# Ada 75p



## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

Here are some more pics. Tell me what option is the best or what you guys would change. I should have the rest set up by the middle of this week with the plants arriving soon.


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## resowner92 (Jul 23, 2007)

I dont really know how to explain this but your rocks are in to much of a line you should scatter them up a bit. The left side is fine but its the right side thats bothering me


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

what type of lights are those? i like the hanging mechanism.


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

They are 30" double t-5s. They are on Bigals.com under flourescent lighting. I use them on all of my tanks. (I have 16 cichlid tanks up and running 3 are over 125 gallons.) They are fairly cheap and if you get the F/W version, it comes w 1 6700K light and 1 "colormax". I always just buy an extra 10000K t-5 and replace the colormax. For some reason I can't get to the link from where I am at or else I would post it. I will try to post it tonight from home.

Here are the lights.

I ordered a lot of plants today! They should be here by the end of the week and I will post more pics then!


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

Ok I finally have things working!!! My dad has helped tons so mad props to him! I am posting some of the finished product pictures. I am going to show the pump set up and how I did the hanging lights in a completed thread when I get the time. Thanks to Daud for the Blyxa and the mosses (not yet added). 


Some things I am debating to do
1. I may add some more riccia in front of the rocks on the right side.
2. Adding white sand between the two "ridges".
3. Putting either Christmas, Taiwan, or weeping moss on the rocks. (I like the hard lines the rocks make so I don't know if I will or not)

Some things I am going to do
1. Add some Downoi in the back between the Sags and Giant Hairgrass. (Thanks to bigstick120)
2. Get the C02 lines hooked up.
3. Take daily pictures to make a day by day journal.


So far the list of plants are: 
Blyxa Japonica
Eleocharis montevidensis (Giant Hairgrass)
Sagittaria subulata (Dwarf Subulata)
Riccia Fluitans
Marsilea quadrifolia (Dwarf 4 Leaf Clover)
Hemianthus callitrichoides (Dwarf Baby Tears)


Please give feedback!


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

That's quite an impressive slope you've got there


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## helgymatt (Dec 7, 2007)

I love it already. I do agree the rocks should be a little more staggered, but it will probably mess up a lot now to move them. I think once things grow in, it will look more natural. I also like the rigid looks of the rocks, so If you put moss on them I would do it sparingly. 

Where do you get the giant hairgrass? I want some for my 29. Is it a easy plant?

Looking forward to the progression here!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Good start! Is that a 75P, or a 60P? Looks like a 75P


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

> Good start! Is that a 75P, or a 60P? Looks like a 75P


Haha I didn't even realize I was doing that! It is a 75P



> Where do you get the giant hairgrass? I want some for my 29. Is it a easy plant?


Aquraiumplants.com, its a great store so far. I have used them twice and both times the plants are really great!



> I love it already. I do agree the rocks should be a little more staggered,


The first idea was to make it look like sheer clifts and only put one foreground with some type of "tree looking" plants in the background. Not such large ones like blyxa and giant hairgrass. I was then going to fill inbetween the two "clifts" some white sand that made it look like a barren pathway between the two steep clifts. I have since changed it and now it is less natural I think. What do you think? 

Anyway, I may have weeping moss grow over the top of two or three edges and just let it work its magic. This is only my second planted tank ever and I started my first in December so we will see where it goes. 

The idea now is to have it look like a walkway into "paradise" (where all the blyxa and sags grow together to make a very bright green, thick forest).
Hope it works!


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

Loving it so far! The rimless are so nice


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## itstony (Jan 11, 2009)

the slope looks ginormous from the side lol but do you plan on leaving the baby tears spreaded or do they grow fast? and any plans for fishes?


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

I have a friend who has to remain nameless cuz he is entering a tank into the ADA competition; his tank was the inspiration. His slope in the tank is 2x's as large at least!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

twychopen said:


> I have a friend who has to remain nameless cuz he is entering a tank into the ADA competition; his tank was the inspiration. His slope in the tank is 2x's as large at least!


so there was only like 2 inches of water in the back?


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

No, lol. His tank is a much larger ADA.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

The petrified wood looks pretty good. I think the two small rocks are placed in an unnatural way. maybe adding more to create clusters with varying height would improve the scape. the substrate would look better if it is flat in the foreground without the wavy look.The HC should be replanted and spread out better for faster coverage. IMHO this type of scape will look good with only 3-4 types of plants. Not necessarily iwagumi style but the scape lends itself to a clean and simple scape. Your lily pipes will give you better flow if you place them on the side of the tank. BTW great way of hanging those fixtures. I never thought of doing that:icon_idea. I would keep the pink colormax bulbs and replace the 67k with the 10k it makes plants and fish look better.


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

> I would keep the pink colormax bulbs and replace the 67k with the 10k it makes plants and fish look better.


Well I would have to play around with it. I don't have any more bulbs. I could switch the 6700K back, but I know that those are great for growing plants.


> The HC should be replanted and spread out better for faster coverage.


I am not sure where else to put them? They are fairly evenly spread out I thought. I don't want them to over-run the 4 leaf clover so I tried to not put them in the mid-left side.


> lily pipes will give you better flow if you place them on the side of the tank.


They are permanent. There are holes that I drilled in my desk at work. It's a one shot deal  BTW why is that that they will flow better?


> The petrified wood looks pretty good. I think the two small rocks are placed in an unnatural way. maybe adding more to create clusters with varying height would improve the scape.


The place I bought them from is out. I am checking when they get their next shipment. I had planned on doing this but had forgot. I bought the last of what they had last week when I posted my first pics.

As far as the scape is concerned, I love the simple iwagumi style, but these plants are all fairly closely related as far as looks go. (Hairgrass, Blyxa, Dwarf Sags/4 Leaf clover, Baby tears) If it ends up being too much I will remove the stuff. Thanks for the reply, very helpful!  Keep em coming!


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

HC spreads faster if you remove the wool and plant them one stems at a time. Same with the clover. one or 2 stems at a time and space tehm out in 1" pattern. I did it with mine and now my HC has tripled or more in 2 weeks since planting.

Craig


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

That sux! Man I wish I woulda known that earlier. I removed as much of the wool as I could without ripping the plants apart. I didn't want to dammage them. When I do a water change, I may replant. Won't they float to the top?


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Mine are in aquasoil and didn't float to the top. Maybe a couple of stems but not many. Just plant each stem deep with only a couple of leaves showing. If you look at my thread in the nano section it shows initial planting on 1-15-2009 and a more recent shot I need to get a new one up in abit to show the full growth.

Craig


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

Here is my first reading of the different water parameters. Anything wrong yet?? I need to go back and read the articles I have saved about appropriate water parameters.

1/30/2009 
Nitrate 5-10 ppm
Nitrite 0 
Ammonia 0
C02 20
PH 6.6
KH 2.5
GH 10

How do I lower the GH?


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

*More changes*

I have added mosses (mostly because I had to do something with them until I rescape my 35 tomorrow). I am not really sure about them. I like the rocks the way they were but inevitably they will get some green on them so why not moss? I am still undecided. Let me know what you guys think. The anubai nana is temporary as well. I don't even know what the stemmed plant in the back by the lily pipes is.

I changed the way I had put the baby tears in becuase of earlier suggestion from Craigthor. I think that it is way better now!


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

It seems like the tank is beginning to cycle. I have checked the water and here are the parameters:

Nitrate 20 ppm
Nitrite .25 ppm
Ammonia 8 ppm
C02 25+
PH 5.9
KH 2
GH 8.5

The Aqua soil seems to be really softening the water. I am going to do a water change today and then recheck the hardness. I am going to add baking soda to try to get the ph up just a bit if a water change doesn't help. Does anybody know if adding more bio-support helps speed the nitrogen cycle up? I assume it does but would like confirmation.
Any comments anybody??? Plz


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey I never seemed to figure out, are you using pressurized CO2 and what filter are you using?


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

Oh, haha I am sorry, its my first journal as well... 

Filter is an Eheim 2217 
I am using pressurized C02 with a Milwaukee PH controller until I get things stable.


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

Any suggestions on the mosses or the rest of the tank for that matter?


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

I think it looks good. Be patient and give it some time to fill in. The parameters you are experiencing are normal with Aquasoil. It takes some time for everything to balance. I think it took me about 18 days in my 75 gal to reach 0 Ammonia. This is pretty fast but I started with a "dirty" filter. Average is about 4-6 weeks.


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

*Updates 2-1-09*

Everything is going well. The water is pretty close to the same as last time so I am not posting parameters. The HC is starting to spread already! One section especially is really starting to take off. New sprouts are poping out of the middle of the soil. I'm excited!  I am adding just a few pics for anybody interested. I have also done 1/4 to 1/2 water changes since the first day. Today I added just a little bit of baking soda to keep the ph high enough to keep the C02 on until tonight.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey it looks good!

You can also add a very small bit of crushed coral to your filter to buffer the water.


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> You can also add a very small bit of crushed coral to your filter to buffer the water.


Yeah I have done that before because I use it in my cichlid tanks. I may do that tomorrow but am not too sure. Right now I am just gonna let nature take its course and see what happens. This is a learning experience for me as well


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

I dunno if it's preference, but I usually put the lily pipes aimed across the length of the tank.. so the whole tank gets flow.. right now it looks like the current will hit the front glass and bounce back.. the right side of the tank will not get enough flow.


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

Down_Shift said:


> I dunno if it's preference, but I usually put the lily pipes aimed across the length of the tank.. so the whole tank gets flow.. right now it looks like the current will hit the front glass and bounce back.. the right side of the tank will not get enough flow.


Well, the tank is a cube, the flow is pretty drastic because the plants at the top of the water in the far right corner are moving all the time. I have had to try to pin them behind the C02 hose. The Eheim 2217 is plenty big for this tank and there isn't much impeding the movement of the water. I am hoping that it will be fine. The biggest reason I didn't move them was because I wanted to put the holes in the back towards the wall, not in the middle of the desk. Those holes are permanent


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

Today, the grasslike plants seem to be melting.  I am guessing that it is because this would not be under a heavily planted tank... In my 35, the plants started growing right away. The blyxa, hairgrass, and sags in the tank are starting to lose color and float away. Is this typical for a new tank with ADA substrate and high ranges of ammonia, nitrate, nitrite?

I did a 1/2 w/c and added more prime. For some reason I always feel that prime is going against the "natural" way I want the tank to progress....???


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

*2-6-09 Updates*

Not a lot has changed but I do 2 two strands of hair algae. I will reduce the photo period for the weekend. I have been doing daily water changes and the Aquasoil, as promised has kept the amonia nitrate and nitrite levels high. All the plants are now growing. I think the melting has stopped. The HC is beginning to fill in (the picture is not a good representation because a lot of the stems are growing thicker and taller). The blyxa is now growing roots and new sprouts! The four-leaf clover is growing very quickly (better shown in the picture, compared to the last pictures I put on). 

One thing I wish I would have done is planted heavy stemmed plants for a few weeks. I still may get some moneywart, I just think its very ugly!


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

Not much has changed, the HC is growing and I have just a little bit of hair algae growing  My water is still not crystal clear, anyone know how long it takes for the water to completely clear?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I think your tank looks nice except for the moss. it just looks too large compared to the slender hairgrass. As far as cloudyness it should go away in a week or so, im sure its just the bacterial colony getting going.


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

haha yeah, I just started setting up a 20 gallon tank tonight to put the moss in  I don't like it either. I was thinking of letting it attach and then cutting it close to the rocks, but I just think I will take it all out. You think its still the bacteria after 2 weeks? My other tank didn't do this really, but maybe because it was so heavily planted with stem plants...


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

This tank is no slouch on the planting either, just not a ton of fast growing stems. As long as you have ammonia you will have a bacterial haze in most cases. Hopefully that wont trigger a green water outbreak but if it does just throw a uv steralizer in for a few days and youll be fine.


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

Well, I will post pictures tomorrow. The plants are starting to take off! The HC is really spreading quickly, but some of the leaves are turning brown. Should I start ferts? The tanks cycle has not completely finished and I have read that ferts would be bad. I am starting to get some brown algae but too much amonia for otos. Is it normal for HC to wilt?


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

*Updates 2/17/09*

Anyone know how deep the roots of HC go? One of the big clumps came up and floated away  Here are some pictures. The HC and blyxa have really started growing well! 

My current parameters are 
Nitrate: 10ppm
Nitrite: .25ppm
Ammonia: 0
C02: 36ppm
PH: 6.4
KH: 3
GH: 6.5


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

My HC has roots to the bottom of the 4+" of substrate. I did plant mine each individual stem which has made it spread fast and even. If you leave the clumps you will probably have to weight it down till it roots in.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Tank looks great. You know that figuring Co2 levels off of Hardness and PH is very inaccurate?


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

Craigthor said:


> My HC has roots to the bottom of the 4+" of substrate. I did plant mine each individual stem which has made it spread fast and even. If you leave the clumps you will probably have to weight it down till it roots in.


Well I had planted it by smaller clumps, and it has started rooting. It just hasn't started rooting really deep. I'm tempted to take a few hrs and do it all over individually. I think it would come close to covering the ground completely. It has easily doubled since I put it in the tank the first time. I just figured that the liTtle groups would b better than the large groups, but individually I now know, would cauze it to root more, it would have to to spread. In small groups it can grow up without growing out and only uses the tiny roots it has. (IME).


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

You can also see pictures in my thread of progress over the last 30 days or so.

Craig


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

How's the tank?


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

*Finally...Update!*

Sorry everybody, I was gone last week on some business and I haven't had time to mess with my tank. Here is a picture of my tank before I messed around with it too much. I have a little hair algae, green spot algae, and I had some brown algae but its gone. I have put in some Orange Von Rio tetra as testers but think they look great! 

I removed the giant hairgrass and am planting them in another tank. I like this look much better. Let me know what you guys think. I will hopefully post more tomorrow.

Also, does anyone know, mystery snails are different than nerites correct???


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## Honorable24 (Nov 16, 2008)

Nice! :thumbsup: what kind of moss is on the rock? THe Blyxa japonica looks nice in the corner


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## twychopen (Dec 17, 2008)

*Latest Udate*

I haven't updated in forever! I have some green hair algae  I am not fertilizing at the moment but I have tried the method I used on another tank a while back of blackout and increased C02...no luck. I don't wanna turn the C02 up too high becuase it will kill the fish. I am doing water changes now every other day. Any other suggestions? The plants are growing well now, I am afraid to fertilize because I don't want the algae to grow out of control! 

I have read that it is caused by high nitrates so I need to work on lowering those I guess....


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## CLASSIC (Feb 25, 2009)

Sweet tank bud! I will have a new 75P soon so i thought i would check other tanks out here at the forums to see what light and filters folks are using. In a previous post you said your leaves are turning brown, are they actually brown or is it just the algae dying and turning brown? Your CO2 might not be defusing enough? My regulator had a leak and drained my CO2 tank, i didnt fix it for 2 weeks and ended up with green algae on my leaves. I didnt notice the algae until i started CO2 again and it died and turned brown. Sorry for such a long post, im just curious, like i said i will have a similar tank within a month and want to avoid as many probs as i can.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

im obsessed with your rocks!


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## DJ-Graham (Mar 26, 2010)

What is HC is that the stuff on the bottom that is smaller than the clovers? im looking to get whatever that is


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