# ADA setup advice/recommendations



## bape (29 Oct 2012)

Hello all,

Been reading very useful posts and admiring some amazing scapes on this forum for a while. And this has really fuelled my passion into taking the next big step into investing into a more ‘serious’ set up and would love to pick your knowledgeable brains!!   

Please see below my planned set up and any feedback would be hugely appreciated…. If I have missed anything from my shopping list feel free to let me know  

*Tank:* ADA Cube Garden 60-H(30): 60X 30X 45
*Substrate:* ADA Amazonia (9 Litre) + Amazonia Powder (3 Litre). 
*Hardscape:* Just rocks
*CO2:* Pressurised ADA CO2 advanced
*Lighting:* Arcadia T5 Over-tank Luminaire 600mm 24Inch-4x24W VS TMC Grobeams (and how many Grobeams would I need for tank of this size?)
*Filtration:* Again any recommendations on external filter? (something quite small OR something that clips/hangs on rim) If external will be going with lily pipes etc…..
*Heating:* None as the temp of my lounge keeps it stable
*Fertiliser:* Any recommendation on ADA ferts? (There are so many types  :? )
*Fauna:* Cherry Shrimps only for the time being 
*Flora:* HC and short hairgrass only for now

*Questions*:
1)	Is Tuormaline BC, Bacter 100, Clear Super, Penac P necessary under the substrate?
2)	Lighting: Arcadia T5 Over-tank Luminaire 600mm 24Inch-4x24W VS TMC Grobeams? Thoughts?
3)	In regards to the lights, what is the general consensus on LED lights in contrast to a normal ‘bulb’ lights?
4)	Filtration: Again any recommendations on external filter? (something quite small OR something that clips/hangs on rim) If external will be going with lily pipes etc…..
5)	Tank of this size, would I be able to get on with a clip on filter – like you see on nano aquariums?
6)	Fertiliser: Any recommendation on ADA ferts? (There are so many types :S)
7)	Any recommendations on best food for cherry shrimp? (brand & name)

Apologies if some of these questions are ‘amateur’ I am still learning….

Many thanks!
Bape


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## Manrock (31 Oct 2012)

I may be shot down in flames here but...that seems like a lot of light to me! Somewhere between 2-3 watts per gallon is what I would consider 'normal'. I make yours about (4 x 24)/ 17 gallons = 5.7WPG - quite high imho!

I could be totally wrong of course...


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## jack-rythm (31 Oct 2012)

Sounds lime you got a decent set up their pal. I have to free with man rock though. Lighting is way to high. I'm only going on my tanks requirements when I had high tech and co2 but I had 3x 21w t5's and that was close enough to maximum lighting.. but don't worry all you have to do is take a bulb out? Or two? My tank was a 900x300x400 and had less than yours has. But I son know its preference  

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2


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## REDSTEVEO (31 Oct 2012)

Hi there,

Sounds like you are really going for it so good luck. In regard to your questions,

1)	Is Tuormaline BC, Bacter 100, Clear Super, Penac P necessary under the substrate?

The last time I set up my tank using all ADA equipment I considered this question myself, and seem to remember posting something about sharing the cost of the above ingredients.

The reason I say this is because they are expensive to buy, and yet looking at the amounts used in the ADA demonstration at the Green Machine last year there was relatively little of it each ingredient used. So you have plenty left over is what I am saying.

I chose not to use it mainly because of the expense, but I used the same Amazonia substrate that you are using with the addition of the ADA Power sand as a first layer before adding the Amazonia. This to me was worthwhile because it allows for a great bacteria build up and stops the substrate from becoming totally compacted, i.e. anaerobic which can get smelly and lead to algae issues.

That said, if money was no object I would buy them all just to try it out and compare the results.

I hope that this is of some help.

Cheers,

Steve


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## bape (31 Oct 2012)

Thank you for your feedback. I think get everything else but just not too sure about lighting. I have read in depth threads on lighting but still don't quite get it  :? 



			
				Manrock said:
			
		

> I may be shot down in flames here but...that seems like a lot of light to me! Somewhere between 2-3 watts per gallon is what I would consider 'normal'. I make yours about (4 x 24)/ 17 gallons = 5.7WPG - quite high imho!
> 
> I could be totally wrong of course...






			
				jackrythm said:
			
		

> Sounds lime you got a decent set up their pal. I have to free with man rock though. Lighting is way to high. I'm only going on my tanks requirements when I had high tech and co2 but I had 3x 21w t5's and that was close enough to maximum lighting.. but don't worry all you have to do is take a bulb out? Or two? My tank was a 900x300x400 and had less than yours has. But I son know its preference
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2



So if I was to go for Arcadia T5 or Grobeams its way too high? what would be a better alternative?

Or how many bulbs should I be running on Arcadia? and Grobeams?



			
				REDSTEVEO said:
			
		

> Hi there,
> 
> Sounds like you are really going for it so good luck. In regard to your questions,
> 
> ...



Yes I think it is way too expensive considering the amount you actually need. Thank you, I will go with your suggestion


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## Mark Evans (31 Oct 2012)

With  regards to substrate additives, forget them. A waist of money. I've done setups with and without....There's no difference what so ever.

A better investment in my opinion is purigen. marvellous stuff. 

Powersand isn't needed neither. The Aquasoil is a good choice though. 

Regarding light, over a 60cm tank, use just 2 of the 24wT5's suspend them if you can.


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## jack-rythm (31 Oct 2012)

Mark..

I was given some equilibrium but have no idea what this is can you help me?

Jack

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## bape (1 Nov 2012)

Mark Evans said:
			
		

> With  regards to substrate additives, forget them. A waist of money. I've done setups with and without....There's no difference what so ever.
> 
> A better investment in my opinion is purigen. marvellous stuff.
> 
> ...



Hi Mark,

Never heard of Purigen before, is this the product you are referring to?

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Purigen.html

I looked at directions of use but can't quite imagine it. Does anyone have a picture?

Re the lights, I am trying to avoid going down the suspension method, so I guess I could go with the Arcadia and remove a few T5 bulbs to suit the tank?

Also I saw the new Aqua Sky lights from ADA and they look really nice. Does anyone know if any UK shops supply it or is it best to order from the US?


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## Manrock (1 Nov 2012)

Regarding your lighting - I would go with what you have re; the Arcadia luminaire but only run 2 x T5 bulbs for daytime, say an original freshwater type plus a grow type one. This should give you a nice mix of spectrums and enhance your viewing pleasure! The spare sockets could be fitted with some 'moonlight' bulbs for 'after dark lighting' which always looks good. If you have timers then you could overlap the day lights off/night lights on regime by half an hour or so. The night lights should then run for an hour or so before switching off. You can also use them as 'dawn' lamps, just like before but in reverse.

Steve


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## bape (1 Nov 2012)

Manrock said:
			
		

> Regarding your lighting - I would go with what you have re; the Arcadia luminaire but only run 2 x T5 bulbs for daytime, say an original freshwater type plus a grow type one. This should give you a nice mix of spectrums and enhance your viewing pleasure! The spare sockets could be fitted with some 'moonlight' bulbs for 'after dark lighting' which always looks good. If you have timers then you could overlap the day lights off/night lights on regime by half an hour or so. The night lights should then run for an hour or so before switching off. You can also use them as 'dawn' lamps, just like before but in reverse.
> 
> Steve




thank you for the useful suggestion. it sounds like a great idea and I haven't thought of that yet tbh; I love the idea of having dawn and dusk lighting before switching off completely. I am not quite sure how many sockets the arcadia lights have to fit 3 tubes though. I thought they only held 2 tubes....


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## Manrock (1 Nov 2012)

I don't know what Arcadia you have - I was just going off the info you gave at the start of the thread (4 x 24w) and assumed that's what you had, 4 tubes!


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## bape (2 Nov 2012)

Manrock said:
			
		

> I don't know what Arcadia you have - I was just going off the info you gave at the start of the thread (4 x 24w) and assumed that's what you had, 4 tubes!




Ahhh... yes, I haven't purchased the lights yet!


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## Crystal Red (2 Nov 2012)

Thanks for the info in this thread - I was also curious about Penac etc.

Saved a Scotsman a few coppers


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## bape (17 Nov 2012)

Hello all, got an update on the tank..... Just at the ordering stage now!

Tank: ADA Cube Garden 60p: 60X 30X 36
Substrate: ADA Amazonia (9 Litre) + ADA Power sand special S
Hardscape: Just rocks
CO2: Pressurised ADA CO2 advanced
Lighting:  TMC GroBeam 500 Natural Daylight Twin
Filtration: EHEIM calssic 250 with gush lily pipes and clear tubing
Heating: None as the temp of my lounge keeps it stable
Fertiliser: Tropica Specialised Fertiliser 300ml 
Fauna: Cherry Shrimps only for the time being
Flora: HC and short hairgrass only for now

Any thoughts and comments would be appreciated


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## bape (17 Nov 2012)

Re the filter, is 13mm lily pipes and 13mm clear tubing fit okay with the Eheim classic 250?


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## Stitch (17 Nov 2012)

Hi,

Looks like you're going for a top end high tech tank.

One thing you might be struggling with is that most people on here recommend 10x filtration. ie: a filter with 700 lph on a 70 litre tank.

Your tank is about 65 litres so you should be looking at 650 lph minimum. The classic 250 only has 440 lph. The Classic 350 might be good for you as it's 620 lph and 12/16s.

I'm actually doing the same as you at the moment and picking up all of the bits for a 70 litre tank (60 x 40 x 30). I also have the gush 13mm pipes.

I think i'm going with the Eheim 2224 filter as it has 12/16 on both intake and outflow and 700 lph. Haven't fully decided.

Does anyone know of a bigger eheim with 12/16s on both? Ideally around 1,000 lph?


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## bape (17 Nov 2012)

Hi Stitch,

Thanks for your reply.

I did wonder initially if the classic 250 would be a little bit on the weak side. However, I saw that quite a few people had set this up on tanks around the 50 litres mark. Also I wanted a filter that was not wider than 15cm as it has to sit between the wall and a cabinet. 

Regardless of the size of the filter I was worried that the 350 might be a bit too strong for a shrimp tank? I can just imagine a load of shrimps just being pushed around in circles from the flow!


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## nayr88 (17 Nov 2012)

The co2 system sounds a bit wild!! Why not buy reg on ebay and use the fire extinguisher method


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## bape (17 Nov 2012)

nayr88 said:
			
		

> The co2 system sounds a bit wild!! Why not buy reg on ebay and use the fire extinguisher method



Its the one below (already purchased) - what do you mean by 'wild'?

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=ad...w=154&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:81


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## nayr88 (17 Nov 2012)

I mean it's going to need replacing a hell of a lot more than a 2kg FE would.


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## Deano3 (18 Nov 2012)

Sounds like will be a great setup mate I am doing the same with Ada 6o-f just received it about 2 days ago and the tank itself is great, looking forward to suspending my lighting and getting started and also doing the same hair grass and rock layout lol, good luck  it mate sure will look great I will see how progresses and get pointers off ur journal

Thanks DEan


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