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Thanks for the tips. Deer/Michael W I actually just stopped using Excel a week or two ago but I think I'll go back to it along with an intermittent lighting schedule. Barring that a quick scrub with a toothbrush will be my last recourse since these nano rocks are pretty small and not that deeply...

Update following hard trim on the Rotala. That thing just grows and grows and is tricky to prune. The cuts need staggering since the tips of the cut ends go black and look obvious: Teak Root Mini 2 by TheLeonRoy, on Flickr I'm struggling a little with green spot algae though. Dosing EI...

Definitely got your style down George. Stunning scape and unbelievable how quickly you go from day zero to something which looks so healthy, clean and established after less than a fortnight! (Some of us are struggling here ya know! ;) I really wonder though what you'd do with a deep tank, a...

Slow growth and the substrate in my tank seems to collapse no matter what...grrrr.... But the rotala is looking nice:

Thanks Jack, looks good I'll have to order a regulator. Regarding the Grand Solar, you're saying the Halogen (Central light) requires a 100v to 230v transformer, but the outside (Flurorescents) don't? If you could post a pic of your transformer and what it's connected to that'd be great :)

Beautiful setup and scape. Interesting that you've laid the aquasoil in the middle and sand along the sides. A nice reversal of the more typical 'sandy path' type scape. I'm having issues with the CO2 bubble output on my tank too, suspect a dodgy regulator, let us know how the Fabco turns out...

Hehe, your newbie joke cracked a smile. Thanks for the thorough information, answered every query. The tank itself is journaled here: Teak Root Mini 2.

Hello, I have a newly planted tank with: Glossostigma elatinoides Hemianthus callitrichoides Rotala wallichili Looking for some pruning tips: When do I do the first trim? Is there any particular time of day to trim? How low do I go?

Plants arrived today: Glossostigma elatinoides Hemianthus callitrichoides Rotala wallichili LEO_5485 by TheLeonRoy, on Flickr Thankfully the wife helped prep them whilst I planted. I think I could have done with half the plants if I was being stingy. But having seen slow growth in the past...

Yeah, I like 6 too but wife said it was too circular and unnatural. 7 followed but she didn't like that either. Told her to show me how it's done and she made a few tweaks coming up with 8. Think 9 is the final layout and a combination of 6, 7, 8: Teak Root Mini 2 - Layout by TheLeonRoy, on...

Stunning, possibly my favorite scape out of all of the ones you've done. Can't wait to see what you'd do with a 150cm or 180cm tank. Reckon you, James and Ed should open a shop together in Knightsbridge and put your top layouts on display. I'm sure the Harrods crowd would snap them up!

Took my sweet time I know but here's the final design. The teak roots which sat idle for a year have since been claimed by the office to incorporate in a desk. In any case a standard aquarium cabinet makes more sense. It's taken me almost as much time to draw in Sketchup as it would to setup...

6 7 8 Think I'm getting there, thanks for the input so far.

Hmmm, decisions, decisions: 1 2 3 4 5

Thanks for the comments. Think maybe I'll stay away from moss until I've mastered some of the less invasive plants. I'm thinking Manten stone or Ryouh. Anyone know why this stuff is so crazy expensive? Any alternative stone suppliers from the UK which anyone can recommend? I tried a few garden...

Beautiful scape, sorry to hear you're tearing it down but looking forward to the next one. Just curious but what do you do with your livestock and plants? Take them back to the LFS?

It's been an interesting year and a half and I (think) I've learned a lot. I'm ready to tear down my tank and start anew. I like the nano layout, it allows you to make mistakes without serious financial consequences. It does however allow you make mistakes very easily. One small change can...

Beautiful scape Tom, sorry if I missed it but what's the substrate you're using for new tank? Same John Innes capped with playsand?

It apparently reduces the efficacy of iron compounds in ferts so it's best set the UV on a timer to only come on at night. As for its usefulness in the tank it - UV certainly isn't snake oil, it definitely has a practical use in killing pathogens. It almost certainly results in fewer fish...

Filling close to the top is a temptation but it creates a lot of issues with escapees and also causes a capillary action on glassware which results in water dripping out of the tank and onto the floor.

ND Aquatics is based in Hertford.

Look great, well done. The ADA Mini is a design classic IMO. I have a very similar setup and went all ADA to start with but found their ferts didn't work that well for me (too expensive for one!). After going EI things improved. The ADA Solar Mini was a lot of light for my Mini-M so I had to...

Well ladies and gents, it has been a bumpy ride over which I have come so very close to packing it all in. Initially I struggled with green spot, then BBA, slow growth and the loss of many, many little glass yellow tetra fish (which at £10 a pop was a costly loss - and alas the distributor are...

Excellent photography and looks like your tank is really growing beautifully now. You should send this thread to NA and ask for a discount on your next purchase, I'm sure you've sent a fair few forum members their way!

I cannot stress how cool this light is. Here's a shot of it with a light kit from All Pond Solutions. The kit saved me having to drill into the ceiling. Touch sensitive controls: The demo mode shows the flexibility of the light. It has an array of different coloured LEDs and controls them...

No problem. Eheim is quieter. The Iwaki MD- range all use AC motors so whilst you could in theory reduce the speed by reducing the current it is not ideal. Reason being that many AC motors are designed to run at a specific voltage and frequency. If operated outside this range the motor may run...

Stunning, truly phenomenal and a real showcase of the beautiful 'frame' ADA's products provide around your gorgeous aquascape. Would love to see this in the flesh before you tear it down! Surely there must be a nearby venue (the Arts Depot, or trendy coffee shop even!) to showcase this stunning...

Re: ADA Mini M (Inspiration from Japan, Rocks from Hong Kong Beautiful. Something very unusual and yet natural about this. It's certainly not your typical nano hardscape and it really pays homage to its inspiration. Just out of curiosity, how many attempts did it take you reach that layout?

1. Eheim 1250/1260 etc. The Iwaki's are used in the ADA SuperJet's so they're quiet enough that the missus won't mind them! Just be aware you can hear them in a quiet room. 2. A filter in front of the Iwaki inlet is fine, I meant that restrictions like a valve to reduce flow should be placed on...

They're audible up close, certainly not as quiet as an Eheim. Inside a cabinet though you probably won't hear them. I'd put the noise level around that of a good quality air pump. They make excellent circulation pumps but a few notes of caution: 1. NEVER run them dry for any period of time...

Thanks, feel terrible for the delay but work and money comes first! I'll be ordering the sump soon, then it's a matter of figuring out which tank to buy. I'd originally planned on an all acrylic tank but after seeing the new ADG install I think I much prefer the metal framed tank they used...

Re: 90x75x45 optiwhite. new toy and lighting help... Looks great mate. Regarding the osmosis unit, quality outfit Osmotics. I can't speak highly enough of Mark who sorted me out with a hundred questions about RO. I also get the deionisation resin pack but TBH in retrospect I wouldn't recommend...

Heheh, on their own they'd be considered pretty big pumps considering the size and weight! The MD-20R offers double the performance of the MD-15R. So approximately 400-500 l/hr vs 800-1000 l/hr. Really depends on how big the filter is, how much media, etc. ADA use the MD-15R on the ES-600...

Well I guess cheap as possible is now out the window. I don't think fluorescent or MH is a future proof bet and I got tired of seeing the ugly ass light unit above so I came up with the following short list: -Aquabeam 1500 XG -AI Sol -Ecotech Radion XR30w After a demonstration from Greg at ADC...

Thanks for the helpful advice Ady34. Reporting back (slightly!) more than than a fortnight later. I applied Excel on the hardscape and am also dosing it daily. In addition I've kept up with ferts and CO2 which all together really reduced (but didn't elimated) the algae. It wasn't until I...

It's been a while, but the tank's doing well enough. I've been taking it very slow with the addition of critters and to be honest I find this tank a lot more enjoyable (and relaxing!) than the little ADA Mini-M which has shown to me how difficult hi-tech planted aquaria can be to a newcomer...

Ah, you show off! Looking forward to seeing your tank shots with it, it's a fab lens. (Almost as good as the Nikon 14-24mm! j/k!)

Thanks for the recommendation, looks interesting! Open source and actively developed too. I'll see if it beats using Excel to track the progress of my tanks!

Some beautiful pets here, glad to see so many kind hearts taking on rescue animals and strays. Here's mine - patiently waiting by the window for the wife to come home: LEO_9542 by TheLeonRoy, on Flickr

Assassin's Creed, Little Big Planet, Mortal Kombat, Soul Calibur (wife kicks my ass in most of those games though... :jawdrop)

Video is pretty much the same reason I want to sell the D700 and purchase a D800. I wouldn't bother otherwise since the extra resolution is something I'll only find useful when shooting landscapes. Thanks for the compliments, I shoot the odd paid gig and do the occasional freebie. TBH my day...

The 5D Mk3 looks a great camera, but to add regarding the D800; despite its 36 megapixels it appears to show less noise than a D700... http://nikonrumors.com/2012/03/05/anoth ... ison.aspx/

I'm actually considering the same question myself. The D800 retails £2.3k off the top of my head so it's quite a significant outlay. If full frame isn't essential then Nikon sell the D7000 which does video and produces images of comparable quality to the D700. You seem to consider a high FPS...

I found this useful when I went on holiday. Basically cut back on lighting, turn off CO2, dose once a week, feed once or twice a week. viewtopic.php?p=53314

Thanks for the advice and words of encouragement. Excel ordered, will report back in a fortnight! :)

Alright so I went away for a few weeks and totally messed the scape up. No ferts were applied while I was gone, light was on for 6 hours per day and the CO2 was a dribble when I got back. Plant growth has been pretty slow these past few months, but algae is really taking over. Any idea what...

Thanks, although the scape has fallen on hard times (more on that later). Congrats on the TGM order, you'll love the quality of their stuff. You're dead on the money, a solenoid is basically a timer for CO2. I'd recommend the Aqua Medic Solenoid but I'm sure you can find one on ebay that's...

This morning before heading into work I did a quick count of the fish and noticed only nine. Fearing one had jumped out I was looking around the tank for it when another tetra jumped out right in front of me straight into my hand. It was jumping all over the place but I managed to pop it back...

Thanks for all the kind words guys. Have to say it's a shame I can't get a bit of wood as good to put inside the tank ;) doobiw55 the wood's from a store called Raft. Characidae gen. sp. "Yellow Glass Tetra" by TheLeonRoy, on Flickr Cherry Shrimp by TheLeonRoy, on Flickr

Great idea, and to think, all this time I've thrown the stuff away considering it a very dangerous tripping hazard!

Three of those blocks of wood arrived two weeks ago...weighing about 100kg+ each I plan on using those for as the stand. I've used one for the Mini-M above until I order the 200 gallon tank. Before that though I have to order the sump and get that plumbed in. Been procrastinating over that since...

Yeah, had a similar issue but noticed the handle about to pop out of its housing before I pushed it too far. Another issue this plasticky filter has is with the hose locking nuts which make the hose almost impossible to remove. It's not a bad filter for the money but I think a revision 2 is in...

I've been prone to leaving the tank full to the brim. As a result two tetras and six shrimp have 'escaped'. I didn't notice and kept feeding the normal amount which resulted in a cloud like fungus over the uneaten food. The substrate which was banked originally had collapsed while scaping and I...

The little nippers: A closeup: Teak root mini: (yeah I know, clean those pipes)

Tank's still ticking over, what with work haven't even had time to see the tank during the day let alone take some pictures! The teak root base finally arrived (all 150kg of it!). The tank looks amazing sitting on it. I also decided to (finally) buy some fish and saw some lovely yellow glass...

Re: Tonys 'Triassic Hollow' 420L - Altums in residence Ridiculously wow, seriously well done! Gonna need an HD video of this for sure :thumbup:

Sorry to bring up an old thread, just got round to going through my subscription of PFK and read the fantastic article you wrote George, on the Rio Nanay biotope. I was wondering how are the fish faring in the new planted tank vs the biotope tank? Did they exhibit the same behaviour or seem...

Re: Schruz's Works Wow. Are the colors that intense in real life?

Thanks a ton Darrel, plants arrived over the weekend and I planted the Cyperus immediately. Can't thank you enough for the tub of snails. Just curious but what's the name of the plant you sent them with? Is it a floater? (I just put it all in the tank)

Good question, it's actually up on a shelf since placing it on the floor caused the filter to really creak and groan under the pressure. Considering the price, Eheim filters are quite poorly constructed. A far cry from Ocean Clear filters for example: Speaking of quality, the ADA light...

Wanna buy my DoAqua CO2 kit off of me? ;) Won't be using most of it now that I've bought a fire extinguisher and CO2 regulator to use instead.

Inspirational stuff Troi, your tank looks great and moreover your rant got me thinking and I thought I'd setup this as an experiment. ('rant' in a good way :) )

Re: Schruz's Works Inspiring stuff schruz, makes me want to start my own Wabi kusa project. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before ADA get you to provide their Wabi kusa promotional shots, your stuff is leagues ahead of anything else I've seen!

Got some green spot algae the past two weeks. I've reduced lighting period from 1300 to 1800 hrs and CO2 from 1100 to 1700 hrs. Upped the CO2 slightly to 1.5-2 bps and drop checker (seems such an imprecise instrument) is green. Also bought some ADA Brighty Lights (wth is with these ridiculous...

Really good growth for just three weeks, looks great. (btw. what kitchen scale is that?)

In-laws actually...I've already pinched their daughter, think I owe them more than a few good meals! :shh: Spent the past week designing the sump for this bad boy. Since I don't want ANY equipment upstairs apart from the tank lighting (obviously ;)) I'll be sticking the filter, pump...

That's right, an ADA Superjet filter uses an Iwaki pump which on its own sells for £180-£300. They're usually used in reefing or when you're next at Maidenhead Aquatics they'll typically employ the larger Iwaki models to drive their stock tanks. I think there was an article in a recent Aqua...

Hi Darrel that sounds great, if I could get the Cyperus and some floaters it'd be much appreciated. Let me know how much I'd owe ya via PM or here if you prefer. The water at present is a touch cloudy (not crystal clear). I normally run external filters fine filter pads, I assume using a single...

Thanks Darrel, will definitely find some MTS. Although is there anything I can do to ensure their population numbers don't go through the roof? Reading about Cyperus it really sounds great, many thanks for the offer I'll do some research and see which plants I need to add. Who knows, if this...

It's funny, when I was a kid and experimented with plants and DIY CO2 (in a fizzy drinks bottle) I had trumpet snails everywhere! Went to the LFS and asked for a fish which would eat snails and thus my love for clown loaches was born... (Little did I know they can grow so big...) Suffice to...

Asked someone visiting the US to bring back two ADA Grand Solar I units for me. They took the biggest suitcase they had and sent me this pic: Guess I'm gonna have to look at postage!

Yep, think that's the Hydrogen Sulphide (rotten egg gas). Very toxic to fish and shrimp so I'm going to have to keep this fishless for the initial period. Would certain plants or burrowing snails resolve this?

Cheap tank, (really) badly made: In goes nearly half a bag of soil. After leak testing the tank last overnight there was about a centimeter of water left even after draining the tank. Made for a (very) messy job smoothing it out with my hands (a darn sight more fun than laying baked granules...

Cheers mate, finally getting round to planting the bag of plants I grabbed from the show! :)

After starting an ADA tank (with ADA everything) I thought I'd have a go at something with less of a sticker shock. So at the other extreme I plan on blagging a free tank, using some garden centre compost, play sand and freebie scaling materials to build a planted tank. I've been quite inspired...

Thanks for all the replies, think I'll try the peroxide trick with the diffuser in situ. Afraid it's gonna break at some point taking it in and out the tank.

Saw this tip on Guitarfish's blog: How safe is this to do on the tank? Especially a nano (20 liters) with live inhabitants?

Added some shrimp Caridina multidentata and Neocaridina heteropoda (cherry) and two Otocinclus. They're really keeping the tank clean and removing any traces of algae on the leaves: The yellow leaves of HC are slowly clearing:

Looks good, very healthy looking growth as well. You're ahead of your time with that filter/weir idea - at the Aquatics Live show pretty much every planted nano had one! :thumbup:

Great seeing you Ed, and many, many thanks for bringing your tanks to the show. The scape, quality of growth, and water clarity were all top notch. Truly jaw dropping (and very ADA like). Looks like you took home enough materials to start a whole new tank (or two ;) ) I'm looking forward to...

Some of the leaves on the HC (Cuba) are yellowing slightly and melting away, is there anything the tank might be deficient or imbalanced in?

Wow, nice setup, that's nearly the same as I just bought! TGM advise you I assume? :thumbup:

Take the pics, use http://www.imgur.com to upload then paste the links imgur generates in a forum post. Sorted :)

Sorry my bad, we need a names to faces page here or something ;) Yep, remember you clearly although the way you were talking about your tank's deficiencies I didn't realize it was this lovely. Looking forward to the next update.

I second the Eheim 600 compact recommendation. I use it to do all my water changes. Add a little valve on one end and you can really slow down the flow to a trickle so you don't disturb the substrate. Would love to see some pictures or a sketch of the filter you've built. It's a fantastic idea...

Welcome, thanks for all your help at ADC today (it was you right?) Here's Jim's layout, it has the full ADA treatment right down to all the fancy CO2 glass and it's one of the snazziest looking tanks in the shop!

His volcano is indeed superb - he gets better with each tank he does. One of my favorites of his was the large Iwagumi he did in the current angel tank. I trimmed the eleocharis right down on my tank: I just took readings today: NO2: 0 mg/l NH4: 0 to 0.25 mg/l NO3: 0 mg/l Now I'm using RO...

Wow, that low? Alright, I'll do that. Hey, I was watching Jim and taking pictures! You were there? What did you think of Jim's scape?

Trimmed the Eleocharis back (it grows fast) and glad I did it too. I see what you guys were talking about, some of the existing growth is melting away. Here's the current state of the tank. Dosing Step 1 and Brighty K (stupid name) daily. Can't believe the price of those two bottles (must cost...

I think Jim was in again Saturday afternoon to add some coarse substrate to soften the edges and fit the CO2. I'll pop into ADC after work tomorrow and see if I can get a clearer pic. The ADA setup he used (garden stand, metal pipe set, superjet etc. looked fantastic as well.).

Re: Stu's ADA Mini M nano - Step by step on page 5 So sorry to hear of your loss Stu.

Thanks to Greg and Jim for doing this event. It was a fantastic opportunity to see a fully planted tank being setup and it'll be terrific watching it grow over the coming months. Here are some more pics: Greg welcomes all by TheLeonRoy, on Flickr Sprinkling Penac by TheLeonRoy, on Flickr...

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll checkout londonbeergases. Might get one canister for the nano since the thought of pouring money into ADA CO2 cartridges is a bit too much to stomach. Can you recommend a good CO2 regulator? Yeah! Happy for the help (I'm sure I'll need it!) Would love to see...

Just pulled the trigger on two ADA Grand Solar I lights for the tank. ETA is late November, still awaiting the teak roots. At the moment looks like the tank is going to be approximately 72"x30"x30" at the upper end. Two GSI lights should cover it I hope!

Thanks, what sort of background do you suggest? Black? I've trimmed the hair grass down low, although the hairgrass at the back is acicularis and at the front it's parvula. Also The Green Machine in this videorecommend trimming only the roots if the hairgrass is to grow tall. At the moment I'm...

Thanks, ceg4048, appreciate the detailed reply. I did understand Tom's summary (honest :) ) and I agree, too many people are hung up on 'more watts is better'. I was simply stating that ADA should really produce lights which are lower wattage and lower output rather than higher wattage and lower...

Hi ceg4048, appreciate the reply, but easy there :) I simply stated above that ADA lighting has 'short comings'. They were found by Tom Barr to give lower PAR than one would expect given their advertised wattage. That was his conclusion, not mine (although the PAR readings speak for themselves)...

Got some Hemianthus Callitrichoides, Eleocharis Parvula and Acicularis and am all planted and CO2 connected now :) Planting a nano sure requires a knack, everything is so fiddly and the plants kept coming out with the tweezers: All filled and ready to watch grow:

Silence is golden eh? ;) Short of making my own I guess I'll be picking up a few ADA Grand Solar I units then (despite their short comings).