# ADA - Mini S



## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

This is a little Mini S I've been fooling around with for a few months. The tank shows in a small way the effect depth has on tank lighting. The HC to the right which is up a hill and only about 7" from the surface is growing fuller and quicker than the HC to the left which is at the bottom of the hill and about 9" from the surface. The tank receives Seachem Excel everyday and does not have co2.

The Skinny:

Hardware:
Tank - ADA Min S (12" x 7" x 9.5")
Filter - Azoo Migon Filter 60
Light - Coralife 18w 6700k

Substrate: AS Amazonia II, Pool Filter Sand
Hardscape: Cliff Stone, Twigs

Flora:
HC Cuba
Rotala sp. green
Peacock moss
Baby tears
Cryptocoryne wendtii

Fauna:
Crytal Red Shrimp
Snowball Shrimp

Dosing
Potassium, Seachem Flourish and Excel










Here's a closer shot that clearly shows the difference in the growth of the HC:










Closeup shot of the HC and one of the residents (courstey of Mora here at APC):










Sorry for the crappy pics they were all taken with a point and shoot and the 18watts of light on the tank.


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## kakkoii (Jan 18, 2008)

very nice! looks like a forest/ocean shore type look. I love it!


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## YzMxer99 (Jul 17, 2006)

HOLY Crap! That is one awsome Mini-S. Well done, well done.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

love it!!! so hating you right nowrayer:


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Really nice! I was expecting to see some rotala mini type II.


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## Jervis (Feb 22, 2008)

Totally awesome!!! Love the slanting soil effect from the front view... having that bottle of champagne there greatly help in giving the tank a sense of scale


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## Matsu49 (Jan 1, 2008)

Wow thats one of the best nanos that i've seen in a while. Keep up the good work.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks for all the comments!

Tex Gal,

I did actually have some mini in there for a while, but it didn't seem to work for me in this setup.

Here's a more straight on shot:


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## landstrykeren (Apr 17, 2007)

Great job, it looks really good!


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## patrick76 (May 21, 2007)

Nice looking tank. Love the rocks and wood selection.


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

looks very nice! one question, where is the filter i dont see it in the pictures. Was it one of those that you hide behind the plants?


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## chadly (Dec 19, 2005)

I like it, pretty nice, love the elevation change


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks for the comments.



newguy said:


> looks very nice! one question, where is the filter i dont see it in the pictures. Was it one of those that you hide behind the plants?


The tank has a small HOB that was removed for the picture.


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## hedson_25 (Sep 20, 2005)

nice achievment.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

hedson_25 said:


> nice achievment.


Thank you, I appreciate it!


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## ongtw (Mar 2, 2008)

hi houseofcards,

I was almost convinced that i can't plant HC without injecting co2 until i came across your post. Can you share with us how you did it? my HC seems to melt away everytime i tried planting it. 

the tank i was experimenting on was a very small one. probably less than 5 gallon.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

ongtw said:


> hi houseofcards,
> 
> I was almost convinced that i can't plant HC without injecting co2 until i came across your post. Can you share with us how you did it? my HC seems to melt away everytime i tried planting it.
> 
> the tank i was experimenting on was a very small one. probably less than 5 gallon.


I think the HC in this tank grows well because of daily (religous) dosing of excel, short distance from the good adequate light. The rich Aquasoil I'm sure plays a part as well.


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## Jervis (Feb 22, 2008)

How do you find the Coralife 18W luminaire? I am looking for a bright fixture for my 1ft cube.


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## ianic84 (Feb 7, 2008)

no CO2 for this setup sir?..did you started this setup as immersed for few months and flooded it after the HCs were already established?

TIA


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Jervis said:


> How do you find the Coralife 18W luminaire? I am looking for a bright fixture for my 1ft cube.


It depends what you want to do with your cube. But I don't think the 18W coralife will be enough if you want to grow HC or other demanding groundcover.  This tank is only 9.5". The light is about 12" from the bottom of the tank and the HC doesn't grow as well on the left as it does on the right where the hill is. It does light up the whole tank nicely even though it's only about 8.5" wide.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

ianic84 said:


> no CO2 for this setup sir?..did you started this setup as immersed for few months and flooded it after the HCs were already established?
> 
> TIA


No, the tank and all the plants in it where started submersed. I planted the HC by individual stems around the tank, no roots.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Looks very nice. With the not-so-front to back elevation change on the right, I can't help wondering what a shot from the left end would look like...


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Squawkbert said:


> Looks very nice. With the not-so-front to back elevation change on the right, I can't help wondering what a shot from the left end would look like...


Thanks, I'll try to get some more shots up this weekend from the left-side.


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## thief (Feb 20, 2008)

Thats an amazing tank!!!=D>


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

thief said:


> Thats an amazing tank!!!=D>


thank you!


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## thief (Feb 20, 2008)

Your tank really inspires me. It like when the forest meets the beach. Anyways I just finished land scaping my 2.5 gallon. Thanks for the wonderful tank.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

hope you dont mind im stealing this design for my 10 gallon im going


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## Ajroy03 (Feb 1, 2008)

Awesome Mini Cards! 

I was just wondering... how did you mount that light to those cables??

Excellent job by the way!


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks for the comments:

Bratyboy: 
Steal away....

Ajroy03:
I loosened the two small screws on the side of the Coralife fixture and wrapped picture hanging wire around the screw and retightened.


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## simplefin (Dec 20, 2007)

would you mind giving us close ups? i made the mistake of buying the mini aqualight thinking i could get the legs to work. 
i ordered mine online, and it showed up today. after realizing my mistake, i've been scouring the net looking for alternatives and fixes.
picture wire i can get, but im stumped on how to mount it above my mini m. any help would be great ^^


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

This tank is actually under a cabinet so mounting it was no problem. A couple of screws under the cabinent and it was done. I'm even able to unwind/rewind the picture wire to lower or heighten the light. Here's a pic of an older setup under the same light.










There is a thread somewhere of someone that used legs to extend this light over a small tank.


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## arowanaman (Jun 14, 2006)

This little tanks is very inspirational. I have the Mini M and I cannot make it look this "big". congrats on makeing such minute detail in such a small space.


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## Jervis (Feb 22, 2008)

Your old tank is amazing too... you are very talented indeed


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks for those comments. I appreciate it.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Couple of updated pics. I added some nana petitte and some assorted small crypts to mid/back. These are probably the last pics as I will be taking down the tank and creating something different. I guess that's the fun of these little tanks.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

okay so im finally going to steal it tonight and do the setup lol the ten didnt do what i wanted it o so im going witha different one...but what is your hardscape rock wise?


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

The rocks are called Cliff Stone. I found them at a LFS.


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## Anti-Pjerrot (Mar 12, 2006)

Before taken the tank down, try some other backgrounds for photos first.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

okay just read you are taking the tank down?!?!?!?! what ? why ? are you crazy ? also how did you get the baby tears to stay so compact?


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

bratyboy2 said:


> okay just read you are taking the tank down?!?!?!?! what ? why ? are you crazy ? also how did you get the baby tears to stay so compact?


Read above, fun is in starting a new layout with these small tanks. Are you referring to the Dwarf Baby Tears?


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## gardner (Apr 3, 2008)

wow truly amazing


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks for the comment


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## firefox (Apr 2, 2008)

Wow...nice job...the HC cuba grow well without CO2...really good job...


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## deMastro (Mar 21, 2008)

Any Pictures of the New Tank?


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## firefox (Apr 2, 2008)

Nice tank and nice scaping la...
the HC really grow well...


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks for the comments.



deMastro said:


> Any Pictures of the New Tank?


The new setup can be found in this thread:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/50722-ada-mini-s-take-two.html


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## Bunbuku (Feb 10, 2008)

houseofcards said:


> No, the tank and all the plants in it where started submersed. I planted the HC by individual stems around the tank, no roots.


Beautiful tank House!

A couple of questions about the HC planting? 
1) How densely would you say you planted when your first set up the tank?
2) The HC I get comes in pots with rockwool from FAN. How do you manage to remove individual tiny stems? You must have really good near vision and the patience of a saint!
3) How do you keep the stems from floating with a piece of wool as anchor?


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Bunbuku said:


> Beautiful tank House!
> 
> A couple of questions about the HC planting?
> 1) How densely would you say you planted when your first set up the tank?
> ...


Pretty much the HC was planted stem by stem. I didn't even bother with roots, just stems in the substrate. I find it might take longer but it's not as frustrating since the stems stay put. Get rid of all the rockwool, you don't want that. The pic below is about two weeks after planting the HC and I was still playing around with the tank.


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