.


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## Hayden

Alright here are some daytime pictures, including the light, and the obligatory stereo pic.:redface: 








Detail of the Light








Stereo shot!


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## Hayden

*Step Two- Equipment​*Alright my equipment I ordered from AFA arrived today! I've got to say, these pipes are absolutely beautiful. I'm very happy with everything, including the Seiryu stones. 
























































Scape to come soon!


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## Green_Flash

Looking great! Did the stone come in that white box?


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## KFryman

Will you be raising your outflow pipe for more surface movement?

Looks like it should be a great setup!


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## Sd760

That's awesome. Looks likeso much fun. Beautiful demensions


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## Deano37

looking good i am wating for my 60-f to arrive so looking forward to it and will be watching ur scape, i need to know what size of lilly pipes etc i will require as some are huge, what size are your lilly pipes etc ?

thanks Dean


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## Hayden

> Looking great! Did the stone come in that white box?


Thanks! The stone came in the larger box. The glassware came in the white one.


> Will you be raising your outflow pipe for more surface movement?


Yep. With hoses attached I should be able to.


> That's awesome. Looks likeso much fun. Beautiful demensions


Thanks!


> looking good i am wating for my 60-f to arrive so looking forward to it and will be watching ur scape, i need to know what size of lilly pipes etc i will require as some are huge, what size are your lilly pipes etc ?
> 
> thanks Dean


My lily pipes are the Do!Aqua Mp-1 Mini Outflow (10mm) and Mv-1 Mini Inflow (13mm). These are designed to fit on the Eheim 2211, if you are using a 2213 or something I believe you will need both to be 13mm. 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=122232 -I would recommend looking to this thread for inspiration/information as well.
Thanks!


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## Hayden

Scape Teaser! (While I try to get a decent FTS without glare.)


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## Hayden

*Step Three-Scaping​*This scape came to me relatively quickly, I was expecting it to take longer but I'm really happy with what I came up with so I'll stick with it. What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

























Now I need to decide on plants. I'm going to be using HC as a foreground plant, but I am undecided as what to use as a background plant. I want something with compact growth so it doesn't overpower the stones, but ideally I'd get something with some color. So plants such as Rotala Colorata wouldn't be ideal because they would quickly grow over the stones, but something like S. Repens might get a bit boring. What do you guys think?


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## catfishbi

Love the light, maybe you can show us how did you made it


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## somewhatshocked

Looks gorgeous.

The only thing I could recommend is moving the smaller stones to the front and the larger stones to the back. Otherwise, your expensive stones will be hidden.


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## Hayden

One idea I had for background plants was Riccia and Eleocharis Acicularis, using E. Acicularis in the extreme back kind of interweaved with Riccia. 


> Love the light, maybe you can show us how did you made it


Thanks! I should have photo documented it. It was pretty simple, with a basic knowledge of LED's and some soldering skill. Really the hardest part was deciding exactly what to get (PM me for details). It didn't cost more than $100.


> Looks gorgeous.
> 
> The only thing I could recommend is moving the smaller stones to the front and the larger stones to the back. Otherwise, your expensive stones will be hidden.


Thanks! I may have to raise those smaller stones as my carpet grows, but I like the perspective they give to the tank.


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## somewhatshocked

I mean you have several smaller stones blocked from view by the larger stones. The small ones will be completely hidden once your plants grow in - even short ones.


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## Tcal01

you should get some powdered aquasoil. it totally changes the whole aesthetic of a scape and makes everything look so much cleaner. it looks great so far though

*and IME it holds plants better


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## freph

Tcal01 said:


> you should get some powdered aquasoil. it totally changes the whole aesthetic of a scape and makes everything look so much cleaner. it looks great so far though
> 
> *and IME it holds plants better


I agree with this. A top layer of powder type (1/4 of your total substrate depth) is very aesthetically pleasing and aids plants with finer roots (like HC) in rooting and spreading.

I hope your tank turns out as well as you envisioned it and that you took a wealth of knowledge away from Khoa's setup that you used as inspiration. I'm looking forward to seeing this develop. The stones look great!


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## Hayden

My GLA Co2 System arrived today!! Thanks Finzz!


> I mean you have several smaller stones blocked from view by the larger stones. The small ones will be completely hidden once your plants grow in - even short ones.


Ok I understand, and I do anticipate that. Each stone is at least partially buried, allowing me the option of raising them as my carpet progresses, hopefully.


> you should get some powdered aquasoil. it totally changes the whole aesthetic of a scape and makes everything look so much cleaner. it looks great so far though
> 
> *and IME it holds plants better


I agree with you, however it seems like a minuscule issue at this point, as I hope to be flooding as soon as I can get plants. Don't get me wrong I'm sure it makes a difference, but not one that would justify the money/time it would take.


> I hope your tank turns out as well as you envisioned it and that you took a wealth of knowledge away from Khoa's setup that you used as inspiration. I'm looking forward to seeing this develop. The stones look great!


Thanks! Your tank is another I'm very familiar with


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## freph

Hayden said:


> My GLA Co2 System arrived today!! Thanks Finzz!
> 
> Ok I understand, and I do anticipate that. Each stone is at least partially buried, allowing me the option of raising them as my carpet progresses, hopefully.
> 
> I agree with you, however it seems like a minuscule issue at this point, as I hope to be flooding as soon as I can get plants. Don't get me wrong I'm sure it makes a difference, but not one that would justify the money/time it would take.
> 
> Thanks! Your tank is another I'm very familiar with


I'm flattered!  I still think you'd enjoy a top dressing (3L bag is fine for your tank) of powder type more than you think...it's well worth the investment. I have a 9L bag just for top dressing in my 20L and for setting up my Mini. Worth every penny!

As far as the red coloring, given that your tank is so short I would suggest using some H. tenellum 'micro'. I gets a very nice shade of red to it when provided with high light and will give the tank a little bit of height. Stems would just look weird in this tank imo since it's so shallow. You'd have to do good maintenance on them to keep them in form in such a short tank but it wouldn't provide the effect it would in a taller tank.


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## Hayden

I just don't really see the point, once my carpet fills in I'll never see it. True it will look a bit better until then, but not enough to really justify it. Maybe on a future tank.
I think for plants I've basically chosen a background of a mixed Riccia and DHG carpet. I love the fact that I will be able to manipulate the Riccia's shape very precisely. Now my problem is I can't find anywhere to buy these plants! Any suggestions?


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## freph

Hayden said:


> I just don't really see the point, once my carpet fills in I'll never see it. True it will look a bit better until then, but not enough to really justify it. Maybe on a future tank.
> I think for plants I've basically chosen a background of a mixed Riccia and DHG carpet. I love the fact that I will be able to manipulate the Riccia's shape very precisely. Now my problem is I can't find anywhere to buy these plants! Any suggestions?


Frank has some really good Riccia...I'd suggest you get up with him and see if he has any trimmings for sell. He's very generous with his portions and it's very healthy.


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## Hayden

I definetly will do that if I can't find any around here locally. Your right the riccia in his tank does look amazing. That's actually where I got the idea from.


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## Tcal01

Hayden said:


> I just don't really see the point, once my carpet fills in I'll never see it. True it will look a bit better until then, but not enough to really justify it. Maybe on a future tank.
> I think for plants I've basically chosen a background of a mixed Riccia and DHG carpet. I love the fact that I will be able to manipulate the Riccia's shape very precisely. Now my problem is I can't find anywhere to buy these plants! Any suggestions?


fair enough. but achoring plants can be nightmare sometimes without the powdered style


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## Hayden

Well let's hope for the best! It will at the very least help me appreciate powder type in the future, right?


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## somewhatshocked

You'll be fine with regular Aquasoil. Just plant slowly and all things enough time to take solid root before doing anything drastic.


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## Hayden

Yeah ive planted HC before, it was tough but I was fine.


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## freph

Hayden said:


> Yeah ive planted HC before, it was tough but I was fine.


Planting HC honestly isn't that bad. Little .5"x.5" or so bunches, grab the bottom of the roots and just push down til the leaves are slightly indented in the soil. Being disrupted is HC's only enemy honestly. Amanos are a pain. When trying to get new HC established...so is higher flow on the substrate level.


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## Hayden

High flow is something I'm a bit worried about, as the tank is so shallow, but we'll see. I think it'll be fine.


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## somewhatshocked

Since you're using lily pipes, there are always a couple different types you can use to adjust and spread flow. I think you'll be just fine, though.


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## Hayden

Yeah. Plants supplied by Frank ship out Monday. Untill they arrive it's pretty much a waiting game. I'll update when they arrive.


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## Fat Guy

I think it looks pretty great. awesome light and lily pipes too. I like the doaqua line. looking forward to seeing it planted and filled.


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## Hayden

Thanks man! 
I have a quick question before I flood. What (approximately) should I set my BPS at? I understand this isn't something where there is a quick formula for figuring it out, and a drop checker would ultimately be the best option, but I don't have one of those, so essentially I'm just looking for a rough estimate that I can start with, which I will fine tune to my own requirements. (As I'm cycling I would like to put it higher than usual)


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## somewhatshocked

Bubbles Per Second isn't really a thing. Each CO2 cylinder, each aquarium, each piece of equipment, each altitude and such is different. 

Start with one bubble and watch your drop checker for a few hours. Then go up to two bubbles and so on. 

Since you have no drop checker, you can't even roughly estimate how CO2-rich your water is. You'll need to get one if you want an easier row to hoe (at least until you get your CO2 dialed in).

During the "cycle"? With no livestock? Crank it up. No animals to kill, fewer worries.


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## Hayden

I've heard this before. It makes sense I guess. I've seen plenty of Nano tanks with pressurized co2 that don't have drop checkers. What do these people use?


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## somewhatshocked

Most people only use drop checkers in the beginning to figure out where their CO2 levels need to be. Typically those new to CO2. It's a nice, cheap tool to have in the beginning.

Once you're comfortable and know where your system is, then it's no longer necessary and can be pulled from the tank or hidden from view.

Note: In many cases, people remove equipment from their tanks before taking photographs.


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## bluestems

Looks great, Hayden! I have the same lily pipes and co2 diffuser and love them. Can't wait to see it planted. :smile:


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## Hayden

> Most people only use drop checkers in the beginning to figure out where their CO2 levels need to be. Typically those new to CO2. It's a nice, cheap tool to have in the beginning.
> 
> Once you're comfortable and know where your system is, then it's no longer necessary and can be pulled from the tank or hidden from view.
> 
> Note: In many cases, people remove equipment from their tanks before taking photographs.


Ok I kind of assumed this. Guess I'll be getting a drop checker..



> Looks great, Hayden! I have the same lily pipes and co2 diffuser and love them. Can't wait to see it planted.


Thanks! I just checked out your journal, same to you!


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## bostoneric

looks great so far. I love those F series tanks! such a cool shape!


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## Hayden

I agree! I think it would be amazing if they made an even larger "F" series tank, perhaps a 75-f. Those would look really cool.


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## IWANNAGOFAST

they do, they have a 120F


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## Hayden

Really? I can't find it on their website.


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## Green_Flash

Following along. 

The 120-F is discontinued or at least that is what it says on the ADA Japan site.


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## Hayden

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRxbErSngJE
Pretty amazing dimensions.


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## karatekid14

Green_Flash said:


> Following along.
> 
> The 120-F is discontinued or at least that is what it says on the ADA Japan site.


On the official website but check out here: http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/shop/aquatics/aquariums-stands/ada-cube-garden
ADA 120-F, 90-F, 75-F...


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## Hayden

Those are some seriously awesome tanks! Too bad TGM is based in the UK. I would love to get one of those someday..


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## boon

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> they do, they have a 120F


about $500 though :icon_sad: I asked about this a while back.


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## Hayden

Ouch that's a lot... Anybody have an idea on how many gallons a 120-F holds?


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## somewhatshocked

A little more than 19ish U.S. gallons.



Hayden said:


> Ouch that's a lot... Anybody have an idea on how many gallons a 120-F holds?


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## Hayden

Wow thats more than 4 times the price of a 60-f, with only 2 more gallons! The dimensions are just beautiful though.
Small update, plants are coming Friday, not today like I had hoped:confused1:


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## Hayden

Excuse me, I meant 60-p.
As I wait for my plants to arrive I'm brainstorming on specific details. I'm thinking perhaps a group of 3 to 5 Pygmy Cory's as well as 8 to 12 Boraras Brigittae and my two Otos. I'm sure on everything except the Cory's, they're just an idea that came to me, what do you think? Possibly overstocked?


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## Tcal01

Hayden said:


> Excuse me, I meant 60-p.
> As I wait for my plants to arrive I'm brainstorming on specific details. I'm thinking perhaps a group of 3 to 5 Pygmy Cory's as well as 8 to 12 Boraras Brigittae and my two Otos. I'm sure on everything except the Cory's, they're just an idea that came to me, what do you think? Possibly overstocked?


what about some species of freshwater goby or maybe some gudgeons. probably only 6 or 7 boraras brigittae


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## rolloverboi

what brand and how soft are those clear hose you bought when comparing to the OEM EHEIM hose that came with the filter. I am having problem sliding the hose on to the lily pipes . . so i am looking for another hose thats slightly bigger.


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## somewhatshocked

Gobies tend to require highly oxygenated water and aren't exactly going to be suited to a setup like this. They like to dig and need lots of smooth, flat surfaces to chill out on and to eat yummy aufwuchs from. 

If you go the Pygmy Cory route, remember that they do better and feel better in larger numbers. I wouldn't get fewer than six and ideally, no fewer than a dozen (but maybe not in this tank).

Boraras brigittae could work but know that they could be potential jumpers - especially in a shallow tank. But their size is absolutely perfect for your scape and will look amazing.


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## Hayden

> what about some species of freshwater goby or maybe some gudgeons. probably only 6 or 7 boraras brigittae


While those are really cool fish, they wouldn't quite fit the aesthetic I'm trying to achieve. Thanks for the suggestion though!



> what brand and how soft are those clear hose you bought when comparing to the OEM EHEIM hose that came with the filter. I am having problem sliding the hose on to the lily pipes . . so i am looking for another hose thats slightly bigger.


They are ADA hoses- 10mm and 13mm. I haven't attached either type of hose to my lily pipes yet (I'm waiting to flood), so I don't have any hard data for you, but the ADA hoses are specifically designed to fit onto the lily pipes, and they do also feel a bit more pliable than the Eheim's. Oh, also, they look one heck of a lot better.



> Gobies tend to require highly oxygenated water and aren't exactly going to be suited to a setup like this. They like to dig and need lots of smooth, flat surfaces to chill out on and to eat yummy aufwuchs from.
> 
> If you go the Pygmy Cory route, remember that they do better and feel better in larger numbers. I wouldn't get fewer than six and ideally, no fewer than a dozen (but maybe not in this tank).
> 
> Boraras brigittae could work but know that they could be potential jumpers - especially in a shallow tank. But their size is absolutely perfect for your scape and will look amazing.


I was tinkering with the idea of Pygmy Cory's because I was thinking they would add a more natural and "complete" feel to the tank. I'm trying hard not to fall directly into the Iwagumi category- I'm looking to create a different feel than that. So they would be more of a subtle accent, anything over 5 seems to me like overkill. I'll think about it and do some research, it's not like I'm in a hurry.
I have had B. Brigittae in this tank before, and they were great. In my experience, fish jump when they're unhappy with the environment. I just love those little guys!


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## somewhatshocked

The Boraras brigittae jumping issue hasn't so much been purposeful in my experience. They're hardy fish, so parameters have never been a big deal to them. I find that they're such active fish and love to dart around and hunt that they occasionally pop out of the water without realizing it.

Pygmy Cories could really be great for the tank. They're the perfect size. It's just important to keep social behaviors in mind when considering the health and happiness of the livestock we keep. They're also really tiny, so you can definitely handle the minimum number most people like msjinkzd and others highly experienced with them recommend. 

Pygmies are such a cool fish that I would consider having them as the main attraction. They're awesome.


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## Hayden

I see your points. I'm sure you have much more experience than I do, thanks for all the help!
More and more I'm gravitating towards the idea of including Pygmy Cory's. Maybe 7 of them, along with 9 or 11 of B. Brigittae, and my two Otos. Sounds good to me


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## SaltyNC

Hayden said:


> I see your points. I'm sure you have much more experience than I do, thanks for all the help!
> More and more I'm gravitating towards the idea of including Pygmy Cory's. Maybe 7 of them, along with 9 or 11 of B. Brigittae, and my two Otos. Sounds good to me


I think you'll be good with that many brigittae. I would not do less. Even though we know how small they are, it is still surprising when you watch as they nearly disappear in a small tank. I have 14 in my 6.6 gallon, and it looks empty. I've never seen mine attempt to jump, but I have a cover just in case.

If you don't have a local source, I highly recommend Rachel (msjinkzd).


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## SaltyNC

Hayden,

There are ten Boraras brigittae visible in this shot of my tank that has similar dimensions to yours. It's a bit like find Waldo, but they are there. This should give you an idea of how your thought of 9-11 should look in your tank.

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u490/saltync/Aquarium/AquariumFilledWeek9August25-FTS.jpg


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## SaltyNC

This might help, too. Sorry about the music.:icon_lol: Wait for the quarter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-OwSWMA9_w


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## Hayden

Thanks for the advice . Your right, in that shot you barely notice them! It might have something to do with the black background, because I seem to remember mine being more distinct than that. (nice tank btw!)
Still a bigger group does sound more appealing, maybe I should go up to 15. Another plus would be they would stand out as dominant above the Cory's.


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## somewhatshocked

You're on the right track and this tank is going to be amazing on the livestock front.

I think 15 is a good number and wouldn't go with less than a dozen Boraras brigittae. Even in that small tank, as others have supported. 

Can't wait to see it all! Your scape really lends itself to those fish.

Something else about the Cories... be sure to leave some open substrate for them to root around and have fun.


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## Hayden

That was one thing I was wondering about. I don't think I will have any exposed substrate once my plants fill in, will this be a problem? Maybe I can try to leave a little open in the back but I don't know.


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## somewhatshocked

It could be a problem in the sense that they love to root around/could potentially uproot more delicate plants. 

People keep them in all kinds of tanks, though, and I've seen them do well in tanks with HC and UG.


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## Hayden

Ok , well I definitely want to try them. I just love Cory's!


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## Tcal01

somewhatshocked said:


> Gobies tend to require highly oxygenated water and aren't exactly going to be suited to a setup like this. They like to dig and need lots of smooth, flat surfaces to chill out on and to eat yummy aufwuchs from.
> 
> If you go the Pygmy Cory route, remember that they do better and feel better in larger numbers. I wouldn't get fewer than six and ideally, no fewer than a dozen (but maybe not in this tank).
> 
> Boraras brigittae could work but know that they could be potential jumpers - especially in a shallow tank. But their size is absolutely perfect for your scape and will look amazing.


true. make this into a river tank


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## Hayden

No thanks.


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## tetra10

can't wait to see this tank come along!


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## Hayden

*Step Four- Planting & Flooding*​Tissue cultured plants arrived today! (Thanks Frank!)
It took about four straight hours to get this all set up. Very fun and rewarding, but tiring...:icon_eek: 

First up- preparing the plants. You can see my bigger Riccia stones could use a bit more Riccia.. I did those first and I didn't know if I would have enough. Oh Well!








A close up of my prepared HC. At first I was very confused with this stuff, nothing like the HC I've worked with before. It was essentially a giant glob of HC stems in an amalgam of gel. I thought it would be essentially impossible to plant without roots and would die off. turns out it separated into plantable sprigs very easily, and I didn't have a single floater! Tissue cultured HC is awesome!








All ready for planting.








Midway through planting. The hairgrass had very shallow roots, but with Aquasoil it planted beautifully. Especially considering I had to get into plenty of crevices. Only one floater.








Done planting!








Overhead shot. Notice the mixed carpet planning in the back- I made sure to keep all the hairgrass separated from the HC by Riccia stones. Harigrass grows like a weed, and I want to keep my HC pristine. Also, my HC planting was a bit more sparse than I wanted it to be, because that all I had to work with. Overall I'm really happy with how it all ended up.








Flooding with RO.








All set up!!! I'm still trying to get a decent shot without crazy glare from my LED's. The close ups turn out great, but I'm still having trouble getting an FTS
































I can't wait for this shot to fill in!









And the one hitch in the whole setup. The tubing twisted the pipes so much I couldn't get them to sit straight. I have no idea how to fix this, and it looks really bad. Also, will that bent part of the tubing coming from the inflow affect my flow?


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## somewhatshocked

Trust me - they don't need more riccia. You'll have more than you know what to do with in about two weeks! You'll just never be able to see it behind those rocks.

Breaking the HC up into smaller portions will cause it to fill in much more quickly. 

The tubing will impact your flow. Definitely want to straighten that out. Maybe you could wrap some rigid tubing around it to help?

This tank is going to look great once all the HC fills in, for sure. Looking forward to it.


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## AwkwardShrimp

nice tank! i like the light! How much did it cost, i saw you bought a kit maybe and diy, was it hard? WHich one did you buy have to use a non soldering kit?

But there was one thing, do you think you should put those riccia stone and dhg in the back? they are not visible from the front of the tank at all, i suspect even when they grow in you wont be able to see. Unless its from the side but personally that would bother me.
Just my two cents lol

Cant wait to see your tank grow in though i love the 45-F

I still need to find an adequete light for mine lol


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## tetra10

very nicely executed Hayden, you might want to use a plastic divider under the aqua soil to prevent hair grass from spreading.


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## Hayden

> Trust me - they don't need more riccia. You'll have more than you know what to do with in about two weeks! You'll just never be able to see it behind those rocks.
> 
> Breaking the HC up into smaller portions will cause it to fill in much more quickly.
> 
> The tubing will impact your flow. Definitely want to straighten that out. Maybe you could wrap some rigid tubing around it to help?
> 
> This tank is going to look great once all the HC fills in, for sure. Looking forward to it.


Thanks! I set up the Riccia and DHG in such a way that it would only slightly visible. Only a subtle accent. I don't want my rocks to be overpowered, and I want my scape to remain clean looking.
About the tubing, in ADA's gallery, I see 90 degree bend pieces made out of glass or acrylic where the tubing bends. Does anybody know where I can buy these? That would be perfect. 


> nice tank! i like the light! How much did it cost, i saw you bought a kit maybe and diy, was it hard? WHich one did you buy have to use a non soldering kit?
> 
> But there was one thing, do you think you should put those riccia stone and dhg in the back? they are not visible from the front of the tank at all, i suspect even when they grow in you wont be able to see. Unless its from the side but personally that would bother me.
> Just my two cents lol
> 
> Cant wait to see your tank grow in though i love the 45-F
> 
> I still need to find an adequete light for mine lol


I'll send you a PM with all the details about the light. You can start by looking at RapidLED.com. 


> very nicely executed Hayden, you might want to use a plastic divider under the aqua soil to prevent hair grass from spreading.


Thanks! I might do that. We''ll see.


----------



## AwkwardShrimp

thanks! ill start looking at rapidled for sure. how much light are you getting from your setup? med-high?


----------



## Hayden

Hard to say. Depending on how high I hang it, med-high to very high.


----------



## freph

Looks like I got the jump on you for planting.....let the HC growing games begin. :hihi: I've inquired to Frank about 2 more batches of TC HC. Stuff really is a breeze to plant. Love it!

Your tank looks great btw! Definitely fix the filter tubing kinks though....bad for flow and the filter itself.


----------



## Hayden

Its a race!  ill try my best to fix it, although I don't know how.. How is it bad for the filter?


----------



## KFryman

I would guess that the filter will be working harder to push the water out of the kink, so it may wear down faster.


----------



## Hayden

The kink is on the Inflow side. I'm just trying to find glass (or acrylic) elbows to put there.


----------



## Hayden

*Week One Update*​
Alright guys the first of my weekly updates! 
The Riccia has started to grow and is pearling everyday, DHG and HC have showed no noticeable growth as of yet, but that's expected. By next week I should start seeing growth.

Tank shot. Not much is different. Notice I split up a couple of the larger HC bunches.


















HC- Looking good  









Got my filter tubing all fixed up and pretty! I'm very happy with the results.


















Equipment









As you can see I don't have sufficient surface agitation to prevent a survace film from developing. Also, co2 bubbles accumulate on the surface. I thought the outflow would create a "whirlpool" effect, but no luck. I seem to actually get more surface movement as I lower the outflow (possibly because flow is forced upwards as it hits my main stone). Any solutions?


----------



## speedie408

Nice setup! Love your rock layout! I feel you should've planted a bit more heavily with the HC but that's me. 

As for your surface film, just temporarily move up your outflow lily pipe so that the output is slightly above the water surface. This should break up all your film within a couple hours. If you're worried about dissipating CO2, just bump up your bps a tad to compensate.


----------



## freph

Or, do daily waterchanges (which you should be doing at this stage anyway) and use the paper towel trick. Whichever suits you best. Either method will work.


----------



## Hayden

> ice setup! Love your rock layout! I feel you should've planted a bit more heavily with the HC but that's me.
> 
> As for your surface film, just temporarily move up your outflow lily pipe so that the output is slightly above the water surface. This should break up all your film within a couple hours. If you're worried about dissipating CO2, just bump up your bps a tad to compensate.


I planted as much HC as I got. :confused1: Wish I could've done more too.
As for film, would it simply form again as soon as I moved it back down?



> Or, do daily waterchanges (which you should be doing at this stage anyway) and use the paper towel trick. Whichever suits you best. Either method will work.


As with the other, this seems to be only a temporary solution.


----------



## tetra10

i have cheap knock off lily pipes and i get a whirlpool effect. it might be that "kink" that you have that is effecting the flow also. good luck.


----------



## Hayden

I actually fixed that. It may be that my 90 degree bends are reducing the flow.


----------



## andrewss

looking really good, what a nice tank too btw 

GL with it getting filled in


----------



## Green_Flash

I like your stone layout!

Was the HC hard to plant in normal type Amazonia? You used tweezers I suppose?


----------



## Hayden

> I like your stone layout!
> 
> Was the HC hard to plant in normal type Amazonia? You used tweezers I suppose?


Thank you!
Planting HC in Amazonia was incredibly easy. I just set the bunch on the substrate and pressed the roots gently into the soil with my tweezers. Not a single floater. I also replanted a couple of the larger bunches after I flooded the tank and this was simple as well.
Compared to last time, when I planted it in Flora Max (basically Eco-Complete) it was a huge difference. Before it was very difficult, and ended up looking unsatisfactory, with roots sticking up and bunches repeatedly floating up.


----------



## Green_Flash

That's good to know! I was thinking of getting HC and I also have some Amazonia to use.


----------



## freph

Glad your HC is doing so well. The last two pots I got had to be trashed. One was already browned and I thought the other one would bounce back...nope. Doing this the hardcore old fashioned way: trimming and replanting _single stems_ of HC. This is where powder type comes in handy.  I like how you hid the equipment, too. Very smart thinking on that one.


----------



## Hayden

That's too bad about your HC! During my WC today I accidentelly uprooted a some HC and I still am not seeing roots, most likely taking a bit longer because it was TC.Thanks about the equipment, I was a bit wary about putting water next to those books & records but so far its been fine.


----------



## Hayden

I completely replanted my HC today, this time splitting it into very small portions and completely removing the dead matter and loose gel. Now i should see the growth I was looking for!


----------



## freph

Hayden said:


> I completely replanted my HC today, this time splitting it into very small portions and completely removing the dead matter and loose gel. Now i should see the growth I was looking for!


Good deal! Glad you followed through so quickly. What's your water change regimen like right now btw?


----------



## Hayden

I've only been doing WC's bi-weekly, just like 35%-45%. I know it sounds a little weak but in previous setups I've had no problems. However, with how many people are recommending daily WC's I'll be curious to see what happens.


----------



## SaltyNC

Looking good, Hayden. I agree, if you had about twice as much HC, that would be ideal, but maybe after it grows in a little and forms roots, you can start borrowing from the existing clumps and propagate it more quickly.


----------



## freph

Hayden said:


> I've only been doing WC's bi-weekly, just like 35%-45%. I know it sounds a little weak but in previous setups I've had no problems. However, with how many people are recommending daily WC's I'll be curious to see what happens.


Good idea. I'm about to start doing the same. Just finished replanting all the HC...holy cow. I'm beat lol. Bending over a tank planting small individual plantlets is a job.


----------



## Hayden

I know! It was really long process. On a good note I noticed many stems had begun to form roots.

Another thing to note, my younger brother (who I share a room with) just got his do!aqua mini s in the mail, along with a light and some sand! Earlier we gathered stones from a creekbed and he scaped it. The tank is for a black moor goldfish. Pretty cool 
I'll try to get him to make a journal when he gets it set up.


----------



## zzrguy

Looking good


----------



## gnod

hayden, i could've sworn you had this tank setup a few months back no? I recall this tank, and the stereo. 

anyways, I love it! one thing about the whirlpool effect, i think it depends on 2 things.. 1) how strong your outflow is and 2) how close to the surface of the water the outflow pipe is. When I was making DIY lily pipes, I noticed that either raising or lower the outflow head until you saw the vortex effect was the way to get it.


----------



## Hayden

Yes you are correct, in fact this is the third scape I have had in this tank. However, the only things that are the same about this setup and the previous one are the Tank, Lighting, and Stand. I gutted the tank and got completely new equipment, so I'm counting it as a new setup entirely. 

About the vortex, I played with height, from touching the surface to way down under, and I concluded I simply don't have enough flow. 

Thanks for viewing!


----------



## freph

Hayden said:


> Yes you are correct, in fact this is the third scape I have had in this tank. However, the only things that are the same about this setup and the previous one are the Tank, Lighting, and Stand. I gutted the tank and got completely new equipment, so I'm counting it as a new setup entirely.
> 
> About the vortex, I played with height, from touching the surface to way down under, and I concluded I simply don't have enough flow.
> 
> Thanks for viewing!


The 60F thread did mention using an Eheim 2215...and 9mm lily pipes (you'd need a pipe reducer for a 2215 given the inflow/outflow tubing is 13mm).  The result is, as you could see, a concentrated yet still rather dispersed flow that creates a strong downforce (lily pipe flow goes to the bottom of the bell then out, you can see it with an in-line diffuser) from the natural flow direction of the lily pipe. This results in the vortex that we all know and love from that thread.

sources:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1261481&highlight=9mm#post1261481
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1221037&highlight=eheim+2215#post1221037


----------



## Hayden

Wow I've been over that thread a million times but I guess I never noticed his pipes were 9mm! He has quite a vortex going.


----------



## frrok

great start. looking forward to the progress!


----------



## Hayden

*Week Two Update*​
Well it's already been two weeks since startup! Since last week I have replanted HC, and have added another Riccia stone to the left corner. I have also noticed significant growth in both the Riccia and DHG, hopefully next week the HC will take off as well!










Starting to look gooood. 









New Riccia stone. I decided to add this to increase the visible Riccia/DHG area as well as to add to the "mass" of the scape a bit.









This is as much of a vortex as I am able to get.:confused1:









Detail of the newly planted HC.









It's so green!


----------



## freph

Dude...I'm jealous. I cannot get Riccia to grow in my Mini M to save my life. I'm not sure what the deal is. It gets nuked by algae and then hates life. Maybe I'm tying it wrong....or too flat. I put it in the 20g right under the lights and in the path of CO2 fog....gonna perk it up a bit before I throw it back in the Mini M. Think temporarily putting a twin turbo on your car, lol.


----------



## Trojan

Hayden, I started my 20 gallon long similar to this. Because you have a small amount of plants you might want to tie some stem plants to the side of the glass or something for the first 6-8 weeks. I had algae breakouts starting at week 3 and I added a large amount of floating stems after the fact. You might want to do this before it breaks out!


----------



## Hayden

> Dude...I'm jealous. I cannot get Riccia to grow in my Mini M to save my life. I'm not sure what the deal is. It gets nuked by algae and then hates life. Maybe I'm tying it wrong....or too flat. I put it in the 20g right under the lights and in the path of CO2 fog....gonna perk it up a bit before I throw it back in the Mini M. Think temporarily putting a twin turbo on your car, lol.


That's really weird! I would expect it to grow wonderfully in your setup. Mine doesn't pearl like I see some people's doing, but it's growing quite nicely. Sounds like a good plan to get it going to give it a head start against algae.



> Hayden, I started my 20 gallon long similar to this. Because you have a small amount of plants you might want to tie some stem plants to the side of the glass or something for the first 6-8 weeks. I had algae breakouts starting at week 3 and I added a large amount of floating stems after the fact. You might want to do this before it breaks out!


Sounds like a good idea. I have a little WK with Rotala Sp. Green that I might stick in tomorrow. Thanks for the tip!


----------



## freph

Hayden said:


> That's really weird! I would expect it to grow wonderfully in your setup. Mine doesn't pearl like I see some people's doing, but it's growing quite nicely. Sounds like a good plan to get it going to give it a head start against algae.


It has to do with the CO2 distribution and flow in the tank in general. I can't crank up the 2211's flow because it's so darn concentrated due to the lily pipe. And, that sucks because the pollen glass mini is made to be blasted by the mini outflow pipe (matching height and everything). I wish I had the money for a violet outflow and a d-whatever diffuser that would sit lower in the tank for the startup phase so the flow would actually be usable. Once the HC grows in, though...crank time. I'm just going diagonally across the tank for now. Not much else I can do.


----------



## Hayden

Oh I understand. I'm curious how you are reducing the flow, do you partially close the quick releases?


----------



## freph

Hayden said:


> Oh I understand. I'm curious how you are reducing the flow, do you partially close the quick releases?


Yes indeed. About 50%, lol.


----------



## Hayden

Oh wow. With my setup, 100% seems to give me pretty ideal flow. I could even imagine a bit more. Your really gonna be happy when you can let it go wide open! Have you tried more flow?


----------



## freph

Hayden said:


> Oh wow. With my setup, 100% seems to give me pretty ideal flow. I could even imagine a bit more. Your really gonna be happy when you can let it go wide open! Have you tried more flow?


Define more flow.

As soon as I opened up the filter all the way after the glosso and riccia grew in decently on the old setup the difference was night and day. Everything grew so well it was insane.


----------



## Trojan

I forget which line you should turn the valve on to throttle the flow, but my LFS told me to only throttle with one. I believe the return. I could be wrong. I am running HOB now.


----------



## freph

Trojan said:


> I forget which line you should turn the valve on to throttle the flow, but my LFS told me to only throttle with one. I believe the return. I could be wrong. I am running HOB now.


You are correct. It's the outflow.


----------



## Hayden

Ok cool cool. Well I look forward to when you can open that up!


----------



## Hayden

I got my drop checker in the mail today.. I've done a little research and am a little confused on how to set it up. Every instructional I see says to add the solution and then add a "Ph indicator". Only one solution came with the drop checker (Standard Ebay one) and when I checked back to the Ebay listing it said the solution was a 4dkh solution & Ph indicator combined. However, they say the solution is supposed to be blue, but mine is yellow. Is there something I need to add? And if so, what?


----------



## somewhatshocked

You fill the bulb of your drop checker maybe 2/3 full of 4dkh solution.

Then add 3-4 drops of low range pH reagent (from your test kit). That'll serve as your pH indicator.


----------



## Hayden

Ok thanks. Did more research as well, I just ordered a 4dkh solution.


----------



## andrewss

looking real good


----------



## Hayden

Drop Checker properly set up and in place, thanks for the help guys!
Pictures to come tomorrow: Stay Tuned


----------



## Hayden

*Week Three Update*​
This week I saw increased growth from my HC, as well as the continued crazy growth of Riccia and DHG. I also added a drop checker (brang my BPS down from ~1.5 to ~.33!), A Wabi-Kusa with Rotala Sp. Green- to increase plant mass and absorb extra nutrients (thus preventing algae), and two Otos.

No real algae yet, just very small amounts of green algae, I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever see a diatom bloom. 




























My first couple of runners. 









Wabi Kusa. Hopefully I'll be able to take this out sometime during Week Four. Then I just need to find something to do with it..:confused1:









New Resident. This guy I just got today, so he has yet to color up. My other one, however, I've had for about a year, so he's big, fat, and lazy.:icon_roll









Really the only place in the tank with noticeable algae. Need to clean this out soon!


----------



## Jonnywhoop

^ upgrade to an atomic diffuser!!! best diffuser upgrade you can get.


----------



## Hayden

Oh I wouldn't think of getting rid of my music glass diffuser! It works wonderfully and is a piece of art in itself.


----------



## sayurasem

The music glass diffuser is just the best for shallow tanks! Man so jelly hehe


----------



## Hayden

Thanks Man!

I gave my Riccia/DHG a major trim today. Also, I just bought a new camera! 
Not exactly what you would expect though... 








I can't wait to try it out!!


----------



## Green_Flash

nice vintage stuff


----------



## Tcal01

Hayden said:


> Thanks Man!
> 
> I gave my Riccia/DHG a major trim today. Also, I just bought a new camera!
> Not exactly what you would expect though...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I can't wait to try it out!!


NICE!!! i have a vintage canon A-1 from Korea. still takes amazing pictures


----------



## Hayden

> nice vintage stuff


Thanks! I never really consider myself to be a "collector" of vintage things, but I do seem to have quite a bit of it!



> NICE!!! i have a vintage canon A-1 from Korea. still takes amazing pictures


Awesome! I would love to see some. I can't wait to learn how to take some myself.


----------



## freph

Nice new camera and HC growth! Can't wait to see the whole foreground filled with HC. Don't forget to trim and replant once it gets tall enough as it will fill in much faster that way. Small bunches of 3-4 stems tend to work the best IME if you have that option.


----------



## Ebi

Beautiful Journal! 

Can't wait to see that fluffy carpet of HC 


Mike


----------



## Hayden

Thanks freph! I guess "new" is a relative term. When you say replant when it gets tall enough, do you mean trim the vertical growth and plant that? Or just split up the bunches as they grow out?I seem to notice that my vertical growth "converts" to horizontal runners when it gets tall enough...strange.
Thanks Mike I appreciate it!


----------



## freph

The vertical growth. It'll go horizontal naturally anyway and trimming just encourages that...but there's a fine line between trimming and overtrimming.


----------



## Hayden

Yeah my bunches are just getting started so I think ill wait untill their more settled in before I start trimming.


----------



## Hayden

*Week Four Update*​This week I saw increased HC growth, trimmed the background, and saw my first real algae outbreak. The algae is kind of stringy and green but I would call it hair algae, I guess I don't really know what it is. Still, none on the glass or in the pipes, just on my stones and HC. 
This week I also got my new camera, and since I didn't have access to a digital, I just used some of my new film pictures for this update. This was my first roll, so I was still very much learning.  I expect future photos to turn out much better, especially when I can get a macro lens!

Film is just cool.




































I'm very excited about the potential film shows. Oh yeah, also, my whole rig cost $70, not $700.


----------



## freph

Go HC go! Looks great man. Keep it up!  Be very careful with spirogyra. Nuke it hard before it becomes a problem...manual removal and excel (double dose max, never more than that). That stuff can become very problematic very quickly.


----------



## Hayden

Thanks for the warning freph. I'll spot treat with excel and manually remove. Good to know what it is.


----------



## andrewss

tank is lookin real good... great shots too


----------



## amphirion

very dramatic rockwork. im digging it! 
one thing that I would critique on though, is the lack of slope leading to the rocks. it looks as if the rocks were just place on top of the soil, rather than slowing being exposed to the water of years of erosion. just my cup of tea--feel free to throw it out. 

excellent choice of plants and maximizing their characteristics to add overall scape. looking forward to seeing things grow in!


----------



## Hayden

> tank is lookin real good... great shots too


Thanks for the compliments!



> very dramatic rockwork. im digging it!
> one thing that I would critique on though, is the lack of slope leading to the rocks. it looks as if the rocks were just place on top of the soil, rather than slowing being exposed to the water of years of erosion. just my cup of tea--feel free to throw it out.
> 
> excellent choice of plants and maximizing their characteristics to add overall scape. looking forward to seeing things grow in!


Thank you for a very well thought out critique, I really enjoy it when members have constructive, eloquent ways of stating their opinion.
The lack of slope was one of my concerns; the 3l bag of Amazonia just wasn't quite enough, then what little slope I had was destroyed by the constant replanting of HC. So maybe now that it is settled in I can try to recapture it.


----------



## Tcal01

i love the look of good film pictures and the ones you took look pretty good actually for you first time. the tank is also coming along quite nicely


----------



## Hayden

I agree, film has a very distinct look, I really like it. Since this roll I've got a couple more developed and got a few really good shots out in the natural light with my telephoto lens. Now were getting our first snow here in Minnesota so I have a whole new landscape to experiment with.


----------



## tetra10

hey Hayden, just stopping by, the tank looks great!


----------



## etane

So, what speakers do you have?


----------



## Hayden

I have AR-4x's. They're wonderful.


----------



## etane

Based on your other components, I had a hunch it was either Klipsch Heresy/Cornwall or an AR2/4. Fantastic system. The cabinet looks to be in excellent shape for its age.


----------



## Hayden

Thanks much. I actually refinished the cabinets when I restored my other components. It was quite a bit of work, but all in all it is a phenomenal system that I get to enjoy everyday. I love finding other stereo enthusiasts on these forums!


----------



## Hayden

Haven't got my hands on a camera yet..I'll try to update tonight. Stay tuned!


----------



## Hayden

I decided since I've passed the one month mark I'll switch to every other week updates, as there's just not as much to update.
In the last couple weeks I've seen an algae outbreak, in the form of spirogyra and diatoms. Nothing to huge, but I would like to know whats causing it. Does anybody have any idea? Also is there anything I should be doing other than manual removal and excel dosings to combat it?
Also, it's been about 5-6 weeks since start up; should I be cleaning my filter out?
Thanks everybody!


----------



## freph

Diatoms just run their course. You can introduce otos and amanos to deal with it. Spirogyra is manual removal and excel dosing, up to 2x max amount and make sure you have good oxygenation.


----------



## Hayden

All right great that's all the stuff I've been doing. My otos hove nice round tummies. 
Any suggestion on a filter cleaning regimine freph?


----------



## freph

Eh, I clean it whenever I notice my flow drops or I'm bored. If not that then every month and a half or so.


----------



## Hayden

hehe alright. I'll feel my way into it. Dirty filter pipes and diffuser too.. :/ 
Need to find some time for those as well.


----------



## Hayden

*Week Six Update*​
Alright so since my last update not much has changed. Plants have grown significantly, but so has algae.. 
Also, I cleaned off my diffuser for the first time, which made a world of difference. My Riccia is pearling like mad now. I really can't wait to see the end of diatoms and more importantly Spirogyra. 




























Pretty bad picture, but you can see how crazy the Riccia is. I'm trimming again tomorrow.


----------



## bluestems

Your tank is looking really good! That's some nice growth on the hc. I've had a lot of algae issues too and have found amano shrimp a big help with the Spirogyra.


----------



## Hayden

Thanks! I'll look into Amanos some more. I was thinking about getting one when I get some money. :/


----------



## freph

Holy growth Batman! This tank look awesome! Keep it up chief. Amanos ASAP...make it happen.  They're not too pricey.


----------



## bluestems

Hayden said:


> Thanks! I'll look into Amanos some more. I was thinking about getting one when I get some money. :/


They're pretty reasonably priced, around $3/ea. You can probably do a few more than one in your setup. They like having some friends around. :smile:


----------



## Green_Flash

Yeah the ricca is looking great!


----------



## Hayden

Thanks all, where could I get Amanos? Do I have to buy online, or is there a chance I could find them locally?


----------



## freph

Rachel is great on both prices and shipping if you can't find them local.


----------



## Hayden

Hey guys it's been awhile. Photo updates coming soon, however, I'd like to report some problems I'm having with this tank. I seem to be in that stage where nothing is going right.
First off, my water is constantly cloudy. I replaced my carbon and did a water change, which initially did the trick, but it's come back again after only a couple days. It looks like a whitish cloud at first but it seems to be turning yellow, slightly green.
Secondly, algae is still bad. On top of spirogyra and diatoms, regular green algae seems to be in constant supply. I'm wondering if my lighting is too intense; perhaps I should move it up a couple inches?
Thirdly, three of my ricca rocks, which had grown to a size much larger than the actual rocks, now detached themselves. Most likely because I used cotton thread, which I now remember biodegrades. :icon_redf I really reallly hope I don't see this happen with all my others.
Oh, and my Eheim seems to be making "swishing" noises lately, as if there's water running somewhere. Usually I can just tilt it, and the air bubbles will come out, but it's not working.
Anyone who could help with these problems would be greatly appreciated, I would love to get this tank back to an enjoyable state.

That's too much text without a picture, so here's one of my little sister eating a Christmas cookie. :icon_roll


----------



## Hayden

*Week Nine Update*​
Well, this isn't going to be the prettiest update. Cloudy water and algae make this tank a mess. In my last post I think I pretty much covered all the problems, but I'll illustrate with pictures. I hope I can get this all fixed up by Christmas time. Once I get paid hopefully I can get Seachem Purigen and Clarity, as well as amanos. Of course other suggestions are welcome.




























One more problem. As you can see, there is some brown algae on the glass that is just too hard to scrub off with a toothbrush. Any solutions?


----------



## pwolfe

For that algae on the glass, I'm becoming a big fan of 'magic erasers.' If you try it, be sure to use the plain ones as some have detergents added. All you want are the plain original eraser.


----------



## somewhatshocked

Get a small algae scraper or magnet.

Two Little Fishies makes a product ($6-$8) that is really tiny and perfect for tanks like yours so you don't disturb plants or substrate. They're a million times smaller than the MagFloat cleaners.


----------



## Hayden

Great ideas guys, thanks a lot.


----------



## PeterN1986

Use an old credit card or plastic card and just scrape it off the glass. Put your elbows into it! Sure, the algae bits will go into the water but shrimps or otos will pick it up somewhere eventually and eat it.


----------



## ADAtank

RaZOr blade


----------



## Hayden

Magic Eraser worked wonderfully, at least for green algae. For the future I'm looking at that Two Little Fishies Product.
Purigen in today, Amano's in tomorrow (found a local supplier)- Things are looking better. My Goal was to get the tank looking good by Christmas, and I might just get there! Anyways, pictures soon if everything goes according to plan. Merry Christmas Everybody!!


----------



## Hayden

*Week Thirteen Update*​
It's been far too long since an update- with the holidays, sickness, work, and school starting again, I've just plain been too busy. 
Anyways, much has changed in the past month. With new filter media, purigen, new algae scrubbers, and most importantly, Algaefix, most of the problems which plagued this tank have receded or altogether disappeared. Water is again crystal clear, spirogyra is gone, and diatoms and crazy green algae have receded drastically.
HC has grown in fairly well, not a complete carpet yet, but I've come quite a way. You can see I had to retie some riccia. This was due to a trimming mistake, and I used fishing line this time to ensure longevity. 
Also, I added two amano's, but both mysteriously disappeared within a week.. :confused1:

The Two Little Fishies scrubbers are pretty great. They do their job well and make the whole process very simple. My only complaint is the magfox pipe scrubber doesn't fit in 3/8" tubes like it's supposed to. I'm considering cutting it a sliver smaller so it will..
In the near future I plan to purchase an ADA Spring washer for my lily pipes, as well as Do!Aqua Scissors and Pinsettes, and add fauna to the tank. I'm hoping I can find the Boraras and Pygmy Cories locally, but if not, I'll have to buy online.


----------



## daitran89

Nice! Filling in nicely ^^


----------



## tex627

I love the rocks! It's like something you would find out of a fairytale book!

Justin


----------



## Hayden

Thanks for the compliments guys!


----------



## stuworrall

That tanks a stunner!


----------



## Hayden

> That tanks a stunner!


Thanks Stu! That's quite a compliment coming from you- I love your work.

I thought I would add a couple pictures after I trimmed and finally got everything cleaned up.


----------



## freph

Woo HC! Looks great.  20L will be a 100% stems, Helanthium tenellum and HC tank soon.


----------



## AnotherHobby

Love this tank! You've done a great job of taking advantage of the dimensions.


----------



## Hayden

> Woo HC! Looks great. 20L will be a 100% stems, Helanthium tenellum and HC tank soon.


Hey Freph! Can't wait to see it! Any news on the Mini M?



> Love this tank! You've done a great job of taking advantage of the dimensions.


Thanks!


----------



## freph

Hayden said:


> Hey Freph! Can't wait to see it! Any news on the Mini M?


I've been a bit busy but I do what I can with it here and there. It's more of a nuisance than anything. Fully carpeted with HC, hairgrass and I added some rotala to the back left corner where the intake its. It just seems to accumulate a lot of detritus....not sure why.


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## GMYukonon24s

Beautiful setup! It looks larger than it is.


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## Hayden

> I've been a bit busy but I do what I can with it here and there. It's more of a nuisance than anything. Fully carpeted with HC, hairgrass and I added some rotala to the back left corner where the intake its. It just seems to accumulate a lot of detritus....not sure why.


Interesting. Hope it pulls through!



> Beautiful setup! It looks larger than it is.


Thanks.


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## Hayden

*Week 16 Update*​Three weeks since the last update, things are still looking good. Increased growth, no big problems, and some new Fauna!
I contacted Rachel and had a great experience. I ordered 12 Boraras Naevus, 6 Corydoras Habrosus, and 3 Amanos. 
These fish have been nothing but pleasure, I absolutely love the combination of their unique looks and personalities. The Corys are, however, my favorite.


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## tetra10

hey Hayden! it's been a while, I'm not sure if you still remember me or not but I see that your tank is coming along very nicely  did the algaefix product harm any of your fish or shrimp? the tank looks very nice and matured


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## freph

HC everywhere! Lovely tank. Glad it worked out well for you man!


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## Hayden

> hey Hayden! it's been a while, I'm not sure if you still remember me or not but I see that your tank is coming along very nicely did the algaefix product harm any of your fish or shrimp? the tank looks very nice and matured


It sure has been awhile! How's the Rotala doing? (if you still have any )
I stopped dosing Algaefix when my Fauna arrived- on the bottle it says that it's safe for fish but not for inverts. (Actually, I had otos in the tank while I was dosing, and they weren't affected.)



> HC everywhere! Lovely tank. Glad it worked out well for you man!


Thanks Freph! I can't wait until my HC fully carpets. It's taking awhile, but I kind of expected that because I started with so little.
Have you set up your 20L yet?


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## joey24dirt

This tank looks amazing. I hope my hc and glosso fill in as well as this has


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## freph

Hayden said:


> Thanks Freph! I can't wait until my HC fully carpets. It's taking awhile, but I kind of expected that because I started with so little.
> Have you set up your 20L yet?


20L has been reset, yeah. Had an issue with hairgrass being horrendously invasive so I had to rip up and re-plant my D. diandra bush. Also a lot of my HC was infested with U. gibba so I only took the cleanest and healthiest patches and planted them. I've got like...7? small ones right now but they're doing well. It'll take longer to spread but the good thing about HC is that the growth is exponential. Plus, that tank resists algae very well so I don't even get algae on newly planted bunches or on exposed aquasoil even under high light.


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## Green_Flash

Nice update, the new fish sound great.


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## tex627

Your glass ware is so clean, I envy you my friend! Beautiful aquascape still!


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## Hayden

*Week 19 Update​*Well, I finally have my own camera! A Canon 60D with a Sigma 17-70mm Macro to be exact. 
I actually only have a few photos of my tank, from the morning when the sun was shining in. I'll get some more good ones later, but for now, I thought I should at least have some new photos up.
Enjoy!


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## DefStatic

I hate your tank... I hate it because it is awesome. Really nice carpet and those stones are just amazing. Wish I could find stones like that.


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## Hayden

That's a bad attitude! It's not a competition, so no one needs to feel threatened or belittled by others success. If others are successful, it's only to your advantage, because you can admire them and learn from them. That's what I think anyways. 
Thank's for the compliments though! I bought my stones right from AFA.


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## Brian_Cali77

Great tank and very inspirational! I unfortunately have Spiro in my shrimp tank. I want to try the algaefix method you used after I remove the shrimp. Are there special instructions you used to rid your Spiro?


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## Hayden

Lots of hand removal! Other than that, along with algaefix, just time I guess. I didn't necessarily do anything special.


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## tetra10

love the tank! i am still following along Hayden!


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## Kinection

That's an amazing scape and some great photgraphy skills you got there!


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## gnod

must. resist. ordering. 45f. right. now..!!!!!! 

i love this tank. how's that atomic regulator treating ya? i was this close to getting it but settled with something else.


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## Yankee

gnod said:


> must. resist. ordering. 45f. right. now..!!!!!!


Exactly!!


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## TitanLH

Amazing journal with an amazing setup! I'm planning on getting the 45-f tank as well and start up my first planted aquarium. I'm currently in the process of purchasing all the necessary parts for the tank and I noticed that I'll be doing the same setup (in terms of setting up the filter and CO2 in the IKEA bookshelf). Out of curiosity, what size CO2 tank are you using for this setup and how long does it last?


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## Hayden

Thank you for your compliments guys!



> how's that atomic regulator treating ya? i was this close to getting it but settled with something else.


It's great. Haven't had any problems. once you get it locked in it's solid.



> Amazing journal with an amazing setup! I'm planning on getting the 45-f tank as well and start up my first planted aquarium. I'm currently in the process of purchasing all the necessary parts for the tank and I noticed that I'll be doing the same setup (in terms of setting up the filter and CO2 in the IKEA bookshelf). Out of curiosity, what size CO2 tank are you using for this setup and how long does it last?


Wow that's really cool to hear. Can't wait to see it. I'm using an Atomic Nano V2, which is GLA's nano system that has a solenoid. I really love it because it looks like it fits nicely under the tank in the shelf. It's been lasting me 2 months at least on one tank, so I get good mileage out of it.


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## gnod

Wow that's really cool to hear. Can't wait to see it. I'm using an Atomic Nano V2, which is GLA's nano system that has a solenoid. I really love it because it looks like it fits nicely under the tank in the shelf. It's been lasting me 2 months at least on one tank, so I get good mileage out of it.[/QUOTE]

2 months of a 20oz paintball? do you know what your bps is?


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## Hayden

No it's a 92 gram disposable cartridge. The paintball canisters would probably fit but I like how small this is. BPS is around 0.3 or 0.4.


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## TitanLH

Thanks for the info!


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## DefStatic

Hayden said:


> That's a bad attitude! It's not a competition, so no one needs to feel threatened or belittled by others success. If others are successful, it's only to your advantage, because you can admire them and learn from them. That's what I think anyways.
> Thank's for the compliments though! I bought my stones right from AFA.


I was a compliment! Hate is the modern day compliment LOL. If someone is hating, it prob because they are jealous. Which is what I was jokingly saying LOL.

ADA tanks, while ridiculously expensive, are amazing. And you have done a great job.

What is AFA?


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## Hayden

Yeah haha I know that, I was just voicing my disaproval for that kind of compliment. :hihi:
AFA is one of the online dealers of ADA Prdoucts in the US. 
Here's the website: http://www.adana-usa.com/


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## freph

Looooooooooove me some of that HD photography - especially when it involves HC. Let's get some HD shots of the whole carpet and its texture/fullness! Tank looks great man. Keep up the good work.


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## Hayden

hahaha I wish I could: ITS NOT FULLY CARPETED YET.
One of my well kept secrets, when you see it from the front it looks lush and dense, but from the top there's still plenty of holes! So I agree, it would look amazing, but... I can't, lol.


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## freph

Well shoot. Could've fooled me except for the one picture where there's very slight bits of soil visible, but no biggie. It still looks quite nice. Were most of the Canon shots with natural sunlight or with the tank's light?


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## BS87

Very very nice, I love the F-series tanks. Toying with the idea of building my own 75-F or 90-F as they don't make them bigger than the 60-F


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## IWANNAGOFAST

they do, they have up to a 120F, but the dimensions were a little weird, I think it's just like 2 60f's side by side, so you don't have the depth.


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## BS87

*Re: Hayden's ADA 45-f: Week 19 update*

Really? I've never seen them for sale.


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## Hayden

Yeah Freph it's all just natural sunlight.
Well guys, I'm back from a little trip to Duluth, MN. It was really very fun, and relaxing too. Maybe I'll share some pictures in the photography forum later tonight.


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## Green_Flash

BS87 said:


> Really? I've never seen them for sale.



That is because they discontinued the 90-F and 120-F Frank said.


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## PeterRusso

Awesome tank... I noticed that your 45-f has the "old" ADA logo.....very cool. Also, nice to see fellow audiophiles in the planted hobby!


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## Hayden

Thanks! Yeah I personally like the older logos more. 
Whats your Stereo Setup?


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## PeterRusso

I have both an "old" and "new" logo mini L. I can tell you that the old stuff is far clearer. The new ADA looks like DO!AQUA in comparison to the old stuff. I do quite a bit of horse trading when it comes to audio gear so the setups change frequently. Newest setup is a set of Martin Logan Aerius i, Rega Apollo-R CD, Pioneer Elite Amp. (doubling for TV watching duty)


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## Hayden

Those are some pretty awesome speakers! 
I know what you mean about trading out equipment- I do a lot of Garage Sale-ing and turning over gear for a profit, so I get to test out a lot of different equipment! A fun hobby for sure.


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## Hayden

A couple big changes in the tank I thought I would share. For a while the Riccia has really been bothering me. Trimmings were too rigorous, and would leave my HC Carpet all messy. In general, it led to an "unclean" appearance in my tank. While I like the plant, and I'm happy to change things up, so I replaced it with DHG. Can't wait for it to fill in! Also I trimmed the HC for the first time. Now the tank looks MUCH cleaner. 

SO Messy. Also a great portion of riccia detached!









Everything Removed.









Little less messy.









Trimming Mess.









Ahhhhhh. So much nicer looking.


















Also got a new fun toy: A WP8x. My first phone- I've got to say it makes life much easier. Anybody else using the WP8 OS?


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## Green_Flash

I like it w/o the ricca.  Your tank glass clarity does look superb. Not sure but new ADA tanks do have a slight bluish hue to the LIG.


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## assasin6547

Personally this tank looks good no matter what plant you have.  The DHG will make a nice background in this iwagami. What livestock are you planning?


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## sayurasem

HC is going very nicely!


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## Hayden

Thank you all! 


> What livestock are you planning?


Actually I have 2 otos and 8 Boraras Brigittae in right now. I would add more, but I'm going to be moving in May, so I'm leaving the tank "status quo" for the time being.


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## dr3ww3rd

Wish my HC carpet looked like that. I need these diatoms to go away


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## freph

I see you ran into the same problem with riccia that I did. :hihi: It's such a nuisance. Don't be afraid to trim the HC lower btw. The lower you go the healthier the lower regions of it will stay.


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## Hayden

Little update: (not going keep counting the weeks. )
Not much has changed, no real problems, just enjoyment!
However, I will be moving in May, so this tanks day's are numbered. This is an opportunity for growth though- I am planning to retire the 45-f and upgrade to a 60-f, which is very exciting. Along with this I will be getting a Solar II light, ADA ferts, and other goodies. I may just end up selling the 45-f, or I'll save it for a second tank (nano-reef??), depending on how much room I'll have.

Some pictures:


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## Green_Flash

This has been a fun journal to read and the tank looks great. I look forward seeing to your next project.


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## Brian_Cali77

^^ Agreed! It was informative and inspirational... Thanks for sharing!

We just got a 60-F a couple weeks ago. This thread had a little influence in that purchase. Would love to see what you would do with it if you get it as well.


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## Hayden

I'm really glad to hear you guys enjoyed the progress of this tank. I know I have learned a lot. I already have a couple plans brewing for my upcoming project!


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## Hayden

I thought I'd add some more pictures as the tank reaches it's completion. It's really wonderful to just not have problems in a tank- no algae, no dying fish or plants, no shoddy equipment giving way. It's worth it all.
Just thought I'd add, my computer is down so I had to edit these on a laptop with a bad monitor, so excuse my pictures if they appear grossly miss-edited. :icon_roll





































My OCD is going crazy with all this moving mess in my space :eek5:


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## CPDzeke

Cleanest tank I've seen! How fast is your co2? I'm all over it. I could stare at it day after day...
Lucky you! You get to!


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## Hayden

CO2 is at ~2bps maybe? I sort of eyeball it now that I know my tank pretty well. You can drop by for a visit sometime!


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## frrok

*Hayden's ADA 45-f*

Nice, clean and minimal. Great work.


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## Soup12

What do you use for external heater?

small wattage I could find was hydor eth 200w, seems like that would fry the tank though that size.


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## Hayden

No Heater. I don't even know the temperature. :hihi:

The HC was getting uneven and messy again, time for another trim!

Before









Trimmed and Messy!









Cleaned up! (Sort of :confused1


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## somewhatshocked

The evolution of this tank is just phenomenal. And if I remember correctly, you seemed to be a bit anxious about making it work. Hope you're laughing at those thoughts now because it's great.

Glad you're letting a bit of algae grow on those rocks, as well. Makes the entire tank pop and looks natural.


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## joey24dirt

This is by far my favourite tank I've seen on this website. It's definitely inspired me to keep at my own projects even through all the rough times. Just perfect


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## Hayden

> The evolution of this tank is just phenomenal. And if I remember correctly, you seemed to be a bit anxious about making it work. Hope you're laughing at those thoughts now because it's great.
> Glad you're letting a bit of algae grow on those rocks, as well. Makes the entire tank pop and looks natural.


Thanks for the compliments and insight! I was considering doing a compilation of FTS's from start to finish when I tear it down. I think it would be interesting to see the ups and downs of its progression.



> This is by far my favourite tank I've seen on this website. It's definitely inspired me to keep at my own projects even through all the rough times. Just perfect


Thanks for the highest form of compliment.


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## joey24dirt

No problem dude. Keep up the good work.


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## Jdiesels

*Hayden's ADA 45-f*

How much were the do!aqua glass pieces all together? 


DBP Member 003


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## Hayden

You can look on ADANA-USA.com 
But probably around $130 for the pipes and diffuser.


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## Hayden

*The End​*
The time has come.
Last night I took down my beloved 45-f. I thought I would finish up this journal with my final thoughts and a video that shows this scapes progression throughout its life.
First of all I'd like to say how helpful this journal has been to me and how much help I've gotten from other members here. Thanks to all of you for your time and generosity.
Looking back, I consider this the first aquascape I was fully committed too, as well as the first I think reached "completion" in some sense. As such, I am able to say I'm really proud of what I've done, and looking forward I can't wait to start fresh and use my gained knowledge and experience to create something even better.
In closing, I'd like to share this video I made which tracks the tank from start to end. Again, thanks you all who have followed along and offered your help, and I hope you'll check out my 60-F journal beginning this June!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNizxeLvhzc&feature=youtu.be


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## somewhatshocked

This tank was great. Definitely looking forward to your next journal. 

Hope you'll be starting this tank up again, as well.


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## sayurasem

Oh boy an upgrade! Can't wait for the next one!


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## LBathory

I dream of the day where I can say "It's really wonderful to just not have problems in a tank- no algae, no dying fish or plants, no shoddy equipment giving way. It's worth it all."
congrats to you sir.


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## Hayden

Thank you all. 
I'd just like to say the next journal should be starting within the next two weeks.


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