# ADA 60cm Setup Journal, "Paniolo Country" (56K Warning)



## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

*The Inspiration*

There is a plethora of diverse climates and ecosystems here in Hawaii, ranging from arid dessert to tropical paridise. I have always felt very calm and peaceful gazing at the vast Paniolo ranch land up in Kohala, so I wanted to try to recreate that serenety in an aquarium, true to the NA style.









The serene rolling hills of Kohala on the Big Island

The setup began a month or so ago, when the spot was selected for the aquarium - right next to my desk where I will be able to work and calmly gaze at the school of cadinal tetra over an emerald landscape. However, this poses quite a unique callenge, as the aquarium will be viewed from two sides.

Here are some ADA tanks relative to what I wish to create, along with some AquaJournals detailing stone placement (thanks Jeff).














































*Supplies*

I placed a large order from ADG consisting of of Clear Hose (3m) 13mm, Gray Parts Set, Lily Pipe Inflow V-0 13mm, Lily Pipe Outflow P-2 13mm, Tube Brush 3 pc. set, 2 8000k ADA PC bulbs, substrate ferts & liquid ferts, Brighty K 500ml, Clear Super, ECA 50ml, Green Brighty STEP 1 500ml, and Tourmaline BC, 60-P tank, 2lt Powersand-S, 6lt Amazonia Aquasoil & 3lt Amazonia Aquasoil Powder. My first order from ADG will most definately not be my last. I want to thank Jeff for all of his help and guidance thoughout this project and I hope that I may do ADG proud.
I already had the CO2 system from a previous setup and I also ordered an Eheim 2213 from Drs. Foster and Smith while it was on sale. I also purchased an AH Supply 2x 36w kit and thier cutom black enclosure. The stand was bought from Wal-Mart.

















Everything prepped before the setup









ADA Ferts









Eheim 2213









CO2 System









Lily Pipe Outflow









Lily Pipe Inflow & Diffuser w/Grey Parts Set

















60P Aquarium in place

Due to the availability of hardscape supplies, I had to go with low rocks, rather than large feature stones exhibited by ADA. Although, I believe this to reflect the natural hills and knolls throughout Kohala, Waimea and the windward side of the Big Island. The stones were locally collected from a nearby stream bed.










Here is a detail of my DIY Hanging Canopy. I feel that it adds a lot to the asthetic value of the whole setup.



















The support leg was ripped off of a derelict grill & re-painted. It was mounted on the top of my desk by 2 3" screws.



















The actual 36w bright kit w/ADA bulbs. The canopy is strung by steel picture wire, but I needed more space during set-up, so it was briefly held up by hooks.

*Hardscape Construction*

With the aquarium in place, the construction of the hardscape can begin. The powersand is added first, along with Clear Super and Tourmaline BC (ADG was temporarily out of stock of Bacter 100).




























I sincerely apologize for the lack of photos during the layout & stone placement. Lets just say I spent a lot of time burying stones in aquasoil over and over until I decided on what I believed to be the best placement for stones on each side.



















*Planting*

The arrival of the plants was slightly less than satisfactory, though I am new to plant shipping and maybe I just have high expectations. I will chose to have the vendor remain anonymous, though the condition of the plants can be attibuted to the high heat across the nation this summer. Also, the fact that it took UPS 2 days when overnight mail was selected kind of irks me.

8 bunches of glossostigma were ordered, 9 included (I suppose for expected die-off). They were immediately placed in the aquarium (which was filled with water) in order to "rescussitate" them. They were immediately planted in 2" clumps. Ill update the health of the plants in a week. The success of these plants will be a true testament to Aquasoil.





































Note that you can also see the slight changes in the hardscape.

Specs:
60cm ADA Aquarium
ADA Soil Series + Tourmaline BC
ADA STEP Series + ECA (reccomended dosage)
Pressurized CO2
Eheim 2213
Glossostigma Elantoides
Glass Shrimp
Cardinal Tetra ~25 (coming soon!)


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

Looking good, like the hardscape!


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

I think either your rocks are too buried or it's perfect as is but with an additional branchy pieces of wood. The scape looks too flat. But ADA stuff is nice, Jeff is the man and you are the man for making such a creative hanging unit for the light.


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

turtlehead said:


> The scape looks too flat.


I'll agree . If I had ordered another bag of aquasoil, I could have made more of a hill, but you learn from experiences. It also troubled me that I could not find larger stones with similiar properties as the ones used. However, upon reflection, it will look a lot like the nature example the tank is based on once the glosso gets going.

I'll keep the branchy wood in mind, maybe I'll be able to find a pieces on my next hike. Thanks for the compliments!


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

If not then you can add long plants in the back to pull the layout vertically. Plants like giant hairgrass would be nice. Amano has a lot of layouts like this but he utilizes tall background plants to make the layout not look as flat, but I like the rocks and the colors. Maybe you could pull the rocks out of the substrate a but more so when the glooso grows it won't look like the rocks are even more hidden.


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## dhavoc (Mar 17, 2006)

nice setup. may i ask how much the shipping was? I'm on Oahu and am seriously considering a similar tank for my home office. going to also do a 75 or 125 in the living room (thats going to be an interesting experience). just an opinion, but wouldnt HC give you more of that lush grass carpet look that you are trying to replicate? with AS and CO2 you should have no problem growing it.


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks Havoc. I will consider HC. But I'm not sure how well it'd do in transit. As you know, shipping is a problem here. Parcel post, the AS & tank were $45 and took 1 month. But ADG does wonderful shipping and the tank was fine.


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Looking great, nice job man...
I do agree on the fact that rocks seem too flat, but I still like it.
Jassar


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Nice tank Dewnazz, and great start to a journal. I know you're trying to get the glosso to recover, however, it's actually best to plant it in plantlets that are all spread out. If you haven't seen it, this is the planting technique I'm refering to.

Loving the tank in any event. You might be able to trim the glosso as it grows out so that it can provide that "hilly" effect that the current "flatness" of the substrate fails to provide. Oh, and don't worry about the cloudiness, I got that, and after a water change it goes away. 

-John N.


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks John. I am actually planting the glosso as per instuctions from Jeff. And honestly, in the condition it was, I think the glosso may have a slightly better chance reviving in groups. Of course, I know jack s#*t about plant physiology except generic internet & book information .

Worst case scenario, I save another paycheck, get another bag of aquasoil, and rescape using lavarocks (I think the black against the green would look nice). Oh, and the tank is best viewed from a slight downward angle, i.e. it looks best when I'm sitting in my chair .


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Nice start and great documentation. Thanks! Regarding shipping plants, if they are packaged well and the delivery location is thought out, there are few problems. I have shipped USPS Priority Mail to Hawaii in 3 days. Purchasing from members here at APC is usually way better than buisnesses, greater quantities and healthier, submersed growth; however, it can be a little more expensive and usually many purchases are required for a new setup.


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## Bavarian3 (Oct 21, 2004)

Awesome setup, nothing like ada products. 

Perhaps you could flip up a couple of the rocks? 
The rocks look great, i just think at least one or two of them should stick up higher, especially considering how much the glosso will grow and cover more hardscape. \

Good luck and keep us updated!

-Charles


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## Catastrophi (May 23, 2006)

Wow, I need to start a ADA style tank. Its going to look great once the plants fill in!


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## dhavoc (Mar 17, 2006)

not bad, price for shipping. I know how you feel about shipping plants to Hawaii, priority mail usually takes 4-5 days for me and I live in the main city of Honolulu... now i only ship via express, it costs alot more but i get it in 1 day, its even better than ups-red. i fly alot of stuff in for my bussiness and express is the way to go. and as dennis said, i have found that purchasing from members here on the buy and sell is much better and cheaper to boot. i have bought downoi, mosses, eroicoulons (sp?), and CRS, and via express mail they arrived alive and well.


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## erik Loza (Feb 6, 2006)

Very nice, indeed. Looking forward to seeing pics in a few months. Thanks for sharing.


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks for the positive feedback folks.

Aquasoil is amazing. already I can say that at least 9 bunches of the glosso will or have made a comeback and plantlets are already bieng produced. However, there are still about 7 bunches that I am not sure will make it. In any case, I have slowly begun to take the healthiest plantlets from the main bunches and re-planted them, hoping to speed up the recovery process and fill in the tank faster. 

I will add some otos in another day or too, and pick up some more shrimp the next time I can get to Hilo.


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## Aquadise (Jul 26, 2006)

Very nice! Make sure get some good scissors cause trimming glosso will be a pain in the future...


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

Looks awesome my friend-- Aw, I can't wait to come home. I'll be starting one of these 60 cm's in California when I go back to school (I'm in Japan now and will be stopping home in hawai'i for only a few days). Let's show how much Hawai'i can inspire an aquascaper in our scapes. 

I really appreciated the detailed description of your set up process, thanks for sharing!


Edit--> BTW, you sure you have glass shrimp? If they're feeder shrimp in Hawai'i, I'd bet that they are neocaridina denticulata, aka wild-form cherries. If so, they are much more useful for a planted aquarium than glass shrimp.


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks GMF. And thank you for IDing my shrimp! I've been meaning to as some folks here if they could help, but it seems I don't need to! Google images have confirmed that they are indeed neocaridina denticulata.


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## dhavoc (Mar 17, 2006)

good to know what those feeders are. I have had them forever and always thought they were rainbows. no wonder my tank with these feeders and cherries have gone all brown... damn I wasted alot of money to get more of what i already have after interbreeding. good thing i have another tank with only RCS in them.


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## ianmoede (Jan 17, 2005)

Ill be spending some time doing field work (geology) on the Kona side of the island. Not too much over there in the way of aquascape inpiration. It looks a little like a reddish moon surface.


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

Gotta admit though, the fountain-grass everywhere reminds me of E. tenellus. I'd love to do a "lavascape."


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

*2 Week Update*

Everything is growing GREAT! I love ADA products.

The glosso is really starting to get going, the tank should be completely covered in another month. I've never grown glosso before, but I can just say that it's growing FAST (new plantlet every other day). I am actually having to trim it from spreading onto the rocks. No real algae issues besides some GSA, mostly near the substrate. I added some 12 more shrimp, and all are doing wonderfully (one's even pregnant). The development of the microflora/fauna has been exemplary. I have small nematode-like creatures in the substate as well as what appears to be water fleas, but I'm not sure. I added some type of dwarf eleocharis (sp?), reminds me of weeds and tall grasses growing among fields. Rocks are now completely covered by GSA, adding a sense of age and time passed to the tank. Some slight erosion of the aquasoil has uncovered some of the rocks, so it doesn't look as flat. And the pearling. It's one of the most beautiful and mezmerising sights I've ever seen. I 'll turn the filter low so that I can view the bubble trails without them swaying with the wateflow. Ever taken a close look at a light ale in a clear glass (or seven-up for you non-alcoholics)? It looks exactly like that, bubbles everywhere. Livestock currently consists of 9 otos and 6 cardinal tetras. I anticipate getting at least 15+ more tetras once my lfs has more in stock. I've also added a tetra-tec 5w uv sterilizer. It was orginally added to combat GW, but it has helped do so much more than that. I like to think of it not only as a clarifier, but as livestock insurance too.

Expect pictures within the next few days (I'm trying to obtain a camera. I know how frustrating lack of photos is for you viewers )


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## dhavoc (Mar 17, 2006)

watch those fleas, they are cute and fun to watch when there numbers are small, but if your tetras dont eat enough of them, they can take over a tank and eat any tender plants/mosses. cant wait for pics.


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

Wow. I'm sorry I haven't updated this recently guys. My bad.
GOOD NEWS! My brother is coming home in another week (or so), which means- CAMERA!

I had lots of fun with the glosso, but it ended up growing too fast (for me), and eventually went vertical. Since then, I have re-done the scape with a nice piece of wood and a few bits of java fern, with eleocharis sp. Just those 2, I want something simple but elegant to watch. The addition of an ADA diffuser has all the plants growing nice and happy. If I'm lucky, it may be worthy of some '07 contests. I'll see.

And the fleas are murauding the tank....


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

UPDATE

Alright. So like I said, I now have use of my brother's (crappy) camera. The photos don't really do the tank much justice, but it's the best I can do. I know it looks empty, but it's more or less a matter of letting the java ferns grow out. It's a lot clearer in person; not as green.

Front Right









Right Side
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i238/dewmazz/DSC01890.jpg

Left Side









Front Left









Desk Shot


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

So the plants and the layout has changed a little since the last time, can't wait until it grows out nice.


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## rkfiske (Sep 16, 2006)

Awesome! i'm in the midst of buying up an ADA 60cm setup for an iwagumi landscape. I saw those AH supply fixtures and the retrofits, they're really well priced! You mentioned you were using ADA bulbs in your AH bright kit? Which bulbs did you get? I was under the impression that the ADA CF bulbs were square pin and the ahsupply kits are straight? I really wanted to use ADA bulbs, so this info could really help me out!


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## Drifty (Nov 28, 2006)

any updates?


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