# Dou's ADA 60P



## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Woah nice tank area! Really great job for someone who is 'new' to the hobby hahaha. See the multiple tank syndrome has already set in hard. What light are you using?
I would get a few more Kubotais, groups are better, although it may stretch the bioload a bit. You could switch one of the other fish species for more of them as an alternative. I see an Otocinclus there as well, I think you missed it in your stocking list hahaha. Also, recommend a group of them unless you already do have a group which was not listed.

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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Thanks x)! Yes I have been hit hard haha. Partner grudgingly has allowed me to buy this many tanks (I have another one in the living room Brio35 - so that's 6 total). I'm using the Chihiros Doctor LED light - which is working great so far. One day I'll go full ADA fanboy and get the AquaSky. 

In hindsight I would do just as you recommended but I've been adding things slowly... So I got a real mish mash here. Ideally I would love to add 10-20 more sparrow rasbora but I keep getting tempted by random new fish from the LFSs haha (and I'm already overstocked).



Opare said:


> Woah nice tank area! Really great job for someone who is 'new' to the hobby hahaha. See the multiple tank syndrome has already set in hard. What light are you using?
> I would get a few more Kubotais, groups are better, although it may stretch the bioload a bit. You could switch one of the other fish species for more of them as an alternative. I see an Otocinclus there as well, I think you missed it in your stocking list hahaha. Also, recommend a group of them unless you already do have a group which was not listed.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Resist the urge! Do it for the fish!


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Decided to rescape my 60P a bit last night. More work is coming (additional small/branchy wood near the bottom for root-y effects, some more rocks, changing the plants) but I just wanted to highlight how often I've changed my mind. It was a lot of work (~4 hours) but definitely worth it. I tried to move all my pygmy cories.... However one somehow evaded my detection and was schooling in my face lol ==. Only noticed him when I took the photo.


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

And updated with more rocks, increased slopes and swapped some plants out. Didn't find any pieces of wood I liked... so perhaps I will add that later on. Also traded in my green neons for threadfin rainbows - they were just sticking out too much before. These are more subtle and will fit quite nicely I think once they colour in. Pretty happy with it now overall, but the next steps are probably to add some different coloured plants.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

The new scape looks fantastic. Good job. Much improved from the first few scapes, this seems to have much more focus.


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## BBogdan (Jun 23, 2016)

I love the simplicity! 
Very nice green, good job !


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Quick update on my 60P - moss starting to grow in... will need about 2 more months I think for it to become what I want it to be. Also, the ? plant is called "Eichhornia Diversifolia". It grows super fast...


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## Tomas_Megis (Jun 26, 2016)

WOW! Really nice tank! How are you satisfied with Chihiros A-Series light? I have this light just for 3 months and I need to say it was great deal for this money... [emoji106] 

www.tomasmegis.cz
Czech Republic | Prague


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

For what you pay - this is definitely an awesome light! I only wish it had a controller so I could create a sunrise/sunset effect.

I also updated my original post to reflect the most recent changes and added an updated photo of my den =). Don't want to make this thread too image repetitive so here are the imgur links if you want to click instead of scrolling up:

- Progress .GIF: http://imgur.com/Fi8J9bg
- Den: http://imgur.com/2gdKONO



Tomas_Megis said:


> WOW! Really nice tank! How are you satisfied with Chihiros A-Series light? I have this light just for 3 months and I need to say it was great deal for this money... [emoji106]
> 
> tomasmegis | fotografie
> Czech Republic | Prague


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Update:

- Removed "Eichhornia Diversifolia"
- Added Myriophyllum Tuberculatum
- Removed Monte Carlo on the right
- Added in Lilaeopsis on the right
- Rearranged rocks
- Rearranged some plants, and did a lot of trimming (which doesn't seem like it at first)










Bonus picture of my newly scaped MiniM. I designed it specifically to mimic the natural setting in taiwan/china where wild crystal bee shrimp are found - waiting for the amazonia ammonia spike to finish its course and adding them in after =).


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Me like, a lot! roud:

My only question is how you got your ex green neons to be in the open?


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## charlie 1 (Oct 22, 2006)

Great job, love the evolution of the tank.
Regards


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

I think for that one photo - I just got extremely lucky. I sat there behind the camera for a good 15 minutes. When it was really dense, they just loved to hide between and under everything - and only come out when I'm not looking. Funny enough, when I removed some of the hiding places by making it less dense, they came out to swim. Normally they aren't shy - but only when you stare right up to the tank they hide... which I normally always do. 

However, I had decided to remove them because they took too much attention away from the overall aquascape - it's the first thing anyone sees. They are nice and all but it wasn't allowing my hours and hours of work to really shine at all.



OVT said:


> Me like, a lot! roud:
> 
> My only question is how you got your ex green neons to be in the open?


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

How is this going?


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Couesfanatic said:


> How is this going?


I've been super busy but here are some photo updates =). Edit// Recently the take went through a major rehaul which was the move of sand substrate back to the front (no more soil/sand divide). This was a hard decision to make but many people told me that they thought it would look better so I did it (and I think I agree with them). Of course at first I regretted even doing anything but it turned out pretty alright. I also removed the red plants, I think for my aquascape it just didn't fit. There's no point in forcing something that didn't match with the theme/style. Another major learning point is that I should have an idea before I start - or else I'll end up changing my mind a million times like I did for the 60P. It looks nice, but not as "natural" as it could be because I was more focused on making it look nice rather than focusing on what looks the most natural. I learned so much from this tank and have since rescaped it to something a little more chaotic and jungle-y. I got chocolate gouramis and wanted to create the perfect home for them essentially. In the end, I spent 10+ hours rescaping but I'm pretty happy with it (and now letting things grow in to be more natural).

Progression:










Final Photo:










Re-scaped the 60P:










Photos of the new inhabitants =):



















Wild CBS & Baby










And my new project =D - custom 90x36x30 tank.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Woah that new scape is fantastic. Reminds me of a lot of the high-placing contest scapes you see nowadays.


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Opare said:


> Woah that new scape is fantastic. Reminds me of a lot of the high-placing contest scapes you see nowadays.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks! The fact that you think so is very flattering =). I think I am just missing a couple plants in there to making it complete (but haven't decided what yet). I think I'm looking for some type of carpeting plant as well as one stem of something a little more rare, like a random flower you find in the middle of a forest. The only thing that concerns me about the tank as it is now is the Buce I added in... Still new to this plant and I lost almost half of it when I left it in my quarantine tank to hold until I was ready to rescape. I actually moved the entire tank to the other side of the room so I could fit he new 90cm.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Dou said:


> Thanks! The fact that you think so is very flattering =). I think I am just missing a couple plants in there to making it complete (but haven't decided what yet). I think I'm looking for some type of carpeting plant as well as one stem of something a little more rare, like a random flower you find in the middle of a forest. The only thing that concerns me about the tank as it is now is the Buce I added in... Still new to this plant and I lost almost half of it when I left it in my quarantine tank to hold until I was ready to rescape. I actually moved the entire tank to the other side of the room so I could fit he new 90cm.


No worries cus it's true! The scape has come a long way and right now it looks baller as hell.

For your 'flower' type plants I would look at getting colourful Bucephalandras, but you seem to be dipping your hand in that already. I feel like a colourful stem could take away from the hardscape and jungle look, I may be wrong though. Maybe some Monte Carlo just to cover a little bit of the front but not to really capret the whole thing to give a natural look rather than the manicured carpet looks.
As for the Buceps health, I faced a similar thing. A lot of the old (looked emersed) leaves melted away, but the plants now have new leaves shooting out. I would just be patient and leave it as long as the rhizome is still hard.


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Opare said:


> No worries cus it's true! The scape has come a long way and right now it looks baller as hell.
> 
> For your 'flower' type plants I would look at getting colourful Bucephalandras, but you seem to be dipping your hand in that already. I feel like a colourful stem could take away from the hardscape and jungle look, I may be wrong though. Maybe some Monte Carlo just to cover a little bit of the front but not to really capret the whole thing to give a natural look rather than the manicured carpet looks.
> As for the Buceps health, I faced a similar thing. A lot of the old (looked emersed) leaves melted away, but the plants now have new leaves shooting out. I would just be patient and leave it as long as the rhizome is still hard.
> ...


RE: Buce - good to know! Yeah the rhizome is still hard so I think it should be okay, it just sucks when you lose a lot of something that you paid a bit for =[. I agree about the colourful stem, I think what I meant is something like a slow-growing plant that is a bit more "colourful" - perhaps like a white anubias...


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Dou said:


> RE: Buce - good to know! Yeah the rhizome is still hard so I think it should be okay, it just sucks when you lose a lot of something that you paid a bit for =[. I agree about the colourful stem, I think what I meant is something like a slow-growing plant that is a bit more "colourful" - perhaps like a white anubias...


Yeah definitely felt that although Buceps are a bit cheaper for me than they are for all of y'all in the US. Oooo White Anubias would be perfect. It would really pop against the rest of the tank. Definitely on board for this idea.


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Opare said:


> Yeah definitely felt that although Buceps are a bit cheaper for me than they are for all of y'all in the US. Oooo White Anubias would be perfect. It would really pop against the rest of the tank. Definitely on board for this idea.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Scratch that idea for now... it costs 100$ for only a small tiny bit =/


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Dou said:


> Scratch that idea for now... it costs 100$ for only a small tiny bit =/


Aiyaiyai I don't think I could ever convince myself to spend that much on one plant.


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Just some updates...

Built Custom Stand: 



















90CM:










75W x 36H x 40D (Custom): Picking up soon

60P: Process of being shut down, rescape when a new idea comes to mind

45P:










MiniM (taken right before I moved it below to new stand):










Impromptu Trip to Seattle + Visited Aquarium Zen =) + Got Manzanita Wood


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Damn all those scapes are looking awesome, great photos too. That 90cm shallow really looks great, you used its footprint really well. Bravo!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Your tanks are absolutely amazing! I love that stand too! I'm in the beginning stages of looking for stand designs to build as I need one for my new 60cm tank. I've got several other tanks in the same room and a stand like yours would be perfect! Would you mind sharing more about the stand design?


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

johnson18 said:


> Your tanks are absolutely amazing! I love that stand too! I'm in the beginning stages of looking for stand designs to build as I need one for my new 60cm tank. I've got several other tanks in the same room and a stand like yours would be perfect! Would you mind sharing more about the stand design?


Thank you! I actually just drew something up that I thought would look nice.. the outline is on my work computer which is being repaired so I can't share just yet... It's basically 8 ft x 4 ft - 66" high, with a set of frames below and one above. It was made with 2x4s and sheets of 3/4" plywood.


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## al4n (Nov 18, 2008)

looks real good..!


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Photo Updates:

90CM:










Do!Aqua MiniM:










Do!Aqua Cube:










Brio35:


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## nel (Jan 23, 2016)

I'm absolutely in love with the brio35! How does it even work? How is it held together with this big pot? Just wow!


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

wow, never seen tanks like this before! very well done  like your stand/table to


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

nel said:


> I'm absolutely in love with the brio35! How does it even work? How is it held together with this big pot? Just wow!


The tank itself is like 9 gallons with a resevoir below (like a sump, maybe 3-4G). Down below, there's a pump that pulls water up and it flows down back into the tank from the top - while water falls back down to the bottom in a cut-out area also around the same place near the top on the vertical white bar (which keeps the water level where it's at). The water falls down/floods into the right side (which is meant to be used for Aquaponics, but I totally failed and gave up... and started to do a wabikusa of some sort, but still facing issues) and then back down to the bottom. I'm glad you like it (that means Im making progress on it!) because I regretted buying this for quite some time as its so hard to make look decent on top of being expensive lol =(.



BettaBettas said:


> wow, never seen tanks like this before! very well done  like your stand/table to


Thank you! After building things like that it makes sense why custom anything is much more expensive (the expertise and craftsmanship)...


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## Dou (Nov 16, 2015)

Biweekly maintenance before lights and CO2 came on - 50% WC and trimmed where necessary. Main learning point so far: better to trim a bit everyday than to trim all in one go (destroyed my left side carpet...). Also trying to figure out how to get a nice beautiful rotala bush (just freshly trimmed it, and replanted some stems). I also had GDA issues which have been toned back after I started dosing every day. Started dosing Nitrogen (which I haven't been for a long time due to my perception that it causes BBA, which MIGHT not be true haha) to test whether this is why my rotala isn't growing crazy.


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## trinity ghost (Feb 5, 2017)

This tank is unbelievable!!!


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