# Bona Fide ADA Wabi-kusa



## Francis Xavier (Mar 7, 2009)

After spending about 10 days being nervous, I finally got word that my friend who went to Japan came back and managed to get my wabi-kusa through customs just fine. This. thing. is. amazing.

I can't even quantify it in words, so instead I'll just provide you guys with photos:


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## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

are you gonnd fill the tank or just go emersed?


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## Francis Xavier (Mar 7, 2009)

This baby'll stay emersed to grow out; the plan is to switch it over to a do!aqua glass vase and appropriate lighting down the road. The Mini S will inevitably be rescaped once I stop moving around. But for the mean time, it makes for a cool temporary abode.


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## simwiz (Apr 1, 2010)

I love these little things!!! Tell us more about it!!!!


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## Francis Xavier (Mar 7, 2009)

Sure thing sim; to start here are some other pictures:



















Still trying to get this shot right with the camera between flash, lighting and some photo editing for brightness...it's a work in progress but a good shot:









These things are pretty literally 'magic balls,' I can't get enough of staring at it. So far i've counted 5 different species in my wabi-kusa (they're planted at random in sets, so it's kind of a surprise as to what will grow in which one).

Green Rotala
Ceylon Rotala
Riccia Fluitans (not sure how they get them to stay stuck to the ball and not float away into the substrate, it covers them like moss)
Hair Grass
and another unidentified stem plant.

I'm really looking forward to eventually getting the Branch light and wabi-kusa vase to put this in, as inevitably it'll be moved from the Mini S.

It's really easy to see how if you got a couple of them, you instantly could have an aquascape with no planting or anything of the sort, and have it look better than the vast majority of aquascapes out there to boot!

They really are tiny pieces of art. They can grow emerged, submerged, on a window sill, in a planter outside, pretty much anywhere with some water and light! Though I do hear it's a good idea to every once and a while spray it with Green Brighty or Special Lights.


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## jsenske (Mar 15, 2004)

Sweet Frank! The fert made specially for Wabi Kusa is a DoAqua product called Be Bright. One capful per 500ml in a spray bottle, sprayed once a day (2-3 times a day is fine too) is suggested. That's what I've been doing with mine and it is doing awesome. I can hook you up with a bottle of the Be Bright.


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## simwiz (Apr 1, 2010)

Thanks guys! 

Do you have any step-by-step guide about how to create one of this magic balls?

jsenke, do you have any pictures of yours?


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## Francis Xavier (Mar 7, 2009)

Jeff,

Ohh, Be Bright makes sense, when I was trying to translate the ADA wabi-kusa site the 'Bright' part didn't make much sense and I immediately assumed it was the Green Brighty / Special Lights series of ferts. Come to think of it, I think you've told me about Be Bright being the Wabi Kusa fert before.

That's pretty cool, thanks for the hook up on the ferts!

Sim,

I don't have a step by step guide to give you about how to create them, since I didn't create this. Wabi Kusa is a registered trademark product of ADA, but can't yet be shipped to the States. I've seen a few people try and replicate it, with varying degrees of success. As far as I know, there really hasn't been one that's been able to make one exactly like the ADA ones. Though there was a guy who made a lot of 'wabi kusa' balls that had a thread here in the emmersed section and that was the best attempt i've seen at replication so far.

But i can give you a step by step guide on how to set it up in your tank!

Step 1: place the wabi kusa where you want
Step 2: add a little water 
Step 3: Enjoy.


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## foofooree (Mar 11, 2007)

Cool stuff, Frank 
Makes me want to make one right now even more


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## Francis Xavier (Mar 7, 2009)

It's been one week since I've had the wabi-kusa in my care. I still can't identify which series it is other than a rotala series; mine has hair grass and many of the other rotala series ones I've seen don't have any hair grass.

This week the red Rotala continued to get redder, it seems to be the fastest grower of all the species in the wabi-kusa ball; I see new leaves being put out daily. It'll be pretty cool when the red and green rotala start to flower since they both have very distinctively different colored flowers that should look pretty cool together. The tendency the plants have in growing right now is to grow outward then upward. I even traveled 200 miles on an errand and brought the wabi kusa with me and it travels well!

"full tank shot"


















Close ups, one week in:




























I just really have to emphasize that the combination of these plants growing together the way they are is really beautiful. Makes me wish I could take credit for it.


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## wet (Nov 24, 2008)

It looks quite a bit like what Cavan thinks is Rotala sp "from H'Ra". You can see how it looks submersed (it can get more color than this) in the followups with Cavan in this thread: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/sale-trade/68594-fs-rotalas.html

Here's what my stuff looks like emergent:


















Nice set up! You're thinking of using the Do!Aqua Plant Glass - Oval?


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## Francis Xavier (Mar 7, 2009)

Thanks for the pictures wet, that definitely does look like the 'red' rotala in question. In the ADA Aqua Journal's that i've seen photo's of (it's very distinct very very red stem in person and the red tends to spill over and mix with the green on the leaves) that rotala it's been listed as "Ceylon" Rotala and other times as Rotala Rotundifolia "Red."

Originally I counted 5 plants in here - now i'm suspect that there are in fact, 6. Since there are three varieties of green stem plants, that now that they've grown a bit have shown almost completely different leaf structures: one is oval, one is an ellipse leaf, and the third (which i have no idea what it is, the prior two i'm assuming are a variety of Rotala) is the largest and slowest growing and has a more triangular leaf and different stem structure.

This is half the fun of the wabi kusa, I swear; trying to identify all the random species that grow in.

Yes, the Mini S is a temporary home for it. When I get back from a trip in August it'll be going into a Do!Aqua Plant Glass Oval.


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## Francis Xavier (Mar 7, 2009)

I'm going to be gone out of state for a Month, so I won't be around to see it grow out for the next few weeks (which makes me sad, I have to admit). So these are some final shots in it's temporary home before a follow-up update in a few weeks! These shots are more for point of reference for me later.

I still can't get these kinds of shots right, my ambient lighting is bad. The Solar Mini's light basically drowns out the dull hue of normal lightbulbs:




























For some reason, the Wabi Kusa looks a lot more lush and full today than it did yesterday, I'm not entirely sure why.










Once I get back in state and finish a few final moves, the Mini S will be back in action with a real aquascape and the Wabi Kusa will be in it's own dedicated permanent setup.


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## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

Frank - so how about an update now to see its progress. Thanks.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

wow that little thing is weird-interesting! update please!!


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## Francis Xavier (Mar 7, 2009)

Sure, I will post an update when I get back to a computer!


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## It's Me (Jan 14, 2008)

Really interested to see how this progresses.

Josh


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## Francis Xavier (Mar 7, 2009)

Wabi-Kusa Full by Francis "X" Wazeter, on Flickr


Wabi-Kusa Update by Francis "X" Wazeter, on Flickr


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

Nifty nifty


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## OVT (Aug 26, 2010)

Sweet. A new art form.


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