BettaVishVish Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 hello...it's been a while not to visit the forum. I've taken a 'leave of absence' from any aquarium related topic after failing to 'aquascaping' my tanks. now..I would like to try again..still in a small tank, but am thinking to try ADA tank. Can someone here share their thoughts about ADA tank? All i want is to create a natural aquascape with lots of carpet plant 😊 thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 I had said this to another member a month or so ago. Scaping a planted tank is what you make of it. Don't try to copy a picture or particular look but let your 'inner eye' guide you and then let the plants be and grow. While the ADA complete myriad of products are fine and dandy you don't need to spend that big $. ( I consider that product line too expensive for what it's worth ) You want to have a kick butt planted tank? Throw in some basic Flourite and use co2 (liquid or gas) and ferts. I use a dyi subsrate mix + co2 gas. I need to trim often and this tank isn't that old. While this tank isn't the cat's meow...i'm quite pleased with it especially the little time I need to spend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted January 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 could you explain more about the dyi substrate mix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanmer Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Chat with cainechow, on this forum. He has one of the most incredible carpet of HC "Cuba", in his tank, that I have ever seen. I tried to recreate it and failed but I also did not ask his advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 I'm a big fan of ADA, pricey though. If you are only doing a small tank, it won't get ridiculous. If you are thinking about a 48" tank (120-P), then you are looking at $4,000 and up if you go all ADA. I think their tanks are unmatched, go to Pisces and have a look at their Cube Garden tanks. If you attend Pisces planted tank seminar, you'll get a 20% off coupon valid towards ADA substrate and additives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Thanks so much for the complement nanmer. I actually hit up ckmullin for a lot of my info especially when I was starting up so I'm sending a +1 his way too BettaVishVish: When you say you want to do an ADA tank what exactly do you mean? Do you mean doing a nature aquarium a la Takashi Amano? Nature aquarium using the entire ADA stack? Just getting an ADA aquarium? When I got started I did a lot of reading on the specialty substrates and the rest and found that they were very expensive for a substrate that breaks down in a couple years. I ended up going with ckmullin's suggestion of Seachem Flourite, basic fertilizers and DIY CO2. My aquarium was an old cheapie 10 gallon that was donated by my aunt to my "cause". I'm going to guess that you don't have an issue growing plants but find the aquascaping part a challenge. Probably a lot of this you are already good with but maybe someone else can use the info If I knew then, what I know now I would: Aquascaping:Look at lots and lots of pictures to find the style of aquarium that you like the most. Read about the aesthetic concepts behind the style of aquarium that you like. If you like Iwagumi, read up on zen rock garden concepts. If you like Amano's nature aquariums, look up Takashi Amano interviews on Youtube that have subtitles. Sounds art nerdy, but maybe that's me Read forum threads that have constructive aquascaping design critique and discussion. These will really help you understand why you like the designs you like and why you don't like the ones that you don't. With that understanding you can build your own style. ** Learn about and plan for the plants that you want to get! I really didn't do my homework here... well I did half. I knew I wanted Hemianthus Callitricoides (dwarf baby tears / HC) and I did a lot of reading about how they grow and how to care for them. I didn't really do my homework on the Water Sprite that I got because I didn't know that they tend to grow really wide and big. In my little 10g it just takes over. I'm now looking for another plant that is less horizontally branching. So doing the homework on the plants you like is very important [*]Substrate: Instead of Flourite Black I might try Flourite Black Sand or even simple playsand or sand blasting media. I found that some plants like the Water Sprite that I got aren't very good a growing into the substrate and seem to push up out of the substrate while growing. That being said, HC holds pretty nicely in Flourite Black.[*]CO2 I'd never do DIY CO2 again. I'd read again and again how people said it was too much trouble and a pain in the butt to keep consistant. I thought to myself "Nah those people are just lazy bums. I can do DIY CO2 and I'm gonna like it!" Almost a year later, I'm one of those people. I'm into pressurized CO2 now. If on a budget, I'd go with Metricide14/Excel for a liquid carbon source. I think you unloaded a lot of your aquarium stuff back in the summer including some CO2 equipment.[*]Fertilizer I didn't regret going with dry fertilizer and using the PPS Pro system which is really simple but can be fine tuned if you really really get into it. I'm not that into fussing with it. Plus it is relatively cheap compared to branded liquid fertilizers. I hope there is some useful stuff in there for you. The last thing is that we are all here to help in any way we can. I've found that most of the guys and gals on AA will go out of their way to help out a fellow enthusiast. You guys are some of the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 ... I think their tanks are unmatched... I totally agree with Ron on the ADA aquariums. The quality of their glass and construction is crazy nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted January 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 oh oh..this is awesome. I read briefly..and make me even more excited to try this again. I'll read again throughly at my lunch break btw..when is the Pisces planted tank seminar? thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 oh oh..this is awesome. I read briefly..and make me even more excited to try this again. I'll read again throughly at my lunch break btw..when is the Pisces planted tank seminar? thx http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=38899 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted January 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) I definitely like Takashi Amano's style and determine to have one Well..when I said ADA tank, I would like to use all ADA's stuff hoping that my attempt will succeed. I know it sounds too much..but right now I don't have any tank. So I thought I'll splurge a little bit for this .. my only one [future] tank (ha!...now I feel better before spending the money hehe). I will start with a small one. I will need help from all the expert here particularly on: - where to get the ADA stuff (thanks Ron, you mentioned Pisces) - good supplier for plant ; and rocks (even if I have to order online, I'll do it) - nitty gritty about substrate & CO2 (thanks cainchow for the info). I won't use DIY CO2 since I know I have zero skills for that. - water quality issue (I use water softner at home, a friend of mine said that this could be an issue) Last time when I tried to grow HC, it took me 3 weeks using dry start. Anyways to speed it up? well..I guess it won't hurt to ask..right? thanks. Edited January 31, 2013 by BettaVishVish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) The reason why people dry start HC is for the planting and a drystart should be considered only to help with the planting process and that's it. The plant needs to root and once it roots it can be filled @ that point. Some people leave it as a drystart longer, some shorter but the key is for it to root. Longer or shorter is fine...leave it longer and get the entire 100% substrate coverage and then fill...or once it roots...fill it asap...either way it will work out fine. The time it takes is the time it takes for the HC. Providing nutrient and co2 gas are key for a good drystart. Provide nutrient by either substrate such as Flourite (personal favorite) or by ferts such as dyi or the seachem products etc. Keep high humidity and good light (standard photoperiod, not 24/7) and you'll be fine. Once you see the HC being a rich green and throwing off the runners...you're well on your way. To add, ty cainechow. Edited January 31, 2013 by ckmullin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristarockstar Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 I recently started aquascaping too. Read through my thread, I posted some links on Design How to plant Cool rocks Etc http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=38567 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristarockstar Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 10% of ADA coupon http://piscespets.com/coupons/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Water softener: if you are using the typical system that uses salts to soften then your friend is completely right. Those systems release a lot of sodium to replace the calcium and some other mineral I can't remember. Most plants will not like this while possibly most fish will tolerate it. Dry Start: I vote for flooding as soon as you think the roots are well established. I found that on my DSM, I left it for a really long time and has a very dense carpet of hc. The problem was that it was to thick. It made for poor circulation of water and problems for light reaching lower levels of the hc. Hc that spreads while submerged grows a bit differently than that which spreads out of water. That is my experience. Can anyone chime in on that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Hc that spreads while submerged grows a bit differently than that which spreads out of water. That is my experience. Can anyone chime in on that? agree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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