# First ADA Style Project



## ofridagan

Hello everybody,

A few weeks ago I bought this 60cm ADA tank, and I want to share with you my first experience doing it ADA style 

First of all, I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of the bare tank, or rocks before placing in the tank.
I'll try to update frequently from this point on.

*The vision*
My hope is to create a lush green carpet growing between some powerful rocks.
A tall, grass-like plant in the back and maybe some kind of impressive reddish plant, at the focal point.
Of curse, I want the tank to be as clean as possible, using the best equipment I can get my hands on.

That is my humble project, I hope you'll enjoy my journal


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## ofridagan

*Stage one - Hardscaping* 05/01/2010

(Sorry, no pictures from this stage)
So after placing my new tank in my living room, filling it with almost two bags of black ADA soil, I took about an hour drive south to buy me some rocks 
Actually, I couldn't find the rocks I wanted anywhere close to where I live, so I finally saddled for these kind of rocks:








It took me a few days to boil the rocks, then a whole day (!) to place the rocks in a way I was satisfied with.
What I really wanted are dragon rocks, like these:









Oh well, on to the next stage - Carpeting !


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## ofridagan

*Stage two - Growing the HC carpet* 06/01/2010

As I said, I have to have a perfect green carpet 
I chose to go with the obvious - Hemianthus micranthemoides (HC). I just love this plant, there is nothing like it - such a noble plant.
After reading an interesting post on the BarrRepot I decided to start growing my HC carpet emersed. So, I took some HC pots from an old tank and started planting.
Beside some pots drying on the high slopes (expected) I was really suprised by how fast the HC is growing.
So finally, here are some pictures of the tank about three weeks after planting:

This is how it looks right now...









...and after cleaning the glass

















from above









zooming..









That's it for now. Next stage - Water!!!


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## doubleott05

wow thats fantastic


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## doubleott05

where did you get your rocks from they look great.


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## ofridagan

Thanks!
I live in Israel so I got theme in this place that specializes in rocks, for the garden, etc...
Here is a link to their website (It's in Hebrew though...) - http://www.rocks.co.il

To tell you the truth, I'm not completely satisfied with the rocks arrangement. Any suggestion?


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## joshvito

IMO, the one white rock is distracting from the natural look you have established


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## ofridagan

Yes, I guess you are right. Do think I should remove it, or replace it with the same kind of rock?
Thanks


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## rountreesj

yes remove, and tilt either the left or right side of the far right rock up


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## Emily6

I really like the simplicity- are you going to add shrimp or fish or both? I'm new to aquascaping and small tanks- is the seran wrap on top to keep heat in? I agree with you about HC. It's easy to love and hard to turn your back on.


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## doubleott05

i thought that was hebrew. i like the other rocks just get rid of the white one. then it will look fantastic.


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## ofridagan

Emily6 said:


> I really like the simplicity- are you going to add shrimp or fish or both? I'm new to aquascaping and small tanks- is the seran wrap on top to keep heat in? I agree with you about HC. It's easy to love and hard to turn your back on.


Thanks. mmm I'm thinking about red crystal shrimps - not sure yet.
The seran wrap is to keep it moist, will be removed, of-course after filling with water.



doubleott05 said:


> i like the other rocks just get rid of the white one. then it will look fantastic.


I will get rid of the white one, I just shuttered this other rock I had into small pieces - I'll use that instead of the white rock. Thanks.


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## WeedCali

I think it looks great. but yeah, remove the white rock.


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## ofridagan

OK OK hahaha I guess I thought it looks more interesting this way.


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## ofridagan

OK, took your advise, and removed the white rock.

Here is an update:









The HC is filling in real nice, and the water are coming soon 

Some more pictures...



























odd angle....


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## foofooree

Nice rocks there. Nice growth on the hc, too


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## gwclark

I love this tank. The hardscape is beautiful.


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## doubleott05

wow how much time in growth is that?


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## shark1505

Wow, I wish my HC grew that well


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## nkm68

Hi what's your temperature like?


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## ata326

Amazing aquarium and great HC... I've been trying to grow HC for months but I couldn't suceed. Now I've bought 4 pots of HC, and sticked the glasses of a new aquarium 25*25*15 a few hours ago . Now all of them are in the aquarium but I'll pull two of them out to grow emersed. Is there any pinpoints that you can tell me, or is it all simple: put them in, add some water, increase the moisture and light?


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## ofridagan

Hi everybody,
Sorry I didn't respond for a long time, for some reason I didn't get any email notifications...

Thank you for all your comments, it's great to hear you like it.

The HC is growing for about one month.
The temperature is about 26C... I can't be sure... It's summer, and I am using air-conditioner.

What I learned about growing HC emerged (not a lot ):

Keep it moist, but don't over flood it.
Give it strong light.
Keep it at a reasonable temperture.
HC seems to REALLY like ADA's aquasoil.
I only tried one other soil and it didn't grow nearly as good as on the ADA soil.

I'm interested though if anyone found some other (hopefully cheaper) soil that HC grows well on.


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## ata326

I'm trying HC on hagen black standart substrate with extra nitrogen and potassium fertilizer, but they do not grow as I expected to. They need he very high quality and rich susbtrate to grow and CO2 is necessary. Birght light will be good but in water 2WPG will be enough... I'll try to find some good substrate here in Turkey and try to grow it emersed...


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## ofridagan

*Stage three - Water!* 23/07/2010

So it has been almost two months since I planted the HC and I feel now is the time to fill the tank with water!
I prepared the filter and the CO2 system, and slowly filled the tank with water. about 40% RO and 60% tap water.
The filter works perfectly, but I notice my diffuser has hole in it, so the bubbles are not going through the ceramics... I positioned the diffuser under the filter intake pipe, so I think it's OK - until I'll replace the diffuser.

About 24 hours after filling the tank, I notice the water are turning yellow. I hate it. I decided to insert active carbon to the filter. I know it also takes up nutrients, but I figured I'll just add more - it's a small tank.
BTW, I haven't added any fertilizers yet.. I am planing on adding my DIY dry mix, in a week or two.

Now, only three days after filling the tank the HC seems to like it  and it already grown in places that were too dry before.

Here are some pictures - also added a starter fish - a little rubber duck


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## Daniil

That is a beautiful set up.:clap2:
Looking forward to the progress.


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## ofridagan

Thanks Daniil.
I'm hoping to update here on the progress.


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## doubleott05

great job you made the front page


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## ofridagan

Wow that's great!
Thank you APC gods


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## Tex Gal

LOL, the rubber ducky really fits nicely into an ADA set up. He does look cute in there. Careful, he doesn't eat that great lawn you have there!  Great job!


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## ofridagan

lol, the credit for the duck belongs to my cute girlfriend. I never thought I will put something like that in my tank... but it does look cute


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## WeedCali

Wow that looks great! i think you should paint the back black.


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## ofridagan

mmmm I don't know about painting the back, I kind of like ot this way.
I guess for the 'final' shot I will try some background.


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## ofridagan

*A little update - algae is here* - 31/07/2010

So even though I wanted to avoid it by starting the HC emersed, today I notice some algae strings on the HC and some on the glass.
It was kind of hard to remove because it is very small...
I'm hoping after today's cleanup the HC will manage to beat the algae.

I'm looking for another kind of plant in the background though, I guess it will also help fight the algae.
Any suggestions?


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## Ajax

Ok couple of points here. Your HC will go through a transition period from emersed to submersed during which some of it will die off. Not much you can do about it. Just keep doing water changes, and keep the floating bits out of the filter. 

Second you should trim the HC away from the front glass to give it that sloping transition. When it gets that thick I remove about a 1/2" back from the glass. Just take your trimming scissors, and cut down into the soil 1/2" away from the glass all along the front. I have some cheap scissors for this so I don't dull my nice ADA ones.

Third, definitely don't paint the back. You'll want to match the background color to the layouts you do in the future. Foam core (sorta like foam cardboard) comes in a wide range of colors that you can find at most hobby stores, and is a good choice because the color doesn't run when it gets wet.

As for plant choice in the back ground, I would go with some type of grass. Echinodorus angustifolia is about the right height for a 60P. You could transition that further with some Echinodorus tenellus or Eleocharis acicularis in front of that. 

Hope that helps!
John


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## Reginald2

You should rename this project: Where the Peeps Roam, or Lone Peep in Mountains.

How did you get him to sink?


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## ofridagan

Ajax, thank you! I will try the trimming you proposed here.

Reginald2, hehe it was pretty easy - I filled it with water.... it still wonder off sometimes... it's kinda nice.


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## ofridagan

*Quick update*

Did some cleaning - scrapping the glass, trying to remove small and gentle pieces of algae.
Also I did a first water change of about 20%
While doing so some HC found it's way out of the ground, so I planted some where it was missing. I will probably do a trimming soon, like Ajax suggested, and plant it in the back.

Got a picture... the duck btw is floating around in the tank, he seems to be enjoying the new clean water.









And I even have a short video... not much to see though


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## Reamer

im so jealous of your rocks lol, i hope i can get good at making tanks awesome job


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## Vadimshevchuk

great tank and layout! I love the fauna of this tank. The rubber ducky completes it =D


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## pugia

ADA out flow? NICE shape if its not


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## Matt1975

Great rocks... but I agree to take out the white stone!


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## sampster5000

I might have missed it but what soil are you using?


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## myjohnson

Hey, cool set-up man.

What method of fertilization are you using?


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## myjohnson

Nice set-up man.

I been wanting to grow HC like this for a while but just never tried it.

Once the water is added, what ferts are you going to be using?

How often do you plan on doing water changes?


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## bratyboy2

Y the duck?


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## drongo12

the rocks are very interesting. I have often wondered if the Amano Sand stays in place once built up. most gravel will 'find its own level'.


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## OVT

Really, REALLY nice. More pictures please  By the way, the duck looks like a girl to me. I'm going to put one in my new ADA tank and we can start DuckAmano trend.


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## karlhigh

It's nice.


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## Yeaulman

I don't think the pics are working anymore


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