# Marimoball's Ada 120p



## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

OK I have been in the hobby for twenty years. So after learning so much on forums my 120gal planted Discus was tore down.
This was my 120gal planted discus tank









Then the Tear down.








After my ADA60P I have been wishing for an ADA120P. So I finally managed to purchase one.
Here is the list of equipment so far
ADA120P
Garden Mat
ADA Lily Pipes inflo and out
6x9L bags of aquasoil
6L bag of powersand
Bactor
step 1 step2 brighty K Brighty special lights Brighty special shade
tourmaline BC
green gain
Hardscape is 100lbs of Seiryu stone and 100lbs of Chinese zebra rock
3x8000K MH bulbs
The stand will be an ADA replica and will be ready for painting tomorrow
I can't decide on lighting but I narrowed it down to two. The 6 bulb T5 HO
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...s~vendor~.html
TEK light or 2x150w Aquamedic pendants
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari...an_lights.html

Here's the stuff I have so far








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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

It almost makes me sad to see the tank emptied.  I look forward to seeing the updates when you get it all put together.


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

Yes I had a hard time letting go of my discus. I hope the new owner spoils them as much as I did. I also had a hard time letting go of large driftwoods filled with anubias. Oh well


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## thief (Feb 20, 2008)

HOLY Crap!!! I want updates!!! Really this is going to be a awesome tank. How many seiryu stones do you have?


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## kakkoii (Jan 18, 2008)

Updates!:d:d:d


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

The stand is ready for painting. Ill have pics soon! one stone is 65lbs so not that much.


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

ADA style stand that a friend built for me. Stand is smooth and ready for painting. BIG UPS! To Jason Baliban for the detailed pics of his stand http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/do-yourself-aquarium-projects/40809-building-ada.html


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

very nice!


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Stand looks great! Can't wait to see the planted tank!


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## stewy098 (Mar 6, 2008)

this tank i gonna be nice


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## kjaer (Feb 4, 2008)

Are you going to make an Iwagumi set-up? With to kind of stones? Have you desided wich fish and plants yet?
Cant wait to see the finished result!


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Looking like a great project Victor.
Nice AS you have there.


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

OK the stand is almost ready. One more coat of paint and clear coat.
heres what it looks like so far!


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

SWEET, looking nice Victor.


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

Whew! the stand is finished. Three coats of primer 3 coats of paint and three coats of satin clear coat. I placed the stand where I wanted it to go. It seems to be perfectly level with no shims underneath. Unfortunately I haven't placed the tank on the stand because it is a two man job and i haven't had a chance to call a friend to come and help. But do not despair i have a new pic . the stones you are about to see were purchased about two years ago when things were more affordable. Thats how long I have been planning saving and collecting for this project. The pic shows three Seiryu stone and one chinese zebra rock in the far left corner. The best, largest stone is the whole inspiration for this tank. Yes its one piece it looks like a mountain and it weighs over 65lbs and over two feet. So this is the basic scape. i will add more rock and tweak the scape but it won't change much. The rocks are somewhat dirty from being in my back yard next to my koi pond for the last two years. So tell me what you think.




























All these stones easily weigh over 100lbs and I still have another 80lbs.


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## foofooree (Mar 11, 2007)

wow, those are some of the best looking stones i have ever seen!
subscribed!


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## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

Man! Those are stones people dream of having in an ADA tank. Those are some model stones, very nice


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

It already looks good and they aren't even in the aquarium yet. VERY NICE! :mrgreen:


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## foofooree (Mar 11, 2007)

wow, i have to comment again, it looks like a mountain range


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

Thanks everyone. I really love the stones myself. When I first saw them I thought of an ADA tank myself. I will try to get the tank on the stand tonight and fill the tank with water alone, to see if it is level.


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## kakkoii (Jan 18, 2008)

update?


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

Ok I now have new level floors. The floor was reinforced with 7 extra beams for good measure. Tonight I finally leveled the stand, placed the tank and filled it with water to make sure it is level.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Cool Cool, nice $40 filter on the floor:clap2:


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

LOL the 2215 was a killer killer deal  . But this may be an added filter, not the main filter.


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## thief (Feb 20, 2008)

Marimoball this tank will look great. It's just amazing how long youve waited. You deserve those rocks man. Can't wait for more pics hopefully hardscape next time?


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

Things are gonna move faster now, I hope. I filled the tank with aquasoil first then placed the rock and played with it for a while. I had another rock about the same size but it did not look good with both in them. I tried smaller rock but did not look proportioned. BTW my best friend helped me out, and he really thinks its fun. Even though he has not had a fish tank in ten years. Ok so my friend suggested we break one rock in half. So we drove back to his house, took his sledge hammer and broke the rock in two pieces right in half. We drove back to my house and placed the rock until we both were happy with it. Now after all that work the tank was emptied to add power sand, tourmaline BC, Bacter, and some Penac. Then refilled the tank with aquasoil and repostioned the rock. 
first try with two large rocks.


















I like this scape









added all the power sand and ADA extras









refilled the tank with substrate









Final scape

















close up


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## thief (Feb 20, 2008)

Man to tell you the truth I thought that big rock on the left hand side was ugly. But now it looks like a piece of art. Seriously you are lucky how it came out so nice. Also will you be adding smaller rocks around the big rocks to make the foreground more unique? It looks awesome so far though. Really keep the good work up.


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

Theif, I agree the rock on the left was not the best looking.The scape was not working with both rocks in there. I have smaller rock but it just did not fit. My friend said "lets break it", I wasn't sure but it broke right down the middle after two hits with a sledge hammer. I guess I lucked out. Thanks for the compliments.


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

this is gonna be freakin boss


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

OK plants will be glosso in the foreground and E. tenellus "micro" in the back. glosso will come this week.
Ill try to add smaller rock to the front to see if it improves the scape.


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## foofooree (Mar 11, 2007)

man that hardscape is AMAZING!!!!


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Victor, that is looking top notch.
Great job, this is going to be one fun tank to watch grow.

Hey, I got a new 90p for those extra 80lbs of rock you got in the yardound:

no but seriously, I got the perfect place for them :rofl:

No really, I will even take them out of the back yard for you FREE OF CHARGE:supz:


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

Goal, as a fellow S.C.A.P.E member you will be first in line if and when I decide to sell them. But for your new ADA 30C I may have a hand full for you. Free of charge of course, for all your help. BTW were is your shiny new S.C.A.P.E. banner. Foofooree thanks for your complement.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Doh:frusty:

I forgot to add that on. I have to (and want to) keep the AAPE, I am still a mod there and always will be, but I need to change my Avitar to SCAPE and possibly add another banner.

And I HOPE you decide to let some big ones go, I will be holding my breath with my ties and fingers crossed for good measure.ound:


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

I decided on the Aqualight Pro, for better light control. I hope it comes in this week. If any one has this fixture can you tell me if the 96watt power compacts are square or straight. I can't find the details online, and I want to order a 6500k and a 10k and the hanging kit. I already have the 8k bulbs. 30 pots of glosso will prob. be here tomorrow. I have my catalina aquarium 4x65watt fixture I can use in the meantime.


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

I have not updated in a while:doh: oh well. I planted the tank with glosso in the foreground e tenellus micro in the background. Decided on 65 green neon tetras, They are pretty hard to find around here. Mine were special ordered for me. It did not look good then i added dwarf hairgrass and things improved. here is a picture with pc lighting.

glosso before planting


































equipment









then I finally purchased some metal halides. I was careful and started with a 4 hour photoperiod when switching over to MH. to avoid algae.


























Will update with more pics later. comments welcomed


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## daryn (Jul 25, 2008)

Your tank and stand is amazing, i hope i can do something as good as this sometime but ive not done a decent scape yet LOL. I like the fish choice also.


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

thanks daryn. I did a major trim last night It now has a black background and gaint hairgrass in the back will take some pictures tonight.


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## derekp (Nov 5, 2008)

Wow. Gorgeous setup. The use of rocks with groundcover is awesome.


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

Update. tank is almost complete. I raised the lights to reduce the algae growth. photoperiod is 7 hrs for now. Still have not added the ADA lily pipes .. RO system coming next week then then the glosso will look its best.
removed the hairgrass cuz it was invading the glosso foreground..removed the giant hairgrass also cuz the marselia grew behind it making it look messy

before trim








after trim


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

Update. tank is almost complete. I raised the lights to reduce the algae growth. photoperiod is 7 hrs for now. Still have not added the ADA lily pipes .. RO system coming next week then then the glosso will look its best.
removed the hairgrass cuz it was invading the glosso foreground..removed the giant hairgrass also cuz the marselia grew behind it making it look messy

before trim








after trim


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## wfvanwielink (Feb 9, 2009)

absolutely love your tank, in combination with the AM fixtures, super


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## jnaz (May 18, 2007)

How many tanks do you have anyway?
Each one of those rocks is about 100lbs right?


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

wfvanwielink said:


> absolutely love your tank, in combination with the AM fixtures, super


Thanx the lights are not aqua medic pendants. They are fish need it lights, but they look similar
Jnaz
I have 4 tanks. ADA120p ADA60P ADA 30C (still boxed up) ,and a pico reef. Yes both stones together are about 110 lbs. 7x9L bags of ADA Amazonia I and power sand.


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## NowMed (Feb 10, 2009)

When you do it right, it shows .. super nice job!

ps.. awesome job on the stand :thumbsup:


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## Travis.808 (Apr 2, 2009)

Your set up is sweeeet! That black background made a world of difference. I'm Jealous. I want an ADA tank too! Super expensive here though. Maybe in 2010


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

NowMed said:


> When you do it right, it shows .. super nice job!
> 
> ps.. awesome job on the stand :thumbsup:


thanks. I installed the ADA lily pipes after a 3 day black out due to BG algae . Ill post some pics


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

this tank must be fantastic in person--it is so big and so bright. i bet it is a real nice view into the top from above. that big rock on the right side couldn't be better.

do you have any updates?


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

hydrophyte said:


> this tank must be fantastic in person--it is so big and so bright. i bet it is a real nice view into the top from above. that big rock on the right side couldn't be better.
> 
> do you have any updates?


Thanks It took a lot of time and money, but worth it I love it. I really like what you are doing with the ripariums I gonna have to start one one day with some newts or salamanders. Still trying to balance the light height, photoperiod, and dosing.No more BG algae but now there is anothyer kind 
here are some new pics









needs another trim










Top view


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## MARIMOBALL (Jun 20, 2007)

tank is still going strong ill post udated pics soon.


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## frroK (May 9, 2011)

Hey how is your tank doing? 120p is my future dream tank when I land a good job and have some extra money. How did the fishneed it metal halide work out for you? I know this is an old thread but I dug it up after researching parts for a tank that I am not even close to owning yet...haha..I'm always thinking ahead! any advise you can give?


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