# ADA 60cm Volcaniscape



## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

This is my first tank that I would consider anything near an actual "aquascape", it is also my first time using ADA fertilizers. Up until now, I have just been learning how to grow plants. Now, I am going to pay a lot more atention to planning, trimming and making a good layout. I was looking through all of the branchy Manzanita on my parents' property near Mount Shasta in Northern California when I found this piece. It looks volcanic to me, which is fitting since there are a lot of volcanoes in that area.

I set the tank up yesterday, and these pictures were taken today.










Equipment:

ADA Cube Garden 60-P
Black ADA Style Stand from Aqua Forest

Aqua Medic Ocean Light (10,000k) 70W HQI Metal Halide Pendant (7 hours/day)

ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia Normal (~8 liters)
ADA Power Sand Special-S (2 liters)

Eheim 2213 Canister Filter
ADA Lily Pipe Inflow V-3
ADA Lily Pipe Outflow P-2
Hydor ETH 200 In-Line Heater 200W (upside down, on the intake)

5lb. CO2 Tank
JBJ Regulator (on timer with light)
ADA Pollen Glass Diffuser

ADA Brighty-K (3ml per day)

Here is the Power Sand Special (AKA "kitty litter" shot):










Hardscape:










Under the hood:










The whole setup:










Foreground is _Hemianthus callitrichoides_ (HC), background stems from L to R: _Elatine orientalis_, _Didiplis diandra_, _Rotala sp. 'Colorata'_, _Ludwigia arcuata_, _Rotala sp. 'Colorata'_ again, _Rotala rotundifolia 'Green'_, and _Elatine orientalis_ again:










I planted the HC in groups of three stems:










Closeup of the cleanup crew:


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## shewey (Jun 19, 2006)

Looks great Craig,

Looking forward to the pics when the plants start to fill in.

Mark.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

I like the plant choices.

"A forest at the base of a volcano" is a scape idea I'd also like to try someday. Don't know if this is helpful, but I took this shot at the base of Mt. Fuji:

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/42061189


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

Looks pretty sweet. Nice and expensive setup there. Looks great though. Just curious if this was just set up then why do you have shrimp in it? Surely with the ADA soils spiking the Nh4 and dropping the kh/gh/ph so low your shrimp are goners. Just know that from personal experience.


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

Thanks for the comments everyone. I do plan on updating with a lot of pictures.

Thanks for the pic Steven, for some reason, those trees' leaves remind me of HC.

As far as the shrimp/AS... This tank was set up with Aqua Soil only for about 2 months. Then I tore it down and set it up late last Monday night. I realized that I planted it way to sloppily and re-set it up last night. I have been using AS for over a year and never had a problem with adding shrimp right away. I do always wait at least a month to add fish, but I do that regardless of substrate choice.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

chiahead, would it make a difference if there was a matured filter and half the AS was old? I'm thinking of bring a bunch of "wild form" neocaridina back from hawaii for next semester, and wanted to add them straight away. I'll keep the filter alive over the winter (using an auto feeder) and use half of the old AS.

Sorry for the thread jack Craig! Can't wait to see the updated pics!


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

dunno...what I do to offset this is to use bio spira and add crushed coral to the filter for the first month or so. I still wait a week or two.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Looks good Craig. I've always thought this would be a cool idea too. Are you planning to trim the reds as though they are erupting from the 'volcano'?


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## Yukilovesfish (Mar 26, 2005)

Hi Craig,

It looks great I love your setup the driftwood is a neat shape! It's really fun tearing down your tank and starting from scratch. I did the same over the weekend, it was a good opportunity since I had a long weekend. Just curious how you started over with the aquasoil and power sand? I wasn't sure how you separated these after having them already mixed in.

I would love to see more pics as you add to the aquascape...


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

chiahead said:


> dunno...what I do to offset this is to use bio spira and add crushed coral to the filter for the first month or so. I still wait a week or two.


My canister filter is completely established, it had been running for over 2 months when I set this tank up. I have set up a couple tanks with AS now, and have never lost a shrimp do to it's use. Cherries have already hatched in this tank.


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

AaronT said:


> Looks good Craig. I've always thought this would be a cool idea too. Are you planning to trim the reds as though they are erupting from the 'volcano'?




Thanks for the _Rotala sp. 'Colorata'_ and _Elatine orientalis_ by the way!


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## @[email protected] (Jul 10, 2006)

Love the set up. I was also thinking of trying an "one sided" layout during x'mas.
What is your CO2 injection like? how many bps?


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

@[email protected] said:


> Love the set up. I was also thinking of trying an "one sided" layout during x'mas.
> What is your CO2 injection like? how many bps?


Thanks.

Hard to say BPS, but I would guess a little faster than 1 per second, maybe 1.2 or 1.3 BPS?


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Looks real good. I like the placement and shape of the wood. Looking forward to seeing the plants filling in around it.


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## ihooklow (Sep 20, 2006)

Yes, please post more photos later. Subscribing to this thread. Sorry to post whore, but I just want to see this develop. Looks great.

- Mg


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## SUBORPHAN (Apr 20, 2006)

beautiful looking tank Craig. i am not an expert but i think the co2 difuser is meant to be placed underneath the outlet pipe in order to achieve the best diffusion of co2 in water.


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

Thanks for the compliments everyone. I will definitely be updating with new pictures. I think I'll do a weekly update on the HC.



SUBORPHAN said:


> beautiful looking tank Craig. i am not an expert but i think the co2 difuser is meant to be placed underneath the outlet pipe in order to achieve the best diffusion of co2 in water.


That's also what I thought the first time i saw someone put it on that side. However, Amano usually puts the diffuser on the side opposite the lily pipes, especially on the smaller tanks. He also does it on a lot of the larger tanks. I have tried the diffuser on both sides, and the bubbles actually seem to get blown around the tank more when it's on the opposite side of the lily pipes. In the case of this tank, the bubbles rise up a little from the diffuser, then get blown straight into the _Didiplis diandra_ and then through the rest of the plants.


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

Craig Tarvin said:


> Thanks for the compliments everyone. I will definitely be updating with new pictures. I think I'll do a weekly update on the HC.
> 
> That's also what I thought the first time i saw someone put it on that side. However, Amano usually puts the diffuser on the side opposite the lily pipes, especially on the smaller tanks. He also does it on a lot of the larger tanks. I have tried the diffuser on both sides, and the bubbles actually seem to get blown around the tank more when it's on the opposite side of the lily pipes. In the case of this tank, the bubbles rise up a little from the diffuser, then get blown straight into the _Didiplis diandra_ and then through the rest of the plants.


I concur with the diffusser going opposite from the lily pipes. Definetely gets blown around better.


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

I just took a quick picture, this is day 13.










The empty space behind the wood is where the _L arcuata_ (wasn't) growing. I'm going to do the first trim tonight or tomorrow and make all the _Rotala_ bunches thicker.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Nice setup. The HC is fill in pretty quickly considering its only been 2 weeks. Very nice! Perfect example of how planting it stem by stem yields a confined HC carpet. I'll have to keep an eye on this thread. 

Oh, and how are the tiger shrimp breeding for you, if they are?

-John N.


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

John N. said:


> Nice setup. The HC is fill in pretty quickly considering its only been 2 weeks. Very nice! Perfect example of how planting it stem by stem yields a confined HC carpet. I'll have to keep an eye on this thread.
> 
> Oh, and how are the tiger shrimp breeding for you, if they are?
> 
> -John N.


Thanks John. I think the HC is growing pretty well, it was barely poking out of the AS less than 2 weeks ago. I am still only dosing Potassium.

The Tiger Shrimp aren't breeding yet, but they were very young when I got them about 2 months ago.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

It's looking really well. I wasn't too sure about that wood at first, but now I can see your vision!

I'm still in limbo with my ADA tank and AquaMedic MH pendant. Still sitting in the garage, waiting for me to finish my stand!

I look forward to seeing this tank progress ...


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

I got lazy and let the _Rotalas_ grow out of control. I finally gave the tank it's first big haircut this weekend. HC would be more filled in around the wood if it wasn't getting shaded. I also didn't bother prepping for this picture, I am going to put a black background on the wall behind it soon. Here are my my cheap "lily pipes" and diffuser that I use while I'm bleaching the ADA stuff:

One month:


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

that HC is filling in very nicely. Looking good!


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## jsenske (Mar 15, 2004)

Nice layout and excellent growth so far and very effective display of the power of ADA substrate! That HC looks absolutely primo!


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

jsenske said:


> Nice layout and excellent growth so far and very effective display of the power of ADA substrate! That HC looks absolutely primo!


Thanks Jeff. I could never go back to another substrate. This is also my first time using ADA ferts, I am definitely sold!


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## Yukilovesfish (Mar 26, 2005)

Hey Craig, :high5:

I hope all is well! 

Any new updates on your tank? I was thinking about you because my spiky moss has really taken off!


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

looks nice maan . keep posting more pics.


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## Blue_Dolphinvn (Nov 12, 2006)

@Craig: you can replace rotala by some kind of long grasses, it will form a very natural BG and you don't have to cut off them every weeek....


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