# Jeffrey's "Little Man" -ADA 60-P



## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

I'm thinking of a 60cm as a 2nd tank soon too. Look forward to watching our project develop.

AB


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Equipment will be:

ADA 60-P
9L ADA AS II, initially, more if I decide I want it
Coralife 2x65 PC initially. I may bump this up to 150w MH later on. 
Eheim 2236 for filtration
Coralife Turbo Twist UV 6x(it's what I had sitting around, uber overkill)
Hydor 300w inline heater (again, I had it sitting around, overkill)
Pressurized CO2
Milwaukee pH controller
DIY Inline pH probe and co2 injection.

I'm not sure what route I'm going with the scape, but I know it'll have a lot of anubias nana 'petite'.

Initial stocking will be:

2-4 Dario Rubra
4 Parotocinclis [STRIKE]eppeliyi[/STRIKE] sp 'Peru'
Maybe a pair of Apistogramma Caucatoides 'Triple Red' (again, maybe. they are in a 15g 
quarantine tank right now, and they may hang out there until the 120 get setup)

I plan on getting ~6 pygmy cories form Invertz Factory. Other than that, I'm keeping stocking ideas open.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Jeff,

Do you have petite nana or do you need some?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

I know everybody has strongly differing opinions on lighting (wpg, intensity, etc...), but 130 watts of pc will be more than enough lighting, and 150 watts of halide over an ~18 gallon tank that you want to feature "_a lot of anubias nana 'petite'_ " is on the _extreme_ end of overkill -- 8.3 wpg!!! You'd be walking a tightrope to avoid an algae filled cesspool :hihi:

If you want intense light, a 70W halide will do the job nicely and if you want managable, even light a 2 (or 4 bulb for more flexibility, burst options) HO T5 system would be ideal.

Just my 2¢ 

Looking forward to seeing this running!


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

NJAquaBarren said:


> I'm thinking of a 60cm as a 2nd tank soon too. Look forward to watching our project develop.
> 
> AB


Thanks! It's a really fun size. It's pretty much exactly what I was looking for. I had thought about the 60x45x45, but that would have been too big for what I was going for. 



Phil Edwards said:


> Jeff,
> 
> Do you have petite nana or do you need some?


:flick: My cup runneth over. Between the plants I got from you and those I had floating, the 60-P is gonna fill up fast. It just means I'm gonna have to get the 120g setup quicker. :hihi:






roybot73 said:


> I know everybody has strongly differing opinions on lighting (wpg, intensity, etc...), but 130 watts of pc will be more than enough lighting, and 150 watts of halide over an ~18 gallon tank that you want to feature "_a lot of anubias nana 'petite'_ " is on the _extreme_ end of overkill -- 8.3 wpg!!! You'd be walking a tightrope to avoid an algae filled cesspool :hihi:
> 
> If you want intense light, a 70W halide will do the job nicely and if you want managable, even light a 2 (or 4 bulb for more flexibility, burst options) HO T5 system would be ideal.
> 
> ...



The PC lighting will be sitting ~3" over the tank, one bulb on for 8-10 hours,and the second on for a midday burst. _If _I switched to MH, I would raise it above the tank significantly. I've never been a fan of 70w MH. No matter what size tank, it just doesn't seem to be a significant amount of light.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

jmhart said:


> ... I've never been a fan of 70w MH. No matter what size tank, it just doesn't seem to be a significant amount of light.


Seriously? While I had mine running it seemed to grow anything and everything just fine. Too fast, to be honest...

But, like I said, just my $.02...


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

roybot73 said:


> Seriously? While I had mine running it seemed to grow anything and everything just fine. Too fast, to be honest...
> 
> But, like I said, just my $.02...


I appreciate you sharing your experience. It may just be the particular bulbs I've seen. Switching to MH is not in the immediate future, so I would do a bit more research before that time came. Honestly, if Fishneedit would just get some more 4x24w T5HO lamps back in stock, I'd get one of those, set it, and forget it. :fish:


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

I noticed a _huge_ difference in light output from different bulbs. It really does boil down to "you get what you pay for"!!! The ~$90 AquaMedic 10K bulb was the brightest, nicest looking bulb I ever used, Ushio 10K weren't bad @ $40, and anything <$20 - forget it.

Those Fishneedit fixtures seem pretty sweet...


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

roybot73 said:


> I noticed a _huge_ difference in light output from different bulbs. It really does boil down to "you get what you pay for"!!! The ~$90 AquaMedic 10K bulb was the brightest, nicest looking bulb I ever used, Ushio 10K weren't bad @ $40, and anything <$20 - forget it.


Well, now that I've got my handy dandy PAR meter, I could really do some analysis. 



roybot73 said:


> Those Fishneedit fixtures seem pretty sweet...


When they first came out, I figured "eh, cheap and crappy", but now that they've been out a while, I've heard really good things. As long as it's a good housing and good ballast, I can replace a cheap bulb.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

A modicum of progress.

I put together the manifold I'll be using for the inline pH probe and the co2 injection.










Water flows from left to right, first hitting the pH probe mounting using the handy dandy Heyco liquide tight cordgrip, and then onto the co2 injection. I'm using an irrigation drip connection. Great little bit of plumbing. If you've never used one, it's perfect for this. You slide in your 1/4" line, then give it just a little tug, and it seals up around it like a chinese finger trap. 

Had to make do with a couple of fittings from the local Ace Hardware(so much quicker than driving out of the way to Home Depot) so I'm gonna have to let the PVC glue seal up.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

I've made some good progress. The innards are all complete. 


I had to wait for the pvc cement on my pH probe/injection manifold to dry overnight, but then it was easy enough to install:










Had one little hang-up..... I for the outside boards are 1/2", so that the 3/4" screw I used to mount the manifold ended up being about 1/4" too long: 










Later on I'll cut that off and fill the whole in, but not today.

The manifold is then hooked up like this.










The pH probe has to stay wet, so it can't be installed until the very end, but you can see the co2 line installed in the irrigation fitting. 

The final construction of the inside goes a little something like this:












And I'm ready for the next part:


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

I'm still working on my mad Google Sketchup skillz, but the plumbing goes a little something like this:


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Very nice! I just love seeing a nice clean installation, almost more than the mature tank itself. roud:


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## bigboij (Jul 24, 2009)

very clean setup should be one to watch


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Phil Edwards said:


> Very nice! I just love seeing a nice clean installation, almost more than the mature tank itself. roud:


Yeah, it looks really impressive sitting in my living room at the moment...too bad I'll have to go and mess it up in a few hours with a bunch of dirt and plants. 



bigboij said:


> very clean setup should be one to watch


Thanks! This is the first tank I've set up with thorough plan, so I've trimmed the fat and planned out the stand to maximize my usage of space. I just need to get a roll of twist ties so I can pull all the AC wires out of the way.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I'm looking forward to seeing more of this journal. I hope I see one for the 120 as well .


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

CL said:


> ... I hope I see one for the 120 as well .



Slow progress on that one, but plumbing is on the drawing board, should be order parts by next Monday at the latest.


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## khanzer22 (Jan 14, 2008)

Good progress you got here... What size of pvc T split and Heyco cordgrip you used here? I'm also planning to get rid of my probe inside the tank and make it inline with my pump...



jmhart said:


> A modicum of progress.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

khanzer22 said:


> Good progress you got here... What size of pvc T split and Heyco cordgrip you used here? I'm also planning to get rid of my probe inside the tank and make it inline with my pump...



The PVC tee is 1" slip, with 1/2" NPT for the cord grip. I wanted plenty of volume so that the probe wouldn't slow things down too much. 

The cord drip is 1/2" NPT. I'd have to measure the actual cord grip end, I forget exactly which one I have. Mine fits very snug. If you measure the pH probe, that is basically the maximum width of my cordgrip fitting. It was very snug getting it in.


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## khanzer22 (Jan 14, 2008)

Cool... I'll make a stop at Home Depot later today and look for the cordgrip... Thanks for the info!



jmhart said:


> The PVC tee is 1" slip, with 1/2" NPT for the cord grip. I wanted plenty of volume so that the probe wouldn't slow things down too much.
> 
> The cord drip is 1/2" NPT. I'd have to measure the actual cord grip end, I forget exactly which one I have. Mine fits very snug. If you measure the pH probe, that is basically the maximum width of my cordgrip fitting. It was very snug getting it in.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

khanzer22 said:


> Cool... I'll make a stop at Home Depot later today and look for the cordgrip... Thanks for the info!



I've never looked at home depot for a liquid tight cordgrip....they might have them. I know a lot of people get them straight from Heyco, or go through the website to find a local retailer.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Small update:

Irregardless (yes, I know it's not a word, but that's irregardless) of the reason, my Ecco is busted. I'm taking it back for a Classic. This will likely involve store credit and ordering online, so I probably won't have it until next week.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Bummer. Going for the 2215 or 2217?


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## khanzer22 (Jan 14, 2008)

Hmmm, I'll check online if I don't find anything at HD... 



jmhart said:


> I've never looked at home depot for a liquid tight cordgrip....they might have them. I know a lot of people get them straight from Heyco, or go through the website to find a local retailer.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

roybot73 said:


> Bummer. Going for the 2215 or 2217?



2217. The 2236 was just about perfect flow for my setup...but if anything, a bit more would be nice. Petco has the 2217 for $160 free shipping right now.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

jmhart said:


> 2217. The 2236 was just about perfect flow for my setup...but if anything, a bit more would be nice. Petco has the 2217 for $160 free shipping right now.



Well, I returned the pump, got store credit, and wouldn't you know it: petco.com is out of the 2217. I got a lead on a good deal on ebay, but at the moment I've got a 2028 on it I had lying around. I jam packed it FULL of filter floss and other media, and surprisingly, it's NOT too much flow. Actually, if I were to keep using it, I'd have to pull out some of that media to get the flow rate up to what I wanted. It takes up all the extra space I had in my cabinet, but if I can think of something else I want at petco for $160, I may just keep using it.


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## billb (May 29, 2009)

jmhart said:


> A modicum of progress.
> 
> I put together the manifold I'll be using for the inline pH probe and the co2 injection.
> 
> ...


Hey Jeffery, 
One trick I got from Steve Colley helped with my in-line pH probe. It turns out you pull the probe more than you think. Steve put a 1/2 ball valve between the Heyco fitting and the tee. This allows you to pull the probe out and shut the valve to stop leaks. I have been really happy with this modification.

Bill


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

billb said:


> Hey Jeffery,
> One trick I got from Steve Colley helped with my in-line pH probe. It turns out you pull the probe more than you think. Steve put a 1/2 ball valve between the Heyco fitting and the tee. This allows you to pull the probe out and shut the valve to stop leaks. I have been really happy with this modification.
> 
> Bill


It's funny you mention that....I installed it, filled it up for a test run, and immediately realized I had no way to to easily pull the pH probe for calibrating.......

When I drain it tomorrow to scape, that's on the to do list.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Ok....rather busy weekend, but I put together a little something:

Hardscape:










I moved the rocks just a bit during that actual scaping. Those stones are collected form the Eel River near the Humboldt Redwords in Northern California. 

Scape:










Dry fill:











Pretty much all of the plants came from Phil Edwards. I shoved in a bunch of stems and other fast growers to get the cycle started. I need to tweak things a bit before a full tank shot.


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## angelicodin (Dec 2, 2009)

Going to look really nice. The more and more i see these ada tanks, makes me want to get one.


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

angelicodin said:


> Going to look really nice. The more and more i see these ada tanks, makes me want to get one.


rimless tanks, especially ada, are worth every penny imo


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

angelicodin said:


> Going to look really nice. The more and more i see these ada tanks, makes me want to get one.



As far as tanks go, they are pricey, but the 60-P really isn't that bad at $120...as long as you don't have to pay shipping. 

However, GLA has rimless tanks and Orlando seems to have the shipping worked out pretty well.


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## David Hui (Sep 14, 2005)

Jeffery, nice to see you setting up a new tank. We just had a meet at AFA today and lots of people went to Justin's afterward.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Jeff,

Will you take a closer shot when you get a chance? The pics are too small for my bad eyes to see much.

Thanks,
Phil


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

CmLaracy said:


> rimless tanks, especially ada, are worth every penny imo


i have to disagree about the ADA part, a 30c leaked on me


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Phil Edwards said:


> Jeff,
> 
> Will you take a closer shot when you get a chance? The pics are too small for my bad eyes to see much.
> 
> ...



Absolutely. I've got some HC floating in it right now. I should be able to get that planted today, and then a good FTS will be in order.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Well, I took some shots. My photoshop seems to be corrupted, so, no decent editing for you [said in strong soup nazi accent]




















Major plans for the scape include removing the stems behind the japonica as soon as the cycle is done and letting the HC fill in. 


Got in my 2217. Man, is that thing a beast or what.









And I installed a light in the stand, so no more crawling around in the dark.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

jmhart said:


> [said in strong soup nazi accent]


LOL



> And I installed a light in the stand, so no more crawling around in the dark.


Brilliant idea. Now why didn't I think of that when I saw those in {my _2nd_ trip to Target this week? Gotta go back... *sigh* I hate shopping during the holidays...}

I love that little stump. This is going to be a really nice tank.

Where are you finding Parotocinclis? We caught a few in Bolivia... Gary will be so jealous if I tell him you found some in the US, he can't ever find them in Canada HA!


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> Where are you finding Parotocinclis? We caught a few in Bolivia... Gary will be so jealous if I tell him you found some in the US, he can't ever find them in Canada HA!



I got 4 wild caught at the Atlanta Area Aquarium Association Fall auction. There were 8 there, wish I'd outbid the other guy for all 8. As is I got them for a steal at $4/each.

I'm hoping they'll be more at the spring auction, but I doubt it.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Wow, nice find. :icon_smil


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> Wow, nice find. :icon_smil



I was pretty amazed. Talk about a great nano fish, the eppelyi is maxed out at about 5/8"


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Looking great Jeffrey!


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Floating in the upper right corner is some(a lot) of left over HC. I may plant it in this tank, or hold onto it for the 120(doubtful). Either way, it floats well and loves growing at the top of the tank, so for now, there it stays.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

You should see if you can get it to flower, that'll be worth some decent HAP points.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Phil Edwards said:


> You should see if you can get it to flower, that'll be worth some decent HAP points.



That would make leaving it floating well worth it.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

I haven't tested any water in so long it's almost funny to pull out test kits, but this is the first tank I've started from scratch in a loooooong time, so I figured I ought to know where I'm at.

pH 5.55 (co2 induced down from 6.5 out of the tap)
NH3 2 ppm
NO2 0 ppm (yay!)
NO3 ~1 ppm
KH 3 deg
GH ~1-2 deg it's low, really low.
PO4 1 ppm

Getting close! I seeded the filter pretty heavily from another filter that's running my "moving tank" downstairs (aka the Rubbermaid tub). Glad to see the nitrifying bacteria is doing its job. Nitrites were strong a week ago when I was using an unseeded filter.

I just upped my GH. My aromatica is melting pretty badly, and I think it's the low GH. I've always had problems with aromatica in really low GH.

I also added some Cuprisorb to the filter. My house has copper pipes. There's been some pretty serious discussion over the years on whether or not copper pipes leech significant amounts of copper, and the general consensus is not significant enough to effect freshwater species. However, I'm planning on putting some CRS in here, so rather than risk it, I just picked up some Cuprisorb since it's not too expensive and it's rechargeable.


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## boltp777 (Jan 16, 2009)

the copper in your pipes shouldnt effect the shrimp... but that ph is hella low need to get that back up. no fish can survive in a ph lower than 6.0


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

boltp777 said:


> no fish can survive in a ph lower than 6.0


1- That's not true at all, there's plenty of fish that come from blackwater environments, some won't even breed till the pH drops lower than 5.0!

2- CO2-related pH swings don't impact fish much at all. It's the TDS/kH component of water that impacts them primarily.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

jmhart said:


> I also added some Cuprisorb to the filter. My house has copper pipes. There's been some pretty serious discussion over the years on whether or not copper pipes leech significant amounts of copper, and the general consensus is not significant enough to effect freshwater species. However, I'm planning on putting some CRS in here, so rather than risk it, I just picked up some Cuprisorb since it's not too expensive and it's rechargeable.


Good idea! I've heard too many stories from folks who invest a lot of money on fresh and salt water inverts only to see them all die off quickly and *then* realize they've got copper piping. 

Oh, and good insight on the L. aromatica! I never realized that myself and for some reason didn't put 2 and 2 together for when it did well or didn't do well in my tanks. roud:roud:


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> 1- That's not true at all, there's plenty of fish that come from blackwater environments, some won't even breed till the pH drops lower than 5.0!
> 
> 2- CO2-related pH swings don't impact fish much at all. It's the TDS/kH component of water that impacts them primarily.


roud:roud:roud:


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Phil Edwards said:


> Good idea! I've heard too many stories from folks who invest a lot of money on fresh and salt water inverts only to see them all die off quickly and *then* realize they've got copper piping.



Thanks! Cuprisorb is so cheap, I didn't see any reason not to throw some in my filter. I picked up enough so that I'll have plenty to go in the 120g too.



Phil Edwards said:


> Oh, and good insight on the L. aromatica! I never realized that myself and for some reason didn't put 2 and 2 together for when it did well or didn't do well in my tanks. roud:roud:



Well, it's been a few days since I started upping the GH and the aromatica is still have a hard time. It may not have liked be cycled with. Who knows what the deal is.

Kind of helps my decision, I was going to pull either the Rotala or the aromatica out of the tank, and the Rotala is growing strong(suprise suprise).


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Little update:

Aromatica died...RIP. It just didn't survivie the cycling/high co2/soft water...a lot of things, it didn't make it.

I did a bit of rearranging. Move the Rotala 'green' over to where the aromatica was. Divided and pushed back the japonica, rearranged a few anubias, and planted the rest of the HC. The HC that was planted was filling in very nicely, but I decided to plant the rest to help out.











Algae has set it. Not at all unexpected. I'm not doing a thing about it until it's cycled.











Last reading ammonia was at 2 ppm, nitrite was at 0 ppm, and nitrate was under 5 ppm. I did a large water change today, and I'll be out of town for the holidays. If I had to guess, I'll be good to put fish in it next week.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Isn't the ammonia supposed to go up first, then it falls and nitrite rises? Then nitrite drops off too. Sounds like the cycling is just getting started, based on your readings. 

Although, I've never actually cycled an aquarium, so I don't really know what is normal.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

FSM said:


> Isn't the ammonia supposed to go up first, then it falls and nitrite rises? Then nitrite drops off too. Sounds like the cycling is just getting started, based on your readings.
> 
> Although, I've never actually cycled an aquarium, so I don't really know what is normal.



Well, I say "cycle" but I'm using media from a different another setup, so technically I'm only waiting on the aqua soil to stop leeching ammonia.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

I know it and I still didn't follow it:

"Never adjust co2 unless you'll be around to see what happens"

I adjusted my co2, trying to get it to a good level for livestock, and wouldn't you know it, I turned it too far down....and then went out of town for 5 days. Man, ALGAE CITY!!!

It's the kind that's like a monstrous mix of diatoms and string, and covers the entire tank in days. No big worries, scooped out a bunch of it and kicked the co2 back up, stuff's already dying off.

Meanwhile, I tested NH3, hovering around the 2ppm level still. 

And wait continues.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

jmhart said:


> I know it and I still didn't follow it:
> 
> "Never adjust co2 unless you'll be around to see what happens"


You and me both man. Just be glad you turned it down and not up, and DIDN'T just buy $70 worth of shrimp! :icon_sad:


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

rrrrramos said:


> You and me both man. Just be glad you turned it down and not up, and DIDN'T just buy $70 worth of shrimp! :icon_sad:


Ouch!

I've made that mistake too!. I bought $52 worth of blue rams at Aqua Forest day, only to have $52 worth of compost the next. Generally that's why I use a pH monitor, but I'm having issues with that right now. I've got a Milwaukee and it's acting up big time, makes a bad buzzing sound whenever the 'alarm' light is on, and a Pinpoint isn't in the budget at the moment.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

So that there's no secrets, a picture of the tank after I scooped out a net full of algae:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yikes!

I'm sure it won't take you too long to get it up and running again though!


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Well, the good news is that sometime in the past week or so my pH controller started working.

Well, technically it never stopped, but it would make a really loud annoying buzzing sound whenever the alarm sounded(and therefore solenoid was open and anytime co2 was running). Suddenly, today, it doesn't do that anymore. Now I can really get things back in order.


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## Riiz (Apr 30, 2008)

Any updates on either tank. Did you kick the algae monster out on his a** yet?


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

Riiz said:


> Any updates on either tank. Did you kick the algae monster out on his a** yet?



No good updates on either one. I'm taking some distance learning classes and have to finish those up before Jan 22. Things are just hanging out, and the HC is growing in.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

My own little personal tragedy. The fish I thought were Parotocinclus eppelyi....turned out to be Parotocinclus letcia (aka sp 'peru') and an MORE rare fish. And I've lost them all. 











For more pics:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fish/100259-absolute-tragedy-lost-all-four-my.html#post980566


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## rushr (Jan 11, 2010)

those are unique looking fish...does the slightest bit of ammonia kill them?


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

rushr said:


> those are unique looking fish...does the slightest bit of ammonia kill them?


Couldn't tell you.

However, in this case, it was not ammonia. I think it was either low O2 or high CO2...


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

"Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!... Lala how the life goes on..."


Well, aside from the devastating news above, I've been a little busy for updates for a while, but tonight I find myself with a little time. 

Took about 5 weeks to cycle, even with a lot of plants and a seeded filter. As I approached the end of the cycle, I started messing with the co2 trying to get it down to safe levels for my livestock. I'm a big believer in pH controllers, and for whatever reason, the one on this tank was working for a while. As I previously said, somehow it just started working day.

Anyway, after some tweaking, I'm landed on 6.1 for the ideal pH for this tank, which is funny because for the entire time I was cycling (with lights at 6 wpg) I had co2 so high that my pH was 5.4. 

I came to pH 6.1 by using my pH controller, drop checker, and by watching the first fish I put in for signs of struggle. 6.0 was too much.

Photoperiod is: 12pm -3pm ON @ 55w, 3pm to 5pm OFF, 5 pm to 7 pm ON @ 110w, 7pm to 8 pm ON @ 55w, 8pm OFF

I had a TON of algae, but after I got the co2 in order and cut down the photoperiod most of it died within a day or two, and the rest of it(as seen in the pictures below) is slowly receding/providing plenty of food for the inhabitants. 










The HC is still growing in. Rotala macrandra and Rotala sp 'green' had a bit of a struggle during the algae battles, but they've come back strong. Anubias petite 'nana' each put out a new leaf about once a week. 

The first inhabitant:










I threw this guy in as my test to make sure everything was golden, and well, for him, it was. Then came the aforementioned parotocinclus...and that's all I have to say about that. 

Then I received some CRS from kvntrn.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

The algae on the driftwood looks great, and so does the rest of the tank. 

How do you like those legs holding up your light fixture? Also, how much were they?


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

dj2005 said:


> The algae on the driftwood looks great, and so does the rest of the tank.
> 
> How do you like those legs holding up your light fixture? Also, how much were they?



Eh, they're alright. They work fine. I have no complaints about their function. I'm not sure I like the look. I'm considering building something to hang the lights off of but ATM the misses doesn't like that idea. 

I bought this fixture used and it came with the legs, however, I think I've seen them on ebay for like $15/shipped before.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

jmhart said:


> Eh, they're alright. They work fine. I have no complaints about their function. I'm not sure I like the look. I'm considering building something to hang the lights off of but ATM the misses doesn't like that idea.
> 
> I bought this fixture used and it came with the legs, however, I think I've seen them on ebay for like $15/shipped before.


Well, if you want to sell those legs, let me know. 

Any updates concerning the aquarium?


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## invisibleprisms (Feb 13, 2010)

nice tank man, like the crs


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## Kilroy_1911 (Jan 27, 2010)

I really like the cabinet. Can you give us more details on it, and if you don't mind, what it cost?


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

I really need to update this.

The tank has changed a lot. I was a bad aquarist and totally let this tank fall apart while putting together my 120g. I lost pretty much all the fish and shrimp. The HC never really took off....it's just been a real mess.

I'm definitely changing things up, but I don't know how. At the moment I've got some Tropica 049 growing in it, and it's growing well. The anubias petite is doing well. Plants are doing well, but with some BBA on the wood. 

I'm just not sure what to do with this tank. The idea just hit me to maybe make it into a Chocolate Gourami tank....hmmm, I'll have to think on that.


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## DBLSHOT (Oct 20, 2009)

how do you like that 2217 on your 60p I was considering upgrading from my 2213 but I'm worried about the flow being to strong


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

DBLSHOT said:


> how do you like that 2217 on your 60p I was considering upgrading from my 2213 but I'm worried about the flow being to strong


Well, flow is too strong. You can throttle it down. A 2215 would be perfect on a 60-P


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

So, I *LOVE* Chocolate Gouramis. They are such interesting fish to watch, and unfortunately I lost all of mine during my move from California. 

Point is, I'm thinking about making this a Chocolate Gourami tank...and not just that, but a grow out pseudo riparium tank. I think I can convince my wife to let me mount some light bars and raise the lights IF it suddenly becomes more like a house plant.

Again, at this point I'm just thinking. I'd probably have to downgrade the filter...or at least swap out the lily pipe outflow for some kind of spray bar. The flow from the 2217 coming from the lily outflow is too strong for these, even when throttled down. 

Time to think.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I have the spray bar for my 2217 chopped down and on the right side of the tank flowing toward the left side. It is perfect IMO. Since the filter is not full of crap yet I have it throttled down to about 85% but when it is full of stuff (mature filter) and the tank is full of plants I think 100% will be perfect. Don't know how you feel about the eheim green spray bar and intake but I like them and get a warm feeling every time I look at the clear... I mean black and brown algae filled acrylic tubes on my mini-m!

I look forward to the chocolate gouramis too.


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

So, I have never shown this tank the love it deserves. To top it all off, I had a really busy couple weeks, and ran out of CO2 in this tank. This pretty much brings me back down to zero on this tank. Now, I'm currently trying to figure out where to go next. 


I had thought about making it into a pseudo-riparium, but my wife and I had a come to jesus moment, and apparently she HATES ripariums. I showed her a bunch of pictures, and the best I could get was "that one's not as bad as the others." This isn't exactly a shared hobby of ours, so if I'm gonna have multiple tanks all over the house, they at least need to be something she likes. 

I'm now leaning towards a dutch scape. Since my 120g is most definitely not dutch, I thought this would be a nice option. 

I have two big hurdles:

A) A 2217 pumping through a single lily pipe is just too much flow for a 60-P, even throttled down. A 2215 would be better. A spray bar would be ideal, but so far, for whatever reason, no one makes a glass spray bar. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do about this.

B) The lights are just too strong. I either need to reduce the wattage or raise them. The problem there is, again, my wife doesn't like the look of lights hanging over a tank. I'm considering getting the 4x24w fixture from fishneedit, but I want to find out if I can turn on just ONE 24w bulb. The reason I'd get the 4 bulb fixture is for versatility in the future. Why spend $65 on a 2 bulb when I can spend $99 on a 4 bulb? Other than replacing the fixture, I haven't really thought of a good way to raise the lights without hanging them. I'm using the coralife mounting legs now. No good, good-looking, options come to mind.

I've got plants coming in next week, so for now I've pulled out the livestock and cranked the co2 way up. When the plants arrive, I'll pull the hardscape, at a bit more AS, and then go dutch.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I have always liked the fusion of a dutch/amano style scape. At least thats what I feel most of my tanks end up as. In my 60-p (in my sig) I am using the eheim spray bar and have it cut so it can go across the right side and blow to the left. It works really well but if you just don't like the look of the eheim bars then....

I will suggest Catalina. If you want the versatility tell jim you want a 4x24 and you want every light on its own switch or maybe 3 switches for the fixture.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

update?


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## jmhart (Mar 14, 2008)

I will post some pics this week.

I got a few stem packages in the mail from Joraan, Cryptkeeper, and some others. I then pulled out all the hardscape, and went dutch only. It was pretty bare still.

Somehow or another my heater eeked it's way up to about 86 degrees, and melted a few of them. Anyway, at least a little of everything survived. It's fairly bare now, but I'll be propagating the stems tomorrow and will get some decent shots.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Where are these pictures you have promised?


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

*cough*


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

macclellan said:


> *cough*


I concur...


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