ADA 60fs Last Chance

[Deano3]

well today set about destroying my old scape as didn't go well and starting new one
tanks ADA 60f
Filter eheim professional thermo 2324
Lights 24w hagen life glo bulb

plants list
Hc
lilaeopsis Mauritiana donated generously by ldcgroomer
Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini'
repens

pics in progress below it took much longer than anticipated and hard work but really happy with end result and much happier than I as with last scape as a larger open space from fish and shrimp also make spray bar full length of tank but a little concerned as all plants behind large rock a little worried about flow but we will see.for dosing going to start with 1-2 BPS of co2 and Monday, Wednesday, Friday dosing micro and Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday dosing macro and Saturday off.

kitchen was such a mess and took ages removing hairgrass


layout




planting








some moss on wood some sticking out of surface but will die so will have to remove


some moss attached to rock






any finally hc planted 1cm apart got plenty from the ebay seller at great price so very happy


what do you think of height of the lights ? and the layout will get some decent pics tomorrow when water clears, should I do daily water changes and should I dose anything after water change?

any recommendations for title welcome need to make this work and want fish within few weeks

Thanks Dean

 

[Deano3]

Few more pics since cleared





hope once grows in the rear right will all be colourful and tall and lovely open space on the left


everything covered in dusty mud so need thin brush to wipe the dust off plants etc ,the lights are 90cm from top of water you think lower or heighten ?
Thanks dean

 

[Lindy]

I'm no expert on lighting and hope that one of the experts comment here but failing that How about lowering but just using one bulb. Maybe start at 60cm and keep and eye on how things look. Co2 is the most important thing so get that right at lower lighting levels and then you can add more light once you feel in control. Get your co2 at a nice, non toxic level and you can add shrimp early on. Might be better going for cherries or something similar that is less likely to go walkabout than amanos. If you do want amanos you could cut baffles out of clear plastic to put on the pipes above the water surface so they can't climb up to the edge of the glass. Certainly nothing can beat amanos on appetite but they can be a bit too adventurous, one of mine got 3 metres away from its tank in the kitchen

 

[Deano3]

I'm no expert on lighting and hope that one of the experts comment here but failing that How about lowering but just using one bulb. Maybe start at 60cm and keep and eye on how things look. Co2 is the most important thing so get that right at lower lighting levels and then you can add more light once you feel in control. Get your co2 at a nice, non toxic level and you can add shrimp early on. Might be better going for cherries or something similar that is less likely to go walkabout than amanos. If you do want amanos you could cut baffles out of clear plastic to put on the pipes above the water surface so they can't climb up to the edge of the glass. Certainly nothing can beat amanos on appetite but they can be a bit too adventurous, one of mine got 3 metres away from its tank in the kitchen

At the min only 1 x24w bulb , will post question in lighting section and ask, the co2 seemed right last time as ph dropping and yellow drop checker but hopefully this one will be green and everything will work, any Ideas on name for thread ? How often would you carry out water changes ? I also have to do that in a nighttime so would you do any dosing after water change ?

Thanks Dean

 

[Lindy]

I don't know! I found high-tech a total drag and then got into shrimp so there that story ended. In my 54l tank I had co2 at a low level(1bps) and my lighting isn't strong so I relied on a good substrate rather than EI and didn't choose stems. I think if you err on the side of caution with light this tank will do much better. Light seems to be the root of most evils in a planted tank according to Clive.

 

[Iain Sutherland]

Nice new scape deano, now to keep it that way. As its a small tank I'd do 100% water changes daily followed by 50% dose of ferts. It's often recommended to just dose micros for the first few weeks as the plants have adequate stores of npk but its up to you. Keep lighting levels low but no so much the plants struggle... 60 cm from water is plenty with 1 tube.
Just keep everything pristine... Pipes, glass, wood, rocks, everything that can be cleaned should be. Hard work now makes life simple later. When you water change waft around the tank gently to stir up any crud and trim any melting leaves. Any signed of problems back the lighting intensity off. 5 hrs is a good start point I find.
Have a look at the tropica 90 day app. It talks you through the whole process daily.
Best of luck.

 

[Deano3]

Nice new scape deano, now to keep it that way. As its a small tank I'd do 100% water changes daily followed by 50% dose of ferts. It's often recommended to just dose micros for the first few weeks as the plants have adequate stores of npk but its up to you. Keep lighting levels low but no so much the plants struggle... 60 cm from water is plenty with 1 tube.
Just keep everything pristine... Pipes, glass, wood, rocks, everything that can be cleaned should be. Hard work now makes life simple later. When you water change waft around the tank gently to stir up any crud and trim any melting leaves. Any signed of problems back the lighting intensity off. 5 hrs is a good start point I find.
Have a look at the tropica 90 day app. It talks you through the whole process daily.
Best of luck.

ok I will do 90% water change or low as possible without bringing up substrate for first week or so then straight after water change dose half what I dose on morning micro or macro, will put lights at 60cm or so and watch out for melt etc and wipe down stones and wood every night for first week then after first week clean filter

that sound ok ?
any ideas for scape name
Thanks dean

 

[Deano3]

well done 90% water change then refilled with airline hose took ages but didn't stir up the substrate lol cleaned rocks and glass , will clean filter weekly you think that be ok ? also dropped lights to 70cm after ater change dosed half the recommended dose ei macro and in morning do full micro dose that sounding ok and I will continue to do daily 90% for first week or so

also been reading lighting section and seems I have 2.7 wpg of light even though light is 70cm up still a lot gets reflected down into shallow aquarium you think too much or should be fine at that height

Thanks Dean

 

[Lindy]

Is there a reflector you could take off the light unit? It does sound like a lot.

 

[Deano3]

Is there a reflector you could take off the light unit? It does sound like a lot.

cannot remove the reflector no melt as yet but had gas on high constant flow lately, been reading PH today readings as follows
6.30am-7.7
10.30am-6.5 drop checker dark green
11.00am-6.4
11.30am-6.3 drop checker dark yellow
13.00pm-6.2
14.30pm-6.2
17.55pm-6.8

co2 on at 9am and off 4pm
lights on 12pm off 17.00pm

want to turn co2 down to 1-2bps but hard as fluctuates, might try my other reg when I get chance and lights at 70cm wonder if can buy 12w bulbs to fit the light unit

Thanks Dean

any ideas for name for scape ?

 

[Samjpikey]

Hey mate how's the new set up going ??



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[Deano3]

Hey mate how's the new set up going ??



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Hi same going well so far doing water changes every other day and no algae yet touch wood so hopefully grows in well and get livestock in there you like the look of it ? grass on right and along back and other longer plants and left is nice carpet of hc hopefully when fills in

Thanks dean

 

[Samjpikey]

Sounds good ,
Yea well I think it looks great , added colour always a scape stand out .
The spray bar along the back is always the way to go I think now that I've done it , I get a nice turbine effect .
Hope all goes well


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[Iain Sutherland]

Your ph readings look good so I wouldn't touch anything for now. Keep up the maintenance let the plants root and bulk out then worry about tweeking it for livestock.
Keep it stable, keep it clean and all should be well. Obviously if you see issues then post up and get advise on what to change.

 

[Deano3]

little update, well all going well tried my other regulator today same brand and make as didn't receive for a month when ordered then got another sent out then ended up with 2 ages ago anyway tried that and still fluctuates slightly so going to have to live with it, least now I can sell one.getting bubbles on hc later on into photo period but not sure if pearling here are some ph readings

7.00am-7.8
9.15am-7.5
11.00am-6.6
11.35am-6.5
12.00pm-6.4
14.30pm-6.4
19.50pm-7.1
23.00pm-7.6

been doing water change every other day and when re-filling using airline I spray leaves on repens etc to get dirt off. temperate is 28 degrees

one problem seems 2 portions of the HC developed some hair like algae hard to see in pics but best I can do for the minute what you think this is ? only on 2 small portions







is this pearling of a small degree lol


during water change


still need thread name ?
Thanks dean

 

[Samjpikey]

Hey dean .
If I were you I'd scrap that reg ,
I went with a co2supermarket reg its so much better, you will be instantly relieved honestly alot more control over the needle valve and no fluctuations . I don't think that reg is cut out for high pressure in line atomizers . Its that or buy a needle valve :/
That's my advice anyway
Your tank has lots of potential and once all grown in will look very nice indeed


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[Iain Sutherland]

Hey Deano, the algae around the HC is a bit of a worry.. It does look like the early issues you had with the last scape.
Something to do with your co2/ distrubution is still causing this.
If I were you I'd pull the online atomiser off and try something else, an in tank diffuser maybe then run at a lower pressure to stop fluctuations.
Have you taken the co2 line off and reduced pressure to see if it stops fluctuating? If it does then grab a diffuser and try it for a week or two.... You may be pleasantly suprised.

 

[Lindy]

I went with a co2supermarket reg its so much better,

I had 2 co2supermarket reg/solenoids before I got my money back. They couldn't keep a high enough pressure to run my up atomiser and they felt really cheap. I have an up aqua A-165 and it is great although the first one sent had to go back as the solenoid went mental in the middle of the night making a terrible noise.

Dean how many holes are in your spraybar? From the picture it looks like there aren't very many and this would restrict the flow.

 

[Deano3]

I had 2 co2supermarket reg/solenoids before I got my money back. They couldn't keep a high enough pressure to run my up atomiser and they felt really cheap. I have an up aqua A-165 and it is great although the first one sent had to go back as the solenoid went mental in the middle of the night making a terrible noise.

Dean how many holes are in your spraybar? From the picture it looks like there aren't very many and this would restrict the flow.

10 holes along spraybar at 2ml each, thought the up atomiser was best way to diffuse co2 ? also had airline going into bubble counter and disconnected the atomiser and still fluctuated at low bps, you would think because its constantly fluctuating only takes 10 seconds to go up to 3 bar then drop to 2.5 bar it wound make any difference and co2 always entering aquarium its not likes takes hours and really slows down massively ? you still think a new reg would be best ?

CO2 Solenoid Regulator is this one anygood

Thanks Dean

 

[Lindy]

My UP atomiser was the in tank one, not external. I don't know about your reg, mine never moved from its setting and bubble count. I've no experience of all the different regs.
I have 16 holes in my spraybar and I don't think my filter is as strong as yours. Might want to think about more holes?