# New ADA 90 set-up



## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

Aquasoil 
ADA 90 tank 
Teklight T5 - 4 x 39W (6500k) - need to find a way to hang it ? 
Pressurized CO2 / Milwaukee MA957 Regulator 
ADA Pollen Beetle 40 
Replica Glass Lily pipe 
Manzanita (pick locally)
Rock looking thing is petrified wood

Newly heavily planted tank was taken at 3 days old. Newer pic to come later


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## JJman (Jul 13, 2006)

Hi Youjin,
I think it's a nice start. Once the stem plants (rotala?) in the back grow tall and fill in a little more, it will look really nice. If I may suggest one thing, perhaps instead of attaching the entire clump of moss to the branch, you may want to spread them out into strings of them and wrap them around the twigs with a thread or fishline instead. This will create a more uniform coverage and will look more natural...if that's indeed what you want to achieve.

Best regards,
Poe


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

thanks Poe.

It is indeed rotala green at the back right

Will try to do that (spread the moss over the twigs) or removed them in the next few days.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

It would probably be easiest to remove the wood, spread the moss, then put the wood back in. As you have it now, you'll end up with a pom-pom look that is quite unnatural.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

I like the pom poms. Well I guess thats up to personal preference, for example, I liked the pom poms that were in AGA contest, submited by one of the members of CAU... although one the judges had some grudge against them.

As for your tank, you just need to tighten everything by letting them grow and trim. Your foreground is quite perfect already and i got to say you ve got really good looking crypts.


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

Here is the tank filling out after 12 days.

Thanks for all the suggestions on how to improve the scapes. Keep them coming....

I have not attempted to spread the moss over the "twigs" (probably in the next few days); just letting the plants grow.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Its filling in nicely. I like the twiggy look and the mix of leaf shapes.


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

Tank pic as of 12/5/06 and the light is now hanged from the ceiling.


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## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

now that is a Nice tank. What are the Plants?


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Wow, what a fancy high tech tech! Looks even better now that it's mature a bit! Well done! 

-John N.


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

looks good!

what is that foreground?


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

The foreground consists of HM and dwarf sag (from the left foreground moving to the center mid ground). I was thinking of whether to change to HC ? Any suggestion ?


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

Thanks.....would like more critique, please. Looking for ways to change and improve the layout.

The foreground consists of HM and dwarf sag (from the left foreground moving to the center mid ground). I was thinking of whether to change to HC ? Any suggestion ?

The right front is a crypt (correct name ?).

The back from left to right is : stargrass, rotala macrandra, diliplis d., rotala green.


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

I think that the wood doesn't fit the layout, I think it would look better without it.


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## aquaphish (Jan 22, 2005)

Great looking aquascape. Plants seem to be doing well and the pom pom moss is no longer. May I suggest that the red plants be placed in the corner behind the other plants.


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## SPL-311 (Oct 4, 2006)

Craig Tarvin said:


> I think that the wood doesn't fit the layout, I think it would look better without it.


I agree here. I do think a small carpet of HC would look nice, perhaps move the dwarf sag to the left side and have a small patch of HC in the middle of the foreground. Good work!


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

Right now, I feel like there are too many strong elements clashing together. The polygonum, the warm petrified wood, the dramatic wood-work, and even the strong green (since very little in this tank has a dark green) java fern all kind of fight for attention. The pieces don't integrate well.

Here are some suggestions I'd make:
-swap out the java ferns for more crypts. This will give you a better consistancy through out the scape. Making room for more crypts would be good to, because the petrified wood right now is too strong for a stone that, in its position, should be "support" stones.

-Either highly take back the polygonum, or remove it completely. it's really strong, and the size of the plant really makes the lay out look small.

-Get the foreground plants to mix more with each other and the midground. One of the things making this tank look un-connected is that the foreground is not unified.

-Like others have said, you might take the wood out or-- I'd get more wood. Right now, they don't make a strong enough impression-- too few, so that it is unbalanced. Also, since the twigs are so scattered and few/too thin, it helps in the tank looking un-unified.

-Personally, I'd try another plant than sag. It just doesn't work with the consistency of the lay out. I'd try more crypts instead.


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

thanks, this is good feedback...keep it coming. I will redo the scape soon


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

This is a very nice tank. Some of the advice above regarding the small wood pieces is probably worth listening to and dwarf sag never seems to work nicely as a foreground plant. Despite that - kudos on a tank that is certainly a highlight in your home.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

It's a nice layout, but I would fine-tune this way:

-If you want to keep the dwarf sag you could wrap it completely around the HC by putting more on the right in front of the crypt
-I would move the sticks further to the back of the tank 
-I would try to replace the "cut-off" looking pieces of petrified wood with more natural looking ones.


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

thanks for the critique. I will post new pic once i finetune the layout this weekend


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

i am learning a lot from the feedbacks.

Decided to re-scape the whole set-up. Remove the foreground plants; dwarf sag and HM (replace with HC); thin the background plants (didiplis and rotala green) and remove the twiggy looking wood and petrified wood / rock.

This is how it is after 2 days. Keep your suggestions coming.


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## JJman (Jul 13, 2006)

Hi there. This is very nicely done, both the plant placement and the layout. The only suggstion I have for now is that you might want to point the wood on the left towards the center instead. I think if it hovers slightly above the substrate stretching out into your center foreground, it would be awesome.


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

JJman, i agree with you.

Last nite, I moved the left hand wood to point to the center. Also, tied different moss to all the branches. New pic will be posted. 

Only problem so far is that everyday i see HC floating (i had planted them individually and buried almost all of the leaves when i started). Going to wait for a few more days and gather a bigger portion before replanting them. I think it is the cory x 8 of them who dug them up


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

It is 5 months since the last major rescape.

Any suggestions ?


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## mlawson (Apr 21, 2007)

Looks stunning, perhaps you could put a bit of red on the left, being careful to not make it look too symetrical.


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## UG Dude! (Apr 12, 2007)

Looks very good... Though, the it would look more complete when the HC has covered the entire foreground... Actually, I think it would look quite good if the foreground was bare...


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

This tank looks great!! I really like your use of moss in this tank very interesting. 



UG Dude! said:


> Looks very good... Though, the it would look more complete when the HC has covered the entire foreground... Actually, I think it would look quite good if the foreground was bare...


as far as the foreground is concerned I have to agree its all all or nothing situation, I know HC takes time to grow and cover a forground completely. I have to say I think the growth your getting from it looks amazing, what a nice green. IMO its going to be well worth the wait to let it cover completely.

Good luck, I look forward to seeing more updates


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## hedson_25 (Sep 20, 2005)

i do not if that was you porpouse but i have the feeling of a very deep rain forest in the left side of the aquarium.


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## Jessie (Apr 23, 2007)

WOW! The evolution of this tank has been really fascinating. Nice work!

If you do add more red, I would suggest placing it in the very back left corner.. or diagonal of the other so it peaks through and adds another splash of color to balance the striking presence of that Alternanthera.

VERY beautiful!


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## youjin (Apr 1, 2006)

thanks....the HC do takes quite a while to take off. I am hoping it will cover the foreground nicely in a few more months. Cories digging doesn't help. 

pic of a baby fish (beckford pencilfish) that somehow managed to survive from being eaten. It appear out of "nowhere" - i never know that it existed. It is still really small.


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