# Ada 180p



## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Hello everyone im starting a 156 gallon moderate-heavy planted tank with pressurized co2/three 150w ada solar series/ pps pro dosing with a little adjustments ...plants include swords rangerI/bleheri/parvaflorus/melons/tenellus....crypts. bronze tropica/parva/green .....st repens...dwarf hairgrass/giant hairgrass....blyxa japonica/blyxa auberti....corymbosa kompakt.....baby tears.....glosso....will be planting 2nd or 3rd week of july .....filter is already cycled fishless...scaped with seiryu stone and manzanita driftwood
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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Actual volume of water is about 120 with scape ..soil and wood


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

I have not heard of ADA tank in that size. Pictures please 

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## gorillakev (Mar 7, 2013)

Hes talking about the ada 180p 

Heres a pic of his layout till he figures out how to post a pic


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Ah ok and thank you. I did not know it was 6' long.

The hardscape is looking good. Now you just need more plants 

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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

oops uploaded more than I should


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

thanks


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)




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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)




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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

here is my pressurized co2


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

and here is the filter cycling on fishless ...I think its cycled already...yesterday it was 2ppm ammonia...today it was 0 ppm ammonia..so I did a 70% water change and added 2ppm ammonia and more bacteria...been using microbe-lift nite-out 2


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## Quick5ilver (Jun 24, 2013)

now that's an aquascape!!!!!!!! let's do this!


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

thinking of buying plants from aquariumplants.com ....does anyone agree or is there a better place to buy plants


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

thanks for the comment


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## Bserve (Nov 4, 2012)

Try a LFS, this website isn't the greatest, from what I've heard.


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## peachii (Jun 1, 2013)

This is what a person I know from another website had to say about comparison of 2 places she ordered from - 


> with what's shown there, I spent $350, including shipping. I bought some off of a planted tank website (in the classifieds--they're very nice) and the rest off of plantedaquariumscentral.com, who I highly recommend despite their higher shipping costs. Their plants are utterly gorgeous and came in looking fantastic. I had ordered from aquariumplants.com before, and their plants were nowhere near as nice.
> 
> I could have gotten away with spending half what I did and still had plenty.


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## Fuzz (Mar 13, 2011)

Looking really cool so far, can't wait to see more! That's a huge tank, I would love to be able to make one that size someday.

As for plants, I've almost always ordered mine from the sale/trade on this site and they come in looking great. Also, usually the sellers are quick to give you a good deal on plant packages or thrown in extra plants so that is always nice!


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## jjt (Jan 5, 2013)

Great tank!! Cant wait to see this thing flooded :thumbup:
Post some hd pics please 
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2


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## gorillakev (Mar 7, 2013)

He doesn't have a dslr. He's taking pics with his gs3


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

I could take closer pics if you like


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## GeraldStringham (May 9, 2013)

If you are in need of serious quantities of readily available plants I would stick with aquariumplants.com I have yet to be disappointed with them. Most people on here give them a bad rap because they like to support the forum. I get that and love buying from the classifieds on here as well. But, I find it better for purchasing a hard to find plant or smaller quantities. I am a bit biased as I receive wholesale pricing from aquariumplants.com as well but still the plants are always in great shape. Just make sure you go with overnight shipping.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)




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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)




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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)




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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)




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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)




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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

thanks Gerald that was my intention...but wanted to see other alternatives ...because I am buying a good quantity of plants around 60 pieces of potted and bare


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

plant cost about $300 for this tank


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

I think I have the same phone as jjt


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

i bet its a galaxy 3


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## GeraldStringham (May 9, 2013)

Hey you got a pm


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## melanotaenia (Mar 26, 2013)

BubSsnooki said:


> plant cost about $300 for this tank


Not too bad, I remember my reef days I would pay that for a couple of nice Acros. Plus, you'll most likely have trimming galore once the thing gets going.

I love the 6 foot ADA tanks. Too bad they are so hard to find and so expensive.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

BubSsnooki said:


>


 
Ive seen plenty of dry start methods before but this is extreme!


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## mythin (Jun 26, 2009)

I've had good experiences buying from here: http://www.shop.plantedaquariumscentral.com/Live-Aquarium-Plants_c6.htm they always throw in extra's too. Other than that the FS section of this site is good, but thats quite a large tank, and I can see that getting expensive in shipping alone if you have to source multiple sources.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Yah was thinking dsm but. I choosed to fill it up onced planted.. off topic ..would it be okay to dose pps-pro in the afternoon.. cause it seems like the only time fore daily is around 2-3 pm...thanks for the comment


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

Very cool, nice hardscape! Can't wait to see this planted.

Following.  

Ps. I would change the thread name to ADA 180-P, more people will know what it is about then.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Sorry to be asking here but I still am confuse about dosing pps pro if it is okay to do so in the afternoon


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## jjt (Jan 5, 2013)

BubSsnooki said:


> I think I have the same phone as jjt


I got a note 2 but I think the camera is pretty much the same with gs3

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

You really should buy plants from fellow hobbyists and then........anything else from the LFS/On line vendors. 

DSM is fine for some plant species, others, really does not matter much. 
For HC, Elatine hydropiper, and few others, it's useful.

Moss/Liverworting rock/wood, the method is modified some, and takes about 2-3 weeks instead of say 8 weeks.

I would suggest getting a lot of plants, more than you need. Most have trouble filling a 180 Gal tank with enough plants. But that is what you need to get it stable right away.

That, lots of water changes and cleaning the tank, after 2-3 weeks, Amano shrimp, plecos(baby bushy nose etc).

Again, same as the plants, add more than you think you need.

Then CO2, CO2 and CO2.

Your rocks, they will be hidden once the plants grow in, they are fair small relative to the wood. I would consolidate them around the base of the wood, and then make a nice outcrop on the left side of the tank with 3-4.
They are too evenly spaced out the way you have it now. Think out it once the plants grow and you might decide to change what you now have.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

plantbrain said:


> I would suggest getting a lot of plants, more than you need. Most have trouble filling a 180 Gal tank with enough plants. But that is what you need to get it stable right away.





plantbrain said:


> You really should buy plants from fellow hobbyists and then........anything else from the LFS/On line vendors.
> 
> DSM is fine for some plant species, others, really does not matter much.
> For HC, Elatine hydropiper, and few others, it's useful.
> ...


Agree 100% on both points, especially the first. It may seem very obvious in concept to start with a bunch of plants but many times it's hard to really go their as people want things to be perfect and know they will end up with may more plants than they ever want. However, when you actually start with more plants than you need, it's 50% easier compared to having enough to look good, 75% easier or more than having a starting point, depending on other variables (mainly light)


Also agree with drystart. I have found that I am actually more successful without one in my past few tanks, even with commonly used plants. Instead, just up the CO2 and let things grow more quickly. I have yet to find any plant that grows more quickly emmersed myself than in water, given proper lighting requirements and CO2. It makes your life easier, especially on a tank this big but it's not particular helpful for any other reason, IMO.


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

I would just continue to do a standard NA setup, order bulk plants from one vendor (forum members are great for specialty, but sometimes the quality, /quantity can sometimes be questionable and not meet your expectations), skip the drystart and fill it day one, drystart really does nothing in the end, you want your plants to adjust as quickly as possible, forcing them from a submerged state to an emmersed and then back to submerged is just too many abrupt changes too early in the tanks life. The first month is the most important, the quicker the plants adapt the faster the system stabilizes. Those are facts, why do you think Wabi-Kusa tanks from Japan grow and look great so fast? Faster adaptation. Just follow ADA's guidelines and you will have a great tank, Aquajournal online is a great resource for information.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

thanks for the positive direction and comments ...I jus purchased my plants two days ago with aquariumplants.com and here is the list of the plants I will receive:


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

do you guys think this will do for my tank...another question is I bought the total pellets ..should I insert them under the demanding plants like crypts, sword, hairgrass at planting when my substrate consist of powersand special, penac w and penac p and ADA Amazonia....another question is the height of the substrate on the front is about 2 inches and on the sides of the back 3 to 3.5 inches...should I add more not just for the plants on the background but for the pellets if I will be inserting them under their roots


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

That's not nearly enough plants and most of the plants on your order are not fast growers.

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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Green_Flash said:


> I would just continue to do a standard NA setup, order bulk plants from one vendor (forum members are great for specialty, but sometimes the quality, /quantity can sometimes be questionable and not meet your expectations), skip the drystart and fill it day one, drystart really does nothing in the end, you want your plants to adjust as quickly as possible, forcing them from a submerged state to an emmersed and then back to submerged is just too many abrupt changes too early in the tanks life. The first month is the most important, the quicker the plants adapt the faster the system stabilizes. Those are facts, why do you think Wabi-Kusa tanks from Japan grow and look great so fast? Faster adaptation. Just follow ADA's guidelines and you will have a great tank, Aquajournal online is a great resource for information.


Yes and no.

DSM does in fact mineralize the soil, much like MTS users suggest you do before usage.

I've argued with the MTS converts about this fact, you can do water changes(lots) like ADA suggest for the 1st 1-2 months, or, do a DSM and then have most of the NH4 converted to NO3 and the bacterial already cycled. The roots are already in place also, so the plants do not have to adapt to the conditions, PLUS grow roots as well.

Plants appear to grow larger in submersed conditions, but they do not have the same dry weight biomass that emergent plants have, emergent growth is always more, I cannot think of any cases where this is not true unless the water runs out of something major during the DSM.

That said, I've been very successful using the DSM and the normal way.
I've found I can also leave enough water in the ADA soil for a 3-4 weeks to cover it and then do 2 back to back water changes around 90% and have no NH4 and do not need to do so many frequent water changes at the start up. 

But like many, I scape the tank and want to set it up soon thereafter, that's the hardest part of the DSM. So both paths will lead to the same result, but one requires patience and less labor. So this is a human factor, not one based on methods.
DSM helps folks who do not have enough starting plant material and want to wait for it to grow in. But if you have an ADA 180, $ is not really an issue 
But often times, people cannot source enough of certain species to fill the entire 6ft tank length in. 

99% of the plants sold commercially are emergent grown BTW, so they do not bob back and forth.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

BubSsnooki said:


> do you guys think this will do for my tank...another question is I bought the total pellets ..should I insert them under the demanding plants like crypts, sword, hairgrass at planting when my substrate consist of powersand special, penac w and penac p and ADA Amazonia....another question is the height of the substrate on the front is about 2 inches and on the sides of the back 3 to 3.5 inches...should I add more not just for the plants on the background but for the pellets if I will be inserting them under their roots


You do not need pellets with ADa aqua soil, the soil itself is a pellet.
Nutrient rich clay, similar to the Delta soil where your town is built

I think you are starting off with too many species and not enough quantity of the others.


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## gorillakev (Mar 7, 2013)

plantbrain said:


> You do not need pellets with ADa aqua soil, the soil itself is a pellet.
> Nutrient rich clay, similar to the Delta soil where your town is built
> 
> I think you are starting off with too many species and not enough quantity of the others.



So, root tabs aren't needed for aquasoil? 
What about later on down the line. 

Some people say aquasoil loses its steam after a while, but I remember reading a post saying afa has had their substrate up for 5+ years without adding anything to the soil.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

You won't need root tabs for probably a couple years.

Some tanks have Aquasoil that buffers and holds its shape for several years. Some tanks wear down after 2-3. 

How quickly nutrients are depleted depends upon many factors. The plant load, lighting, water changes, water parameters. Everything you can think of.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

If. I were to change to less species and more of certain species what would you recommend me do....I do wanna keep the foreground plants/ the rangeri and bleheri swords and all the crypts and hygrophilia corymbosa stricta


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

As for the background anything better will do
..i did place the order but receiving it will be on the 11th and I do hope aquariumplants can change the order


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

They can. I would get a ton of cheap plants.

If you will still go with DSM: Hygrophilia corymbosa (Green temple), Hygrophilia difformis (water wisteria), limnophilia Cuba, Ambulia, mayaca, green cabomba, Brazilian pennywort - all of them will come in emmersed form or don't care.

If you flood: water sprite, Ludwidgias, limnophilia aromatica, bacopa australis, most rotalas, a lot more swords (Amazon are good), valisneria (check for snails and duckweed).

In short, you are not going for the looks, you are going for a stable tank asap. Wall to wall fast stems. In 2 months slowly sell the ones you do not want to keep.

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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Actually I will be flooding it and I do wanna go for the looks and not just an overcrowded tank with plants ..I dont wanna cover the whole back with plants.. I do wanna see space as if it had a sky ..from front to mid ground will be covered with plants heights range from 1" to about 8" and the background range from ft 8 " to 24" max


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Tom ..is the height of the substrate height enough for the background plants growing to 24" tall..like mentioned.
The left and the right side of the tank is about 3 inches


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

BubSsnooki said:


> Actually I will be flooding it and I do wanna go for the looks and not just an overcrowded tank with plants ..I dont wanna cover the whole back with plants.. I do wanna see space as if it had a sky ..from front to mid ground will be covered with plants heights range from 1" to about 8" and the background range from ft 8 " to 24" max


Your call, you have been warned.
And you are welcome.

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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

plantbrain said:


> Yes and no.
> 
> DSM does in fact mineralize the soil, much like MTS users suggest you do before usage.
> 
> ...


Yes, I did forget the one benefit would be to save money on plants initially. For small tanks it usually doesn't matter since you need less anyway, and large tanks, well if you have a budget for a large tank, then I assume plants were included in the budget. 

I was pointing out that using hobbyist plants (99% of which are already submerged growth) in a DSM would be where they would be switching to emmersed/submerged again probably resulting in a mass melt. Correct, DSM does have its place as an alternative method to accomplish a goal. Still the perceived benefits remain questionable to me personally and I am still skeptical.

Back to the journal 

2 inches in the front and 6 inches (graded slope) in the back would be standard depth for a NA.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

After planting...why do people suggests doin large water changes every other day for about a month ...I know amazonia to leak out ammonia but not enough to danger the plants..most plants will tolerate upto 3 ppm ammonia...and ive already cycled the filter...having so that to will help with the leaking..after filling the tank should I start dosing right away....and i know from start amazonia will to release nutrients in the water column...would that be enough and if i shouldnt start. When should I..I will be dosing pps-pro 500ml solution each..about 12-15ml each a day an hour prior to lighting and co2


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

And how much excel should add to plantex csm+b 500ml bottle to keep mold away ....I to will refrigerate the solution to help with expiration


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

gorillakev said:


> So, root tabs aren't needed for aquasoil?
> What about later on down the line.
> 
> Some people say aquasoil loses its steam after a while, but I remember reading a post saying afa has had their substrate up for 5+ years without adding anything to the soil.


No, they are not needed down the line or later, the only thing ADA AS runs out of is Nitrogen over time.

So add KNO3 now/later etc.

I have ADA AS that's 5 years or so old now I guess. 

See "Tom's 180 Gallon" as an example.

or a video if you want.





I dose about 30 ppm of NO3 as KNO3 and then about 10 ppm of PO4 as KH2PO4 a week(subdivided over 2-3x doses), then add GH booster, about 1 table spoon per 100 Gal of tank, and then dose 4-5x a week traces, at about 0.2-0.3 ppm per dose, so about 1, maybe 2 ppm on some weeks.

Tank is extremely stable for one main reason: CO2.

There's 400 cardinals and about 20-30 other plecos and other fish. 
Bred a lot of fish in the tank also.

I add about 20 mls of Excel to the CMS

Water changes are essential till your plants dominate the tank and become established, they are also very very good if you want to beat any algae issues you will have in the future or if you want to do high level competitions. 
Water changes also mitigate CO2 issues which most aquarist have in the initial start phase.

I do this even if I do not have ADA AS.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Green_Flash said:


> Still the perceived benefits remain questionable to me personally and I am still skeptical.


How many aquariums have you done using the DSM?

While I may have suggested/concocted the method initially, I still do submersed methods typically, but..........I have tried both methods. It has some use, but like everything, if the person cannot do well with submersed care, the DSM will NOT SAVE them. Still, the reduced labor aspect is one element. Some find that aspect useful, I've seen plenty of high level examples of excellent results. By the same token, I've seen example high levels examples of the submersed methods also. So both methods work quite well.
Which requires more labor? Well, that's fairly obvious. But good labor is part of the hobby also. Mossing rocks and and other hardscape items is extremely tough submersed, but it's a snap with the DSM. So there are trade offs.


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

We can continue the discussion in a PM, as I feel I would be going off topic in someone's journal too much. 

Back to the journal. What are you planning on stocking?


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Did post a list of plants ..but decided on getting more about half more of plants of that I started with..


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

Fish wise I meant.


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## Mantis992 (Feb 13, 2013)

OVT said:


> Your call, you have been warned.
> And you are welcome.
> 
> via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


I would listen to OVT. I started my first tank high tech tank with a relatively small amount of plant biomass and Aquasoil. Needless to say, the algae was extremely hard to control.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

I kinda put his point to mind.I just didnt want stem plants on the back like rotalas, tall fast growing stems aint what I like..but I do like hc, staurgyne repens...if its stem plant..it has to be small...so I up the flora twice as much I would have started with....even though I have a variety of flora..they are crypts..swords...grass...stems...and moss..anubias..and ferns...its just diverse...
I will be stocking a lot of cleaning crew....SAE..AMANO...OTOS..and hardy schooling fish...any suggestions..barbs are out the picture...and danios..only if their are species of it less agressive


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## Bserve (Nov 4, 2012)

BubSsnooki said:


> Actually I will be flooding it and I do wanna go for the looks and not just an overcrowded tank with plants ..I dont wanna cover the whole back with plants.. I do wanna see space as if it had a sky ..from front to mid ground will be covered with plants heights range from 1" to about 8" and the background range from ft 8 " to 24" max


 Well, as long as you have _Enough _plants you should be fine with algae and whatnot.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Ovt ...tom mentions not to monkey around with the water and jus focus on water changes and co2....would my water be okay with tap coming out 1 kh, 1gh, ph 7.6...should I at least boost the gh and kh a bit for fauna sake ...tom said plants dont mind kh. In water but co2 they do im just worried when I will put fauna in the mix


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

You'll want to make sure your GH is about 5 or 6 at a minimum.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

finally planted the tank and filled it ..this picture is the second day after minor set back with the driftwood floating away and having to secure it with a rock on the bottom


here is the the tank first day of fill...notice the hc on the foreground....most of the hc were compromised due to the floating driftwood

here is the tank at actual second day....(driftwood floating and water change didn't count for second day water change)...with water change about 50% or more


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## gorillakev (Mar 7, 2013)

I might come by later to check it out.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

right now there are few hc left and most of the leafs are dying with signs of hope with bubbles on the leaves that remain.....should I just get more hc to plant on the foreground or leave it and hope for the remaining to grow....water parameters are kh 3 gh 10 ph without co2 is 8 ph with co2 is 6.8...no ferts yet...but after two more every day water change...will start with pps-pro 13-15 ml of each after water change....water use for water change have been declhorinated with prime and sit for a day before adding to tank..tds is around 250 ppm...and ammonia levels are at 1 ppm....water change later on today about 50-60%


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

and I did lower the lights a bit about two inches closer to the water surface...about 6-7 inches above the water


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

here is a pic of the inline cal aqua labs co2 diffuser 17mm


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

kev...if you do be here after 430..have to go get my dad from surgery


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## gorillakev (Mar 7, 2013)

bev told me your driftwood floated away LOL....sucks hopefully didn't do that much harm to your plant arrangements

alright they likely wont be done with the flooring till 5, ill let you know though.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

You could use Blyxa, not too tall and grows fast.

Lights should be about 14-16" from the water.
Especially with mostly low light plants. HC will not mix that well with the other species you have in here.


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## Vin (Apr 10, 2013)

Very nice setup ! Can't wait to see it evolve.

Did you ever get an answer to your PPS-Pro questions? About the time of day to dose and the amount of Excel to put in the micro solution ?


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Yah ....did mix ferts today and added 10ml excel to 500ml trace bottle


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

very nice aquascape, good job on planting, maybe you could try glosso for the foreground? ricca stones with ricca tied and glosso as a mixed carpet would look great in there. also is that a custom stand?


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## Kai808 (Jul 19, 2011)

Wow, Cool tank! Are those swords in the foreground in between the stones? If they are, they might grow too big and block the view of your wonderful driftwood.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Good progress in very short time!

via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Green_Flash said:


> very nice aquascape, good job on planting, maybe you could try glosso for the foreground? ricca stones with ricca tied and glosso as a mixed carpet would look great in there. also is that a custom stand?


Thanks..I do have glosso in some areas more like patches


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Kai808 said:


> Wow, Cool tank! Are those swords in the foreground in between the stones? If they are, they might grow too big and block the view of your wonderful driftwood.


Yah they are parvoflorus tropica and grows up to 6"


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

OVT said:


> Good progress in very short time!
> 
> via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


Been at water change everyday and today would be the 6th...seing melting in crypts...giant grass blades turning brown and breaking...zwords in the back becoming transparent with new growth..same with blyxa j and blyxa a...hygrophilia corym..kompakt showing submerged leaves with darker emersed melting. Dwarf grass turning brown with new blades constantly appearing but no trimming yet...trying to let hc take root and spread..
Staurgene repens showed no melting if not yet but growing new leaves and rooting.
...been supplying pps pro 13-15ml...canister cycled...not sure about the substrate..ph with co2 6.4-6.6....192 tds...3kh...6gh..nitrates 5-10ppm...only issues is seing little hair or thread algae on hc?...should I get SAE's...amanos...ottos soon?


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## gorillakev (Mar 7, 2013)

I tried hitting you up earlier, wanted to check it out before I left mountain house.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

hello been a while since I posted a journal on my ADA 180p..its been three weeks now and here is the tank right now


here is a pic of the tiny bubbles not fully diffused from a temporary co2 reactor

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d119/bubbasnooki/20130802_195015.jpg[/IMG 
here is a video on some of the SAE's helping with diatoms ..sorry if its upside down ....I guess my phone was upside down
[URL=http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d119/bubbasnooki/20130728_181655.mp4][IMG]http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d119/bubbasnooki/th_20130728_181655.jpg
here is the dropchecker....its not green to where I want it so I been adding 15ml excel everyday


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

so I went to buy two pads of hc not tied just bare root...and planted most of them by single stems....my glosso's are spreading and trying to take up all the room...my blyxas japonica are doin great...they just sprouted 6 stems which I planted more on the fore-midground.....went and got some rotala's and lymnophilia aromathaeca??? don't know if spelled that right....the rotalas are doing great and the lymnophilia's are doin good as well....my staurgyne repens are covered in diatoms...


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

i wasn't sure bout the 15ml of excel daily...if i should dose more or less


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

heres a picture of the temporary co2 reactor with up-aqua atomizer before the intake of the pump...disregard the hose on the right of the reactor 

here are the tiny.tiny bubbles from the c02 reactor not fully dissolved

here is the reactor at 3-4 bps...if I increased to 5-6 bps I get little larger bubbles in the reactor


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

the foam I used on the bottom of the reactor comes from the foam in the boxes of glass pipes, glass diffusers..from ADA or GLA..they work very well keeping most larger bubbles in the reactor and letting only co2 dissolved water and tiny tiny bubbels


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## Ach1Ll3sH33L (Mar 1, 2012)

im not quite sure i understand your co2 design, the up aqua atomizer makes a very fine mist, and by blowing the mist around the tank your using the tank as a large 'reactor' to absorb co2, its a much larger volume of water to absorb the co2. By sending the mist into a pump, its gonna actually churn some of the mist into larger co2 bubbles which will then be harder to absorb. If you want the mist approach with a longer suspension time, do pump>atomizer>reactor>outflow

scape looks good btw!


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

There is also a glass CO2 reactor and the only one I know of mass produced, it is sold by ELOS. I have heard good things about them from hobbyists in Europe and Asia, you would need to email CoralVue for pricing since it is probably a special order item.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Ach1Ll3sH33L said:


> im not quite sure i understand your co2 design, the up aqua atomizer makes a very fine mist, and by blowing the mist around the tank your using the tank as a large 'reactor' to absorb co2, its a much larger volume of water to absorb the co2. By sending the mist into a pump, its gonna actually churn some of the mist into larger co2 bubbles which will then be harder to absorb. If you want the mist approach with a longer suspension time, do pump>atomizer>reactor>outflow
> 
> scape looks good btw!


Yah youre right....I was experimenting. f can get the bubbles all of them to dissappear completely...but ive gotten them bubbles tiny enough for them to coast the water like a ballon ride in the air....what ive notice though is if i allow a space of co2 on the top of the bottle and let larger bubbles form in the reactor. ..the pump does a way better job mixing the co2 in the water because I came home today seeing the dropchecker greenish yellow and a lot of pearling on the leaves of the plants and a lot of gas coming from the soils. ...luckily fishes werent gasping and had very little water surface movement...thanks for the good comment


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Im probably going to try to inline the up aqua with the filter to see if could get good results with tiny bubbles


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

its been two months and here is my tank now


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## denske (Feb 20, 2013)

Awesome bro! Tank really took off, looks great man.


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## BubSsnooki (Mar 14, 2012)

Thanks.....


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## parrottbay (May 14, 2012)

Looking good!!!


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## norbot (Jan 5, 2013)

[*inserts applause icon*]


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## j03yYunG (Mar 26, 2013)

very nice tank!


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