# Almost complete 3' ADA



## james3200 (6 Oct 2007)

As the title says, this tank is almost ready, but i decided to take a few pictures as it was looking pretty nice today. The foreground was re planted not to long ago, thanks to my shrimp uprooting it, its almost re-filled in, just a small patch that is a few weeks away.

The tank has been setup since Nov 06 and is a complete ada setup, substrate, powersand, tbc, ferts etc.. 

Specs - 

3' 150lt ish
pressurised co2
150w ada 8k HQI, 2x39w arcadia plant pros
Lots of galaxies and an unknown quantity of tiger shrimp
Aquatronica computer to control everything

here are some working shots, HC need a trim and needs to fill in a little here and there where i cut into it, the hairgrass too and but i am happy with the overall look.














It will be broken down fairly soon to make room for my new discus tank, but il get some closeups and some arty pics before then

Hope you like it 

James


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## George Farmer (7 Oct 2007)

Very nice, James.  Thanks for sharing.

Can you go into more detail about your computer, please?


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## james3200 (7 Oct 2007)

Thanks George

I got the Aquatronica shortly after setting the tank up in the hope that it would make my life easier as i wanted a high tech tank with low maintenance. I have recommended it to another planted enthusiast who has been in the hobby way longer than me and he is too extremely happy with it.

Here is a link to the aquatronica http://www.aquatronica.com/products-1/control-systems 

I use it to monitor & control the temperature / co2/ph / fert dosing / lighting on two tanks. I have the temperature increasing throughout the day and dropping off towards the evening, and the PH also drops from 6.4-6.2 throughout the day/night you can control alot with it and log it into graphs, export data, loads. I also got myself the ethernet module which is pretty cool as i can monitor & control all the tank stats from just using the IP of the controller on any browser, which gives me added piece of mind when i am away.

I will be putting it onto my discus tank where it will also control the water changing system with some level sensors and a few other things like the fans in the hood.

Overall i would recommend it to anyone with a planted tank, it is really geared towards marine tanks, but there are quite a few functions for FW, and as it is modular, you can add to it gradually so its not a huge dent in your wallet 

James


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## Maximumbob (7 Oct 2007)

Hi James

I have been looking at these types of systems for a few months.

I have found the whole thing filled with mumbo jumbo, and not very user friendly.

I would appreciate if you would tell me which modules you have, and how you have it set up.  I would find it very useful for my 180 litre tank and maybe one day it would help me start my dream marine tank  - in about 4-5 years when I feel I have read/learned enough... and have moved house!

I have looked at prices and from what I can gather it varies from between 100-250 quid per piece depending on what you get.. is my research correct?

Si


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## james3200 (8 Oct 2007)

You have the controller, where you input / view data, then this is connected to a plug bar, which is basically a row of 6 plugs which are controlled by the controller depending on the variables, such as temperatue and ph, so it can turn off and on a heater or co2 solenoid or switch a pump on in conjunction with a level sensor for example. I am also using it to control RO solenoids to auto refil my discus tank on a trickle system. All the modules, such as temperature, ph, dosing pump etc are connected to the plug bar via usb connections. To add another plugbar to the system you connect it to the original plugbar with a usb cable.

Here is a pic of the dosing pump and ethernet module. The dosing pump is really accurate to as you can calibrate it as often as you like and i have never found it to be more than 1ml out. I use to have an aqua medic twin dosing pump and that was no where near as good as this





I find it pretty user friendly, once you have it is is really easy to setup. I have a dosing pump, ethernet module, pc module (so i can connect it to the PC and log info/update it). As for cost, i got a pretty good deal from an ebay seller, and got the basic unit, controller, plugbar, ph probe/interface, temp probe for Â£330. Occasionally they do come up on ebay second hand and are pretty good bargains.

HTH

James


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## oldwhitewood (18 Oct 2007)

Looks great, love it.


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## CJ Castle (20 Oct 2007)

Nice tank...


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## james3200 (21 Oct 2007)

Cheers 

Almost re-filled in, will get a trim in the next few days and will take some final pictures next weekend as it is getting closed down

Anyone want some HC? I need to offload it and need the funds for plants for my 800lt discus tank. Originally Tropica HC, will do Tropica size portions for Â£2.50 each, probably got about 20 or more maybe good portions

PM me if interested

James


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## Moss Man (8 Nov 2007)

Very nice, have you had any luck with your galaxies breeding?


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## james3200 (12 Nov 2007)

Cheers

Not in that tank as far as i know, but i did have a breeding setup in the same room and got 6 fry, but i had too many tanks at the time to give it a good go..


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## TDI-line (13 Nov 2007)

Fantastic setup.


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## Garuf (18 Apr 2008)

I missed this tank too, Everything looks so lush and healthy! A real testament to your skill.


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## LondonDragon (18 Apr 2008)

Nice tank and love the idea of the computer to control everything, being a techie myself.
If you could list all the components you have to control the tank and prices would be a great help. And also some photos of the whole setup with maybe a diagram??? If not asking too much, would love to learn a little more about this


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## Garuf (18 Apr 2008)

Isn't it just a ex-reef computer, something like the aquamedic one? I'd love pc control myself but I can't justify the cost on a small tank.


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## james3200 (19 Apr 2008)

Yea the computer is an aquatronica one http://www.aquatronica.com

Basically i set it up on this tank and have now have moved it onto my larger discus tank where it controlls all the lighting, temp, monitors ph, doses ferts, performs the water change

Prices vary to be honest, and you can sometimes get a bargain on eBay. Here are some prices - http://www.stm-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Aquatronica.html

Il get some better pics if you like soon


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