# not_sponsored's mini-m



## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Tank Specs:
Tank - ADA Mini-M
Lighting - Solar Mini M
Filtration - Eheim 2211, 9 mm aquaticmagic pipes
CO2 - ADA 74-YA advanced system, EL-Valve, Do!Aqua 15D diffuser
Substrate - 3L amazonia I, seiryu stones
Stand - DIY

Fauna/Flora
UG
????????

Current FTS (2/14/11)


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Built a small stand for the tank, going for the illusion of a larger tank



















Stand primed and painted










Tiny pipes










Just enough room in the stand for an Eheim 2211


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Dry scape









Equipment as of now, anybody know of a metric to standard CO2 adapter for the ADA system?










Planted some UG (utricularia graminifolia) filling in nicely so far, gonna be a few weeks before I can fill to give the UG a foothold. *crosses fingers.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

Oh my god, I'm in love with the mini stand, that's the coolest thing ever.


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Haha thanks! and thanks Dollface for the UG, highly recommended!

Also, open to some constructive criticism, been out of the planted tank game for a while, so trying to get a handle on everything again.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Love it.


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

looks like you are off to a cool start. I like the stand too, just don't knock it off that desk. When you hook up the lily pipes and diffuser, you may probably want to put the diffuser on the opposite side of the tank so that the flow from the outflow pipe will spread the bubbles around more efficiently when you fill it (unless that photo was just to show the glassware you purchased). Looks like a fun tank. best, el g.


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## gBOYsc2 (Dec 4, 2010)

Great tank and awesome stand. I love the idea of creating the illusion of a bigger tank.


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## theblondskeleton (Aug 28, 2009)

Now, that is a great little setup  I like your scape, too. Nice and simple!


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

looks fresh. I like it.


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Thanks guys!

Fat Guy- Yeah it's between my TV and my computer, so I gotta be REEEALLY careful, good thing the desk and stand are pretty sturdy. The pic with the glassware was just so I could see how it would look, you're saying that ideally the Inflow and diffuser are on one side while the outflow is on the opposite side?


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

not_sponsored said:


> Thanks guys!
> 
> Fat Guy- Yeah it's between my TV and my computer, so I gotta be REEEALLY careful, good thing the desk and stand are pretty sturdy. The pic with the glassware was just so I could see how it would look, you're saying that ideally the Inflow and diffuser are on one side while the outflow is on the opposite side?


my bad, I meant to say that you'd want to have your inflow and outflow next to each other on one side. and on the other side would be your diffuser.


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## bsk (Aug 18, 2010)

the mini stand cool and I like your stone placement. The only thing I might change adding more aquasoil towards the back of the tank for a steeper slope. Either way it looks really nice.


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Yeah, I really wanted more soil but aquascapes ran out, and I got impatient to plant haha Would it hurt to add soil over the already planted UG? Just a little at a time.


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Fat Guy said:


> my bad, I meant to say that you'd want to have your inflow and outflow next to each other on one side. and on the other side would be your diffuser.


Ah okay got it, thanks


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

not_sponsored said:


> Yeah, I really wanted more soil but aquascapes ran out, and I got impatient to plant haha Would it hurt to add soil over the already planted UG? Just a little at a time.


Probably, yes.


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## r_scribble (Feb 4, 2011)

we're waiting your planting, curiously


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

love the diy stand. l just can't find myself to spend that much money on the original stand sold at adg. just out of curiosity where did you get the wood to make it? i'm assuming lowes or home depot but any info would be helpful. thanks and good luck with your project.


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

The wood was from lowes, it's a laminated sheet made for craft projects and stuff, so it's very even and square.


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## Zareth (Dec 13, 2010)

is it really laminated? It looks like plain pine to me.. 
is it particle board with a pine laminate on it?


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## thewife (Jan 26, 2011)

ha! you've got a serious case of Amano-itis  

Nice work! ...also, I'm jealous of your UG. I got some DHC and now I'm wondering why I didn't get UG instead [smh]


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Zareth said:


> is it really laminated? It looks like plain pine to me..
> is it particle board with a pine laminate on it?


It's made up of a bunch of 1x2's glued together, then probably put through a planing machine, so yes, it is laminated, but not in the way you're thinking (veneering).


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

not_sponsored said:


> Yeah, I really wanted more soil but aquascapes ran out, and I got impatient to plant haha Would it hurt to add soil over the already planted UG? Just a little at a time.


Not sure about UG, but it worked fine w/ DHG, I just kinda lifted it out of the soil w/ the roots in tact, laid down some new soil and just placed the plant on top, sprinkled a little more soil and patted it down, and it worked just fine.

I had grown a really thick lawn of DHG belem but I got a new ADA tank so I wanted to use it on that tank instead. I didn't want to wait for a lawn to grow again so I cut the lawn into little strips 1x2 inches and lifted it out, it lifted out pretty nicely with a lot of soil attached to the roots, and I just laid it on top of the new soil in the new tank. It's been about a month now and it's growing in real well with no die off.


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## r_scribble (Feb 4, 2011)

nice tank, wonderful scaping


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Got impatient and filled the tank up, hopefully the plants don't melt *crosses fingers


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> Not sure about UG, but it worked fine w/ DHG, I just kinda lifted it out of the soil w/ the roots in tact, laid down some new soil and just placed the plant on top, sprinkled a little more soil and patted it down, and it worked just fine.
> 
> I had grown a really thick lawn of DHG belem but I got a new ADA tank so I wanted to use it on that tank instead. I didn't want to wait for a lawn to grow again so I cut the lawn into little strips 1x2 inches and lifted it out, it lifted out pretty nicely with a lot of soil attached to the roots, and I just laid it on top of the new soil in the new tank. It's been about a month now and it's growing in real well with no die off.


I've had mixed success with this approach, it's about 50/50 that the UG does just fine, or it melts off completely, so that's why I advised against it. 



not_sponsored said:


> Got impatient and filled the tank up, hopefully the plants don't melt *crosses fingers


Blast the co2 and you should be good. Evidently another theory is that UG doesn't like a lot of dissolved nutrients in the water column like AS releases, so you might want to be diligent with the water changes. Hope it works out well for you.


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Thanks, sounds good, got the CO2 going, gonna do a 20-30% water change with RO/DI daily to keep the nutrient levels low until everything cycles.


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

So far so good, added 3 SAE and 3 otos today


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

Added some crystal reds today, grades B/A, also trimmed the UG down a bit, excuse the floaty bits, impossible to get it all.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

The simple scape looks very nice. Great job!


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

How do you like your lily pipes?


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

I like them so far, it was a bit frustrating that they don't come in the same sizes as the eheim filter (10mm out, 13mm in) but I just switched the connectors on the double tap and now both sides of my filter are 10mm.


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## chumlee (Nov 4, 2010)

this tank looks soooooooo clean. Nice work. Im sorry if you addressed this (i dont have time to read this im supposed to be writing an essay right now lol) but what else do you plan on stocking?


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## not_sponsored (Mar 29, 2008)

I was hoping to get my hands on a small group of chili rasboras, but I can't seem to find them locally. Might go with ember tetras instead.


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Very cool little tank! I'm LOVING the stand you built! Very nice idea, good way to keep everything looking clean by making a mini cabinet / stand for all the supplies roud: Also....what is the light resting on? Or is attached to the side of the tank somehow?


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